On Monday, a few of us staying at the hostel decided to take a trip to Ρέθυμνο (Rethimno, the third largest city in Crete). To get there, you either need to take a bus or have a car. Fortunately, one of us had a rental car so off we went.
The drive is about an hour from Χάνια (Chania/Hania) where we were staying. Crete is very green, and every time one of us would try to take a picture, a tree would pop up to block the sweet shot. So no road photos…or at least not of anything outside the car.
The parking situation in Rethimno is quite different than Hania. We had to track down a store on the street we parked on, and buy little scratch cards to indicate how long we would be there. After a couple attempts, we located the appropriate place, and bought the tickets. Challenge #1 complete!
The next challenge: what to do? Our token Dutch guy had an answer: Pokemon Go. PokeStops are all points of interest that people reported for the game Ingress (or at least most of them). So pretty much anything listed is going to have some sort of cultural or historical significance. “Hey guys, all the PokeStops are down this way. Let’s go.” So he caught a shitload of pokemon, and all of us saw every site we wanted to in the city.
We also look a few breaks for lunch, coffee, dinner, ice cream…. Google said we walked 7 kilometers so I think we deserved a lot of breaks. At least that’s the story I’m going with.
After wandering around what felt like the whole city, we went a little out of town to drive go carts! That was crazy fun. And I discovered I suck at racing. Passing people is really difficult. Although, Token Dutch Guy made it look easy…. I think my new rule of thumb is going to be Dutch guys are good at everything until proven otherwise.
So after a fantastic day, we came back to Hania. If I was to give a few recommendations for Rethinmo, it would be these:
- Don’t stay there. This is a place that you’re better off making a day trip out of. If you’re looking for a place to stay, I’d recommend one of the two largest cities on the island (Χάνια, Ηράκλειο).
- If possible, rent a car. While it’s possible to take buses, they take twice as long, and are a lot more hassle. Being on your own schedule is far preferable.
- Take your time. There isn’t a whole lot to see so just wander around, and take lots of breaks.
- Bring enough money to stop at shops. Especially little coffee and/or ice cream shops. These places are awesome; especially the ones with views of the sea.
So I hope you enjoyed this short post. Until next time.
The PorcuDiaries 