GRAMVOUSA ISLAND AND BALOS LAGOON
GRAMVUSA ISLAND AND BALOS LAGOON.
Gramvousa Castle and Balos Lagoon.
It needs to be here!
There are many heavenly places on our planet and this is one of them.
A lot has been written about it on the Internet, a lot of photos and notes from tourists - but such a trip simply cannot but leave a mark on the memory!
That is why, if you find yourself in the west of Crete, I wish you to definitely set aside a day of your vacation to travel to this paradise! Indeed, in order to get here from other parts of Crete, tourists spend 3 hours on the road!
We learned about this opportunity not from a hotel guide - ignoring the guides has become a pattern caused by the happy lack of a sense of time on vacation, which we are not proud of, but we are not upset either.
Deciding to see something special on the island, we just went to one of the many points of sale of excursions in Platanias on the street.
The kind manager spoke about the wonderful lagoon, but their buses take tourists there on Thursday, Friday and Saturday - these days we would already look at Crete only in the photo in rainy Ukraine.
We found a way out - we were given detailed instructions on how we can independently get to the westernmost point in the port of Kissamos, without spending an extra 15 euros on a transfer.
Every day at 8:30 in the morning a bus leaves Chania, which, making stops along the entire length of the route, at about 10:00 drops everyone right at the ships. On the Gramvousa-Balos cruise in the port of Kissamos. Upon arrival of the ships around 18:00, a shuttle bus will also be waiting for you at the same place.
Since there is only one bus, we were very worried about missing it and danced under the already hot sun for about 20 minutes, until we were picked up at our stop Pyrgos Psilonerou at 9:00.
Like any other Cretan bus, it turned out to be very comfortable - it's hard to deny yourself the pleasure of sleeping for an hour for spending 4-5 euros on a trance with great music, air conditioning, footrests and reclining seats : ).
The port is quite picturesque and small. You can easily see one-story stalls where they sell tickets for ships. Be sure to take a booklet about the trip - you will get all the necessary information with historical references in it - in fact, you learned the same thing from the guide who bought such a tour from the hotel guide.
A ticket for a huge double-decker ship costs 25 Euros, plus 2 Euros - eco-tax.
The ships depart according to fullness, and since May is not yet the season, we had 40 minutes to explore the ship.
Everything here is created for people - huge benches and tables, spacious bathrooms with air conditioning, a large kitchen with distribution counters, where there are all kinds of drinks and snacks, and a full meal (by the way, prices do not differ from any institution in the city). There is a bar on the second floor.
In general, there is something to do for an hour before the first place of deployment, in addition to observing the incredible landscapes on both sides. In six languages, information is given about the travel schedule, historical facts and behavior on board.
We took fruit with us, but you can buy water on board. As well as Ritsina, an exclusive Cretan wine, the tasting of which, for some reason, we left for this trip. This is worth a try, a white wine for an amateur, infused with pine resin and having an amazingly memorable taste and aroma of a Christmas tree. It is sold in these bottles.
An hour later, already seemingly filled with emotions and memories, we sailed to the island. It is impossible to describe this delight from what he saw!
And the first thing you want to do is to plunge into the azure of this sea, write an SMS to your relatives “I am happy” and leave the ship behind. Apparently, in order to avoid the densely populated island of Fridays - there is no mobile connection at all. For about ten minutes, gasping with open mouths at the views of the fortress from absolutely clear water.
But everyone goes up the stairs to the fortress, and having bathed, and not yet knowing what path awaits us, we hurried after the already sweating and cursing tourists in different languages.
The path under the scorching sun is hard, it is more and more difficult to overcome the similarity of steps made of stones with each meter - the legs slip, the clothes soaked from the swimsuit interfere. Take the minimum amount of things with you and cover yourself from the sun as much as possible.
We climb up among the silent tequila cacti, stones, thorny red bushes ....Everywhere there are traces of Kri-Kri, but the goats themselves have not been found.
This effort is worth it! Feeling of harmony, fullness of peace, tranquility and complete silence. I remember the only thought in my head, "It was here before me and will be here after me. "
The island of the god of winds did not please even with a light breeze. The air just stood still.
You can learn about the history of the fortress from a guide, in a booklet or on the Internet - I will not repeat it.
We were given an hour and a half to climb the plateau, walk on the Venetian fortress top, go down and swim a little. Do not try to stay in the water longer - an unforgettable swim in the Balos lagoon is ahead in 15 minutes. There was enough time for everything. The ship honked 3 times - everyone aboard. Balos Lagoons.
And here it is - bliss! You have to be here to feel the full range of those emotions!
Balos Lagoon is a place of hearts: a mass of stones stick out in the white sand in the shape of a heart, and grateful tourists draw declarations of love to Crete in all languages - leave a piece of your love here too.
Nothing to say about water. It is so transparent that you can see starfish and all kinds of shells.
The depth is completely incomprehensible - go with caution.
And on the other side of the lagoon - ankle-deep warm and gentle water from the tide.
About two hours, forgetting about everything in the world - bastard and enjoy this world in order to return to the ship filled with joy.
