Carnival Vista Review: Day 10 – Crete, Spinalonga & Eloundafeatured

Visiting Greece always intimidates me a little bit.

It’s not like visiting Spain (I speak fluent Spanish), Italy (Italian is close enough to Spanish for me to get by) or even France (which is similar to no language I know, but at least uses the phonetic alphabet). I know three words in Greek: kalimera (good morning!), opa (cheers!) and ouzo (…ouzo). And I can’t read Greek. Not to save my life. If I were on a game show and a million dollar prize was mine if I could recite a word written in Greek, I’d be out a million dollars.

So visiting Greece is always a little intimidating. We’ve only been to Greece once – a daylong stop in Athens last year – and even though the language barrier put me out of my comfort zone, Greece is such a wonderful melting pot of culture, a country that celebrates life and family and is so incredibly unique, and that’s always something special to experience, even if I can’t read the language. Part of the intrigue of this itinerary was the opportunity to visit two new Greek islands and do an overnight in Athens. I may not have spoken more than three words of Greek before this trip, but I was hoping to pick up a few more words this year.

For whatever reason, I was convinced we were visiting Corfu, and Stephanie was constantly correcting me that we were visiting Crete, not Corfu. Corfu or Crete, I knew nothing about either, so when we docked in Crete on a hot Friday morning, I was simultaneously excited to discover a new place and terrified I’d have to do something more dynamic than wish someone a good morning and then ask them for some ouzo. Most visitors to Crete spend the day exploring Knossos (the archeological site of Europe’s oldest city), but we opted for something a little different: a tour of Spinalonga and Elounda. A fort during the Venetian rule of Greece in the 1500s, Spinalonga served as a leper colony from 1903 to 1957. It was definitely something different to explore. And Elounda is a quiet little fishing village adjacent to the island of Spinalonga, with plenty of cafes and shops lining the streets.

The Vista docked in Heraklion and we met up with our tour guide, Greg, for the hour and a half ride to Elounda. Despite a forecast for gray clouds, we stepped out to gorgeous blue skies and plenty of sun, perfect for what our day had planned.

Greg was born and raised in Heraklion and regaled us with information on everything from the socioeconomic climate to the school systems in Heraklion as we began the hour and a half drive to Elounda. I’m always down to learn about life in other parts of the world – it’s one of my greatest joys in travel – but I was fascinated by the shifting landscape outside the bus window. Heraklion was like many of the other Mediterranean town’s we’ve docked in – there’s housing structures, some shops and restaurants – but once the driver got on the highway, it was like we were transported to another world. A world with grandiose hills and steep valleys and coastal towns of white buildings with blue roofs studding the seascape of some of the bluest water I’ve ever seen. It was an incredible juxtaposition to the town (the largest in all of Crete) we had exited moments earlier.

Our driver dropped us off in Elounda, and Greg led us to the dock where we’d embark a boat for the ride to Spinalonga.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather for a boat ride, with the bright sunny day and the cool sea breeze. The ride was short, no more than 15 minutes, but the views were stunning. We spent so much time weighing the decision between this tour and a tour to Knossos, and even though Knossos is the marquee attraction for the island, by the time our boat left the dock, I knew we made the right choice in excursion. We’d barely scratched the surface and we were already thoroughly enjoying exploring the lesser known treasures of Crete.

Greg passed our entrance tickets as we disembarked, with instructions on our meeting point after a short break to use the restrooms.

Our time in Spinalonga began with a walking tour that took about an hour, where Greg walked us through Dante’s Gate (a tunnel that was formerly the Leper’s entrance to the colony) and guided us through the remnants of the colony, regaling us with the history and folklore behind each of the spots we stopped at. Greeks suffering from Leprosy were sent to Spinalonga to prevent them from spreading the disease and live out the rest of their days. Instead of living out their time in solitude, they formed a community and families, building churches, shops and cafes, even theaters. A cure for Leprosy was eventually discovered and the disease (for the most part) was eradicated in the 1950s, making colonies like Spinalonga unnecessary. The government closed Spinalonga in 1957 (the last inhabitant, a priest, leaving in the early 1960s) and the island has been uninhabited ever since.

Aside from our group (and the other bus group from our ship), there was only one other small tour group and a handful of solo tourists walking around while we visited. Being able to walk through it in relative solitude and experience the space without intrusion was a rare experience that really allowed us to immerse ourselves in the history we were walking through.

Our tour ended at the far end of the island, and we were given about 15 minutes of free time to make our way back to the boat, either the way we came or on a path that goes around the perimeter. We took the road more traveled, going back the way we came, stopping to admire the views of Elounda and the crystal clear waters from the colony’s shore.

