📍Milos & Crete, Greece 🇬🇷

Day 1: We had a quick breakfast at Lalala and then headed to the ferry for our travel day to Milos, which I’m confident must mean heaven in Greek (definitely don’t fact check me). It. Was. Beautiful. Every time we turned a corner all I could say was “Woah!!”

We got there around dinner time and went to Nostos by the water. We were staying at Giannis Hotel Apartments and for whatever reason the GPS did not want us to find this place. Between dinner and our scavenger hunt finding our hotel, it was somehow midnight and time for bed (for me anyways: once again, J had to work).

Day 2: We headed to an area called Mandrakia and went to Medusa (thanks for the recommendation Megan) for lunch right on the water with the most breathtaking views.

My BFF had sent me things to do from her Greek friend, so for the rest of the day we followed the recommendations and had the best day. (Thanks E!)

First stop: Klima, which is a fishing village with picturesque colorful Greek homes. Loved it.

Next stop: Sarakiniko. The white volcanic rocks cover the area and make it the most amazingly beautiful beach. People are swimming, tanning, and jumping off rocks and it’s honestly just unreal. We spent some time here because it was too hard to leave.

We then went to Papafragas, which are caves you can swim through. We didn’t park in the right area so we actually had to swim from a beach to the caves and the only word I can use is WOW (in all the right ways). We obviously didn’t have our cameras during the swim so we hiked the cliff where the caves are to take a few pictures. This is a “you just gotta do it” activity.

When we picked up our rental car in Milos, we were told we needed 4-wheel drive to access part of the island. The company was nice enough to upgrade us and J took that as an invitation to go explore, shocking. We drove around and ended up on the other side of the island with the locals. It was a beautiful drive, which was no surprise. We were in Milos. Everything is breathtaking.

For our last night, we went to Barriello for dinner.

Day 3: Our final ferry was from Milos to Crete. It was a long ride with an early start. On this journey we had a 5 hour stop in Paros, where we had breakfast at Symposium Cafe and explored a little. It was super hot and we hadn’t slept much so we didn’t explore as much as we should have, but hey, what can ya do?

By the time we got to Crete it was late so we just took a bus to Malia, the area we were staying in. Once there, we walked to our hotel (Yiannis Manos), checked in, and then passed out.

Day 4: We didn’t have any plans so we grabbed some food at Taverna Eva and walked around town. We stopped at a souvenir shop (Kalamoti) and J asked the guy working there for suggestions on things to do. The two of them ended up chatting for a while and the shop guy gave us a list of suggestions. (Thanks Manos!) He told us it was worth getting a 1/2 day car rental to explore the small towns/villages in the area. Most places were quoting us $50-$60 for 5 hours (or a full day).

Me: Do you offer half day rentals?
Shop: Yes.
Me: Ok, great! How much?
Shop: $50
Me: So how much for a full day?
Shop: $50 Hmm…ok, so no half day. Noted. 😑

After stopping by a few places, J found a place that told us they would let us rent one for $20 for the day. Winner! The guy working there was from London and LOVED Americans. We talked for a while and he said he had talked for so long he would give us the rental for $15.

Mom, skip this part. We (safely with helmets on) took ATVs up the mountain and visited a few local towns. It was so cool to see! The men were typically gathered around either smoking or playing a game and the women were typically on a bench and seemed to be gossiping, but it was hard to tell with the language barrier.

I saw a bakery at one of the stops and went inside to buy a small bag to try the bread. As I only saw massive bags, I asked the lady working there if they had any smaller options. She started talking to us and opened a large packaged bag to make us a “to go” bag. I offered to pay and she refused to take any money from us. She just wanted us to try the bread. I miss her already. 🥹

After spending the afternoon exploring the island, it was time to return the ATV (mom, if you are still reading no need to worry, we made it back in one piece). The British guy was still working when we got back so we started talking again. Before you know it, he was offering us shots at the office and telling us about his friend’s restaurant (New China Restaurant in Hersonissos) that he highly recommends. Of course, we take the shot and tell him we’d love to try the restaurant and invite him to come along. The 3 of us headed to dinner when he closed up shop and that just about sums up our time in Greece.

Day 6: We woke up and went directly to the airport. Since we couldn’t load the mobile pass for our connecting flight, we decided to go to the ticket counter for help. We had been traveling with just our backpacks our entire time and had not needed to check them. The woman at the counter, however, took her job very seriously and decided we would need to check our bags due to weight. We weren’t happy so we told her we’d reorganize and “be right back.” We didn’t go back. Instead, we left her line of vision and just went through security, figuring we could get our pass later and that would be the end of it. It wasn’t. About 20 minutes before boarding, another agent found us in the airport and told us we had to follow her. Uh oh…

Bloopers 🤪😳