We seem to have found civilisation again; after months of only visiting tiny towns it is a bit of a culture shock to be somewhere with a bit of a buzz and a wide range of shops – the credit card has just had it’s first clothing hit for ages!  Getting here was straightforward, mostly motoring apart from an hour or so trying to sail to windward in light airs. Then after motoring into the wind to get around the rugged Akrotiri peninsular, we had a great reach as the winds came up on the run down into Chania.  We are now moored in the inner harbour and as far as we can see, we are the only foreign yacht here.  The “marina” is pretty vestigial and it’s is hard to see how anyone has over-wintered aboard here.    

We are, however, right in the middle of the stunning old Venetian town.  Around us are ancient crumbling port buildings and restaurants built into the bases of equally crumbling structures.  You can see that they were once grand and it is rather wonderful seeing such an unspoilt, un-redeveloped area, at least above the ground floor tourist shops and cafes etc.  In several places there is a café or restaurant on the ground floor of a building that has an empty, roofless shell above it.  Reading about how it was bombed during the war, it’s amazing that even this much remains.   As a terrific backdrop to the town, you get great views of the snow-clad “White Mountains” – the westernmost of the three big ranges on Crete.

Old Venetian dock buildings:

Views of snow capped mountains:

Crumbling waterfront buildings…