Crete - The Old Phoenix

... so we checked out of the Georgia B&B on Friday (Aug 3rd), and began driving towards Sfakia, a.k.a. Hora Sfakion. Some of the roads twist up and down hilly land, and our rented car, a Nissan Micra, is not very powerful. But then again, we were only two passengers, with relatively light luggage - one mid-sized suitcase and two trollies, none of which were stuffed to the max.
Stopped mid-way at one of those places that sell olive oil and a huge selection of other olive-based products. Was brave and didn't buy anything... Except for a cold drink at the adjacent kiosk.

Our daughter and son-in-law, who were already comfortably settled at The Old Phoenix, had warned us about the very tricky drive from Sfakia to Phoenix Bay. Apparently the road is very rough, steep and winding, requiring extreme concentration and caution. As Noam drove, Daria tried to distract the children (aged 2 1/2, 4 1/2, and 7) who were tense and scared. Far better to take a water taxi. You can also take a ferry, then walk for about 15 minutes. But who wants to hike along a footpath in the sweltering midday sun, schlepping a suitcase, two trollies, a shoulder-bag and a backpack... For more practical suggestions and details, see the Visit West Crete page.

At Sfakia harbor, we found the Controlled Parking area and the guy in charge managed to squeeze our Micra into a tight spot, charged us 9 euro for three days paid in advance, and told us to wait for our boat by the tall crane. I honestly don't know the full meaning of "controlled" parking; we just paid and hoped that, other than dust and bird droppings, we'd find our car just as we left it.

Tall crane, Sfakia harbor

Interesting wall along Sfakia harbor

I neglected to mention that the amazing Elisabet at the Georgia Hotel had phoned Taxi Boat Sifis ahead of time and booked the trip for us. (Check out the link and copy-paste the number into your smartphone!)  The fee quoted was 40 euro, but we got a 5-euro discount because another family joined the ride. 'Bye, Sfakia! See you in a few days!

On board Taxi Boat Sifis

Some 25 minutes of chugging along on the clearest, bluest, calmest water I've ever sailed on, and there were the white buildings with the blue shutters, so typical of Greek islands. Before I even had a chance to wonder which of those buildings housed the Reception of The Old Phoenix, and how I'd find our daughter and her entourage, I caught sight of a skinny boy (7) in bathing trunks running towards the pier, waving excitedly at us. We hardly set foot on solid ground when our youngest grandkid, two-and-a-half year-old Tamzie, who'd heard M's voice, dashed forward calling out "Michael sheli!" ("my Michael") and jumped into his arms. 

Okay, that made our day :-) 

Soon enough the whole family escorted us to the Reception desk, and walked us to our room.

Michael and Daria enjoying a cold drink shortly after our arrival

The room itself was pretty basic, nothing to write home about, or rather, to blog about. The shower stall was a joke: it had a shower curtain on the two sides which weren't walls, but no matter whether you placed the showerhead in its holder way up on the wall or held it in your hand -- the water somehow escaped the stall and flooded the entire bathroom floor. Luckily, it also dried up of its own accord pretty fast. How come? - window, air conditioning, whatever.

But the most exhilarating aspect of the place is the view from the balcony! And I'm not referring to the towels, bathing suits and other items hanging up on most balconies, although these had their use:

Our balcony at the Old Phoenix

Spread them out on the line properly, and you've got a lightweight barrier between you and your neighbor, which is rather useful when you spend much of your time minimally dressed, if at all, with the balcony door/shutters often open to let in the sea breeze, and -- well, you get the picture.

View from our room, morning

View from our room, later in the day

In the mornings we were awakened by a beautiful jingling of bells, lots of bells. Simply had to jump out of bed to see where it was coming from. It came from a herd of goats taking their morning walk up and around the nearby hills. Early morning is the best time to do hiking and sightseeing in nature, both for goats and humans. You can walk from the Old Phoenix to the nearby village of Loutro either the short way -- about 700 meters -- or the longer but easier way of 1300 meters. (0.43 and 0.8 miles, respectively.) I didn't do it, but since my grandkids did, I'm sure you could, too. 

If you want to stock up on something (booze? Pringles? flipflops?) or want to buy a new pareo, if you run out of sunscreen lotion, Ibuprofen or crayons for the kids -- Loutro has it all. Oh -- and a propos flipflops: what you really need on this beach is lightweight water shoes to protect your feet from the pebbles and rocks. (As an Israeli, I'm accustomed to the gloriously soft sand on our beaches.)

The plastic sandals I wore, a popular brand called Moses, are fine and dandy, but not for stepping into the sea surrounding [most of?] Crete. You don't have to invest in expensive swimmers' or divers' shoes. You can find really cheap versions at any supermarket in villages and towns along the coast. 

Like many travelers, I'm a sucker for high-quality, or at least fragrant, toiletries. Chapeau to The Old Phoenix for their choice of shampoo/shower gel (pity there was no corresponding body lotion): 

Oliva(mo) shampoo & shower gel

When in Loutro, we went into a minimarket where I actually saw these products on a shelf, but failed to grab a few... consoling myself later with the thought that I'd find them at some other place. But I didn't :-(   Of course Google was quick to show me where I could get them. So if I'm really desperate, I could order the stuff online. But who knows -- we'll soon be traveling to Spain, where I fell in love with the Prija toiletries... then there were Algotherm treats, picked up at I-don't-remember-where... and... but enough is enough.

Next post: Xania, a.k.a Chania, a.k.a. Khania