Rethymnon and not far away
When choosing a place for a summer vacation, what we thought we were sure of was that this vacation would be passive. And my family, either tired of road trips in recent years, or fed up with them, almost unanimously asked: no where to ride! Therefore, the hotel was chosen on an all-inclusive basis. Rethymno Residence review here:
http://www.turpravda.com/gr/retimno/Rethymno_Residence-h38586-r165757 .html
But I think that even the biggest sloth will get tired of the seal rest if you are in a place that is riddled with history, and dug out a couple of stone blocks in skillful hands minds are overgrown with legends and myths. And you will want to get a boost of positive energy from these places.
The proximity of Adele village, where the Rethymnon Residence hotel was located, to Rethymnon, left no choice: we had to go! At least in order to mark on the map the places visited: I was there!
The first trip took place after dinner on about the fifth day of our stay on the island, but by the time the regular bus reached Rethymno, by the time we got our bearings, it was already dusk and the narrow streets of the old city turned into the Labyrinth of the Minotaur.
Of course, the evening embankment, the bay with restaurants passing into each other, the lighthouse were delightful. But in general, the city did not leave the proper impression.
My ladies pampered my tired legs with a fish massage
Therefore, we made the next outing to Rethymno in the afternoon.
By the way, a year ago my son became interested in geocaching.
Wikipedia. "Geocaching (English geocaching from Greek γ ε ο - — Earth + English cache — hiding place) — a tourist game using satellite navigation systems, which consists in finding caches hidden by other participants in the game.
The main idea is that some players hide caches, use GPS to determine their geographic coordinates and report them on the Internet. Other players use these coordinates and their GPS receivers to find caches.
Most often, caches are located in places that are of natural, historical, cultural, geographical interest. Therefore, the game turns into an active cognitive process. "
As a result, a walk around the city turned into a search for hiding places with a parallel sightseeing. /1523777.jpg" style="height: 600px; width: 397px" />
And this time Rethymno opened up to us as a cozy southern town with shops-streets, saturated with the smells of coffee, spices and leather goods.
Sellers are unobtrusive, which also contributes to a smooth movement. Here and there you "stumble" on the echoes of bygone times: style="height: 529px; width: 800px" />
And reflecting modern culture:
The labyrinths of the streets delight with colorful flowers:
The waterfront of Rethymno reminded the towns of the Caribbean during the day:
And the beach, of course, attracts to cool off from the heat
Probably the most popular tourist destination in the city is Fortezza, a Venetian fortification from the 16th century.
Looking from the shore at the massive walls of Fortezza, even now you understand its power and impregnability. What else contributes to the rocky coast.
Beautiful pictures of the surrounding space open up from the walls of the fortress.
We did not plan to go on excursions, and they are mainly associated with a long journey. But I didn't feel like sitting in a hotel either. Therefore, to inspect the immediate surroundings, we took a car from a local rental office. The choice of both rental companies and models is huge, and comes down to the amount you are willing to pay for a car, and, of course, to recommendations. Our Toyota Yaris cost 35 euros / day + gasoline. The pay equivalent decreases as the number of days increases. The car is not new, but clean, well maintained and economical. Which, in fact, is what you need!
Movement on the roads of Crete is calm, relatively informative, and if you have a navigator, it's a fairy tale in general!
I really like mobility, it allows you to turn into the bay you like at any time or take a leisurely walk around some town. What we did with pleasure.
One such place is Georgioupolis. A pleasant little town with a visiting card - the chapel of St. Nicholas, built a hundred meters from the coast.
The path to it lies on wet, uneven stones, which in itself is a real test. And this is especially evident during the rolling waves.
To visit this place, take care of comfortable, non-slip shoes in advance. We witnessed how many, having walked ten meters over the stones, did not return back. If you want to light a candle, bring matches or a lighter. It can be very useful. Or feel like Korben Dallas from The Fifth Element.
At the end of the path, a peaceful place awaits you, especially if you are lucky and there will be no one else besides you.
Georgioupolis is surrounded by beautiful beaches. On the one hand, stretching for 10 km towards Rethymno, a wide sandy beach. But at the time of our visit there was a high wave, so we chose the beach on the other side of the town, located between the rivers Gria Vlychada and Almyros. The springs and water of the rivers flowing here mix with sea water and create an unusual whirlpool of cold and warm currents. The water here is not so salty.
5 km from Georgioupolis is the largest freshwater lake Kournas. It would be foolish not to dip your feet in his water. The road to it winds like a snake among olive groves. You can leave your car in the parking lot at one of the marinas, where you can rent a catamaran. The cost of a quadruple is 12 euros per hour.
There is no beach on the lake as such. Sharp pebbles mixed with pebbles, larger stones come across in the water near the shore. Shoes will be needed again.
There is a cafe on the shore where you can eat or drink freshly squeezed juice or coffee. And if you go up the road, a very beautiful view will open on one of the observation platforms near the cafe. Our short video will best show the beauty of this place.
And finally. Returning from Chania along local roads, about 6 km from Georgioupolis, we noticed a small sign Venetian bridge in the direction of a small chapel. 
We have discovered the creation of human hands, which stood here, it is even difficult to imagine how many centuries.
No wonder they say that Greece has everything!... You just need to search! )
