Before long, we made it to Chania. We left the car on the edge of the street, with my persistent companions trying to make absolutely sure about 5 times that it was free here. We didn't find a "paid parking" sign, but they were nervous anyway. I had to stop some Cretan girls and ask. They didn't know, of course, but instead they went into a shop and tortured the clerk. The clerk answered "free," but my stubborn travelers wouldn't give up. In principle, you can understand them — considering the great chill attitude of the Cretans, pulling an answer out of thin air is a piece of cake for them. Nevertheless, we left the car anyway, bought some mineral water, grabbed the lunchbox from the trunk, and went to the park we had driven past, which was listed in the guidebook as a local landmark. The park is actually pretty fun — looks a little bit like the tropics, there are animals in cages and birds in the trees. And, of course, full of those ubiquitous chirping turtles.
