July 2 – Day 5
One of the other places we wanted to visit was Balos Beach. This is the location of the pale green, almost crystal waters you’ve seen in all the adverts. It was also someplace Rasa’s friend had been to last year when she visited Crete. The only problem seemed to be it was down another long slope from a high mountain parking area. Since we’d just done this, we wondered if maybe there was another way.
There was. You could get there by boat from the harbor at Kissamos, which itself was almost as far west as you could drive on that northern highway. So, the night before, standing on one leg and pointing an arm at the north star in order to get the resort’s Wi-Fi to actually connect, we booked tickets for the 45-minute ferry ride.
If you’ve been paying attention, you know this was going to raise another issue – Monki gets severe motion sickness. But, as they say, forewarned is forearmed, so we were ready. By the time we’d driven the couple of hours to get there and checked in, we hit the little general store at the port for some salty crackers and an ice cream. Monki also had the acupressure bands my folks had brought last time and Rasa had sick bags in her purse. We were good to go.
Getting on the boat, we immediately made our way to the outside upper deck. The diesel smell was strong, but it was okay. The boat headed out and all was good. We were laughing and having a good time.
Then the boat turned out of the protected harbor and the wind, which had been bad, immediately kicked up a notch and the waves started in force. The sound system on the boat was playing the Mamma Mia! soundtrack (we were on a Greek Island after all) and we all sang along. Then Monki started feeling poorly.
Rasa grabbed a bag and held it for Monki, even while the boat itself was lurching up and down, water spraying all over us. Monki, knowing the drill, did get a little sick, but to her credit, launched it directly into the bag.
Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Rasa.
With Monki under control, Rasa realized she was next and dove for the railing to try and get her own sick over the side – which she did. However, that wind and the rocking of the boat conspired against her and the first volley got caught and sent backwards into the boat itself. Rasa got herself under control and was able to project downwards for the next round, but that was when we figured we needed to get out of that area.
I carried Monki down the stairs and towards the bathroom, completely losing sight of Rasa in the moment. Monki vomited a few more times into the trash can while I stood nearby, calming her down. Eventually, Rasa also made her way down to the lower deck and found herself a stall where she remained for the rest of the ride to the beach itself.
Once the boat docked, Rasa reemerged, and we all gingerly made our way across the gangway to the rocky coastline. I was a little surprised by this until I realized the actual beach was a short hike away. We made our way over, knowing we had about 4 hours until the boat returned to take us back. We could worry about that later – for now, back on dry land, everyone’s stomach settled, and we were ready to enjoy the rest of the afternoon.
We rented a couple of deck chairs and an umbrella as a base of operations, then headed out into the water. Monki had her snorkel ready and in the relatively calm and clear water, she dove down repeatedly to collect shells from the bottom of the ocean, while I kept surface watch. Rasa, at this time, was exploring the other side of the lagoon, and we soon went and joined her. The area certainly lived up to its reputation. Despite the horrific wind, it was a beautiful experience.
Across the bay, we also saw the route we would have taken had we decided to walk down. Even with the rough ride, we were all glad we had taken the boat instead.
Speaking of the boat, as it started to get closer to pick up time, we gathered up our stuff and headed back to the makeshift dock. When our boat got there, it had a hard time docking due to those strong winds. Took them three attempts to finally get the boat secured enough to allow us to board. We arranged it so we could be in the first wave to get on and Rasa immediately disappeared into the toilets, while Monki and I sat on the benches just outside, in case she needed the trash can again. I did grab us some convenience store food from the canteen, to try and get something down before the return trip started.
As it turned it, even though she felt poorly, Monki did not get sick on the return. Rasa…was not so lucky. As for me, I didn’t get sick, which was kind of odd, since I tend to be prone to motion sickness myself. Then again, before I had a kid, I had a horrible gag reflex whenever I was around anyone who got sick like that. Nowadays, I tend to take it somewhat in stride. I knew I couldn’t get sick on the boat because I needed to take care of Monki. That was it.
And again, once the boat docked and we made it back to the car, Rasa was fine. By this point, it was almost 7pm and we had an almost 2-hour drive ahead of us. We figured it was better to try and get back in time to have what passed for dinner at the resort than try and find a place along the drive back (The devil you know kinda thing) so it was just a straight drive home.
A side note about the roads in Crete: The speed limits are psycho. You can literally go from 130 to 70 in the blink of an eye. There are places where you think it would be 80 or 90 but the posted signs say 40, until they don’t and all of a sudden you see a sign telling you it’s the end of a 60 limit but you never saw that one starting. It was a slightly annoying sense of amusement and made us laugh while we drove.
Until the sun started going down.
Rasa and I were both wearing sunglasses and our regular specs were in the trunk, so by the time we made it to the narrow roads back up to the resort, we looked like The Blues Brothers.
July 3 – Day 6
When we were on the boat ride from hell the day before, we had promised Monki, as a way to make her feel better and give her something positive to look forward to, that on Thursday we would take her to be a mermaid.
