Agios Nikolaos Day 1

We'd put off making our way to Agios Nikolaos's famous sea-water lake until today, and got there after a really good breakfast down by the harbour. On the way we noted a couple of boat trips which we'll probably go on; one to the leper-colony island of Spinalonga, the other a trip in what's described as a "semi submarine". Also on the way, I took this shot of the crystal clear sea.

The area around the lake really is lovely, and there's no doubt that the combination of lake and sea makes this place really special. With that out of the way we set our sights on the road on the far side of the town which snakes around the coast back in the direction of Heraklion. This too is lovely, and there are a few rather swish hotels along its length. We brazened it out and went into one if these are took the lift to the rooftop swimming pool and sunning area. Empowered by this experience we promised ourselves to try this again in other likely looking hotels during the rest of our stay.

We gradually made our way back to our hotel in the glorious sunshine (though it was very windy on the exposed side of town). A couple of pit stops helped along the way, of course, including a beer or two at a little bar with a few strategically placed tables with a fabulous view over to the distant mountains.

We stopped off at the hotel only long enough to get our stuff together for a trip to our local beach (one of three municipal beaches in the town). The sun was going down behind the buildings, but it was still really pleasantly warm and Carl swears the water was lovely too.

A planned siesta never happened, so it was back out again looking for a restaurant which was really well reviewed online and seemed to be near the one we'd eaten in last night beside the marina. We couldn't find it anywhere, and a request for help in a shop we were passing told us we were in the wrong part of town altogether. So we compromised and went to Sirocco, a tiny place with a nice balcony overlooking the sea. They specialise in pizzas, but the one we had wasn't great and service alas very bad.

We'd got to the marina by using the coastal walkway we'd discovered last night, but returned to base using a different route (which included passing through the square where I'd stayed the last time I was here, which would have been over twenty-five years ago). Two pit stops at two good locations around the meeting of the sea and the lake left us heading for home around 1:00 am with places seeming to be closing down. But then we found a really buzzing spot right at the foot of the steps we use from our hotel down to the harbour. Naturally we joined the gang and ended up having a great time until some time or other.