Location: Hora Sfakia/Plakias
Today I threw up. We launched our kayaks and were planning on paddling to Hora Sfakia, whereafter we would drive to the ruins of the Venetian fortress at Frangokastello. Devon and I shared a kayak, so I had a witness as I became increasingly seasick; I was holding it together until another woman threw up, which broke me, and we had to make an early stop to get out of the boats. We rode in the van to Hora Sfakia (where I saw a Toyota Hilux in person!) and then onto Frangokastello, the most spectacular part of which was an art gallery in the one standing building showcasing the traditional Cretan art of lace-making. The intricacy and complexity of patterns in these little bits of woven thread were astonishing.
I was a bit wary of getting back in the boat after humiliating myself, so I chose to van it to Plakias while I made sure my stomach wasn’t going to act up again; Alexis also suffered from sea sickness, so I had a friend at least. In Plakias, we took advantage of a brief appearance of the sun to put on our bikinis and “sunbathe,” although we ended up goofing off trying to imitate poses we’ve seen on Maxim covers.
This hotel is my favorite one yet; it looks like the architect was M.C. Escher – there are staircases everywhere, and the doors are in no particular order. Our room number is 307, but we’re between 205 and 310. Just down the walkway is room 105. All of these rooms are on the same level. Alexis and I also had fun trying to interpret the air conditioner in our room, which boasted “five ways,” each of which corresponded to a button on the machine; the buttons featured the following icons: a frog over the letters STD, a laughing baby, a boat going very fast, a skull with a lightning bolt through its forehead, and Hitler. We had the AC on laughing baby mode while we stayed there, as it seemed most pleasant. It had to be far better than lightning-bolt-skull mode or Hitler mode.
Plakias is a very touristy town, full of crappy souvenir shops; still, they’re fun to look in, and I was able to pick up some joke-y souvenirs for friends (a shotglass with Crete written on?) as well as an olivewood bowl for myself before I realized what a horrible mistake I’d made, as I now have to figure out how to pack a bowl in my small suitcase. The shop owner I bought the bowl from asked me, “Why are you so white?” I stared at him, shocked; I didn’t really know if he wanted me to describe my ancestry for him, and I was curious if this was some sort of quirky sales pitch. He clarified, saying, “Haven’t you been to the beach?” I resented this somewhat, as Alexis is just as pale as me, but no one was asking her about it. I said, “I wear a lot of sunscreen!” Still, I bought a bowl from the guy, so maybe it was a sales pitch.
This hotel is my favorite one yet; it looks like the architect was M.C. Escher – there are staircases everywhere, and the doors are in no particular order. Our room number is 307, but we’re between 205 and 310. Just down the walkway is room 105. All of these rooms are on the same level. Alexis and I also had fun trying to interpret the air conditioner in our room, which boasted “five ways,” each of which corresponded to a button on the machine; the buttons featured the following icons: a frog over the letters STD, a laughing baby, a boat going very fast, a skull with a lightning bolt through its forehead, and Hitler. We had the AC on laughing baby mode while we stayed there, as it seemed most pleasant. It had to be far better than lightning-bolt-skull mode or Hitler mode.
Plakias is a very touristy town, full of crappy souvenir shops; still, they’re fun to look in, and I was able to pick up some joke-y souvenirs for friends (a shotglass with Crete written on?) as well as an olivewood bowl for myself before I realized what a horrible mistake I’d made, as I now have to figure out how to pack a bowl in my small suitcase. The shop owner I bought the bowl from asked me, “Why are you so white?” I stared at him, shocked; I didn’t really know if he wanted me to describe my ancestry for him, and I was curious if this was some sort of quirky sales pitch. He clarified, saying, “Haven’t you been to the beach?” I resented this somewhat, as Alexis is just as pale as me, but no one was asking her about it. I said, “I wear a lot of sunscreen!” Still, I bought a bowl from the guy, so maybe it was a sales pitch.
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