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Considering that I have been living here for 6-7 months now and have been visiting a few times before that, it's incredible that I had never been to Agia Galini, isn't it? I mean, I can see the place from the beach of Matala and from the beach of Komos, it looks like a nice cozy village and I have often wanted to go there.
I am handicapped by my missing sense of direction, and by a (usually male) reluctance to ask for direction. So the first time I wanted to go to Agia Galini, I arrived in Timbaki and saw a sign which I interpreted as "Agia Galini left, Rethymno right", so I went left and ended up in nowhere near Kokinos Piros.
This weekend was miraculously without work! I simply had to go out an enjoy the surroundings, so I decided that NOW would be a good time to see Agia Galini, it's not so far away, maybe I would even bend my pride and ask for direction if I had problems!!
So off I went with the firm intention to have lunch in Agia Galini. When I arrived to Timbaki I looked once more at the sign that had misled me, and in fact it said "Agia Galini right, Rethymno right". Ah, that's why I ended up in nowhere last time when I went left here! So I followed the road right through Timbaki and towards Rethymno. At a certain point there was another choice to make, and passing by I read the sign as "Agia Galini right, Rethymno right", ergo I went right. I had a beautiful drive through the mountains, the snow on Mount Ida seemed ever so near, but it was soon clear to me that I must have misunderstood something. The sign had said "Agia Galini 1 km" and after some 5 kms I reconed I should have gone straight ahead instead of turning right. But this time I simply didn't want to give in, so I turned the car, went back another 5 kms and got on the right way to Agia Galini.
It's a VERY touristy place, but still extremely nice. This is what you like to see when you go on vacation from the North to "some Greek island", small coloured houses climbing up the rocks, a nice harbour with lots of restaurants and bars close to it. Holidays surroundings. And since I was a tourist today, too, I enjoyed the quiet little village, everybody was busy preparing their places for the start of the season, and I can just imagine how the village must be during the summer months. But today it was calm and quiet.
I managed to find an open restaurant offering 'fresh fish'. Geez, it's been months since I've had fresh fish, during winter in Pitsidia there's only meat and meat and meat to be found (Yes, and of course, also vegetables, I tend to ignore them!). So I went in and had a wonderful grilled fish while the lady who was cooking my meal was telling me all about the Bulgarians having let tons and tons of water onto Greece and Turkey by openings the walls of a dam. We were watching it on the news, villages and fields totally under water, desperation.
After lunch I enjoyed the drive back to Pitsidia and the sunny day allowed me to stay a while on the terrace at home, getting a bit of tan while reading.
What really ticks me off is that I have to work still 10 more years before I can get my pension and do nothing. But then again, one should be positive: On a Saturday in Denmark I would have had to stay inside because of too much snow and cold outside, at least here I have the option to escape whenever there is no work.
I am handicapped by my missing sense of direction, and by a (usually male) reluctance to ask for direction. So the first time I wanted to go to Agia Galini, I arrived in Timbaki and saw a sign which I interpreted as "Agia Galini left, Rethymno right", so I went left and ended up in nowhere near Kokinos Piros.
This weekend was miraculously without work! I simply had to go out an enjoy the surroundings, so I decided that NOW would be a good time to see Agia Galini, it's not so far away, maybe I would even bend my pride and ask for direction if I had problems!!
So off I went with the firm intention to have lunch in Agia Galini. When I arrived to Timbaki I looked once more at the sign that had misled me, and in fact it said "Agia Galini right, Rethymno right". Ah, that's why I ended up in nowhere last time when I went left here! So I followed the road right through Timbaki and towards Rethymno. At a certain point there was another choice to make, and passing by I read the sign as "Agia Galini right, Rethymno right", ergo I went right. I had a beautiful drive through the mountains, the snow on Mount Ida seemed ever so near, but it was soon clear to me that I must have misunderstood something. The sign had said "Agia Galini 1 km" and after some 5 kms I reconed I should have gone straight ahead instead of turning right. But this time I simply didn't want to give in, so I turned the car, went back another 5 kms and got on the right way to Agia Galini.
It's a VERY touristy place, but still extremely nice. This is what you like to see when you go on vacation from the North to "some Greek island", small coloured houses climbing up the rocks, a nice harbour with lots of restaurants and bars close to it. Holidays surroundings. And since I was a tourist today, too, I enjoyed the quiet little village, everybody was busy preparing their places for the start of the season, and I can just imagine how the village must be during the summer months. But today it was calm and quiet.
I managed to find an open restaurant offering 'fresh fish'. Geez, it's been months since I've had fresh fish, during winter in Pitsidia there's only meat and meat and meat to be found (Yes, and of course, also vegetables, I tend to ignore them!). So I went in and had a wonderful grilled fish while the lady who was cooking my meal was telling me all about the Bulgarians having let tons and tons of water onto Greece and Turkey by openings the walls of a dam. We were watching it on the news, villages and fields totally under water, desperation.
After lunch I enjoyed the drive back to Pitsidia and the sunny day allowed me to stay a while on the terrace at home, getting a bit of tan while reading.
What really ticks me off is that I have to work still 10 more years before I can get my pension and do nothing. But then again, one should be positive: On a Saturday in Denmark I would have had to stay inside because of too much snow and cold outside, at least here I have the option to escape whenever there is no work.
Seems some anti Galinian's have turned the signs
Yes Galini has turned into a small romantic holiday resort with lot's of restaurants and hotels. Have you been around the hill? To the beach that is? I think the hotels they build next to the camping, in the river delta, are a too much. The village is also extended towards the end, between the west hill and the one Galini is build upon, where hotels are crawling up hill.
The story is that tour operators (most of them English) demanded capacity, which they got and now the hotel operators (most of them not Galinians) have a problem because they created an overcapacity.....
I saw it change from a little fishing port with some hotel accomodation into a hotel with some fishing opportunities.
Only in winter time the village exposes some of its old rustic character.
Nice that you've visited the place where I lived for a while and met with some lovely people.
Wim