Eight Feet and Two Weeks On Crete Part One By Steve Rudd

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While I might be a massive fan of Michael Palin's epic travels, and while I do aspire to follow him in many of his footsteps, up until now I've only ever been abroad three times. The first time was in 2000, when I was lucky enough to accompany a work colleague for a month in Nepal. The second time was for a holiday with some friends, last year, to the gorgeous Greek island of Zante - or Zakynthos, as it is sometimes also known. The third time - from which I am still recovering at the time of writing - was during June 2005, when I visited the largest of the Greek islands - Crete.

Again, I had gone with three friends for what was essentially a typical 'lads holiday.' Yet, as soon as we got to where we were to stay, all four of us realised that it wasn't going to be quite the holiday we had had in mind. You could say that the travel agent who enthusiastically helped us book our holiday here in the UK had misinformed us to a large extent. The 'big city' of Rethymno was a 90 minute walk (along the main road) from our apartments, and not the pleasant 10-minute stroll as she had promised.

If we wanted to get into the city we would have to endure the rigmarole of catching taxis to and fro, without the fun luxury of staggering 'back home' after our nights out on our own half-broken backs.

Lucky for us, we soon discovered that we didn't need drunken nights out to enjoy ourselves. The family-run apartments - Camari Gardens, nestling at the foot of Gerani village - proved to be perfect accommodation. Complete with a couple of well-located pools and a fabulous bar and restaurant area that was situated at the very heart of the apartment blocks, and which served some truly wonderful meals. Sun-worshippers can't complain at Crete's favourable weather, so time spent sunbathing is a common pastime for many holiday-makers who visit.

Still, if you've made the effort to travel some 2000 miles around the world, it's rude not to get out and about to see the place, meet the locals and immerse yourself in the prevailing culture.

We soon got into the habit of having a fried breakfast each at the apartments every morning, before heading up the hill and into the beautifully sprawling village of Gerani, which was blessed with between six and ten traditional Greek tavernas. The laid-back Greek lifestyle (along with the warm weather) necessitates that, if you have a job there, you work for three or four hours in the morning (say, from eight am until mid-day), before 'retiring' during the warmest part of the day.

Continued ... next page

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