Greece: Early Morning Chania

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When I was growing up and we traveled as a family, my father always got up early in the morning while we were all still sleeping. He’d go for an early morning walk alone before whatever town we were in truly woke up. He particularly lived boats and harbors, the funkier and more run down the better, even though he never went to sea. Often he’d come home from these outings with a local newspaper word that there was going to be fireworks or a county fair–or both–that very day, a cup of coffee from the local greasy spoon in his belly.

When I travel, I love solo early morning walks alone. And I wanted to take you on one with me through these images: the Chania waterfront before the tourists, when all is still and the early morning light is soft on the harbor.

The only people I saw this morning were a few people sweeping, an early morning photographer, a man on a small boat carting huge plastic bags filled with garbage, and a tableful of 8 loud Greek men smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee and talking loudly (with their hands of course) in Greek.

And when I walked back an hour later, the men were still there. Greeks know how to relax.

A few dozen tourists were out, sitting at cafe tables, drinking their morning coffee, rolling suitcases over the cobblestones, jogging and walking. Cars and trucks, delivering fresh bread and picking up trash, drove over the black-tiled road which will be filled with pedestrians a few hours from now. Bicycles. Dogs. Motorcycles. Early risers. The start of commerce. The day had begun.

Check out all the pictures and the captions too:

Still closed for business.

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Restaurant at rest. Pretty green chairs.

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Empty Boulevard in Chania.

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Umbrellas at rest.

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Dormant bicycles waiting to be rented.

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All is quiet at the harbor.

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Sleeping tour boat.

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Boat sailing tacky tourist crap already for the new day.

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Boats tied up at harbor.

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The ancient and modern, built on top of each other.

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Pigeons at the top of the ancient mosque at dawn.

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The lighthouse from afar.

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Check out the flowers growing on this ancient wall.

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Here’s a closer look.

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Ancient walls on the way to the lighthouse.

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Here’s the walk I am about to take winding around to the lighthouse.

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Here’s the view from the other side of the seawall.

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Chania from afar.

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The path.

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Finally…The lighthouse!

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Giant steps (and my fingers)

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The spotlights turn the lighthouse golden every evening.

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Close up.

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Chania from the lighthouse.

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On the way home, the day is beginning. This was the cutest little garbage truck I’ve ever seen.

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