The owner of the apartments where I stayed in Chania was keen to sell me some tours. I decided to take two.
The first was a trip to Gramvousa Island and the Balos Lagoon which are off the north west coast of the island of Crete. Apparently the Balos Lagoon has “the most beautiful beach in Crete and possibly, all of Greece”.
Lots of Pick-ups
I was told the place where I would be picked up by a bus in the morning. There were only two other people on the bus when it arrived. As we made own way through the town on Chania we made more stops at various hotels. It seemed that there were only one or two people to be picked up at each place. Also, given that network of one way streets, we seemed to be going around and around in circles.
After about an hour we final made our way along the coast to the west on Chania. We made a few more stoops to pick up people before arriving at the town of Kostelli.
Ferry Ride
About half the passenger piled off the bus and headed to a ferry that was “due to leave in about an hour”. The other half were going on another tour.
Finally, the ferry left the port. As we made our way along the coast, the person giving a commentary explained that this part of the island experienced a major earthquake that had tilted the land quite dramatically.
Balos Lagoon
It wasn’t long before we rounded the peninsular that points north from Kostelli and headed west to towards the island of Gramvousa. We passed south of the island and headed into the famous Balos lagoon.
I must admit, that the colour of the water is amazing. Without my camera, I was left to use my phone to take the photos. Even with the phone photos, you can get an idea of the vivid colours.
The ferry boat moored inside the lagoon.
Small, boats took us on the shore.
The beach is not great as for as beaches go. The sand is a bit grey. There is shallow lagoon on an isthmus between the mainland and a rocky outcrop.
Big Climb
I walked around the shallow lagoon and up the rock path that leads up the mainland. The views are amazing. The contrasting colours in the water and the shallow lagoon are very spectacular.
It is quite a climb to the top of the hill. I checked my Fitbit. It told me that I had done 99 floors.
Russian Invasion
As returned to the beach, I noticed a large ferry boat approaching the isthmus on the other side of the lagoon. It was able to travel ride up the beach. Clearly the water is much deeper on that side.
As I walked along, passengers from the ferry boast came towards me. They seemed to all be Russians. It was a serious Russian invasion.
Boat Breaks Down
I headed to the point of the beach were we had been deposited by the small boats. They had started the shuttle service taking the passengers back to the ferry boat.
One of the small boats had just left the shore and was heading to the ferry boat. The motor was making a very strange noise. Suddenly, the noise stopped. So did the boat.
A French bloke standing next to me said: “I think they have a problem”. A German couple who also nearby chatted about something being “kaput”.
I think “kaput’ is so descriptive.
As it turned out, the motor was really ‘kaput’ and the broken down boat had to be towed back to the ferry by the other small boat.
Across to Gramvousa
There was bit of a delay getting the all passengers back on the ferry boat. Once everyone was aboard we headed across to Gramvousa.
The main point of interest on the island is the ruin of an old fort. The fort has a long history, being built, captured and destroyed, rebuilt and captured again, over the centuries .
During Ottoman occupation of Greece it had be used by a group of Cretans who survived by being pirates.
In 1828, the Ottoman Governor of Greece, sent a force with British and French ships to Crete to deal with the pirates. This expedition resulted in the destruction of all pirate ships at Gramvousa and the fort came under British control.
Another Climb
It is a big climb from the jetty up to the fort.
The views back to the mainland of Crete are spectacular.
Flickr Photos
https://www.flickr.com/gp/twwilko_photos/9W244f
Flickr Videos
About Gramvousa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gramvousa
billrider2013 