Alright, this trip is getting too adventurous too early!
This morning we headed out to the bus terminal before 7am to catch our bus to Rethymno, which is about 1.5 hours away. We arrived after 9am and headed up to the Venetian Fortezza, which was rather uninteresting. After lunch, we walked over to the Venetian Harbour. We were greeted by a waiter as we “entered” the harbour. At first I thought we’d gone the wrong way and entered a restaurant by mistake. But in fact, the harbour was just a strip of restaurants with chairs set right to the edge by the water! It was quite a sight, but unfortunately, not very pedestrian-friendly at the same time.
We left Rethymno for Hania at around 2pm. It was another 1.5 hours of bus ride. We like the harbour at Hania much more as it feels less touristy, with plenty of space for strolling. We stopped by a creperie at the harbour, with a great view of the lighthouse, to rest. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to wait for the sunset, since we had to catch our 3-hour bus ride back to Iraklio at 8pm.
After dinner, we went back to the bus terminal for our bus. Unlike the one in Iraklio, this terminal is basically just a big parking lot, with no sign to indicate which bus is for which destination. We noticed that all the parked buses belong to the “ANEK” line, while the tickets that we purchased were for the “Minoan” line. I went to the ticket counter to ask and was rudely told to just wait for the bus where we got off before. “Where we got off?” This is where we got off. In this parking lot, we thought. We made a frantic round around the parking lot looking for our Minoan bus to no avail. I returned to a different counter with the same question, and was told to just look for the bus in the parking lot. We were getting really frustrated as we were fast approaching the 8pm departure time. I was this close to giving up and buying an ANEK line ticket to Iraklio. But as we aimlessly looked around, we noticed a single person standing in the middle of the parking lot, seemingly at the very spot where our bus had previously let us out this afternoon. Was that what they meant by “where we got off”? I mean, literally where we got off? We approached the man to ask if that was where the Iraklio bus would be. “I hope so” was his answer. He wasn’t sure himself. Later on we saw him talk to a bus driver who eventually helped him locate the sole Minoan bus that was tucked away in a corner. What a relief it was as he directed us to the bus. Minutes later the bus backed out and stopped at the very spot where we got off earlier in the afternoon to wait for passengers.
Chris quickly fell asleep as the bus departed the parking lot. I tried to sleep but couldn’t as I was being thrown left right and center by the bus. The driver was racing on the highway! We arrived soon after 10pm, almost a whole hour ahead of schedule! Well, as long as we arrive alive, I won’t complain 
