Peninsula Hotel in Crete

Seb and I had a good week of rest at Peninsula Hotel in Crete, Greece. The weather was sunny and the sea was really blue and clear. Apart from an afternoon visit to Iraklion; the biggest city in Crete, a day trip to the National Park of Samaria and a day of driving around visiting other cities, we spent our days lazing around the pool and sea deck.

As we were on half-board, we had breakfast and dinner at the hotel. There was always a wide variety food and the food quality was not too bad. We had read in Tripadvisor good comments about this hotel and I was not disappointed. One negative point had to be our room. Though we had a sea view, the room was really basic. Only two bars of soaps were provided. No shampoo, shower cap etc...
The hotel was built along a cliff and everyday we had to descend many flight of stairs to get to the seaside. I preferred to swim in the salt-water swimming pool while Seb preferred the big blue sea. I am not a strong swimmer and felt more comfortable in a confined parameter. I feel safe being a gold-fish in its fish bowl. Seb, however, is like a dolphin who loves the caresse of the gentle waves and the depth of the sea. He could swim for hours in the sea. Well, I did manage to find distractions while lazing around on the deck chair.There were these two middle-age couples who were at the sea deck everyday. The men would snokler around the rocks and corals and picked up sea urchins. They showed the curious sun-bathers how sea urchins could be consumed. I joined in the conversation and had a taste of the sea urchins. They said that sea urchins tasted better than caviar.

Only the female sea urchins were harvested and once opened up, we could see five custard-like, golden sections. These were what we ate. They tasted really fishy and salty. Yeah, what would one expect? Still, it was an interesting discovery for me.

There were many french and retired couples in this hotel. In the evening, there were activities organised like Bingo, Karaoke, Disco, Dance lesson and a Greek Folklore evening. We attended the karaoke night and went back to our room to watch TV after listening to only three songs. It was terrible. Claire and gang could sing much better.

I do not mind coming back here as the staff were helpful and friendly. They seemed to be working round the clock. I was told that the hotel closed during winter. So the staff members only work about 8 months a year. The standard of living in Crete is lower than in France and I dare say lower than Singapore's as well.

Another interesting thing I saw was this sign in every toilet. What did "any paper" mean? Toilet paper as well? My curiousity got the better of me and I finally asked the receptionist after four days. She confirmed that toilet paper should not be thrown into the toilet bowl as the latter would clog up easily. I tried to respect this sign but some habits were just too hard to kick off.