A visit to Heraklion often begins at the old harbour. Fishing boats line the waterfront, the Venetian fortress of Koules stands at the entrance to the port, and visitors stop for a few photographs before heading into the city. It is one of the city’s familiar views, and for us it became the setting for a much slower afternoon.
We were there with friends visiting Crete. There was nowhere we needed to be, so we found a table by the water and ordered a few dishes to share: fresh fish, calamari, octopus, greens and salads. The food came gradually, and the conversation went on with it. We talked about travel plans, life on the island and places we still wanted to see. From time to time, one of us would look out across the harbour before returning to the conversation. Nothing was planned beyond lunch, and there was no need for anything else.
There are places like this all around Crete. In the larger towns, beside the old harbours and along the smaller fishing ports, you will find tavernas with tables almost at the water’s edge. You sit down with friends, order fish and whatever else looks good that day, pour another glass, and watch the boats moving in the harbour. Someone is always reaching across the table for another plate, someone else is telling a story, and the sea is only a few steps away. You may have come for lunch, but after a while you stop looking at the clock. You are simply there, eating, talking and watching the afternoon pass.
This is part of what makes meals by the sea in Crete so easy to remember. The food is important, but so is the setting around it. A table beside the water, the boats in the harbour and people you enjoy being with can turn an ordinary meal into a part of the day you remember long after the plates have been cleared. Most people who spend time on the island eventually find a taverna or two they would happily return to, often for reasons that have little to do with the menu alone.
That afternoon at the harbour was simply a good lunch with friends. We ate, talked, watched the boats and stayed longer than we had planned. Sometimes that is enough.