Rethymno is not quite what I expected.

I expected a quaint – perhaps a bit decrepit (like Heraklion outside the city core) small town. Instead we got picture postcard Crete.

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Put that discrepancy down to lack of research.

I’d spent some time exploring what Heraklion had to offer, and expanding upon what we already knew about Chania. Based on their large Venetian harbours, and the fact that both have modern cruise ship ports, I expected them to be touristy. I assumed, it turns out wrongly, that Rethymno would be less so.

Instead, we’re discovering a city absolutely full of European tourists (mostly German and French), supplemented by a few Brits, but virtually no North Americans. Restaurant menus are often in four languages: Greek, German, French, and English (not American, as evidenced both by spelling conventions and by words like courgette instead of zucchini, and bio instead of organic).

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There are lots and lots of shops, both touristy and higher end, and lots and lots of restaurants, both in the old town and along the very picturesque and beautifully maintained waterfront.

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Our destination today was the stone lighthouse on the old Venetian harbour, seen below from the marina (above) at the modern harbour.

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I was having nothing to do with the stone stairs leading up to the ledge.

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Sea level was more my speed. Even so, I’m hugging the inside corner of the wall.

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Naturally, my intrepid photographer knows no fear of falling.

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Before continuing to walk along a stretch of the Venetian walls toward the Fortezza (which we’ll visit on another day), we sat at a café on the harbour and enjoyed drinks and the view.

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Heading along the pathway, protected by old stone walls, we got some great views of the rugged coastline, as well as of Rethymno’s fortifications. Looking at the jagged stone promontory it’s hard to imagine that Rethymno fell to the Ottomans more easily than Heraklion did.

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We sauntered back to our hotel via a route that took us past the Rimondi Fountain in Platanou Square.

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That left time to just sit in the sunshine by the pool for a couple of hours recharging our batteries until it was time to have dinner.

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We chose to eat Indian at a restaurant right around the corner called Saffron. It didn’t have a ton of ambience, but the food was delicious.

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Tomorrow we’re on a full day tour to a monastery, caves, and Cretan mountain villages, so we called it an early night.