A few days prior to our departure to Paris, I received an email from our online agency (so much for being cheap) that our flight from Paris was being moved from an 8pm arrival to a 130am the next day. That would mean 3 things: First, that were totally wasting our first day in Greece which has been totally paid for (but spending a longer time in Paris), second, that I’d have a hard time finding an open rent a car and third, that I will most probably have to stay in the airport till the car rentals open and I won’t be getting sleep. So I declined the offer and ask them to find me an alternative flight.

A few days later, I get another email… it was the same thing. Offering me the same flight and asking if I would like to accept. Again, I declined. The next day, the same email but this time I hit the wrong button and click accept. As if in a moment of rejoicing, the screen says “Thank you. You are confirmed your change of flight on blah blah blah.”

That’s not the surprise yet. My biggest surprise was to find out that the car that we rented is Manual (which i’m cool about but not 100% used to it anymore) and that when I asked for the lady in the car rental shop if they had GPS, she just asked me where I was going and when I said “Nikolaos” which was a 1 hour drive, she said “You’ll be fine.” To my mind I thought” What No GPS? Are you kidding me.” I’ve totally relied on using a GPS that I’ve forgotten how to use a map. Now don’t get me wrong, Maps are good. However, there are features that I found it hard to be without.

1. Zoom in and out – a Map shows you the directions where you are going to, but it also shows where you’re not. A GPS zooms in just enough to show you only the road where you and sometimes where you are going to next but though it’s map data is expansive it hides everything out so it won’t confuse you.

2. The audible direction sounds – It knows that 99% of the time your eyes will be on the road (where its supposed to be) and you might miss a turn so it tells you when you need to make a turn.

3. Search feature – if you’re unfamiliar with the city you are currently in and you want to find a place, a restaurant, gas station or hotel, you can search for it and it will give you your options.

Come to think of it. Thats a lot like how Jesus is in our life. Without God, you lose focus. There seems to be so much to do and everything is important. It’s like an apetite that never gets filled. So many road options that you get lost… Life doesn’t zoom in to show you the right way. Also, without Jesus, the Holy Spirit is silenced inside you and you don’t hear alarms going off when you’re on the wrong course. and lastly, there’s no dial a friend who knows everything about your life.

Because I didn’t have GPS, I was scared to get lost and so I spent the first 2 days in the resort and I was complaining deep inside me. I was actually sorry for booking a resort in Crete because it was so, not ugly but just mediocre. I was also sorry for wasting money in booking the car. Something I didn’t have to go far to see and I was wishing that I had just stayed in Paris instead. Eventually, I had the courage to go out and I was stunned not only by Crete’s beauty but also the friendliness of the locals. Cost of living was a lot cheaper than Paris and food was so good – everything was just so fresh – the vegetables, the fruits and the way they cooked Calamari.

It’s sad that when invaders took over Greece, they pretty much.

My favorite Place: Agios Nikolaos Lake and the port of Ellunda are beautiful places. Don’t bother going to Knossos its a waste of time and money. You definitely need to drive around. Heraklion Port area is also nice.

We took a Sea Jet boat to Santorini (2 hours costing 55 euros) and thats another of our favorite place. Book yourself either in Fira or Oia and make sure that your resort is on the Calada side. Santorini offers cliff top view of the sunset and on the other side of the island black volcanic sand beaches. Bring swimsuit and take a swim in the red hot waters of the volcano island. Food for 2 pax is around 30-35 euros.