Tuesday 23rd June 2009
Chania and England
We couldn’t quite believe it was time to leave Crete already. The past week has gone so fast. Obviously we couldn’t start our day any other way than with breakfast in our hotel overlooking the beach. Being the last day, we all enjoyed the last morning eating together.
Getting ready to leave
Shortly afterwards we collected our suitcases, said goodbye to our rooms and hotel staff then boarded the coach which took us to Chania.
Chania
We spent the majority of our last day in Chania which was in the North of Crete and located 72km from Chora Sfakion. We decided to go to Chania as we had heard through doing our human geography tourist interviews that the North of the island is much more developed than Chora Sfakion… and they were right!! Chania attracts a lot more tourists, especially British tourists in comparison to Chora Sfakion. Many of the shop and taverna owners were trying to drag tourists into their shops. Also, Chania even had a Starbucks coffee shop – you did not see one of these in Chora Sfakion or Loutro! It was exciting to go to Chania as we found out while interviewing business owners in Loutro that all but 6 or 7 individuals left Loutro in the winter and stayed in Chania instead as the weather was very violent in Loutro.
Globalisation has occurred in Chania!
Please look at our photos on flickr which illustrate the tourist experience in Chania and reflects how Chania compares to the small villages like Chora Sfakion in the South of Crete. We are all very grateful to have been given the opportunity to visit Chania as we are now able to compare the North to the South and see how tourists can affect the area and what effect they have on the atmosphere.
Later in the afternoon we headed to Chania airport. We were all gutted to be leaving the sun and the sea behind. However on the flight home we reflected on our experiences and adventures in Crete. We had frequently been mentally and physically challenged whether it be when we climbing up Ilingas gorge or scrambling over boulders on the sea front to get from Sweetwater beach to Chora Sfakion.
Overall we can all say we had a fantastic time in Crete. We worked hard, we had fun in the sun and we made friends with people on our course… What more could 5 Reading University Geography students have asked for from a field trip?!
Group 2
