[June 2025] On our tour of eastern Crete, Greece, we finally arrived at Toplou Monastery, one of our destinations.
We paid €5 to enter, but there was no explanation beyond the pamphlet’s description that it was a 15th-century monastery that produced wine and olive oil.
And photography wasn’t allowed inside.
I was a little disappointed.
We were told that wine tasting was available for a fee, but our guide warned us that “spending time here would take away from our time at the beach,” so no one tried any.
There was a banana tree in the backyard, and we were told that Cretan bananas are small and flavourful.
We also learned that bananas only bear fruit once in their lifetime.
After the tree finishes bearing fruit, it is cut down, but a “daughter” is born nearby and raised there.
Then, from the sign we saw, we learned that there are five different letters to pronounce “i” in Greek.
Apparently, they’re all pronounced the same.
Greek is a rare language, and I imagine few people study it.
We left the monastery and headed for our final destination, Vai Palm Beach.
Our guide, George, told us that the monastery owns the vast expanse of land from the monastery to the beach.
Apparently, people rent the land from the monastery to cultivate olive groves.
“It’s a rich monastery,” George said, and tour participant Ian muttered, “The idea of rich monks doesn’t really fit the theme,” to which I agreed.
On the way, we came across a herd of goats in the desolate landscape.
According to George, goats are smart and always come home on their own at night, but sheep are stupid and need shepherds.
And then we reached Vai Palm Beach.
Apparently, it’s the only beach in Europe located in a wild palm forest.
George had told us beforehand that “even if the wind is strong elsewhere, it’s calm here,” but that wasn’t the case that day, and it was indeed windy.
Beyond the row of €20 umbrellas, there was a free area, and even there, there were umbrellas set up without deck chairs, including ones shaped like a four-poster bed.
We settled on one of them.
It was flat, with a wooden floor, so it wasn’t very comfortable to lie down on.
I guess they lay mats down and charge for access during peak season.
Even staying still, the strong wind made the sand attack us and it hurt.
The water was clear, but it was still too cold to get in.
What a shame.
To make matters worse, both my husband and I were extremely hungry.
The tour started just after 9:00 AM, and we hadn’t eaten anything yet.
The meeting time was 2:00 PM.
Lunch was scheduled for later.
