See, I Am Not Dead

I have a lot to catch up on and originally I thought I would put it all in one post, but after I got finished writing the Crete post, I decided to break it up. My trip to Crete…it was fabulous, although I didn’t do much. Crete, from what I can tell, is a beautiful country. I stayed in the town of Rethymnon, which is about a 90 minute drive from Iraklion. It is a port city and has a lot of mixed history from the Roman, Greeks, Turks and oddly enough, the Germans. I walked into town everyday just to get some exercise because the trip was half board, which I have found is an extremely dangerous thing. I mean, really a breakfast and dinner buffet, free of charge?! Anyway, the town was small and charming and the people were lovely.

Crete is really famous for feta cheese, olives, honey, mushrooms, goats, mythology, certain herbs, and its history. All the stores catered these areas of interest. I came back with a ton of olive based skin and hair care products, honey and olive oil.

I went shopping and exploring the two days it rained and was cold; the other days I spent lying by the beach or the pool. I know, it seems really boring, but I NEEDED the sun. The hotel was great and the people who worked there were really nice and helpful and not Greek! One of the women was Dutch and the other was German. I think Crete probably attracts all sorts of people.

I had two exceptional experiences while I was there, one good and one, well, rather strange.

The strange thing happened my first day on the beach. I was lying out, reading a book when I man walked up and asked if he could lay by me. I didn’t know what to say, so I think I said something like, “Um, sure, ok.” He practically laid down on top of me. I tried to be politely rude to show him he was unwelcome, but he kept talking, asking me such questions such as, “Are you married; do you have a boyfriend; would you like to go out tonight; how long are you going to be here, etc?” I tried to get rid of him by telling him I was on vacation with my boyfriend and I was just waiting for him….that didn’t work. After about 5 minutes of chitchat, he wanted to rub oil on me and I thought, well I don’t want to print what I thought, but it wasn’t a nice thought. I told him I didn’t need any oil. This seemed to appease him for about two seconds until he grabbed my bum a few times and said something about giving me a massage. That really made me uncomfortable and there was nobody else on the beach to help or intervene, so I turned over and started gathering my things up in order to make a quick getaway. He started moving around too and I just happened to glace over and he was very graciously showing me his manhood. I remember saying, “Ah Jesus!,” before getting up and practically running back to the hotel. However, in retrospect, I wish I had pointed and laughed.
The second thing was fantastic! I met a woman at a restaurant. She was my waitress; we just started talking and she invited me to her house for dinner one night. I half expected not to hear from her, but she called me a few days later and invited me to her house for dinner. It was fantastic. She prepared a feast. I think we ate for four hours. We had the best conversations; she told me all about the myths and history of the island and her family. I was really, really pleased to be in invited and that I said yes! Usually, I wouldn’t do something like that, but it turned out to be a great experience. I have to send her a “care” package from Paris as a thank you.

All in all, I loved Crete! It was beautiful and the people were fantastic. I hope I can go back someday when the water is warmer.