Eight day Itinerary in Brazil!

 

This was a much anticipated trip. I was travelling to the South American continent for the very first time and had heard great things about the same

Prerequisites to note before leaving

1. Get your yellow fever vaccine done. It had been checked only once on the way, but it is mandatory

2. Brazil visa process is very slow. Your travel agent needs to have an office in Delhi. Documents have to uploaded online. after which an appointment date will be given almost a month later. At that date, the travel agent representative has to reach the embassy in Delhi (the consulate in Mumbai for 3 states) on that date. Remember, the latest bank statement has to be updated when you present the documents at the embassy. After that, it takes almost 7 to 10 working days for the Embassy to release the visa. Start the process atleast 2 months in advance if not before.

3. Carry a mosquito repellant cream or spray that suits you, from India.

4. Pack shorts and swimming trunks/suits as well.

5. Travel to Brazil is very long. Be prepared for really long hauls.

6. Book a guided tour with English speaking guides.

WE LOST ONE DAY AT DUBAI DUE TO THE THEN ONGOING AIRSPACE RESTRICTIONS, AND HAD CRAMMED THE DAY 1 AND DAY 2 OF THE ITINERARY TOGETHER, WHICH I WILL IGNORE FOR THE FLUIDITY OF THE BLOG!

Day 0

We landed at Rio at 4 pm. Luckily we had a tour guide pick us up (Mr Marcelo). We drove into the city and soaked into the different changing scenes of Rio. Our hotel was at the Copocabana beach. We refreshed, and headed for a pizza dinner, which was average to good. After dinner, we walked along the Copocabana beach. 

It was lively, with the majority of beach activities being sports related: many people were practing football, volleyball and footvolley. There was a music festival at a place, and subdued samba in some restaurants . We were here in June, which is the Brazilian winter. It was slightly nippy, but comfortable. Headed back to the hotel and crashed.

Day 1

0830. Breakfast at the hotel

0930. Head to the Corcovado mountain. On the way, a football fan could spot the Flamengo club, Fluminense club and the Maracana stadium. Ths journey takes twenty to thirty minutes

1000. Book the tickets which take you up the mountain. As this was winter, we went through the processes quite quickly, but as I have heard this can be a road block, and people would usually get the 1050 train if they reached at this time.

1000. The train during its ascent takes us deep into the Tijuca national park, an urban rainforest. Soak in the first sights of greenery all around. As the train ascends higher, the train slows down at vantage points for amazing views of the city. Sit in the right side of the ascending train for best views.

1040. Disembark at the final station. You can take the steps up to the Christ the Redeeemer statue, or perhaps take an elevator and escalator combination. Once you reach there, let your guide first explain all the different views before you rush for your Insta snaps. Situated at 700 m above sealevel, we can pretty much see a lot of Rio from up there, and it better to understand what we are looking at.

1050 to 1150. Soak in the the veiws, the sun, the weather, and take great photos of the the very famous statue that very much exists in all videos and blogs about Rio De Janeiro! A restroom exists near the place where you embark the train again, along with a coffee shop and souvenir shop. 

1150 to 1220. Train down.

1220 to 1330. Head towards one of the buffet restaurants for lunch. If it has churrascaria style food, its even better. We enjoyed a huge variety of food here. For vegeterians, dont worry one bit. Brazil is an amazing place for vegeterian delicacies as well.

1330 to 1500. Let the driver take you to one end of the endless beach stretches and drive all along the coastline of Rio to the other end, wherein lies the Sugar Loaf mountain. Stop at multiple panoramic view points of Brazils coast, rich neighbourhoods at one end and the poorer favelas. Do not venture into the favelas unless you have a planned tour for safety purposes.

1500. Sugar Loaf Mountain. In summers the base of the sugar loaf mountain where you get into the Gondolas that take you up the hill can be quite busy, so plan accordingly. We had it pretty quick, and were up our way pretty quickly. The gandolas are two in number. One is upto the Morro da Urca mountain (220 m above sea level), and then to the Sugar Loaf mountain (396 m). It is a monolithic rock. The views from the top offer a different perspective to Rio's landscape. It lies at the mouth of the Guanabara bay. 

Its easy to spend an hour on each of the mountains, with stunning views various cafes at the top. On the way back, we decided to trek down the Morro da Urca. The trail was awesome to say the least, but its not for for people with osteoarthritis of the knee, as the steps on the trail are quite steep at places. We reached the bottom at 1745.

