It has been a dream of ours to return to Greece, ever since our trip to the country in May 2010.  We enjoyed the history, being surrounded upon every turn with magnificent ruins and chronicles of the past.  We loved the amazing simplicity of their food.  We appreciated the openness of the people, so eager to share their culture, their specialties.   And, the islands….the highlight for me.  I cried the day we left Santorini because I didn’t want to leave the most beautiful place I’d ever seen.   And Santorini being my favorite place in the world…still true.

This time, for our return trip, we selected the island of Crete.  We had heard the enormous island had a ton to offer – in history, more great food, and gorgeous blue waters.

We stayed in the Mirabello Bay, in between the town of Elounda and the tiny fishing village of Plaka.  I had selected the hotel based on the photos I’d seen other travelers post online of the Elounda area.   I just love it when there are other islands or peninsulas to look at in the distance.

A guy on our plane to Dublin told us Ireland had 30 shades of green.  I’d say, they certainly do, but if you are dedicating colors to islands…Crete has 50 shades of blue.

Varying blues in Mirabello Bay

Turquoise blue in our little harbor of Blue Palace

Clear water leading to brilliant blues

Boats near Elounda town in deep turquoise blue waters

The turquoise of Elounda town

Overlooking cerulean waters

Lots of variation on the cliff above our hotel – turquoise in the bay and deeper blues in the Aegean sea

Bright blues and bluish mountains looking back towards Ag Nick

And my favorite view…blues varying with depth – greenish blue to turquoise to dark blue