From Paleochora we planned to travel east along the south coast of Crete to the tiny village of Damnoni where, it was said, the fish was good.
But there is no coastal road through the National Park, so we had to retrace our steps to Chania on the north coast, then turn east to Rethymno, also on the north coast and finally turn south to gain the south coast again. In total, 227 km which took 4 hours as we crossed the rugged, central mountain range twice.
Damnoni was disappointing. It turned out to be only a beach with beach bars and restaurants and not a village at all. The most interesting thing we saw was this donkey carrying a small person down to the beach.
And a larger person back again.
And while our accommodation at the aforementioned fish restaurant was excellent, the restaurant itself was very disappointing. The best that could be said of it was the owner's propensity for dancing and raucous laughter.
The next day, Mr Ingenuity consulted Dr Google and discovered, not too far distant, a resort with public access to the water which was described to be 'a fjord'. And it certainly was.
We spent a great day here, with access to toilets and a bar at the resort which was perched on the side of the rock.
It was called Kallipso.
Paul must have taken a hundred photos and clambered along, through and over every rock while I lazed on a sun lounge.
One of those beds is mine. Usually 6 euros per day for an umbrella and two beds - but no-one came to collect our money and when I tried to pay at the bar, I was cheerfully waved away.
The rock hole on the side of the fjord, opposite the sunbeds, that gave access to an upper path which led back to the resort along the cliff top.
Looking back through the rock hole you can see the bridge strung across the water. Those shadows in the water are scuba divers coming back into the fjord. Goodbye Kallipso - we had a great day.
After two days down south we crossed the mountains again, going north to the historical city of Rethymno. This is the plaque at the doorway of our hotel and below, the Venetian doorway itself leading through to our room and breakfast patio.
Rethymno has been inhabited for 3,800 years and in that time has ben dominated by the Turks, the Arabs and the Venetians. Like Chania, it is therefore a culturally diverse and historically rich city.
The Venetian Fortezza was built in 1580 by the Venetians to protect the city. The walls are still extremely sound, but inside where existed a whole village, little remains except two churches, an amphitheatre and the huge underground storage tunnels for water, food and armaments.
The Fortezza affords wonderful views of Rethymno, its harbour and the sea.
The Rimondi Fountain was built in 1626 and was the main water source in what was then the centre of the Venetian city.
The ancient Monastery of the Franciscan order now houses the Archeological Museum which was fantastic but alas, no photos permitted.
There is a lot of history to see in the area around Rethymno - villages along the old coast road to Chania; the hill villages; the Arkadie Monastery, a World Heritage Building, and of course Psiloriti Mountain, the birthplace of Zeus.
But we left all of those discoveries for another time and happily spent our three days pottering around the old town and its waterfront. The Greek habit of painting tree trunks white.
We thought the Venetian Harbour at Chania was more beautiful than that of Rethymno.
However the actual old town of Rethymno itself was more interesting than that of Chania.
So put both Chania and Rethymno on your bucket list.
Our twelve days in Crete flew by. Our last day was spent in Heraklion killing time to catch the overnight ferry back to Pireaus.
Once back in Athens, we had to fill the day from 7am until 9pm in 37 degree heat. We went to the local beach. I have never felt so hot.
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