1800. Reach the hotel and shower.

1900. Dinner can be had at one of the multiple restaurants along the Copocabana beach.

DAY 2

(Disclaimer: I will be in the same shirt, as this day never existed in our itinerary)

0930

Go to the Seleron stairs, a famous landmrk in Rio. It was decorated using tiles from all over the world. It is a place where you can easily spend an hour or two, especially if you hang around in the roads nears the stairs. Find the tiles from India!

1130. Walk upto the Cathedral Metropolitana de Sao Sebastio. It is nothing to marvel from the external view, but inside it offers serniity. the walls resemble a pyramid, with lot of glass that allows natural flight to flow in all times

 1400 ;

Post Lunch there are multiple options. For sports fans taking a tour inside the Maracana stadium is a must, (a place where the World Cup Football Finals were held for the very first time in 1950 and again in 2014). Alternatives are to go to a walking tour in the city centre, go to the Botanical garden, catch the sunset at Ipanema beach or go to the Science Museum. We missed all this for obvious reasons.

1900.

Whatever you had chosen to do before this, head to the Lapa area for dinner. You will find numerous restaurants playing Samba music here. The music is good, the food I must say was average, and the atmosphere was vibrant.

2200. Reach room and crash. Its going to be a long day tomorrow!

Day 3

0700: Breakfast and check out.

0730: Drive to Rio airport

1115: Domestic flight (LATAM) to Igauzzu falls. Make sure you get a window seat on the left side. As we approach the Igauzzu, Argentina is very clearly visible from the flight on the other side of the river!

Argentina on the other side! 

1330. Land and Igauzzu and collect your luggage. We were met by our local guide Mr Wagner here. Leave immediately to the Igauzzu falls national park

1400. At the ticketing offcie for the park, pick up ponchos (you are surely going to very wet) and have a quick lunch. Use the rest rooms here.

1430. You will be driven close to one part of the falls, from where you will be transported first by a Jeep pulled trolley, and then by a battery car towards the river downstream of Igauzzu. The guide on the trolley will give you a good overview of the Igauzzu falls. There is an option of taking a walk in the park, but it is not supposed to be something unique, so our guide asked us to skip it.

1500. We got onto the speedboats, covered in ponchos and lifejackets.

1500. It is difficult to choose, but probably this was the best part of the trip. The speedboats race against  current in top speed, giving you a thrill like neber before. We are taken to a serene part of the mighty Igauzzu falls first. The noise is thunderous. Next the speed boats go right upto and right under 'the 3 musketeers' part of the falls. it was thrilling. Our boat driver took us under the fall thrice. Needless to say we were drenched, but enjoyed to the core. The ride back is also fun.

1615. Take the same way back, battery car and trolley to reach the van. The van then travels towards a trekking pathway quite close to the falls. The view of the falls in this trek is magnificent and we tend to stop in many places to take photos of the majestically wide falls (the widest falls in the world, infact)

As you approach closer to the falls, the sounds get thunderous and be prepared to get real wet with the water spray.

You get really close up to the falls as well, and the sun setting at the same time makes it a surreal experience. Take an elevator or a sharp climb upward to your can whicb should have made it there quite some time back

1830. Head towards Foz de Igauzzu, the town next to the falls. It would take you 45 mins to get there, so you might as well head to dinner before checking in. We had dinner at an excellent Indian restaurant and were treated to a variety of Indian dishes. 

2030. Head towards the hotel, check in, shower, dry your clothes under the hair drier and AC fan (good luck with that) and crash for a real early morning the next day.

Day 4

0300. Get up and leave to the airport

0530. Flight from Igauzzu falls to Sao Paulo. Unfortunately there is no direct flight to where we are going next

1000. 4 hour flight to Manaus. Make sure to get the emergency seats if you are tall! Its a routine domestic flight with less leg room otherwise. Manaus time zone is one hour behind all the places we have been thus far. It is quite close to the equator bang in the middle of the Amazon rain forest.

1200. Land at Manaus. We had out guide pick us up and take us directly to the Manaus opera house. It was not a great day to do site seeing though, as we were really tired with all the travelling and less sleep in the preceeding one and a half days. The Opera house at Manaus is well worth a visit. Its acoustics are well known all over the world and light pink colour gives it an unique mystic feel

1400. Lunch at any one the local restaurants near the Opera house. The local food is unique and well suited to our palates.

