This summer, I decided to sell all of my stuff and leave my flat in Scotland to travel full time. As I work remotely, I can work anywhere in the world, as long as I have wifi. I chose Crete as my first stop as that’s where my dad is from and I actually grew up there but left about 5 years ago. And even though I grew up here, I never really got a chance to see much of the island or to experience it as a tourist. So I thought I’d stay for a month in August, see my family, work from my laptop and explore the island.
In this blog post I will share with you of the weeks while staying there. Each week was completely different as I worked different hours and went to new places each day, however this can give you an idea of what it’s like working remotely and traveling in Crete.
I stayed in Julia Apartments, in Platanes, which is a small seaside village a few kilometres from Rethymno city. It’s really easy to get to Rethymno from there, by taking the bus which costs £1.20 each way.
You can also watch my Youtube video about this week here
MONDAY
On Monday morning, I had some watermelon on the balcony and then did some work on my laptop. Then I went into Rethymno for a little walk around the Old Town and took some photos. There are so many beautiful little side streets in the Old Town and so many photo opportunities. You can read my blog post about some of my favourite photo spots HERE.
Then I had lunch with my sister and mum at a taverna on the beach road, called Samaria. The owner is always so friendly and helpful and the food tastes amazing. We had gemista (stuffed vegetables with rice), chips, tzatziki, and one of my favourite greek dishes, boiled greens. It’s so simple but so tasty especially with some olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
I worked a few more hours in my room and then in the evening I went down to Platanes Beach to watch the sunset.
TUESDAY
On Tuesday, we rented a scooter from a rent-a-car place in the Platanes and it cost £30 for a day. We decided to go to Bali, which is about a 45-minute drive from Platanes. You can also take the bus that goes towards Heraklion from Rethymno Bus Station and it will drop you at the top of the road from the village.
Bali is a seaside village and is a popular holiday destination but busy with locals as well. It has a few different beaches as well as little harbors with shops and restaurants. The views are beautiful as you can enjoy the sea views and the surrounding rock cliffs as well as the mountains at the back.
We ate at a restaurant called Mythos Beach which looked out onto the sea and we had fava (yellow split peas), and kolokithokeftedes (fried courgette balls). It is quite easy to get vegan food in Crete as a lot of the Greek dishes are vegan anyway.
We sat on the beach for a few hours and then we headed back. On our way back, we went up the hill to Melidoni Cave which has a stunning view of the mountains, olive trees, vineyards, and Melidoni village. As we got there quite late in the day, the cave was closed but the viewing point was still worth visiting.
WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday I did some work in the morning and then I went with my sister to a village called Margarites. You can take a bus from Rethymno Bus Station and on the way you could also stop at Arkadi Monastery which is definitely worth visiting while you are in Rethymno. You can find the times here
Margarites is a small village near Platanes, and it’s famous for its many pottery studios where you can watch the artists make the pottery. We walked around and took loads of photos as everything is so instagramable. We even got to taste some raki. I don;t usually like raki as it is super strong but I loved these ones because they were flavoured. My favourite was the caramel and coffee flavoured ones.
We had lunch at a taverna called ?? and had fava, a mixed salad, fried courgette and anthoi (stuffed courgette blossoms). The balcony view was stunning as we could see the surrounding hills and olive trees and the staff were very friendly.
After lunch we headed up a hill to a monastery. We had both been to the village when we were really young but we had never been up there before and we were amazed at how lovely it was. It had a beautiful garden, and there were also some animals such as chickens and peacocks. From up there we could see the village and the mountains.
THURSDAY
The next morning, I spent a few hours working on my laptop and doing some washing. Then I went with James to Myli Rescue Centre in Platanes, where we met so many adorable dogs and we got to take them for a walk. It was such a great experience to meet all these lovely rescue dogs and talk to Elina, the founder of the rescue centre. You can visit their Facebook page to find out more about the shelter and how to help.
Later, I did some shopping in Lidl where I got some vegan pastries and had them on my balcony. Then I continued working for the rest of the day.
FRIDAY
On Friday, we went to Patsos village where we went wine tasting at Kourkoulou winery. You can get the bus from Rethymno Bus Station but make sure to check the times as it only goes a couple times a day.
Located in the heart of the Cretan mountains, about 22km from Rethymno. Kourkoulou Winery is a new family-run winery with breathtaking views of the mountains and gorge. You can take a tour of their vineyards and winery and taste their exclusive Cretan wines. We paid 10€ each which included a tour of the vineyards and the winery, and tasting 5 wines and paximadi (hard Greek bread), olive oil and olives.
After the wine tasting we headed down the road to Patsos Gorge, where we did a short hike. There is also a traditional Greek taverna next to it called Drimos but we didn’t go this time.
On the way back we stopped at Potamon Dam, which was built in 2008 and it has capacity of 23 million cubic metres and is one of the most important wetlands in the southeast Mediterranean with many different animals being recorded nearby.
SATURDAY
On Saturday, I went to Marinos Beach Hotel to work on my laptop for a few hours.
In the late afternoon, I went for a walk in Platanes to take some photos. Near the Lidl, there is a little trail that passes some fields and has a litle church as well.
SUNDAY
On Sunday morning I did some work at Porto Rethymno and then went to Blue Lagoon with Sofia, one of my Greek friends. Blue Lagoon is a beach bar in Platanes which has a swimming pool as well and sun beds/bean bags on the beach.
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