Crete day 2

With a fresh start we attempt to find something to do in BFE. After a quick breakfast of bread, meat, cheese and some veggies (every single morning), we head off in our mini bus to the archeological finds deemed “AF’s” in the area. Its pretty amazing how many people have ruled this country at some point or multiple points in history. We headed towards Zaros where there was supposed to be some ruins as well as a gorge which we could walk. We ended up getting lost of the one lane “main road” that goes through town. Our map showed there was a town (which was a bigger town) but not how to maneuver through it. After the usual miss a car here, squeeze through the buildings there while not hitting a pedestrian, we managed to find our way to ‘the lake’. The lake was on the map so I had a good idea where we would be. However all the signs here seem to take you up one way and back another so there aren’t traffic jams. We gave up and parked and walked the steep climb to what we hoped was the lake. It was in fact about 1km up (literally) the road. This is one of the biggest local springs in the area which made bottled water. It was about the size of Lake Clare for those of you who know it. We got lucky and realized it was also the entrance to the gorge. The hike began uphill, around many gates designed to keep the goats in and across treacherous terrain. The gorge looked like it was really an old riverbed that came off the mountain. At a point we realized we had neither enough water, motivation or hiking companions to finish the trip. So we turned around, got an ice cream and water at the lake and watched the local kids run amuck. Turns out there must have been a field trip to the lake for the school kids. I guess a lake is a big deal when you don’t have many on the island. I would have called it a pond with fish and 5 ducks.
After the hike back to the car, getting back out of town and to a road we knew a bit better (we got lost in that darn city 3 times), we headed for a local set of ruins which dated back to 1600BC. They were small, unmanned, and just kind of neat to look at. From there it was back to the hotel for a 4pm lunch and a swim. I fumbled through the translation book well enough to ask waitress (who also cooks the food) what the recipe was for their awesome chocolate dessert. After our swim we decided to head back out to the beach for sunset again, only this time we were going a little farther and less populated on the beach. The view was great, no restaurants to hawk their services. We relaxed and watched the sun go down and the waves roll up on the beach. I have a feeling this may have been our only truly lazy day on the island. Tomorrow we will be moving on to the west side of the island for a whole new set of adventures.