We had discovered the mermaid experience when we were on Crete last year, but for some reason, we didn’t do it. The whole idea is that you go to a pool with a “trainer,” you get a mermaid tail to wear, and they teach you how to use it. That’s it. But it was something Monki really wanted to do, and it was something we wanted for her. We figured we could do it on Thursday since it was a bit of a drive, and then we could also go back to see the Palace of Knossos.
Except as I was looking things up on Wednesday night (using roaming since the Wi-Fi was, again, non-existent), I discovered the Mermaid Dreams experience was closed on Thursday. We explained to Monki what the deal was and decided to head down to Hersonissos anyway, but instead of mermaids this day, we’d revisit Aquaworld, the really cool place where one could pet lizards and hold snakes and see octopi. We’d been there on our last visit, and the shirt we’d gotten was getting a little small, so if nothing else, we needed a bigger one.
All of this was the plan. But first, breakfast. Naturally, in keeping with the 5-star quality of our resort, the power went out while we were eating. The gas was still on, so I could get my omelet, but no coffee machine or fresh squeezed orange juice, or anything refrigerated…
We threw down whatever food we could and headed out.
Rasa dropped us off outside Aquaworld, since even though they’d only been open for about 45 minutes by the time we got there, there was still a long line outside. Same as last year. It took Rasa a little while to find a parking spot, so by the time she made her way back to Monki and I, it was almost time for us to go in. Perfect.
The place was just as much fun as last year. We all had a great time, holding the reptiles and talking with Joe, a guy who’s worked there for seven years and loves to talk. Monki did indeed get her new shirt, as well as a stuffed animal rattle snake she named Raya. After spending an hour or so there, it was lunchtime. Rasa didn’t want to move the car so she suggested we try and find a place on the main street.
We did.
It was a nice, family-owned pizza place with a counter where they prepared the dough. Monki really liked watching them make our pizza and put it into the wood-burning oven. She even tried to carry it back to our table herself (it was too hot, so I did it). After lunch, we visited the souvenir shop next door (which also seemed to be owned by the same people) and in addition to buying some stuff, Monki got to taste some local honey.
From there, we did get to the Palace of Knossos. I downloaded the app and acted as tour guide. Rasa was interested but Monki was bored. And it was hot and windy, so while we did see everything, we didn’t linger. We made a brief stop at the gift shop (Monki got a slushie and, appropriately, a book of mazes) before heading back to the hotel for another round of swimming. Honestly, this kid would spend all day in the pool if we let her.
At dinner time, I was once again derided for not wearing long pants and the power was back on…however, now there were holes cut into the ceiling where it had been leaking all week. Now, I understand needing to make repairs from time to time, but here, the holes were left open. No plastic covering to make sure nothing fell to the floor or onto the nearby food. Just disgusting, really.
July 4 – Day 7
Friday was our last full day in Crete. And today was Mermaid Day! We drove back to Hersonissos and made our way to Star Beach, which was in the shadow of the much superior resort we stayed in last year. We knew the Mermaid Dreams site was near the kid pool but when we got there, we couldn’t find it. So we asked at the dive center and the guy there literally walked us around the corner where we discovered a kid pool area we’d never seen before. There were slides and fountains and all sorts of stuff for little ones and it was all open to the public for free. I wish we’d known about it last year.
Anyway, we found the table where the mermaids were and got Monki set up. The whole deal was €15 for a 20-minute swim lesson and then an extra €25 if you wanted to rent the tail for an extra hour or so. You could also buy your own tail for €60, but we couldn’t really justify that, since we don’t have a pool. The other thing was that for the lesson, they were only allowed to swim with you in the pool, but if you rented the tail, you could go to the beach (a three-minute walk away) and take pictures and swim there. So that’s what we did.
The lessons were conducted by a Spanish university student named Luna who was spending her summer on a Greek Island teaching little kids how to use a tail. Not bad work if you can get it. She got Monki situated, and I jumped into the water to take pictures and video. Of course, I though the water was a bit shallower than it was and hadn’t bothered to get into my swimsuit, so I was wandering the pool in my shorts.
Monki took to the tail like… well, like a fish to water. She really was good at it. After the requisite twenty minutes, Luna pronounced Monki a mermaid and went back to the desk to teach the next kid and we spent a little time swimming. We were approached by a young woman who was also wearing shorts in the pool, but she had a camera and was supposed to be there. Turns out she was taking pictures of the kids swimming and then, before you left, you could swing by the photo shop and see if you wanted to buy any. No obligation, of course. You know the drill. With us, she ended up doing an impromptu photo session, taking lots of pictures of Monki and her tail.
When she was done, we took Monki down to the beach and took our own photos there, with our little mermaid sitting on the rocks and playing in the surf. Then it was back to the pool to swim some more with the tail.
All in all, Monki had a brilliant time. The experience did not disappoint*. Even once we returned the rented tail, she still wanted to stay and play in the pool for a while, so we did.
As it got close to lunch time, we gathered our stuff and headed back to the car, stopping at that photo shop to take a look at the pictures the professional had taken. There were some good ones there, so we decided we’d buy a couple. At which point the guy working made us an offer to get all the pictures digitally for a really great price, so we did. I firmly believe this experience will be a core memory for Monki, these pictures will be on her desk in her future dorm room and beyond.
