The island on the map doesn't seem so big, but when you start making up a route, it turns out that between "let's see the palace in the morning, then go to the beach, and look at another city in the evening" and reality lie kilometers of roads, mountain serpentines and my eternal optimism. In the end, I decided not to try to see absolutely everything, but made up a five-day itinerary that combined ancient cities, beautiful beaches, mountain roads, and several places I really wanted to get to. I took a car and booked accommodation in advance, because in Crete a car greatly expands the possibilities. You can also travel by public transport, but I wanted to choose for myself where to stay and where to drive further, because sometimes it's a random observation deck that turns out to be more interesting than the point that you marked on the map for a week. The route turned out to be quite dense, but in five days I managed to see completely different Crete – historical, mountainous, beach and the lazy one, where you just want to sit by the sea and not go anywhere. Fragments of the Palace of Knossos recreated from the ruins The archaeological complex of Knossos I decided to start the first day in Heraklion, because it didn't seem like the most sensible decision to fly to Crete and immediately leave somewhere on the other side of the island. After getting the car, I went towards the Palace of Knossos, which is located very close to Heraklion. And it was here that I realized for the first time that photographs do not convey the scale of a place: when you walk among the ancient walls and imagine that an entire Minoan civilization existed here several thousand years ago, you begin to look at an ordinary vacation a little differently. The Palace of Knossos turned out to be exactly the attraction for which it is worth arriving early. Quite a lot of people come here during the day, so it's much more pleasant to walk in the morning, especially if you don't want to spend half the tour in line or look for a place where you can take a photo normally. I honestly tried to listen carefully about the history of the palace, but from time to time I caught myself thinking that I was standing and just looking at the stones, trying to imagine what it all looked like in ancient times. Kules Fortress After Knossos, I returned to Heraklion and went for a walk in a good mood. I looked at the Venetian Harbor, the Kules Fortress, strolled along August 25th Street and looked at Lviv Square. After the historical ruins, it was especially pleasant to just sit in a cafe, drink coffee and watch the city. The Venetian Fortress in Heraklion I also went to the Venetian Fortress, which is located 9 kilometers west of Heraklion. After all, it's convenient to travel by car, I didn't have to look for a taxi and negotiate with the driver in a foreign language. I feel confident and enjoy the long-awaited vacation. By the evening, I realized that the first day had been quite eventful, although according to the plan it seemed that I would only see a few places. It was then that I first remembered my favorite rule of car travel: if the navigator says it's twenty minutes to the next point, it doesn't mean at all that I'll arrive there in twenty minutes.

On the second day, I went to the west of the island. The first stop was Rethymno, which is also called Rethymnon. I immediately liked the combination of old architecture, narrow streets and the sea. I walked around the Old Town, reached the Venetian harbor and climbed to the Fortezza fortress, from where I have a great view of the city and the coast. Fortezza Fortress Rethymno turned out to be just the place where I kept telling myself, "Ten more minutes and we'll move on." Then half an hour would pass, I would find another beautiful street, go in for coffee, and forget about the schedule again. As a result, I left Rethymno later than I had planned, but I decided not to worry, because on vacation it is sometimes useful to at least sometimes lose my own plan. Fortezza Fortress is one of the largest surviving Venetian fortifications in Europe. The scale is amazing, of course, and I've never regretted making an unplanned stop. Chania Then I went to Chania. The old town of Chania turned out to be one of my favorite places in Crete: Venetian buildings, narrow streets, harbor, lighthouse and a huge number of small cafes. I walked along the embankment for a long time, and then I just sat on the terrace and watched the people. I especially liked the Venetian Harbor with a lighthouse. It became even more pleasant here in the evening, when the daytime heat subsided a little and the city began to look completely different. I realized that Hanyu could have been left for a separate day, but my itinerary was already beginning to resemble an attempt to live through three vacations at the same time.

I devoted the third day to nature and went to Elafonisi beach. The road there itself has become part of the journey.: mountains, small villages, serpentines, and views that made me look for a place to stop several times. A stretch of Elafonisi beach with pinkish sand and rocks along the coastline When I finally came to Elafonisi, it became clear why people were willing to travel quite far here. The clear water, light sand, lagoon and the famous pinkish hue of some parts of the beach create a very beautiful picture. However, I realized pretty quickly that if you want to enjoy a place in peace, it's better to arrive earlier, because later there will be significantly more people. After the beach, I did not immediately return to Chania and decided to take a short ride along the coast. It was the very day when the plan finally began to crumble, but only in a good way. I turned off the main road several times, stopped near the sea and just sat on the rocks, because after a few days of intense program, I wanted some silence. I returned to Chania already quite tired, but with the feeling that the third day was the most relaxing. There are no palaces, fortresses or long lists of attractions – just the road, the sea and the feeling that there is no need to rush anywhere.

