Day 10--Beaches and wine, a great combo

As you probably know by now, my FAVORITE thing for breakfast is freshly squeezed orange juice. So what did I find at the hotel breakfast area? A juicing machine to beat all juicing machines! Toss in 2-3 oranges, and you get a great juice. Delicious. 

But I ate my favorite breakfast of Greek yogurt, muesli, and honey. There’s no better way to start the day!

On to Elefonissi beach for a fantastic few hours in the blue blue water. Anna says it’s one of the seven top beaches in the world, and we loved the sand, floating, and simply relaxing in the intense sun. I relished the melody of many languages and the tapestry of myriad colors and body types. Again, checked things out and our group of 7 gals had 5 of the 6 ONE-piece suits on the beach. Time for a tankini, at least.  Sense a "beach culture" that differs so from my water experience.  Long days on the beach with blankets/mats, people of all colors/languages, and activities like kite flying, wind surfing, and snorkeling.  No one cares what you look like, but perhaps yourself.  It's liberating and relaxing.

The two-lane roads to the beach had wide, paved shoulders and those who drove slower, straddled the right lane, allowing others to pass on the left. Occasionally, when the road narrowed, our driver pulled over, allowing others to pass. A nice gesture for those in the fast lane.

As we drove to the beach, it was apparent that Crete is rich in agronomy. It provides fruit and veggies for the remainder of Greece and for Western Europe in general. We saw hot houses as well as orange and lemon trees, fully laden.

I’m beginning to recognize well-groomed olive trees and notice the carefully terraced orchards--field stone used for the walls and fencing. Solar gardens appear in fields or on tiled roof tops and speak to more “green” thinking and attitudes.

After enjoying the beach, we made our way to vineyard number 4, the Manousakis winery, where we tasted wines, and were surprised by a 1200-1500 year old olive tree. Its trunk is gnarled, but the shoots and new growth still provide olives to this day.

As always, as we see evidence of those who've gone before us, they are ever present in our minds.

We returned to Chania and after a bit of “happy hour” by the pool, took a walk by the wharf for dinner. Tried "goat" for the first time, and found it tender and good, though I felt bad eating the poor critter.  Tomorrow off to Zaros for two nights.