1500. Check into the room. We stayed at the Juma Opera Hose hotel. A few of us crashed till late 630 pm, a few travelled the city of Manaus after 5 pm (not particularly fun, you can miss it). 

1900. Dinner at the same location. Local food was awesome.

2130. Crash again.

Day 5

0800. Get up, followed by breakfast and check out

0930. We had another tout guide, Mr Anselmo pick us up. We travelled by van to the banks of the river Rio Negro (the main river at Manaus). Our luggage and we were transferred onto a boat.

1030. Our boat tour began. Today's highlight was to sail to the 'Meeting of the Waters' where the darker coloured Rio Negro river (colder) meets the muddier Amazon river (warmer) and doesn't mix for quite a distance due to the temperature differences. It was an awesome experience just to see this, but even more astonishing for us was the sheer size of the two gigantic rivers. In the middle of the river, there was a point that their shores were not visible upto the horizon. Our routine thinking pictures rivers from one coast to the other; here at one time only one coast was clearly seen!

1200. We passed by a few Amazonian villages and explores the local lifestyle (these were relatively modern villages).

1300. We had a lunch at one of the restaurants near the Janauary national park. The food was awesome.

1330. We walked on a small pathway leading into the national park. Our first experiences of the Amzon rain forest began, as we started seeing birds and some monkeys in their natural habitat. The highlight of this trip were the largest water lillies in the world, Victoria amazonica.

1400. Shop at a local handicraft store

1430. Head back to Manaus, transfer to a bus, travel 45 minutes by the tour bus, jump onto yet another boat and speed on the never ending Amazon river, river beds, backwaters and numerous tributaries to finally reach our home for the next 3 days: right in the middle of the forest: Evolucao Ecolodge! (There are numerous such places in this place but they are hugely spread oot

1600. Welcome drinks and food were provided and we were guided to out private cottages, They all seemed like a dream come true for nature lovers. 

1830. Just hung around at the lodge that evening, chatting and relaxing besides the river bed, surrounded by greenery as far as the eye can see and hearing the sounds of various insects and birds. What we came to know later was that in this place, the water is slightly acidic. This meant there were NO mosquitos in the place we lived. Dinner is served between 7 and 8. Food is awesome, even for the ardent vegeterian.

2200. Crash!

Day 6

The next few days are relaxing

0730. Breakfast time

0830. Trek into the Amazon rain forest begins! Two guides will come with you. In this two to three hour trek, expect uneven surfaces, very gentle incline and great humidity. Carry water with you, and apply you mosquito repellant now; mainly to ward off ticks. As you walk in, you will see many monkeys for sure, native trees, spiders, insects and ofcourse snakes. The guide will take care of your safety, don't worry! 

1200: Lunch

1530. Boat tour in the forest. Amazing ride this one. We were taken further and further into the Amazon rain forest to spot animals in their natural habitat, and that we did. We saw many monkeys, a variety of birds, multiple sloths and Cayman (alligators) as well. The Caymans will be visible only after dark, as their eyes glow in the dark.

Lazy as a sloth

1900. Dinner

2230. Crash!

Day 7

0730. Breakfast

0830. Trip to meet the dolphins. Haven seen the dolphins before in Dubai and Goa, we initially thought this may not be as exciting as the days before. But, boy were we wrong. At a pre-specified place, we disembarked the boat, changed and got into the river. The guide there started calling the dolphins for a meal, and soon all around us were dolphins. They were playful creatures who dont mind being petted at all, especially in the belly. Be prepared for sudden chills down the spine as you never see the dolphin crashing into to you till the last moment!

1200. Lunch

1530. Trip to go fishing. This was an unique experience as I certainly had never been fishing before. The place where the activity occurred was sublime, again right in the middle of the forest. We enjoyed it. 

1730. Stop by at a local village to see the sunset. We also caught up on a local village football match!

1800. Soak in the views and sounds in the last night on the resort. 

1930. Dinner.

2100. Crash!

Day 8

0700. Breakfast and check out

0800. Drive back, first by boat and then by van to the airport at Manaus.

After some rescheduling etc, we started out long journey back home via Brasilia (the capital city), Rio De Janerio, Dubai and back to home.

To say this trip was awesome is the greatest understatement. Truly etched in our memories for ever!