On the fourth day, I got back behind the wheel and drove towards the eastern part of Crete. On the way, I decided to stop at the Lasithi plateau, because I wanted to see not only the coast, but also mount Crete. After the seascapes, everything changed dramatically. The road went up, there were mountains, small villages and a completely different rhythm of life. I visited several places of interest. Below I attach a photo of the monument, which I could not pass by. It was built to preserve the memory of the tragedy and the role of events in the struggle for the liberation of Crete. Monument commemorating the destruction of Lassithi by Ottoman and Egyptian troops in May 1867 I stopped several times just to look at the landscape and once again became convinced that a car in Crete is not only a means of transportation, but also a way to constantly find places that I did not intend to look for. Lake Vulismeni, Agios Nikolaos After the plateau, I headed towards Agios Nikolaos. The city is located around Lake Vulismeni, and I enjoyed just walking around it, sitting in a cafe and watching the boats. After the mountain road, this place felt almost like a resort break before the final day. It's a pity that I didn't charge my phone, I could have taken more pictures. But this is a lesson for the future – to keep an eye on charging and always take a power bank with you. In the evening, I took a walk along the embankment and realized that in four days, Crete had already managed to show me several completely different faces. At the same time, the island still managed to remain the kind where you can just stop by the road, look at the sea and realize that you don't need any attractions at the moment.

Последний день я решил провести без попытки установить мировой рекорд по количеству увиденных достопримечательностей. Утром отправился в сторону Элунды, откуда можно добраться до острова Спиналонга. Элунда Спиналонга Спиналонга – одно из тех мест, где история ощущается особенно сильно. На небольшом острове сохранилась крепость, венецианские укрепления и поселение, связанное с историей бывшей колонии для людей, больных лепрой. Когда гуляешь по каменным улицам и смотришь на море вокруг, довольно сложно воспринимать это место просто как красивую туристическую точку. После Спиналонги я вернулся на материковую часть и решил больше никуда не спешить. Пообедал в Элунде, потом нашёл место у моря и несколько часов просто отдыхал. Конечно, мой внутренний турист пытался убедить меня, что последний день нельзя тратить без новых достопримечательностей. Но я его победил. Иногда после четырёх дней поездок, подъёмов, пляжей и серпантинов лучший план – это вообще отсутствие плана. Что я успел увидеть за пять дней Если собрать весь маршрут в одну схему, получилось довольно насыщенно: Ираклион – Кносский дворец – Ретимно – Ханья – Элафониси – плато Лассити – Агиос-Николаос – Элунда – Спиналонга . При этом я специально не пытался объехать абсолютно весь остров, потому что за пять дней это превратилось бы скорее в соревнование с навигатором, чем в отдых. Крепость Кулес Больше всего мне понравилось, что Крит постоянно меняется. Утром ты можешь гулять среди древних руин, через пару часов ехать по горной дороге, а вечером сидеть у моря с тарелкой местной еды и смотреть на закат. Элафониси на закате Если бы я сейчас составлял этот маршрут заново, то, скорее всего, оставил бы те же места, но сделал бы его немного спокойнее. На некоторые точки я бы выделил больше времени, особенно на Ханью и побережье, потому что там очень легко сказать себе «посмотрю быстро» и внезапно обнаружить, что прошло три часа. А ещё я точно снова взял бы машину. Потому что главный плюс Крита для меня оказался не только в знаменитых достопримечательностях, а в самой дороге между ними. Ты едешь по острову, за окном меняются горы, оливковые рощи и море, впереди очередной поворот, а ты уже не знаешь, что там будет – и именно ради этого я и люблю такие путешествия. В общем, пять дней на Крите прошли примерно так, как и должны проходить хорошие поездки: я посмотрел гораздо больше, чем планировал, потратил на дорогу немного больше времени, чем обещал себе, несколько раз заблудился, пару раз поменял маршрут и в последний вечер уже думал только об одном – почему я не взял отпуск хотя бы на десять дней.