And we arrived at the home of the Minotaur one late evening on a ferry from Santorini. Beautiful sunset too but not as stunning as the one in Oia.



Heraklion Port in the evening (Koules fortress in the background). Went for dinner at the hotel, buffet style, which was quite a change from the usual taverna dinners.


The Palace of Minos, Knossos.





A trip to Crete would not be complete without a tour to Minos' palace is Knossos. Even though they are just ruins now, it was one of the greatest palaces back then.
If you are familiar with Greek mythology, this palace was where Theseus and the Minatour fought.



Random sunflower from our day-tour leader. Kinda cute heh.





It's amazing how some places were preserved and restored, not torn down and demolished like some countries (cough). This is truly a valuable site for archaeologists and historians alike, not to mention Greek myth lovers and tourists
The grounds are magnificent but at the same time, the sun was scorching hot and there was not much shelter there so we were quite happy when it was time to leave (sorry Minos!).

Take note though, it is forbidden to step on the ruins (of course you could step on the stairs) as you may cause some serious damage. Maybe reawaken Gaia just like in Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus. LOL P.S. That's still my fav Greek mythology fiction though.


Heraklion



Heraklion, the capital of Crete, is also the largest town there. There are quite a number of fashion boutiques and museums there. Shopping turned out to be on the top of the list for those in our small group. Oops.



Fountains from the Venetian era could be found in Heraklion, including the Morosini Fountain at Lions Square.





After a quick shopping trip, we went on the bus again. We skipped the historical part of Heraklion due to the tight schedule.



The clouds were pretty that day.


Arolithos





Arolithos is a traditional Cretan village which is privately owned, which allows tourists to experience the ways of the civilisation.





The village is filled with pastel colours and lots of flowers. I felt like I was somewhere far from the city and crowds even though Heraklion is just 11km away.



There weren't too many people around and it was a beautiful place to have lunch and some local Greek coffee with loukoumades (Greek doughnuts with honey). Ooh, my Greek improved a little. I managed to get the spelling right on my first try! Yay!



Bug and daisies. If only I could get macro lenses..



This colourful little village is definitely worth a visit, it's awesome for photos too!


Rethymno



Rethymno is quite the old town. There are traditional buildings, ports, churches but there are also hotels and beaches there. We did not have enough time to explore the whole town so... shopping time again.







The corner houses are often unique in Rethymno. The top floor of the corner houses are usually designed to stand out from the others, giving it a distinguished look.



We happened to bump into a wedding celebration while walking through the old town. OPA! (an expression used in Greek celebrations and stuff)



Ending the post with an obsession towards Pokemon (technically it's a pokeball but meh).

Crete is a nice place to spend a few nights in but unfortunately we only spent two nights there and only a day of exploring. Oh well. Many more places to visit!

Last post of Greece coming up soon (I have no idea how soon, to be honest. Will be a little busy for the next few weeks).

Here are the links to the previous posts on Greece if you've missed out any of them:
Breathtaking Santorini, Greece - Red Beach, Pyrgos, Kamari, Koutsoyannopoulos, Fira
Oia - The postcard of Santorini
A Trip to Mykonos, Greece

I suppose it's wise to separate the Santorini trip into two posts as there are just too many photos. Oops.





The first thing that I noticed when the ferry from Mykonos boarded at Thira, one of the ports in Santorini, was the view. Not every building is as white as those of Mykonos'. However, I've had high expectations for Santorini as it is rumoured to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.
I guess I deserved as much for not doing research for this trip. Turns out that the postcard photos are all taken at Oia, the northern part of Santorini island (which I will be covering in part 2 of Santorini). Well, some other places in Santorini are worth visiting too, really.



Cliffside view from the bus.





There are a few spots for panoramic views of the caldera on the way from our hotel to our first stop for the day tour which are just spectacular! We decided to stop the bus and take some photos.

I'll sort the photos by towns / tourist destinations then.


Red Beach, Akrotiri







So.. what makes it the Red Beach?



Red rocks, of course! It's actually far from a beach. Again, blaming myself for not doing much research.. I wore sandals there and it was the worst choice I made that day. Ugh.







Nevertheless, the water was a beautiful turquoise under the hot sun, contrasting with the red rocks. There weren't too many tourists around in May and it was not too packed. I couldn't say the same for peak seasons though.


Pyrgos



The beautiful town of Pyrgos requires a little bit of a climb to get to the top..



Okay then, stairs it is.



Up some more stairs..



And MORE stairs..



Turn a right for a donkey ride (no rides for us, unfortunately.. even though Santorini is quite famous for the donkeys).



Down the hobbit hole we go..



Up the stairs into someone else's house..



Seems like we've made it after all! You can see most tiny specks of houses from up top.


Kamari Black Beach



I decided to share the above photo cause it's pretty. LOL





Here we are, at another beach. Me and my perfectly paired sandals were so happy when I saw that this beach is not made up of huge rocks but small pebbles instead. So I tried walking on the beach barefooted.



Welp. Bad decision. The stones were scorching hot! I stopped long enough for some photos and it was back to trusty ol' sandals.





Great place to sunbathe though. I'm not that much of a sunbathing person as I get enough sun back here in Malaysia. Heh.


Koutsoyannopoulos Wine Museum


After the beach, it was time for some wine tasting at a wine museum that I couldn't pronounce. Somehow European accents are kinda intriguing. And pleasant to my ears, even though I can't make out what they're saying.











They handed out a handheld device (something around the size and appearance of a Nokia 3310) to every one of us. We just have to press the numbers written on the exhibit to find out more about the said exhibit. About wine-making, of course.



And the photo above cause it's pretty. We tasted a few bottles of wine and.. I'm not that person you would ask out for a drink.


Fira



Fira is the capital of Santorini and an awesome town. The items there are not too pricey, and you get decent good food there. Of course, let's not forget the beautiful Aegean Sea!



You could get a wide range of items there, from accessories, to souvenirs, to clothings, and even shoes and bags!







You could shop all day, or just relax and watch the deep blue sea from Fira if you are not afraid of the heat.



"Save water, drink wine"
Thumbs up for creativity.

Part 2 of Santorini coming up within a week. Been busy with school stuff though. And being lazy.