Three Day Winter Itinerary in Iceland

 

Prerequisites:

Adequate winter clothing, readiness for unpredictable weather, and pre-booked tours

Iceland is a place that I always planned to visit twice, once in winter and once in summer! I took the traditional Sankranti winter vacation to Iceland this time!

Day 0

Well, lets put it this way: getting to Iceland is tough. I think there are a couple of one stop options from India, but they didn't suit my plans. I began my trip after wrapping up my commitments in a conference at Vellore. Hence my my onward travel itinerary was; well, hold your breath; Vellore - Chennai -  Dubai - Amsterdam - Keflavik - Reykjavik (Road, Emirates, Emirates, Iceland Air, Road)

Keflavik is the town with the international airport in Iceland. In the Iceland air flight towards Keflavik, I purchased the shuttle tickets from Keflavik to Reykjavik (although you can purchase the same from the airport as well). The other options to travel include taxi (expensive), or you could rent a car for the days in Iceland from the airport. I didn't opt for the latter because of three reasons : international driving licence requirements, driving in the right side of the road, and mainly the general danger of driving in Iceland in winters (slippery roads, and limited daylight). You may be adventurous and opt for the latter, but it is generally discouraged in winters.

It was perhaps four thirty when I left the airport, but boy was it already dark! It had started drizzling already, and I walked it to the bus. The bus was full. It took an hour to the reach the Reykjavik bus terminus, from where another small bus dropped us off to the hotels. I decided to stay at the Hotel Grand Reykjavik, and found it to be in a rather convenient location to move around. It was six in the evening when I reached the room. I showered and headed out for dinner. I decided to walk to the Hilton hotel closeby as Google had given good ratings to the restaurant. I slipped on the ice on the way, which made me watch my all my steps in the entire trip! Fish and Chips and the local Gull beer made an excellent dinner. 

Iceland is five and a hours behind India. The time difference and the very long journey made me crash at 930 pm itself. 

Day 1

Firstly the dress code! Remember, although the temperature may seem relatively mild compared to the colder places you have been (I have been to Longyearbyen, where the temperature was -26 degrees C), Iceland can fell extremely cold, due to the constant wind/rain. The temperature was 1 degree Celcius on day 1 and boy was I happy I had dressed appropriately.

Back to the dress code (I purchased most of the stuff at Decathlon in Hyd): two caps, inner puffed jacket over the shirt, outer water proof jacket with a water proof hoodie, winter water proof gloves, inners, jeans, water proof ski pants, socks and shoes. Crampons are recommended, but I decided against them (I did just fine).

I had booked the trip through Viator. Today I planned to travel in the Golden Circle tour.

0630. Breakfast at the hotel.

0730. Pick up at the hotel and transfer to a central point.

0800. We got into the Golden circle tour bus. The bus was comfortable and there was free Wifi. The tour was excellent and she gave excellent insights about Iceland in general.

1000. Thingvellir national park. Well, it was still pitch dark when we got here. We were taken to a view point, where we could see the area of the oldest parliament in the world (Viking era). We could see the Thingvalavatn, the largest natural lake in Iceland. The sun rays had just started coming over the horizon and this made it an excellent view (better seen with the Samsung night camera, though). We could see the place where the tectonic plates of North America and Eurasia actually meet, making this country most prone for earthquakes and volcanoes. Grab an opportunity for a quick coffee/hot chocolate, and using the washroom before you leave the place!

Night mode on Samsung

1100. Geysir. We reached here at 1100. The sun had risen, but it was cloudy and it was drizzling constantly. But the area was awesome, It was a large area bubbling with geothermal activity. There were small steam vents, boiling mud pits, streams of boiling hot water and the of course the geysers! 

Strokkur is the largest of all the geysers, and it erupts every ten to twleve minutes, throwing up a large jet of hot water up in the sky. If you are patient with the camera, you can catch the spectacle very nicely (it spurts for about  8 to 10 seconds). On the rainy day, most of us in the tour decided that it was meant for our eyes only! 

1200. The Gullfoss (The Golden Waterfall). Boy, was this a large waterfall. It looked special as on either side of the waterfall, the mountains were covered with ice and snow, while the water made its way relentlessly. The sound was thunderous. There were numerous viewing platforms, including some close to the falls. The pathways can be very slippery here, so be careful! Lunch at the visitor centre.

