Chania is an enchanting welcome to this legendary Greek island. Waterfront restaurants spill out onto the gorgeous 14th-century Venetian harbour, which hums with clinking coffee cups and laidback chatter during sunny afternoons. Chania is Crete’s second largest, and undoubtedly its most beautiful, town. The showpiece harbour is a cluster of colourful buildings, guiding you towards the scenic old town -with its narrow cobbled streets. There’s a Turkish touch to some of the architecture, and the dusty domes of an Ottoman-era, former mosque overlook the undulating waterfront. It now serves as a venue for art exhibitions. Wander out across the thin sea walls to the 16th-century lighthouse – a charming hodgepodge of architectural styles, with influences from the major occupations of Crete’s history. . The port area was heaving with holiday crowds when we were there
Jeep Adventure & Winery Visit
We set off for a jeep tour to the Manousakis Winery, aparently one of the most reputable vineyards on the island. winery about 90 minutes from the dock, after our zodiac landing. The jeep was quite uncomfortable but the scenery in the mountains was well worth the discomfort. . Arrive at Manousakis Winery, only recently opened to the public for tours and tastings. The generous stone multi-level home and rolling hills of vineyards place you back in time, part of a family tradition that has been carried on for generations. After a wander through some vines we descended to the attractive vineyard. Here we had the customary tour before sampling 5 basic wines with a good platter of cheese and salami and the most delicious fried potatoes. On this sort of tour to this sort of vineyard, you will never get really good wines, but it is the experience that one hopes to remember
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The return journey was on a decent road. We then wandered through the old town for 30 minutes or so: this was charming although there were far too many tourists. Back aboard by 2pm Chris's very necessary siesta was ended by the announcement of a fire in la Terraza, which was soon put out!. We then sat on the back deck where Chris tried to read, none too successfully. She then had a swim, and read and snoozed in the cabin.
We met up with Yvonne for cocktails in the Panarama lounge and then had dinner with her in the Terraza, sitting outside, quite magical as we sailed along the coast of Crete
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Silver Cloud from Jeddah to Dublin