As I've already posted, the bus ride from Chania to Sfakia is as beautiful as I had remembered, but the road was quite a bit more twisty-turny than I recalled.
The view from our little apartment over the ocean is just as spectacular as I remembered, but quite a bit smaller. There is no wiggle room in this little studio. However, it does have a complete kitchen, a narrow balcony, and a double bed. What is it with these Europeans and their twin beds? No wonder the population of many European countries is shrinking. We call them birth control beds. Our land lady is a jewel, and the price is more than right. All in all, we made a good choice.
Sweet Water Beach, as I have already posted is just as fabulous as we remembered. We spent our very first day soaking up the sun there.
That brings us to October 15.
October 16 . . . We have already established at least one ritual. Every afternoon about 4 - if we are in Sfakia, you can find us at a taverna at the harbor having a beverage.
October 17 we took the boat back to Sweet Water Beach. Here I need to add a word of advice to my readers. If you find yourselves the only passengers on a boat going to a beautiful beach on a great sunshiny day, you might want to question your decision.
Actually, the water was a little choppy, but we didn't think too much about it. We did start to wonder when there were only a handful of people on the beach, but then the season is winding down so we didn't spend too much time worrying. I did start thinking about my future when we realized that everybody else on the beach was packing up way earlier than usual. By now the ocean was more than just a little choppy. I started asking questions. It didn't take long to figure out that everyone else on the beach was from Loutro. They had hiked in and were getting ready to hike back.
Hiking to Loutro was one thing. Hiking to Sfakia was a lot farther, steeper, and more rugged! There was no way I was going "by feet."
Off we went to the cafe to see if the manager knew anything about our boat. Yes, he knew it was too rough and the boat wasn't coming back. We were not to worry.
He would take us
The wait staff would serve as crew. We all loaded up. Stanley, Dona, the two crew members, the captain, four dogs, and the day's trash from the cafe.
I won't say I was scared. I was concerned, but it was all for naught. That guy was super skilled and he knew every nuance of his little craft. Thanks to Stanley I can tell you how he managed the swells. He rode each trough as far as he could, then turned the stern of the boat into the approaching wave. We rode over the crest of each wave and down into the next trough. I had fully expected to be drenched, but when we reached shore, I was completely dry. Dry and elated to be on dry land again. The dogs were relieved to be safely on land, too. They shot out of the boat and up the hill.
Dinner that night was lamb in yogurt sauce! Yummy! Greek comfort food!
And, of course, there was a sunset!
