Crete, Greece Part 2

What ended up being tough in Greece was the driving! Instead of following how the GPS wanted us to get somewhere (up and around the mountains) we were "smart" and decided to take the small roads that went right along the coast. After all, it would safe us loads of time and would be much prettier. Ya right. The roads took us straight down the mountain onto the coast line and the roads were super sketchy. I still don't know how our crappy cars made it up and down the super steep dirt roads. These road were made for big 4x4 jeep wranglers, NOT crappy Hyundai's. Not only did our great idea end up being quite dangerous, we added on several HOURS to our 1 hour trip. Once again, lesson learned :)

We took this picture after several hours of being stuck on the horrendous roads and finally finding a normal paved road after climbing a steep mountain. This doesn't do it justice!



Here are some of the views once we got back up on the paved road!





After several hours of being in the car, it did finally pay off. We had to drive on a couple more back roads (although paved!) to get to a beach. On our way down to the beach, we passed this pretty rock.



It was so nice to have found a beach! I loved this beach.







Pretty sure Meika turned 8 months old that day I took this picture :)



Every time we made it to a beach on the trip, the boys would immediately get in the water and start snorkeling. The water was pretty cold, but it didn't stop them!













Unfortunately the rain clouds worked their way over to us and there was a downpour. We ended leaving and drove around to find some monasteries. The roads were once again a little sketchy and we ended up at this random monastery.



We decided it might not be a good idea to bring our loud kids inside, so we instead hung outside for awhile and got a drink. The views weren't bad either.



The next day we weren't up for too much driving and went to the nearby Frangokastello beach again.





Meika wasn't so sure about the cold water...













little dare devil Norah





again!!





I can't help but post this series of pictures of the girls jumping. Makes me laugh.

















When we got back to the house after the beach, the girls really wanted to swim in our pool. They still hadn't gotten a chance because we had either been gone all day or it was a little rainy. The water was ICE cold, but the girls didn't care. They also decided it was better without bathing suits :)











and of course Norah was running around peeing wherever she wanted. Why not just hold on to the lawn chair and squat? Genius.



Pretty sunset on our way out to dinner



Loved the looks of this restaurant. The food wasn't too tasty, but the atmosphere was awesome.






The next beach we visited was kind of hidden. We had found a very big popular beach and saw that there was a little side road that went around a cliff on the coastline leading to a cove. The boys walked over and decided that we could drive around the point to get to the secluded beach. I wish I had a picture of how crazy that short drive was. Luckily there was a paved road on the other side of the mountain to get out when it was time to go home!



These 2 were dare devils and made me so nervous! They were not at all afraid to run out into the huge waves!







There were lots of rocks surrounding the beach and I could not get Norah off of them. She is a dangerous little thing



We couldn't keep the boys off either. The climbed all the way to the top and almost gave us a heart attack. Can you see them at the top?



During the trip, the girls would all gather together to watch cartoons



and loved eating breakfast together



and there were a couple more episodes of skinny dipping



Norah was always collecting the snails and calling them her best friends



We were even able to get a family picture crammed into our vacation :)





The last morning after breakfast we were able to get a group shot



and then we headed off to the other side of the island


We had a handful of hours to spare before we had to catch our flight, so hung out in the big city of Chania for awhile. Surprisingly, I loved it.







This picture makes me laugh because Abe and I were walking with most of the girls and people were staring and pointing at us. I think they thought all 5 of these girls belonged to us :)











and of course the girls really wanted to get their feet cleaned







We couldn't have asked for better behavior from our kids, great company and a fun place to explore. I want to go back!!