Greetings from Matala, Crete

Hi Guys, yes officially on holiday, but unofficially still 100% AW focused. Last week I was telling you about Bali (the other one here in Crete) and the story of the lost luggage.. if you missed it you can catch up here.

Since then we traveled down the island to the wonderful town of Chania, parked up near the old town, and (without a Hotels.com booking) wandered the ancient Venetian back streets looking for a room to stay. I highly recommend it - go old school and as my wife would say "see what happens come". Chania was way busier than I have seen before, and finding a room was not so easy, we began to worry when five places in a row said sorry fully booked...

Don't worry I said, let's try the area at the very bottom of the harbour opposite the iconic ancient stone lighthouse. The maze of narrow lanes, hung with flowers and steeped in history has a mirid of old trader's houses turned into guest houses, above small shops and cafes. In the evening locals still pull out wonky wooden chairs and sit in small groups drinking Greek coffee or raki and gossiping, nodding, and smiling at the tourists. We asked at one guest house and an old gentleman apologized that they were full, but offered to help us find accommodation..  he took us to a small mini-mart where a young boy got on his mobile and asked around.. the then guy led us around a couple of corners to a beautiful alleyway and called out the name of a lady.. who after a minute appeared..  yes she had a room.. only two nights, but after two we could move to a nicer room for another two. 

So friendly, breakfast wasn't available, but that didn't stop Mrs. Tomas (I think that was her name) from waking us up with tray loads of Greek yogurt, honey, cheesecakes, and mountain tea. Greeting us in the afternoon with homemade apple sponge cake. Boutique hotel it wasn't but the genuine experience it certainly was.

Chania Port and harbour and the rambling old town in June are sublime.. but the gift shops are next level. and I'm a little ashamed to say we spent a lot of time appreciating the creativity, the ideas the local crafts, and the blend of gifts on offer. I was particularly impressed with one giftshop that made hand-painted local tee-shirts in the back and complimented it with Nepal bags, Bali Sarongs, some gemstone jewellery, and Indian cotton bags. The blend of natural products with local input just worked, although the obvious good taste of the owner made the place awesome. A nice touch was that every product had been branded (or re-branded) with the store's logo.. labels stitched in or hang tags. Nice.

Crete has always been a face cream kind of place.. the local, herbs, aloe vera, and olive oil and the ancient wisdom in making herbal remedies. Maybe the sea sponges, maybe the mountain herbs, maybe Venetian traders bringing exotic ingredients...   Anyway, the range of stuff and competition between several well-established local companies is amazing... We ended up spending a lot of money on all sorts of things.. and collecting ideas for future development at AW-Aromatics...  We have spent 20 years developing our range of aromatics at AW, but I'm slightly in awe of the products available here.... maybe a few thousand years of advanced civilization.. since the ancient Minoans and Mycenaeans with influence from traders from across the Mediterranean.. maybe they acquired ancient wisdom we don't understand. Maybe.

Maybe they knew things we don't know...

After a few days in Chania we decided to drive to the south side of the island.. and escaped to Matala.. one of the most beautiful in Europe (I think) places. We have been here before and I have written about this hippy place before. The Beatles came here, hippies lived in the caves by the beach.. they still live here.

"Today is Life - Tomorrow never comes" is the town's slogan.. originally graffiti painted on the port side wall.. now lovingly replicated on mugs, tee-shirts, tea towels, and art all over town. They even have their own patron saint Matala an old hippy that everyone remembers meeting.. immortalized in a song by Joni Mitchell. Matala Moon. 

We found a small apartment above the village with a spectacular view over the beach to the caves.  Coco is up before sunrise, talking to suppliers in China and organizing shipments.. we generally work until about midday and then go exploring...  And did I tell you the gift shops here are also pretty awesome.. maybe we will stay here a few more days... maybe.

Have a wonderful weekend, take care, and enjoy.

Today is Life, tomorrow never comes.

David & Coco