1300. From here many people decide to take a snowmobile trip/monster truck up the glacier and go to the natural ice caves. Further extension of the same trip could take you to the Sky Lagoon or the Blue Lagoon. I decided to skip them all. The reason was I had already visited a mega glacier and ice cave in Svalbard on a dog sled (one of my best tourist experiences) and I am personally not a fan of public baths. However,  although the camera use is difficult, the two aforementioned lagoons are supposed to be very beautiful indeed). I later came to know that the glacier and the ice cave trips on that day had been a nightmare due to very heavy rains! We had lunch at the Gulfoss visitor centre (the lamb soup, was awesome, its a local delicacy). 

1400. We headed back to Reyjkavik. Why did I take the shorter trip? Well wait, wait...

1600. Back to the Grand hotel, rest and shower.

2000. Dinner at the Grand Hotel by the fireplace!

2030. Pick up at the Grand hotel for the Northern Lights tour! The tour guides are very experienced and they know just where to take you. Mind you, it was a very cloudy night, yet the tour guides took us to two places where we could sight the northern lights, albeit not for very long at each place, before the clouds moved in again. Always book this tour on the first night itself, as the tour operator will take you the next night for free should the first night be marked as 'unsuccessful'. Ours was marked unsuccessful, but the trips of the subsequent nights were cancelled due to persistent rainy weather 😞. 

2345. Reach hotel and crash!

Day 2

0630: Get up, get ready and get some breakfast!

0830. The minibus came and picked me up right from the hotel. The South Coast Small Group tour begins! Well, it was a very rainy day again today. We rode in complete darkness to the first point, a place chosen by the tour guide in such a way that we could cover the maximum distance before sunrise at 11 am. Use the restroom facilities on a the way, when the driver stops for a short while and also pick up some Hot chocolate/coffee.

1100.  Skogafoss. It is a majestic waterfall which is a 60 metre drop. Somehow the downstream river is very serene. There is a viewing platform at an elevation, but it is quite a steep climb. The view from there is supposed to be incredible, but I, like most others, skipped it as it was raining steadily. The waterproof jackets come to your rescue.

1200. Reynisfjara beach/ Black sand beach. This was a stunning beach, which was formed by flowing lava and silt directly hitting the ocean. The currents here are very strong and we were not to go towards the water. If you get pulled in, the next piece of land would only be Antarctica! Large basalt columns line the beach, which make it a stunning spectacle. Rain as usual played spoil sport. 

1300. Lunch at the visitor centre. For the second day running, I took the lamb soup , which was delicious. I rounded it up with a cake and hot coffee. 

1330. Pass by the picturesque town of Vik, quite photogenic (had it not been for the incessant rains!)

1430.  Solheimajokull glacier. It is a tongue of a much larger glacier. We need to walk a short distance from the parking lot to actually see the part of the glacier meeting the lake that is formed by the melting ice, with floating icebergs. It was quite the spectacle. The evidence of global warming was seen when the guide explained how much the glacier had been eroded in the last decade. 

We then decided to walk away from the pathway created and move along the lake shore. That was a mistake and the black soil was very soggy. My shoe got stuck in the mud, as a result to balance myself I had to adjust in such a way that my gloves and socks were soaked in the wet black muck, making the rest of my trip, well, not so 'clean'. It reminded me of the short hikes we used to have in the western ghats near Pune in the college days.

1530.  Seljalandfoss. When we browse Iceland on YouTube or Google, you would often find this waterfall in all vlogs/blogs. It is an iconic waterfall and it was particularly voluminous on that day. In summers, you can actually go behind the waterfalls, which was closed as the path was frozen. You can good photos here, Use the restroom and also drink something here, as it is a 2 hour drive back to town after that.

1800. Reached back to the base well past the Iceland sunset. Well, to get myself cleaned up, took up enormous effort and time (and money if you count the clothes I had sent to laundry). Watched a Manchester City EPL match, to see our team squander yet another lead (the story of the year for City), room service for dinner and crash. 

Day 3

Day in Reykjavik

0900. Get up late and have a leisurely breakfast

1000. Head out by cab to the Perlan museum.  This is a beautifully designed museum to describe the natural wonders of Iceland. Included in the museum price are the Planetarium show (concentrated mostly on the Northern lights), the volcano show and the Ice cave experience. After the time spent indoor in the museum, head up to the fourth floor, where you can grab an ice cream and then walk on the terrace, from where you can see the panoramic view of the whole of the city. Mind you, the wind can be particularly strong in some parts. Overall, an awesome experience!

