Our final night in Chania was spent in Nea Chora. We decided to have dinner in the first restaurant we ate at when we arrived here.
Manos Taverna is located near the main entrance of the promenade as you head to Nea Chora Beach. The vibe here is different in the evening, romantic. I saw Octopi hanging on the line as we passed by it earlier in the day. That’s when I told Cholo, “We must eat here tonight!”. We headed back to our flat to change for the evening.
When we got to the taverna, we were surprised that it was full. Although it was a Saturday night, I was expecting most of the people would be spending it in the Old Town. We were able to find a table near the water’s edge of the old port of Nea Chora – which I have to say added to the atmosphere of the entire dining experience.
I indulged in some grill Octopus while Cholo had Moussaka. I was taught how to eat it, I would have to slice it in thin pieces and soak them in olive oil and vinaigrette. It was so good. As I have said in my past posts, I have learned how to appreciate Rosé in Santorini. We had the house Rosé to complete our final night in Chania. The cherry on top? The Raki and lemon cake with vanilla ice cream that came before the bill.
We spent the next day hitting the beach near our hotel. We drove along the dirt road close to the shore, this was to become our regular route of our entire stay here. Mikri Vigla bay has a vast beach and is known as a heaven for kite surfers. It was very windy – to the point that it got a little too cold for me that I used my towel as a wind breaker. We managed to find a rock out crop at the very end of the beach where I was able to seek refuge from the wind. I have a few videos of our little escapade on my Highlights bar of my Instagram page labeled Naxos. The water was clear – but rough. It was a task to swim in it.
Lunch in Plaka Beach.
When I couldn’t take the wind anymore, we hoped on our rented Fiat and moved to Plaka Beach. It was a 15 minute drive. This had a long stretch of beach and practically empty. I found a shady spot under a tree. I saw a few people laying on sun beds a few hundred meters from us, but other than that it was just Cholo and I, the sand, sea and the sky. We packed sandwiches for lunch and sweet pastries for dessert, I bought these from the bakery in Chalki the day before and it was so good! I wish I bought more. The water here is clear and shallow, making it easily swimmable. All we did here was lay on the sand and worshipped the Greek sun. The only thing that popped us out of our reverie was the sound of dump trucks passing by every so often. I think there was a construction site near by.
When we travel to Europe, we try to avoid the summer months and visit during the shoulder season. Less people, weather is pleasant, and it is not as pricey.
Our last full day in Mykonos spent beach hopping. It was a Sunday, so we expected it to be a little quiet. Antonis told us that during the peak of summer, the beach was full of people – beach beds and umbrellas cover almost the entire expanse. The parking lot gets so full, it is actually difficult to maneuver your car to enter and exit the beach. But luckily for us, on this day, it’s all ours.
We headed for Kalo Livadi Beach after breakfast to warm up. Although the sun was out, the weather was a bit cool for us. It was a bit cloudy and windy. And every time the sun would hide behind the clouds, the temperature dropped. The beach was practically empty. There was a family playing in the water a few meters beside of us. We didn’t swim much – because the water was too cold. According to online resources, the water drops to an average of 22C. The average water temperature of the sea across our house in Marinduque in October is 29C.
Kalo Livadi appears to be a substantial sized beach. The sand is fine and the water is clear. I think the water is shallow, that’s why families with young kids enjoy this beach. We noticed that there was one hotel being constructed across the dirt road. There are a few hotels here including where we are staying, but we reckon that might change in the next few years.
By 11:15 am we started heading to the bus stop on top of the hill. I didn’t know exactly what time the bus was arriving but I timed it; by assuming the bus left Mykonos at 11 am, it should be in Ano Mera by 11:30 am, which is less than 10 minutes away from this bus stop. We got to Kalafatis beach just before 12 noon.
Kalafatis has a long stretch of beach. It seems underdeveloped when you come in on the bus. Apparently, this part of the island (including Kalo Livadi) is the complete opposite to the party beaches of Mykonos. Although there are a number of hotels and restaurants nearby, it is more of a destination beach. I read on the travel guide that people come to this beach for water sports. Although there was no such thing going on when we got to the beach front, I saw men starting to store their water sports equipment for the winter. Cholo and I managed to find a spot under one of the trees for the sun was out and sun damage is permanent – so it’s best to take cover.
There were a number of people at Kalafatis beach, all basking under the last sunny days of October. The beach has nice quality sand and the water is clear. The water by the shore is a bit rocky in some spots but it’s very swimmable. I saw houses perched on the hillside to the left of the beach, they were like small pieces of dice. The view from up there would be, for sure, fantastic. We didn’t bring any food with us as we were expecting the beach to have a number of restaurants – because of the time of the year, there was only one open. A Chinese masseuse working the beach told us where to go by pointing to “that one” a few hundred meters from us. We packed our belongings are transferred to a part of the beach close to the restaurant.
We stayed in Kalafatis Beach until 5 pm. We took the 5:25 pm bus and made our way to Ano Mera for dinner.
TOR Guide 