Peapod on Purpose

This post has been adapted from a recent newsletter, please excuse the repetition.

The twelfth place we visited was the sunny country of Greece, and it turned out to be one of our favorite places so far. The day after Christmas we flew to Athens, intending to stay for a month. Being in the big city wasn’t our favorite and there were some issues with our AirBnB, so LP and Daddy Pea decided to change plans after only four days. But in that time span we were able to see the Areopagus and the Acropolis!

The Areopagus is where Paul preached to the Athenians (Acts 17:22-34). It is an area of rock, on which the Athenians used to discuss political matters, and it has an AMAZING view of the city. While we were there, we read Acts 17: 22-34, climbed around, and took lots and LOTS of pictures. I asked Middle Pea about his favorite part of Athens and he said, “Going to the Areopagus because we just read that same passage in family Bible study. Also, I liked the experience of going to a place where Paul preached!”

The next day, we went to the Parthenon on the Acropolis, and we got to see the old ruins of Greek temples. First, we walked around the outer grounds, and looked at all the pieces that had fallen down the hill. Then, we went up to the top. It was magnificent! The columns were so wide, that dad wouldn’t be able to wrap his arms around them if he tried, and the peaked roof was completely gone. Apparently, the Ottoman Turks decided to store their gunpowder there a few hundred years ago and it didn’t turn out well. 

At the last minute, Mom and Dad told us we were leaving to go to Crete; the ferry would leave Athens that night at 9:00 PM. We hadn’t been able to book a cabin because they were sold out, so we arrived an hour early hoping to get an area together where we could try to sleep. Apparently an hour early wasn’t early enough, because when we arrived people were set up with sleeping bags and pillows all over the boat. We signed up on the VERY long wait list hoping for a cabin, and found a table with five chairs that would be our sleeping spot if none opened up. 

We were surprised and delighted when they told us we could have one of the empty cabins, and it wasn’t even our turn yet! We all got a good night’s sleep (well, at least I did!), and were woken up by an employee turning on our lights and yelling at us in Greek for us to “wake up, we’re at the port!”

The house we stayed in while in Crete was a five-minute walk from the Mediterranean Sea, and we went to play on the beach almost every day. A couple of times we went in the water, even though it was super cold! We spent a lot of time outside while we were on the island, including some really fun and beautiful hikes. 

During this month, we found a rhythm of mom going to the gym, Daddy Pea doing school with us, chores, and the beach, with a few fun occasions thrown in. Some of the fun things that we did on Crete were: celebrating Little Pea’s birthday, going on a two day trip to Chania (pronounced: Haw-nee-uh), and seeing Knossos Palace.    

On Little Pea’s birthday, we started the day off with presents, and confetti-syrup pancakes –Little Pea’s favorite! Then, we watched the Lorax and got in the car for the thirty-minute drive to the Iraklio Fun Center. The Iraklio Fun Center has a really large indoor playground, complete with bouncy house-obstacle courses and ball pits that you get to play at if you order food. There is also a bowling center and an arcade. Sadly, the restaurant-playground part turned out to be closed until the late afternoon, so we played at the arcade and went to a different restaurant with an indoor play area for lunch instead.

After lunch we went shopping at a big toy store for Little Pea to spend some of her birthday money. Then, we went on a walk along the beach and had a dinner of roast chicken, gnocchi, and greek salad. Afterward, we had birthday cake! I asked Little Pea her favorite part of her birthday, and she said, “Playing video games with my brother and sister!”

Knossos Palace used to be the center of the Minoan civilization, and I was surprised at how luxurious and large it used to be. There was a lot of outdoor space, and there were remnants of SO MANY COLUMNS!!! Many of the walls were painted red, and they even had running water (probably with a pump) and a sewage system. There were many rooms, and they all had frescoes of animals.

When I asked Daddy Pea about his favorite part of Knossos Palace, he responded, “The experience of walking in one of the oldest European ruins. I also liked how you could walk pretty much anywhere you wanted, and that not a lot of things were roped off.”  

While we were on Crete, we had a charcoal grill for the first time in a while, so Daddy Pea grilled meat almost every night.  A few of the other amazing dishes Mom and Dad cooked while on Crete were:

1. Moroccan chicken and rice: a flavorful one pot chicken, rice, and vegetable dish
2. Pork souvlaki: chunks of pork on skewers that are cooked on the grill
3. Greek salad: a mix of cucumbers, bell peppers, pepperoncini, feta cheese, kalamata olives, onions, herbs, and olive oil.

Our next adventure on the island was a two day trip to the old Venetian port of Chania. First, we drove three hours to hike to an abandoned monastery, then drove another thirty minutes to Chania. The hike was challenging but fun, and most of the time we were on the side of a mountain going down into a ravine. When we got to the monastery, it was super cool, and we got to peek inside some of the windows and see the stone benches built into the back walls. 

Once we got to Chania, we checked into our hotel and rested for a while. Then, we went on a walk and ate dinner at a restaurant by the port called Maiami (I recommend the fried olives, they are olives with breading on the outside and are stuffed with cheese!). The next morning, my mom and I shared an AMAZING Cretan breakfast. They had all sorts of things, spinach pies, meat, Greek yoghurt with granola and fruit, bread, cheese and jam…..  After walking around a bit and doing some shopping, we started heading back to the Airbnb. On the way back, we met up with a local pastor and his wife from a church we had visited to have lunch together. Mom’s favorite part about the trip was the traditional Cretan breakfast and walking around the old town. 

Less than a week after we got back from Chania, we got on the ferry at THREE AM to go to Rhodes island. We went to bed in the Airbnb, then woke up and walked to the boat where we all got about two hours of sleep in a cabin with four bunk beds. After we woke up, we spent the rest of the journey on the roof deck because mom was seasick. 

In Rhodes Town, we got to see the old Hospital of  the Knights! It was a very luxurious hospital that was built by The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. Phew, that is very hard to say! We also got to see a medieval castle built by the same order. The castle looked like it had jumped out of a story book, and it even had the ridges around the walls! Also, the castle was so large that we spent an hour in it and only saw a quarter of it. 

Overall, Greece was a wonderful country to spend a month in, and we had so many wonderful experiences that I didn’t even write about. Our neighbors were so friendly, and every time we went for a walk a kind elderly woman would give us chocolate. She also had a sweet dog for us to play with, and they always tried to talk with us even though we didn’t speak the same language. My favorite part was going to the medieval castle, and I also loved going to the beach every day. Crete was very beautiful and we hope to go back some day.