Since we were already in Hersonissos, we had lunch at the same pizza place we’d been to the day before. And we bought more stuff at the souvenir shop. Two days and we were loyal customers.
From there, we weren’t sure what to do next, so after a brief discussion, we decided to head over to Bali, the little seaside village at the base of the hill where our resort was. This is where the beach was that we went to on our first day. Besides, Rasa wanted a banana split for dessert and we figured we might be able to find one there.
We parked in a different area, heading to a different cove than the one we’d gone to originally, and sure enough, we found a place right on the beach serving banana splits. We ordered one, as well as a couple of fruit smoothies and enjoyed them while watching the waves roll in. I will so, though, that I think the banana split is not well known in Greece. The version we had here included banana ice cream, banana syrup, and a single, decidedly unsplit banana. It was still good, but just a little weird. The smoothies were also very good.
With our bellies full, we headed back to the resort where we cleaned out the car in preparation for its return the following morning and then we once again headed for the pool. Monki’s skills had been increasing all week and today was no different. Today she learned how to do a flip in the water.
I should also say that the water level in the pool was back up today, having been lowered by a good 6 inches (15cm) the last few days. We joked that they were going to send us a bill since Monki had swallowed so much water. In addition to lowered levels, the pool areas were also pretty filthy, appearing to never really be cleaned.
Before dinner, we headed to the lobby to drop off our car keys, see about getting a late checkout the next day, and arrange for transportation down the mountain to where the bus would pick us up to take us back to the airport. Joseph, the guy who tried to make us stay in the shitty, bug filled room, was there. He took the keys and disinterestedly told us we needed to come back in the morning to arrange the rest with Regina, the manager. We also asked him about Monki’s missing sweater. A few days earlier, Monki lost her sweater during the evening’s entertainment. Without even looking, he said no one had turned anything in and we should check with the bar, which we had already done.
Honestly, there was nothing about this place that was warm or inviting. Except maybe the several cats lounging about, begging food from the guests.
* so much so we’ve ordered her a tail (at half the price) from an online shop so she can take it to the local pools as well as play mermaid in the house).
July 5 – Day 8
We got up and had breakfast and then headed to the lobby to talk to Regina. Weirdly, whenever we approached her at her desk, another woman would stand and intercept us. Again, very off-putting. We asked about late check out and transport down the hill and were offered to stay in the room until 3pm for an extra €45, plus another €5 to go down and get dropped off for our bus. We paid it, because we had no choice, but even here, the last dealings we would have with them, left a bad taste as we had not only paid for hotel transfers, but why they were charging for something they did for free when they got us just seemed absurd. The whole thing left me feeling a bit anxious since they could easily screw us and make us late for our scheduled airport run and I just didn’t trust them.
But anyway, we paid and went back to pack up. Since we’d be flying later, we didn’t want to worry about wet clothes, so we decided to just hang out in the bar/game room area and play and read and do whatever until it was time to go. This was when Rasa pointed out to me that the sprite I’d ordered for her at the bar was mostly water. There really was nothing good here.
Since our bus was supposed to pick us up at 4, the shuttle driver came to our room at 3:45 to get us (yes, they did grant us a bonus 45 minutes in the room) and take us down the hill. We were dropped off and Monki wanted to run across the street and get a picture of the “Welcome to Bali” sign but as we started to go for it, our bus turned the corner. We ran anyway and snapped off a couple of quick pictures and made it back in time to load our luggage.
Getting on the bus, the first two rows had reserved signs on the seats and nothing but single seats in the rest of the vehicle. I didn’t mind sitting on my own, but Monki and Rasa needed to sit together. The driver then realized we were the last pick-up and removed the reserved signs so we could sit up front.
As the bus got on the highway, the shocks were shot and the huge thing bounced around, making all of us feel slightly ill. When Rasa pulled a sick bag out, just in case, the driver interrupted the phone call he was on to admonish us that there was no eating on the bus. I explained what it was, and he just nodded.
Gratefully, Monki didn’t get sick and we made it to the airport without further incident. There, though, once again the Heraklion airport proves to be one of the most disorganized airports ever. There are almost no places to sit and no line demarcation barriers. We did manage to snag a couple of slices of pizza before they announced our check in counter, which we ran to and still ended up in the back of a line with people who were either in the wrong place or didn’t want to wait their turn.
The rest of the time in the airport was fairly standard. Except for the .90¢ bottle of water (which was a really good price) we didn’t have to wait long to get on our plane and head back north. Monki, despite her ears not popping and a few close calls, did not get sick. I’m not saying she’s outgrown it, but she did great.
We landed, and once again, Monki spotted our bags and was able to pull them off the conveyor belt herself. She even wheeled it all the way back to the car (“I’m going to be an adult soon and need to know how to do this.”). After a quick stop at McDonald’s in Vilnius to get some late dinner, we were finally on the road home.
We made it to bed around 1am… another successful summer trip in the books.
Getting the Hang of Thursdays 
Nice i hope you guys had fun.