Feeling like escaping reality today so I’m focusing on my happy place (anywhere in Crete). I found my notebook with some blog posts that I wrote while traveling so I’m adding photos and revising and FINALLY posting them.
Nothing like cruising along the coastline of the southern Mediterranean on a ferryboat listening to old 80’s classics playing over the speakers. Rocky cliffs on one side, endless blue water on the other, and Billy Idol’s White Wedding in my ears.
Our last day of touring on this wing and a prayer vacation. Tomorrow we head back north, stopping at a few places along the way before ending at the base for the last night with my safety reservation in case the plane schedule shifted. (And hallelujah it did! An extra day in Crete!)
Today Josh and the boys are going to hike the longest gorge in Europe — Samaria Gorge, but not all 18k of it. Typically people will catch a very early bus in the morning (6 or 7am), arrive at the top of the gorge by 9 am and spend about 6 hours hiking down it. Then, because there is no car access, everyone waits at the bottom, on the coast, for the ferry to shuttle people back to civilization at the end of the day.
We are doing the hike the “lazy way,” starting at the bottom. (That’s actually how it’s referred to on Trip Advisor.) Wake up at 8am, catch the 9am ferry, walk up the gorge as far as they want and then hike down and take the ferry home. Meanwhile, Meels and I are doing it the truly lazy way as we camp out on the beach for the day under an umbrella, drinking fresh juice and reading a book. It’s my gift to all of us because as much as I’d like to hike and see the gorge and Camille is a surprisingly nimble hiker, she is unpredictable in her stamina.This way the boys can go as fast as they want and cover more ground and the only tears will be about whether she can have another fresh squeezed orange juice with her lunch.
It’s lovely sitting on the top deck of the ferry — only the slightest breeze in my hair, listening to the rumble of the engine below. It’s ironic since an hour ago my stomach was in knots and I was planning potential escape routes in case the boat started to sink. That wasn’t an actual fear, but figuring out all the “what ifs” keeps my brain busy and distracts it from focusing on the idea that I’m trapped on public transportation with no way out. Just residual issues that I will have to work at for life. I think it must be a bit like being an alcoholic — totally better and functioning fine, but the potential to crack is always there. Of course as soon as we backed away from the dock I was fine because it changed from “can I do this?” to “I’m actually doing this and it’s no big deal.” My brain is a devilish thing, always looking for a way out until the last second when it resigns itself to the fact that I’m not going to fall for its tricks this time. I’m glad I didn’t let it win.
