Posts

Showing posts from 2018

Back in Calgary and back to work!

Image
Three days after returning from Greece, I was back in my old job, working Monday to Friday, almost as if I'd never left! How did that happen, you ask? Well, when I retired in the summer, there was an agreement that I would be able to come back and work on a casual basis, if I wanted to. I was expecting to be offered a week here or there, to cover during vacation or sick time. There hasn't really been a history of providing relief staff in my office over the last few years, even during extra busy times, so I didn't expect to get that many hours. So when I was offered full-time hours for the next few months at least, it came as a bit of a surprise. It seems it has been extremely busy lately. This is a good thing for me! I'm actually quite enjoying being back. It's been great getting to see all my work friends again, and the extra money is a bonus. I see a new mountain bike in my future very soon - replacing my stolen one will hurt much less now! Working when you ...

The cycling experience

Image
Back in August, I seriously wondered if all the preparations for this cycling trip would be worth it. As we packed all the camping and cooking gear, not really knowing how much we would be able to camp, we questioned if it was worth carrying all that extra weight. Would the campgrounds even still be open in September and October, and if they were, what would they be like? We also hadn't done any tent camping for a long time, so were we about to find out that we are now too spoiled and wimpy from comfy van camping to enjoy it again? Neither of us knew how we would take to cycle-touring, and I worried about how I would cope with the physical demands of riding hills with the bikes loaded. One of many "to do" lists before the trip Well, now we have the answers. Yes, yes and yes! It was so worth it - we loved the cycling part. For the 26 days of the actual Crete cycle tour, we camped for 19 of those days and loved it! We camped for 25 out of our total 60 days, so no qu...

Farewell Crete - our last day!

Image
With Rosita and David on their last day After six weeks on this island, our time on Crete ended yesterday.  On Saturday we said farewell to David and Rosita as they flew out from Chania to Ireland. It had been so good to be able to spend this time together. Then yesterday we needed to make our way to nearby Souda to catch our overnight ferry to Athens. But first we managed to squeeze in one last bike ride. You may have heard of “Zorba the Greek”, a book and movie. The movie starred Anthony Quinn and it was made in 1964. It contains one very famous scene where Quinn and his co-star do this dance on a beach. The dance is known as the syrtaki and the music they danced to is very recognisable. You can check it out here   and I'm sure  it will sound familiar. Frank showing his moves on Stavros beach That beach, Stavros, happens to be about 20km northwest of Chania, so we decided it would be a good cycle for our last day. It felt great to get back on the ...

Chania, Crete - our base for a week - Oct 17th- 24th

Image
Enjoying dinner in the Old Town with David and Rosita (This restaurant was once a Turkish bath house!) The city of Chania, also spelled Hania (pronounced Han-yah) on Crete's north-west coast was our base for a week after we finished our cycling. Chania is Crete's second largest city after the capital Heraklion, and said to be it's prettiest. We loved the Old Town and Venetian Harbour, narrow alleyways and outdoor restaurants. So full of character and history. It was there that we were joined by my brother and sister in law David and Rosita. They flew into Chania direct from Dublin thanks to Ryan Air, and we had a happy reunion (three years since we last saw each other in Ireland). And just before they arrived, we were able to meet up with a good Calgary friend, Sarah, who was in Crete with her English cousins for a week. We were very excited to see her - a familiar face from back home after seven weeks of not seeing anyone we knew! We had a rental car and a very ...

The end of the ride - arrival in Chania

Image
A full week has passed since Frank and I completed the cycle portion of the trip. We're missing the bikes, and could have quite happily continued, but very happy to now be spending time with David and Rosita in Chania and area. The ride planned for the last day So last Monday we rode the 66km from Sougia on the south coast, through the mountains to a campground in the city of Chania. We expected a hard day, but were pleasantly surprised that the 900m of net elevation gain was nicely spread over the distance and never got too steep. The first 30km was uphill. Once on top of the pass, it was a sweet 30km of downhill to the north coast. Another reminder of Crete's tragic history. Just outside Sougia, a memorial for residents who ended up in German concentration camps Pleasant riding through villages Local produce at roadside stand, includes  local honey, grapes, raki and chestnuts The route took us through an ever-changing landscape. It was all...