29 October, Paleohora, Greece.

I seem to be following the end of the season southward, watching things close and people adjust to the fall and winter as I go. Peleohora is on the South Western coast of Crete, as far south as you can go in Europe, with the exception of one small island about 50 miles south of here. Ferries run there once a week or so, but I don’t intend to go, as there are only about a dozen permanent inhabitants, and a handful of taverns and rooms available, most of which are probably closing up for the season, just like this town. I think as far as timing goes, my original plan of being here in Late September/ early October was right on the money. It’s still really nice, and I am going to be staying here for at least five days, maybe even my full 9 days that I have to play with, but it would be nice if it were a bit more crowded, just to have the opportunity to make some friends, people watch, etc.

This is the last weekend in October, and while my friends in the states probably spent the weekend at Halloween parties, I’ve been working at getting here, and exploring this little town. The ferry from the Greek mainland took about 9 hours, leaving at 9pm at night and getting us into I (once again, can't remember the name, and don't have my books in front of me), the capital of Crete around 6am in the morning. I hiked straight to the bus station and caught a bus to Hania, the other major city on the North coast, and then from there bought a ticket to here. I had about two and a half hours to cruise around that town, and it seemed pretty nice, but after several days in Athens, never really taking a breather and spending any time alone just chilling out, I was interested in getting to a sunny beach, finding a good view and settling down with two good books that I picked up in Athens, Wind Up Bird Chronicles and The Big Sleep (Murakami and Chandler, for those unfamiliar). And that is what I’ve done… despite going to a restaurant that let me look over the food and choose what I wanted last night, because it was the last time they’d be open until the spring, and watching the hotel next door to mine take down their signs and close up for the season, its still a fantastic place to be. Its been very windy the past two days, and not quite warm enough to swim though I did it anyway, and the nights are cool… I’m sitting in an open sided tavern watching the last colors of a gorgeous sunset start to fade (they’ve been fading for the last hour, in fact) and the wind is cold. I have on a t shirt and a long sleeve shirt over it, and its still a little chilly. I’ll last through this beer, I think, then have to retreat to somewhere warmer, or see if my fleece jacket helps any on my balcony.

Sitting here and writing, I was just approached by a scruffy looking man who was curious about why I was working at this time of the evening. Turns out he is a journalist and photographer from France, traveling with a woman from Germany. He was also curious because he saw the apple on my computer, and is a fellow Mac fan, and then ended up asking me about the photo on my desktop, which is the same one that is on the main page of the travel blog, the two statues of the women dancing. It doesn’t really matter who it is, or what you’re doing, its always nice to have people say nice things about your work. I try to resist the urge to open up all my photo files and begin showing a slideshow of my entire trip, but sometimes its difficult (ask Sinead and Alex, who were trapped in a room with me for three days and finally got caught on the second evening). Tonight I resisted.

So this town is pretty small, and has shrunken down in a way that only tourist towns in the winter can shrink. Just walking down the street, caring my computer bag (not even a backpack) I get two or three old men and women a day asking me if I need a room, trying to get one last bit of money in, and then inevitably looking forlorn or getting upset when I say that I already have one. I’d intended to stay in a private place here, saving some money as I did in Croatia, but after walking up and down the beach once, and finding that the hotel prices weren’t too horrible (20 to 35 euros per night) and seeing that no private rooms were going to have nice balconies or views, I decided to splurge a little and spend 30 euros a night on a hotel that had both, as well as a fridge, double bed, and good hot water. I figure its my last two weeks and I’d rather spend an extra $75 over five days and really love where I’m staying as opposed to only being happy with it. I have to say that the balcony alone is worth it. There are some power lines in the view, but once again I didn’t actually notice them until I brought out the camera to take a photo, and once I put the camera away, I haven’t noticed them again. Selective attention is really great, when you start to think about it.

Okay. The beer and the breeze are conspiring to drive me inside now, to try to warm up. I’ll touch base again soon… perhaps in the morning from my balcony.


30 October, 06

Well, this is coming from my balcony, alright, but its the afternoon, rather than the morning, and things have gone south as far as the weather goes. It wasn’t exactly burning hot yesterday, but today has been cloudy and colder, and just a few minutes ago the rain came as well. The few hearty souls who were braving the beach ran away (including me, but because I’d left my shoes and some clothes on my balcony, which I didn’t realize was covered. Not because I’m afraid of a little rain when I’m already wearing my swimming trunks) and now, even though the rain has nearly stopped, it more looks like a beach in Britain than Greece. Or at least what I imagine a beach in Britain to look like