Sunday in Rethymnos

The town of Rethymno

The town of Rethymnos lies about 30 miles or so west of Chania so we decided to take a Sunday drive and check it out. Before we left the base, I made a point of stopping at the Greek guard shack to ensure we could get back in upon our return. Let me explain. The bases overseas are “owned” by the host country. The American military has security too but you have to get through both layers of security to get on base. We had obligingly obtained five day passes for each of us personally and a separate pass for our rental car. When we arrived back to the base yesterday, the Greek military guards said they didn’t have any paperwork on us and they wouldn’t let us in. The called the Navy security guards who came over and, pretty much, said “Well, sorry. We can’t let you in either.” After much negotiation and several calls to the Supervisor, the Navy guards came up with a piece of paper that had our name and information on it and made a copy for the Greek guards who conceded and let us in. Whew! Anyway, before we left the base today, I stopped at the Greek guard shack and went in to make sure they were going to let us back in when we returned from our lovely Sunday drive around Crete. NO PROBLEM, he said! NO PROBLEM, he repeated. See here…….I’ve got your names right here on my paper. So off we go, happy as clams, secure in knowledge we have NO PROBLEM. Well, I’m sure you’ve guessed by now, we had a problem. We roll up to the gate, show our ID’s and “entry number”. The guard goes back into to the shack to check our credentials and he’s gone forever. The cars are stacking up in line behind us. Finally he reappears with the news that they don’t know who we are. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????? Stay calm Dave, Stay calm. We got his supervisor involved and they figured out that we had TWO numbers and the Greek number was different than the US number. Bottom line, they let us back into the base. I swear, we are not going off this base again. We are going back to Italy where nobody really gives a shit. Greece is great but the Italians are laid back and cool. Example: When we arrived in Italy from the US we asked if there was anyone to stamp our passport. Passport, Smashport they say. You don’t need to stamp no stinking passport. Well that’s OK if your going back to the US from Italy. Try leaving from Germany! The German immigration guys are not pleasant. Ven did you arrive in EU??? They ask? Vwhy you have no stamp on passport? they ask. We always manage to talk our way out of it but it’s disconcerting and annoying. OK………I have ranted enough about totally irrelevant stuff that the reader has no interest in. Back to our Sunday drive.

Rethymnos is a pleasant little town in a very convenient location. It lies about half way between Chania and Iraklion and sits right on the Agean sea. It has a 17th century Venetian harbor and it’s absolutely charming. We found a parking lot in center city and meandered through the narrow cobblestone streets window shopping as we made our way down to the harbor. It’s an idyllic little place and I’m not sure we saw another tourist. We stopped at a little café that promised original Cretan cuisine, and like all of our other dining experiences here, we were delighted. I’m telling you, the food here is amazing! It’s not just kebobs and gyros. It’s beef or rabbit stewed slowly with peppers and shallots and the freshest herbs available. It’s salad with greens and herbs picked from the local mountain slopes. And, after every meal, they bring us something extra at no charge. Today it was a delicious cake for dessert and the local digestive called Raki. It’s actually pretty kick-*ss so you have to be careful. They bring you a little bottle of the stuff and two shot glasses. I’m pretty sure you are not supposed to finish it. One does have to drive home after all.