Our stay in Crete has been action packed... a veritable whirlwind of activity... well, actually a gale rather than a whirlwind.
We became aware of the wind before we landed in Crete. The flight was rough. The plane had to circle the airfield waiting for the wind to ease. There was an announcement that the pilot would circle one more time before abandoning the landing and returning to Athens. On this last approach, the pilot thought the odds were OK. He landed with the wind and in order to maintain control had to make the descent at high speed. We hit the tarmac, bounced and applied the air brakes in dramatic fashion. It was a smaller plane (767) so there was plenty of tarmac to spare.
We next became aware of the wind that night. Our apartment at Agia Palagia was high on the slope overlooking the town. That night, the wind whistled around the hills a made a frightful noise. Our apartment had wooden louvered windows that couldn't be firmly fastened... so they rattled in the wind. The windows were not fitted to the frame very well. For the first night, the wind banged the windows making noise that kept us awake. We quickly found a way to stuff toilet paper in the cracks to stop the banging.
We decided to take the ferry to Santorini and not a plane flight. Sea transport would remove the risk of interruption from wind... or so we thought! Our scheduled departure from Crete was at 5 pm. Upon arriving at the ferry terminal we noticed our ship was not dockside. We were told that the wind had delayed its arrival... we could be delayed by a couple of hours. We settled down to wait... but still no ferry. The attendant at the terminal went home at 10 PM, some 5 hours after the due departure time. An hour later, the ferry arrived and we climbed on board. The ship was not very full, so we found a comfortable corner of the lounge to settle into for the 5 hour voyage.
At 11:30 PM, the captain announced that the wind was too high to attempt the crossing. He turned the engines off and here we stayed until the winds dropped. We see ourselves as experienced Drake Passage veterans... not to be intimidated by any gentle breezes the Mediterranean may blow our way. This is not going to look good on the CV! Kept in port by a Mediterranean breeze. Not good. Not good.
Joye was quick off the mark. She headed for the fast growing queue of lounge lizards at the Purser's office, wanting to upgrade from lounge to cabins. She was behind a school teacher looking after a party of 80 Belgium students... would any cabins remain after their needs were satisfied? Thankfully, there was one spare for us. Next morning, we showered and dressed... ready to go. At 9 AM, the captain announced that winds were still too high. We cursed his lack of courage... this is not the way things are done in the Antarctic! We had a lazy day... morning nap... afternoon quiet time. At 7 PM, some 26 hours after the scheduled departure time, we lifted anchor and cleared Heraklion's Venician Harbour.
Joye and I went to the ship's cafeteria to dine and enjoy the motion of moving after such a long wait. Halfway through the meal, the swaying of the ship became noticeable. By the end of the meal, I was not feeling well. It's difficult for me to tell you this... because I thought I had developed into an Antarctican, a voyager of Drake Passage class. OK... I'll say it... I was sick... seasick! I don't know how it happened... in fact, I'll pretend it never did.
We arrived in Santorini at 3 AM this morning. We found our hotel and have a great room. After all the sleep on the ferry, we were able to put in a full day of sightseeing. I'm not sure I fully understand this place... but more of that for another time.
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