1230. Head out to the Hallsgrimkirkja, the iconic cathedral of Reykjavik. It is the poster picture of any Reykjavik website or social media site. A lot of photo taking opportunities here. The church itself was serene.

1330. Lunch at Cafe Loki or at Three Coats. Cafe Loki is a favourite for traditional Iceland food. It is famous for the fermented shark dish ( I was warned about its pungent taste and I decided to skip it). I decided to move to the Three Coats restaurant, which is smaller and less conspicuous, but it is a place that  serves another exotic Iceland dish: whale meat steak (sssh!) It was awesome!

1500. Take a snap at the Sun Voyager; nothing to  ride home about, but an iconic Iceland landmark nevertheless.

1515 to 1545. Burn your lunch calories by walking along the sea coast to the Fly over Iceland building

1600. Fly over Iceland. Do not miss this! This is a 7D experience, where you will be made to sit on a chair (with safety seat belts, of course). The chair will move forward into an empty well, where your feet will be hanging in the air, and the 7D show starts to give a surreal flight over all parts of Iceland. It was exhilarating! However, I will not recommend this for people with vertigo and heart conditions!

1645. Walk to the Lava Show museum, a short walk. Attend the Lava Show, which is another greatly unique experience! You can see artificially produced but scientifically accurate Lava pouring down the centre of the room (do not dare touch, the lava is at 800 degrees celsius when it is poured down and remains well above 200 degree celsius throughout the show). A geologist will explain the various properties of Lava, and about all the infamous volcanoes that had rocked Iceland.

1800. Head back to the hotel via the church, as it looks astonishingly good at night time too!

1900. Pack for a really early morning departure the next day, enjoy a fireplace dinner and crash!

Day 4

Take a taxi back to Keflavik and head home! (I had a stay over in Amsterdam on my way back)

Six day Itinerary to Athens and Crete

Prerequisites: Gang of friends, international driving licence with atleast two of them!

Three of my college friends and I were planning this trip since long. It was a trip that was designed with more of catching up in mind, rather than tourism, and boy, this trip was an ideal place to hang out with dear old friends.

Day 0: 

Two of us from India landed in Athens airport at 1 pm. That's when most flights from India land. Keeping in mind our next day trip again from the airport, we (pre)decided to stay close to the airport. We had booked in an apartment (Four Seasons apartment, the host Miltos was an awesome host) in Artemida, a fifteen minute drive off airport by cab. Keep in mind, the city of Athens is a good hour away from the airport. After freshening up, we ordered food to the room. Food is good in Greece in general, both for vegetarians and non vegetarians. Rice is quite a stable carbohydrate accompaniment here. 

1600.

Post lunch, we headed by Uber to the city of Athens. There are multiple places to see in Athens, but it was a place I had been to earlier. I had to chose two sights for my friend to see; I decided to take to him to the Acropolis first.

1700.

Walk up to the Acropolis, and purchase tickets to the Acropolis and the slopes. It is around 5 Euros per head. You will be given a time to enter. We entered at 1730. First head to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is a stone Roman amphitheatre. It is an amazing site for photos and the steep slopes of the ampihteatre will make us wonder how great it would be to listen to a show here, There are shows that you could attend, but that is at a specific time from another entrance.

                      

Climb up the slopes of the Acropolis. Enjoy the historic architecture of the  Acropolis. Don't get stuck long in clicking photos while climbing upwards, as the best part is at the top. At the top of the Acropolis mountain, enjoy panoramic views of the whole of Athens, Wear good shoes, don't forget!

Don't make funny poses here, this is a holy site

Its quite likely you will get stuck here clicking a lot of photos. Head down in an hour.

1830. 

Enjoy a cool lime or strawberry slush near the ticketing office. 

Here is the catch. The sun sets quite late in summers, so you may go to the Parthenon and Temple of Olympian Zeus, both of which are quite similar, but well worth visiting. Cabs are easily available at the Acropolis

We headed out to the Panatheniac stadium

1900. 

Panatheniac stadium.

It was built in 330 BC, how renovated over years. Presently it is made up of marble. The official handing over of the olympic torch to the host nation occurs every Olympic year here in this place. It was also the site of ancient athletic events. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The present complex looks very beautiful.

1930./2130 (According the the number of places visited) :

Head back to Artemida.

2030. 

If you have not had dinner already, head to the beach of Artemida. We had dinner at the Archontikon, which was right beside the beach. The sunset occurred at 2045, which can be quite a change for a people coming from India, The variety of food on offer was great. 

