(written on Monday evening)
Morning, all. The very last morning at the Mistral Hotel in Maleme, Crete, has dawned. We leave at eleven, Chania bound, for the airport and then Gatwick.
There's one more outing to tell you about and that was our visit to the Botanical Garden of Crete. They are around 18km outside Chania, at the foot of the White Mountains, so called because they are snow topped for most of the year.
Not the best photo, taken through the coach window, but you get the idea.
It is such a very lovely place. There's a 'Centre' with maps, a shop, food, loos, etc, and then there are the walks. For a while the route is shared and then they split into a longer and a shorter walk. The going isn't easy. It is hilly, rocky, uneven and, at times, just a little bit scary, especially if one has any mobility issues. Some of our group decided not to walk but to enjoy the views and chat from the café. The rest of us did the shorter walk and felt very proud of ourselves.
I took some photos, of course, and, for once, my camera behaved itself. Nevertheless, its days are numbered.
After a devastating wild fire (see the links for info), involving the destruction of so many olive trees, etc, Nature took over and things started growing again. Most of the area was cleared but dotted around are some of the burnt tree stumps that were left as a sort of memorial.
Plenty of great views.
I didn't photo plant info but there were loads of boards with names, descriptions, etc.
I'd like this in my garden!
No idea what this is but it was so vivid. The photo doesn't do it justice.
Dotted around were remnants of old buildings, art work and newer constructions to support wildlife.
Some lovely inspirational quotes on marble slabs.
What's left of an old dwelling.
Plenty of insects, butterflies, birds, etc, and I spotted this tiny lizard sunning itself.
Crete is famous for its citrus fruit and I would dearly have loved to pull an orange from the tree but we had been told not to.
At lunch, dessert was chilled sliced oranges from their trees and, honestly, I have never tasted an orange quite so sweet and juicy before. It was delicious.
There were different microclimates and, truly, at one point we could have been in an English country garden.
This was a cooling station. Just before the end, after quite a steep climb, we came across this. You sit on the bench, press a button, and get misted with cold water. Not enough to get wet, just enough to refresh and cool down. Perfect.
And, finally, right at the end, an amphitheatre. It gave us a very welcome sit down to chat about the garden and the whole holiday.
That was the last excursion.
Come the evening we had the last cocktail, the last dinner (their own version of moussaka is to die for) and some Cretan music and dancing.
Now it is bedtime!
I'm now typing this early Tuesday morning (even earlier for you in the UK as we're two hours ahead here). I'm pretty much packed with just last minute things to do, breakfast starts at eight, luggage outside our rooms at half ten and the coach arrived for departure from the hotel at eleven.
Thanks for following me on this holiday. It's been an absolute blast, the experience of a lifetime. The One Traveller group has been so lovely - everyone seems to have got on well and Heather and Marcela, the tour managers, have been the best.
But real life must resume. I'm taking tomorrow to ground myself and get things back to normal and then I will pick up everyday life again!
See you tomorrow, back in the good old UK!! xx
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