Climbing Jumping Idiot

Zeus hasn't really been cooperating much so far... my first day in Plakias was cold, windy, and rainy. I spent it reading and sleeping. Again there were several Canadians there - including one from Breton, Alberta. A bunch of us went out for dinner and drinks in town. It was rather amusing to witness a non-drinking American have the traditional after dinner shot of raki. He didn't enjoy it much! It's sort of tastes like half tequila, half vodka... kind of.

A woman from Atlanta who I had met in the hostel in Rethymno showed up at Plakias late that night. She had mentioned that she might rent a car and make her way there. We made plans to do the beach thing the next day. Yippee - the sun was shining! We headed out of town to where the more secluded beaches are. A guy who was quite familiar with the area came with us. We went to a spot where there are two nude beaches separated by a bit of rock that juts out into the sea. We spent our time lazing around on Pig's Head beach as the sand is nicer. Since I had heard that it was possible to climb out on the rock and jump into the sea, of course I had to try it. Since I figured that I would lose my flip flops, I went in my bare feet. Ouch!!! Very sharp rocks. It was not easy going. I got to one point, about 3/4 of the way there, and I didn't think I would be able to climb down to the next bit of rock. After a minute of looking forward and back, I decided to try stretching to see if I could do it. I seriously questioned my decision to do this... and wondered whether my insurance would cover me if I fell down the rock and smashed my body all up. I did make it out to the end of the rock, had a look around at both beaches and the heavy surf crashing into the rocks, and I jumped - Wheeee! It was good fun. But stupid nonetheless. I didn't go a second time as I thought I would really be pushing my luck.

After both of us girls were sufficiently sunburned (me not so much, but Amber used olive oil!) we took Andreas back to the hostel and picked up some food for a picnic. We then headed to Preveli Beach. It was late in the day and not many people were around. It turned out to be quite the hike down to the beach... a series of rocky steps that kept going and going. Dumb as we are, we both wore flip flops. I ended up sliding in my shoe and somehow cut the end of my big toe on a rock. Slowed the rest of the journey down a bit. Although rather well known, the beach itself at Preveli isn't as nice as the ones we were at earlier. But there is a rather pretty view where the river comes into the sea surrounded by a line of palm trees on each side.

Today I woke up at 4 AM, very indecisive about what to do. I had booked to hike Samaria Gorge... the longest gorge in Europe, and one of the most attractive and interesting parts of Crete. I wasn't sure how happy my toe would be however. I put on my trail shoes and it felt uncomfortable but not painful. So I decided to go. 18 km - no problem! I went to where I needed to catch the bus and waited for over an hour. No bus! So I made my way back to the hostel and went back to bed. Later in the day I went back to the travel agency that I had booked through... I guess the gorge was still closed because of the rain Thurs/Fri/Sat. Unfortunately I leave Crete tomorrow... I am sad to have missed the chance to see the gorge. But I did get my money back.

Tomorrow it is on to the island of Paros in the Cyclades...