2200. Crash!

Day 1

We had two of friends come over from the US in the morning and it was great catching up. Personally picked up some breakfast from a local bakery, and boy was it yum!

The scheme was to take the trip nice and slow, so all we did the whole morning was chat. We checked out at 1 pm, and headed over the the Archontikon for lunch. The view from the beach is quite different from it was during the twilight hours. 

1400 

Our host rode us past a viewing point on a hill near the Agios loannis Prodormos church, from where you can get an entire panoramic view of the Artemida town, which was beautiful. We got dropped off at the Athens airport.

1750. Skyjet flight from Athens to Heraklion, Crete. This flight is notorious for being late, so expect it!

1930. 

We reached Heraklion. We had prebooked a car. Always do that in Crete, as it is not Uber or coach friendly. Fortunately, our two US friends found it easier with their licences and their experience in left hand drive cars to drive around. For Indians, it can be quite confusing in the narrow roads of Greece, especially when confronted suddenly by a bus coming in the centre of the road from the opposite direction. Our knee jerk reaction would be to push the car towards the left side of the road, which could be disastrous 😀.

Although there are numerous hotels and apartments in Heraklion, it is to be noted that Heraklion is one side of Crete, and everyday travel would be difficult. Also, it is quite crowded. We decided to book our vacation villa in Rethymno, a city in the centre of the northern coast of Crete. It is less crowded (relatively) and accommodation is a little cheaper. The drive was of one hour, We reached Villa Diana in Rethymno at 930 pm and ordered food, which was again delicious, 

An hour in the Jacuzzi. (a great value add) and catching up completed day 1 of the trip. Crashed an hour past midnight.

Day 2

Get up late and have a lazy breakfast

1100. 

Reach the castle side beach road at Rethymno. Plenty of parking spaces here (cheat code). You could climb up to the castle from here, which would offer you panoramic views of the whole town and seashore. We decided to walk along the road, and laze around at the restaurants by the sea side, once for beer and once for lunch. 

1400. 

Head towards the city centre Rethymno. Plenty of shopping opportunities, but dont miss the icecream shops here. You can easily spend a couple of hours here.

1600. 

Head back to the room, and rest in the afternoon. 

          OR

Head towards the Marina and go parasailing. I heard its an awesome experience, and I still kick myself for missing it

1830. 

Dip in the pool in the evening or drive to the city centre again, where you get views of the sea as the sun sets.

2030. Manadatory Jacuzzi time.😁

Day 3.

1000 to 1130. 

Drive to the Agia Sofia caves. You will probably stop in numerous locations on the way for great photo oppurtunities by the sea, and also by the valleys. Park near thr Agia Sofia Caves.

1130 to 1300. 

Climb the 210 steps up the caves. I was breathless, needless to say, on the way up. However, once you reach the summit, the trip in the caves is well worth it. There is a small church in the caves, but also numerous stalactites and stalagmites. Awesome place for photos.

1300 to 1400. 

Head back a short distance where you reach a hamlet with restaurants right next to a beautiful valley. The views are stunning and the food awesome. Do not forget to use the washroom here!

1400 to 1500. 

Drive to the Kedrodasos beach. After parking the car, it entails walking down a rough path to the beach. It is not your sandy beach, but boyoboy, I will not be exaggerating when I say that it was probably the most picturesque beach i have ever been to. Instagrammers beware; you may go nuts here. Dont get too wet here, spare your swim clothes for the next destination. Walk up back to the car.

1500 to 1530. 

Drive to the Elafonesi Beach. 

1530 to 1830. 

Elafonesi beach. This is is much more popular beach. After parking the car, you again need to walk a good kilometre or so. So its better to use the paid bathrooms at the parking itself.  This beach is famous for two things, a walk through the crystal clear waters to a nearby island, and the red coloured sand near the isalnd due to the phytoplanktons. This beach is much more crowded, and the water is clean . You will get pretty wet here, so dont forget to pack your beach wear!. The salinity is high and you can float in this water so easily! You probably wouldn't want to leave the place, to be frank. Grab a coffee up near the parking again, and use the washrom again as its a long drive back

2100. Reach Rethymno and eat your dinner before heading back. We decided to eat Indian on this day. 

2330. Try to sleep early!

Day 4

0530: 

Begin your drive from Rethymno to the Heraklion Marina 

0730. 

