It’s Almost Time… Kalamata Here I Come!

Things Creep Up On You

I started planning this year’s Greece trip in early March: not long by some people’s standards, but at the time it felt a long way from summer. Now here we are, it’s 17th June and I fly out to Kalamata in two days! Eek!! I’d better get packing…

Only joking, I’ve been gradually filling my suitcase over the last couple of weeks, throwing things in as I remember them. Yesterday, I rolled up – rolling is much better than folding – all my clothes and put them in too, so all that remains are the last few toiletries that will go in tomorrow evening. I don’t know about you, but I find packing an odd mix of excitement and anxiety: excitement from knowing it won’t be long before I’m wearing these clothes on a beach somewhere, or at a nice Greek taverna sipping on a cold Mythos; anxiety at the prospect of forgetting something vital, though I’m actually pretty relaxed about it. Everything else is optional as long as I’ve got my passport and some money!

Airport Chaos and Flight Cancellations

As if we needed more things to stress about going on holiday, the last few weeks have been pretty bad for air travel here in the UK. Over the school half-term holidays, dozens of flights were cancelled at short notice and many people missed their flights or were delayed due to lengthy and chaotic queues to get through airport security and bag drops. Worse still, Manchester airport was one of the most badly affected and happens to be where I’m due to fly from for the very first time.

On the flip side, though, I’m also flying with Jet2 for the first time and they seem to be having fewer issues with flight cancellations and delays, so maybe it works out in my favour, only time will tell.

I’m pleased to say things have calmed down a bit now. As I’m flying during term time, I was expecting the situation to have improved as fewer people will be travelling. Combine this with the extensive negative media coverage and the government telling airports and airlines to sort their shit out, and I’m confident things will be better for me – fingers crossed anyway!

Itinerary Almost Complete

I won’t bother repeating my itinerary here – you can read it in the previous post – except to add that I’ve now booked my first week in Crete. I’ll be staying in Stalis, a resort I’ve been through several times but never actually stayed in. I know it’s quite touristy and I expect it to be busy in August, but I found a lovely hotel at a very reasonable price, so it seemed worth a visit.

That still leaves me with 3 weeks to plan for Crete and, honestly, I’ve no idea yet where I want to go. Part of me wants to get them booked knowing it’s peak season, but Crete is such a big island that I’m also prepared to risk waiting a while longer and if necessary booking last-minute once I have more of an idea where to stay.

See You on the Other Side

That’s pretty much it for this update, I’m excited to be heading back to Greece and with a bit of luck will be touching down in Kalamata in 48 hours’ time!