Sadly, our journey is soon coming to an end. I have to say that these 4 weeks went by even faster than I thought. In order to make the best out of our trip, we decided to visit the most significant places that Crete has to offer.
On Monday, we took the bus to Knossos palace, which is one of the most interesting historical monuments on the island. It felt fascinating to see the rests of a once major center of the Minoan civilization. What I especially liked was that the entrance to the palace was completely free for European citizens below 25. Although it was hot as always, the four of us managed to walk around the building and take some quite great photos.
Apart from that, one of my highlights was the quad safari we took on Thursday. Since I STILL don’t have a driving license, I let Maria take control on the quad and just enjoyed the view on the back seat. First we drove to a ghost town where we could take a break to take photos and explore the abandoned houses. Allegedly two houses there serve as an Airbnb, which I think is insane. Later we drove down to the beach where we watched the sun go down. It was a real mood.
On our last day we chose to go on a tour to Spinalonga. This island was the home to the people suffering from leprosy. Even though I have never taken much interest in history, I can honestly say that this island’s history really blew me away. It was heartbreaking to hear what the people here had to go through. They built their own church, their own houses and even their own hospital. There was also a special machine the new habitants had to put their clothes into, as everyone there was suffering from the same illness and had infectious clothing. After Spinalonga our boat took us to a smaller beach where we were able to swim for a bit. Additionally, they served us BBQ with Fanta or white wine which was pretty delicious. All in all, it was an amazing day full of interesting historical facts.
I feel fortunate that I have had the opportunity to spend time on Crete. Being away from the usual environment and discovering the unknown is something that is important, in my opinion. You learn how to live together with people that are not your family, you face new difficulties in a different atmosphere and learn to solve problems on your own. This month proved to me that I can do anything on my own. Still, it is better to make memories with the people who are important to you and I am happy to say that we managed to make many.