Check into one of the boats towards Santorini. (Always prebook). You can drive your car into the boat. We had taken the Power Jet Boat from the Seajets company.

0800. 

Boat leaves from Heraklion. Have your breakfast in the jet. Cannot comment much on the quality of the food and coffee. Walk upto the open deck at the top. Be prepared for choppy waters and rocking from one side to the other! It was an amazing experience.

1100. 

Drive out of the boat into Santorini, and drive towards Oia village, the so called Instagrammers paradise.

1200-1300. Roam around Oia. Don't expect anything similar to Instagram here. Its very crowded. For a quick pic opportunity, walk up to the main square church. After reaching there, take a right till you reach another small church. Get into the lane just beyond it, walk a few steps down, where you will find a closed gate. That's it. There will be a line of tourists waiting to take a photo at the 'perfect spot' where you get the whole village, the blue rooftops, the white houses and the sea coast. You could walk around in certain small lanes to experience the local culture and buy some momentos. Almost at every lane, you might want to take a picture. But remember, there will always be people hustling around, so it may be impossible to get a very serene photo. Stop for a frozen yoghurt.

1300 to 1330. 

Drive to the Red beach. On the way, there are some places for panoramic photos shoots with distant white coloured villages.

1330 to 1500. 

After parking the car, be prepared for a brief hike around a small mountain to reach the place. The red beach was awesome and not to be missed, as it offers an unique perspective into the nature that defines Greece. Have a quick lunch near the parking. Alternatively visit the black sandy beach which is also supposed to be very picturesque. 

1500 to 1630. 

Travel to Pyrgos. Climb up to the highest point of Santorini for panoramic views and walk around in the relatively less crowded but equally beautiful narrow lanes. Start back on time

1700. 

Ferry back to Heraklion. Catch a small nap, or have a refreshing coffee, or both!

1900. 

Drive back from Heraklion to Rethymno. On the way, we stopped for dinner at a place called Bali (I know, I know). The restaurants over here were also in a superb location by the sea. 

2130. 

Back to Rethymno. Jacuzzi, shower and crash!

Day 5

1000. 

Drive to the Preveli gorge.

1100-1200. 

Preveli Gorge. This is the speciality of this islands. The mountains are almost adjacent to the sea, and this place seems so far away from any potential beach. Its a beautiful valley and you can spend your time hiking down the Gorge. The greenery around is beautiful

1200. 

Drive to Preveli palm beach. There are two approaches to this one. One is from the hill road near Preveli monastery. The views look stunning , but if you look at the path towards the beach, you will surely wonder how difficult it would be to climb up once you are there. Most people would make the sensible decision to turn back and drive to another road that takes you closer to an adjoining beach at Preveli itself, from where there is a brief hike around a hill to the original beach.

1300. 

Lunch at the Cafe.

1400. 

Walk along the mountain towards the Preveli beach. Unless you know how to swim well, this beach is a disappointment, as its floors of the beach are not sandy, but full of pointy pebbles and stones that really hurt. But the best part was the small rivulet that forms a lagoon before it joins the sea. This will give you a stunning view of the Preveli Palm Grove This was amazing and gives a beautiful place to take a dip and take photos.

1500. 

Travel to Skinaria Beach. 

1530 to 1630. 

This is a stunningly beautiful beach, and not very crowded. You can have a serene dip here in the crystal clear waters.

1630. 

Coffee at the nearby cafe.

1700. 

Drive back to Rethymno, go back to the castle road, and enjoy a super long dinner at the Sunset restaurant. Oh ,the sunset is extremely beautiful here!

2100. 

Villa, and u guessed it right, jacuzzi, shower and crash.

Day 6. 

Slow start, pack your bags and check out at 1100

1100. 

Drive back to town, shop for family (that's a must, isn't it?), have a leisurely lunch at one of the restaurants near the marina, and icecream

1430. 

Headback to Heraklion 

1630. 

Signoff the car, feel a separation anxiety, and head to the airport, which will be chaotic at that time. If you have a priority pass, better to be seated at the lounge , till the hostess tells you its time to leave. If you leave earlier, you will get stuck for a while as these flights are frequently late.

1930. 

Flight to Athens

2100. 

Have dinner at Athens airport

2200. Check back into the same hotel where you had initially stayed. We had stayed in the Four seasons apartment in Artemida, remember?

Day 7. 

Head back to Athens airport and fly back home.

What a memorable trip it was!