The ride back to Elounda was short, and Stephanie noticed Mr. Radu taking a few pictures and went over to say hello and let him know how much we enjoyed his photography seminar the day before. He admired my camera and we shared our snaps from Spinalonga, stopping every so often to take pictures of our approach into Elounda.

Greg set us free for just over an hour of free time to explore Elounda when the boat docked. We had plenty of options: there were dozens of cafes and shops, a farmer’s market and a quiet beach we could enjoy.

We started at the farmer’s market, walking our way through the aisles of fresh, colorful produce. The market segued into a flea market that featured an odd mix of household essentials and random giftables.

None of us were quite hungry for lunch, but we all agreed we could use some Greek coffee and quickly found En Plo, a self proclaimed coffee lab right on the waterfront that rivaled some of the hipster coffee shops I’ve visited stateside. I ordered a frappe (a Greek coffee specialty), Stephanie and Mom ordered cappuccino freddos (a sweeter frappe with more milk). Our drinks weren’t more than a few Euro each, and we enjoyed sitting amongst the locals, taking in the beautiful day with a good Mason jar of coffee. Neighboring shop owners would stop over in each other’s cafes to greet each other and this strip of seaside cafes were full of people just hanging around, greeting each other, gossiping and being in each other’s company. It was nice…different…from the kind of life we have at home. The way of life is different out in Crete, one that was peaceful and enriching to experience, even if only for a few hours.

We were short on time, so we only stopped in a couple of shops to pick up some souvenirs before heading back to the bus and beginning the ride back to Heraklion.

Greg continued where he left off on the ride over, telling us more about the history, the agriculture, even the political climate, of Crete. I always find this kind of stuff fascinating. I appreciate learning about the places I’m visiting. Apparently others on our tour didn’t hold the same appreciation, and questioned Greg on why he was so focused on the history of Crete. I’m pretty sure that’s what a tour guide does, and Greg took it in stride, but as we left the bus, I thanked him for an incredible day and for the wonderful lesson on all things Crete.

We dropped our bags off at the room before heading up to the Lido deck for a quick lunch from Guy’s Burgers (and some of that delicious, hand scooped ice cream!).

The ship was quiet, as most guests were still ashore on their excursions, so we took advantage of the quiet afternoon to spend some quality time at the Havana Pool. The skies were overcast and the pool was frigid, so we opted for the hot tubs, where we had a primo view of the towel guy making his rounds and kicking out anyone who didn’t have a Havana wristband. When it came to keeping the Havana Pool exclusive to Havana guests during the daytime hours on our voyage, they meant serious business.

The airport must have been nearby because we spotted planes taking off and landing overhead every couple of minutes while we were out. We didn’t stay out too long, eventually heading back to the room to relax a bit.

A shower and a nap later, I headed out to take some pictures of Heraklion before we headed out to sea during dinner. It’s such a quiet, peaceful island, quite the contrast from our experience in Athens the year prior.

We headed to the dining room for an early dinner and were seated with another new dining team. We seemed to be rotating on a nightly basis, and service had been hit or miss each time. It was only the second sailing, so I gave the benefit of the doubt – these were new teams learning to service on a new ship – but even small gestures like offering coffee with dessert was hit or miss. The only consistency was some really interesting new offerings on the American Table menus.

All of us were lagging a bit after dinner, so we headed upstairs to the Lido Marketplace to grab some coffee before heading back down to the Atrium Lobby, where there was an acoustic duo performing. We enjoyed the live set, alternating between sitting out and enjoying the music and popping in and out of some of the shops.

When we returned to our cabin, we found invitations for the Diamond and Platinum Guest Party waiting for us with our towel animal du jour. The party was set for the afternoon of our visit to Kusadasi, and we tucked our invitations away before heading out to the patio to watch the sunset.

There wasn’t a production show scheduled for this evening, so we watched The Vow in our room to rest up for the big event of the night: the 80s Rock and Glow Party. The party started up on the Lido deck at 10:30 pm, a late start for a port-heavy itinerary that often led with early morning starts, but it was packed on two decks with people waving around neon glow sticks and singing and dancing along. We were beyond exhausted, but it’s impossible to stand around hundreds of people dancing in synchronicity to Thriller and not get a little jolt of energy.

When the party wound down, we ended up in a long line to get some pizza to bring back to the room and snack on while we watched Pitch Perfect. A late excursion in the morning meant we could snag a little extra sleep and rest up for our day in Rhodes.