Enter Hania, my favourite place in Crete - winding alleyways with funky little cafes, art galleries and creperies around every corner, cobbled streets, museums and historical buildings, a quaint old Venetian harbour that used to be able to be closed from hostile vessels with a giant chain across the entrance.

This is the sort of town that you could eat every meal at a different place for weeks, and then want to re-visit each spot to catch up with the chef and try everything else that they offer. My favourite spot was sitting on a bench on the waterfront either (a) early in the morning watching the sun rise over the sea wall and seeing the shopkeepers casually open up for the day, chatting and fishing as if they didn’t need customers that day, or (b) late at night, when the days heat has left, and people fill the waterfront walkways talking and laughing, and enjoying a glass of wine or one of the many desserts on offer (my sweet of choice was a crepe with gelato, banana, amaretto, honey, and nuts).

Other highlights from our time in Crete include:

• Spinalonga Island: This Venetian Fortress (those guys knew how to protect a city) turned Leper Colony has been kept in the same condition as it was when the last members of the colony left in the early 50’s (when leprosy turned out to be a simple bacterial infection, and treatment became readily available).
• Sfakia: Southern coast port town where the Allied troops evacuated from in WWII, and which remained a resistance stronghold throughout the war. It had also been a centre for resistance against both the occupying Venetians and Turks, who legendary leader Daskalogiannis gave himself up to in order to save his men (he became legendary not just because of his leadership, but because he was skinned alive, and he suffered this in “dignified silence” - these guys are tough!).
• Samaria Gorge: Europe’s longest Gorge, and one of it’s most famous. A 15km hike down through forest and alongside rocky rivers was a welcome change to the barren terrain that dominates the Med. And the sea at the end was the perfect answer to the 35 degree heat.
• Meeting our new Canadian friend Tristan - a medical student from Vancouver that we managed to convince to come to Hania, then the gorge, then Sfakia too, with us. We shared plenty of laughs, wine, and crepes, and look forward to catching up when we make it to Vancouver.

Pics: Beers at sunset on the sea wall, and crepes at sunrise