Bali - Crete
Μπαλί
Bali is known, by most people, as a holiday destination in Indonesia, which as far as I know is considered a paradise. But I’m talking about a different paradise, Bali, Crete, Greece. This magnificent port is located 27 nautical miles or 50 kilometres from the island capital Heraklion, which is where my journey started early this morning. We motor sailed for the most part of the day because of high seas. After a bumpy ride, the safety of the harbour walls was very welcoming. But our mooring was not the easiest, the swell managed to creep into the harbour and make everything harder for us. The shouting locals did not help the situation.
After three attempts we finally secured all the ropes. But we were still not sure that the anchor was secure. I was asked to dive down and check that the chain was straight along the seafloor and whether the anchor was holding. After going down and up a couple times I reached the end of the chain where the anchor was. I came up to the surface to take a deep breath and dive down one last time. I was underwater for about a minute, tugging at the anchor to make sure that it wouldn’t come up
Since I was already in my fins and had my snorkel and mask on, I invited Flóra, a friend of mine who came on the trip, to come snorkelling with me, to look at the sea creatures and seafloor. She gladly accepted and hit the water a couple minutes later. We headed off to the opposite side of the bay, where there was a natural seafront, and began to explore the abundant sea life. There were not only fish and crustaceans but also the numerous verities of coral, every colour of the rainbow could be spotted there. Since the island of Crete is volcanic the shore is riddled with interesting patterns and underwater arcs. One of which I swam through and enjoyed the sea life in all directions.
Diving down and checking out all the animals has always been one of my favourite things to do when snorkeling. We spent almost 2 hours underwater enjoying the refreshing coolness of the water and messing around with each other. After leaving the water and washing off the saltwater from the swim we got ready for dinner. The whole crew was starving by then and ready to eat up the entire restaurant. I enjoyed three courses of the tasty traditional cuisine, tzatziki and olive oil with bread for starters, souvlaki for main and galaktoboureko for dessert, which is like a custard pie. After enjoying these delicious delicacies, the younger members of the crew (which consisted of Flóra, her brother and I) headed off to find something to do during the later hours of the day. Even though there was a lack of many modern entertainments we managed to do with getting some drinks from a supermarket and talking away the hours on top of a cliff which hung over the sea.
Early at the crack of dawn, I awoke to the engines of the local fishermen’s boats. As they left to go out to sea, I felt incredibly athletic, so I went for a run. I started off in the opposite direction of town and into the barren landscape along the seashore. I arrived at a peninsula after running for a while, so I rested. I decided on heading back since it was getting late and the others would be waking. Before I made my way back, I enjoyed the fresh sea breeze and the breath-taking panoramic view one last time. The vast endless ocean stretched as far as the eye can see.
On my way back, disregarding the time, I decided to try and get to the top of a hill, underestimating the shrubbery, I soon found myself pushing my way through thorny vegetation. Realising my mistake, I tried going back, but I couldn’t find the trail any longer. My only choice was to head in the general direction of the village. After clambering over a fence and finding myself in a goat field I had the ingenious idea of checking the offline hiking map on my phone. By now, as I was later informed, the rest of the group were sitting in a coffee shop on the seafront sipping away at their delicious Greek coffees. Studying the map helped and I soon found my way back to the trail and the village. I found my way to the café and ordered an ice-cold frappe and kadaifi to replenish all the calories I lost on my adventurous run/hike.
