Earlier this year I felt I would like a pleasant relaxing break somewhere warm with a beach. Jane agreed with me so off to the travel agents for brochures, initially we could not find anything we liked but eventually picked up a Jet2 brochure with good discounts which we explored.
There was a holiday to Crete where neither of us had been before, so we tried checking it out on the Internet, all seemed to tick the right boxes and the price was very reasonable, the only problem was that when wr tried to book online it more than doubled however we tried to enter details. In the end Jane rang and spoke to someone there who took us through the process and the holiday was booked, we also spoke to someone else there about assistance I would need at the airport and that was solved also saving us money on reserved seats on the plane and a chance for Jane to go up in one of the special lifts with me when boarding the plane.
The day before the trip quickly came so there was all the packing and last minute tasks to do, there was a little hiccup when I realised the car parking at the airport finished before our plane landed, but luckily it was soon solved, I sorted our boarding cards amd we were ready for our trip.
On the day we set off early and all went well at the airport, we booked in and a pleasant gentleman came with a wheelchair for me to help negotiate round the airport. I told him the irony of the fact 20 years before I had done similar with two elderly ladies but now I struggle with standing in queues and my back goes into spasms. He left us for a while so it was a chance for Jane to explore the duty free area and sort out food for our flight.
The man returned and took us through and onto the plane avoiding the usual problems when boarding, the plane, we were pleased that there was plenty of legroom, quite unusual these days on many flights. Unfortunately the flight was delayed for some reason for an hour, but otherwise no problems, we had plenty to read and unusual for me I did not fall asleep.
We finally arrived five hours later, again had help getting off, collected our cases, and proceeded to our coach,. It seems that Jet2 do not use reps on their coaches rather that the driver announces the destinations. We travelled in darkness for about an hour before finally getting to the hotel. From outside it was very impressive, we were quickly processed and taken to our room it was by now about 2am local time, still quite warm and humid, so we were greatful for the fact the air conditioning was working.
The room was quite spacious with plenty of storage space but as usual not many hangers, so just as well I had brought some with us. I had paid extra for a safe in the room so that was useful. The bathroom was also quite large and had both a bath and shower. Also in the room they had left two plates of sandwiches, fruit and water to make up for the fact we had missed the evening meal. We were soon sorted and ready for bed, we checked about breakfast times and settled for the night.
Inthe morning we realised we had a verandah with a view of the gardens and a table and chairs there, the room was a little basic but everything worked, there was a fridge but that seemed to not be working properly, otherwise we were quite happy. We got ready and found our way back to the main building and to breakfast, we realised now how big the complex was and an indication of this was how large and busy the restaurant was.
Although large it was very busy and we had difficulty finding a table for two, but eventually managed, like so many other places these days it was a self service buffet, but had a large variety catering for all sorts of tastes. I was spoilt for choice with just the range of cereals, never mind all the hot and cold options. We enjoyed the quality and range of food there and again as with many other places it was a chance to people watch. There seemed people from a range of countries including France and Germany, there were families couples and the place just seemed to cope with the food being replenished as people tried the various choices on offer.
Afterwards we went to chat to the holiday rep Lisa who was quite helpful but not pushy, again it seems they do not do welcome parties as other companies have in the past, she was willing to help us with trips or excursions but with no pressure. Next we went exploring and found how large the place was there were 4 reasonable sized pools catering for the fun sports people but then quieter shallow ones plus others for young children. There seemed plenty of activities for those that wanted but peaceful quiet areas for the rest of us.
The one big problem I had whilst here was the lack of signs so initially we kept getting lost when trying to find our way back to our room. Apart from the grounds there were a series of bars, places to eat and a couple of mini supermarkets, there wete also indooe and outdoor theatres,plus a number of small bays for those willing to walk that little bit further.
We found that first day very hot and the humidity was also high, resulting in us only doing a little walking and the rest either resting on the bed or verandah reading, apart from a trip down to the beaches where due to strong tides we both got soaked when the water came over the protective rock walls.
That evening we dressed up for the restaurant, it seems men had to wear trousers and a shirt rather than T shirt, nothing was said about women and what they should wear that Jane felt was quite wrong. As we were only half board we were confined to a smaller section for seating presumably it was to check we were not drinking the free liquids available to those " all inclusive" but in terms of food itself we could help ourselves to anything on display.
The food was appetising to look at and smell with a very wide selection of meat fish and vegetarian, both hot and cold, some being cooked by the chefs as people waited, there was no check on size or number of portions people could have, looking round, I think some piled their plates so high but then couldn't then finish the food. I must admit I ate a wider range and more than I would at home, but I hope without going over the top. I do wonder what happens to the food that is left at the end of the evening.
After we walked back through the hotel to our room, by then it was quite dark, but the paths were well illuminated and changed into more xasual clothes and sat on the verandah, chatting and reading before going to bed. The air conditioning helped to maintain a comfortable temperature for us.
The next morning followed a similar pattern apart from the fact Jane pointed out a birds nest above the neighbouring door full of I think it was five chicks that bobbed up and down every time they heard a noise presumably waiting for their mother to feed them, which she obviously did, I tried to take photos of them but am not sure how well they will come out as it wad a dark shady area and often the chicks would just sit and wait. In fact over the next few days Jane felt bored at times with the time I devoted to obtaining tha perfect picture or video. What was lovely at night was that mother sat at the side of the nest overseeing her chicks whilst in the day was off out foraging for food for them all the time. Its nice that the staff seemed to accept the presence of the little family.
