I’m back from my holiday, and I’m so happy to be back to writing! I spent two weeks away on the beautiful island of Crete, or Kriti in Greek, and learnt a few life lessons during my time there… as well as swimming, eating and sleeping a lot!
I have a number of blog posts planned where I’ll focus on my favourite places, what I read, and also what I wore, but for now I thought a general hello and reflection on my time on the island would be a good place to start…
Digital detox
Part of my holiday was around getting away from all my tech – it’s easy to leave work at the office, but not so much when it’s on a portable machine that just does so much else. The temptation would have been too strong… And so I left my laptop at home, and limited my time on my phone, mainly because I was around water a lot of the time. And it was bliss.
Becoming my body
I also learnt a lot about my body over the last two weeks. It had been a long time since I’d swam, and spending two weeks doing it every day for a few hours really ironed out some kinks. Despite the hot sun, suncream, and salt water, the exercise and heat kept my skin clean, and I left feeling very body positive – a strange thing to say when I was not as “beach ready” as certain ads make out.
Admiring the island
Finally… Crete is just stunning. I stayed in a little village called Prines, supposedly named after a princess who once lived there, with its pastel walls and creeping plants. During the day I would swim in the pool, or go to a few nearby beaches, and in the evening we would head into the port town of Rhythmno, where University of Crete is based.
Out in the countryside, plants grow tall and in all sorts of shapes and colours, wildlife takes the form of feral cats, huge violet carpenter bees, and swooping swifts dipping there beaks in our pool was a real delight. From the few photos I gleaned from my huge camera roll, you can see just how gorgeous everywhere is… I’m looking forward to sharing more with you over the next few days.
