The Island of Crete

Uncreative title I know, but in Cyprus now and writing this quickly.
Crete is the largest of the Greek Islands, having joined with Greece in the late 1800s, and is the fifth largest Island in the Mediterranean.
It was the home of the Minoan Empire, with traces of civilisation from 6000bc. It had strong trade links to the Cycadian islands, and the eruption at Santorini appears to have been a mitigating factor in the ending of the empire. The most famous site from this time was the palace of Knossos in Heraklion. After having done no research and going there with high expectations based on pictures, I was let down. The main reason is that the original archaeologist decided to rebuild parts of the palace the protect the ruins. Good intentions, but these were based on his perceptions of how it may look, and that included the paint work. For me I am more interested in ruins as it is more genuine and causes more imagination about how things should look.
Beaches in the North of Crete seemed to be the side with waves. Which was great for me, and was able to body surf. The sea is nice and clean and warm, although very salty. By the second hotel, there was a private beach, but with a combination of waves and large rocks, wasn't the best spot to swim.
The Venetians also settled in Crete. The harbour in both Heraklion (the forth largest Greek city) and Chania are both venetian designed harbours which are quite attractive. Looking at the cities, the main city areas are run down. Heraklion's waterfront area had a face lift for the 2004 Olympics as one of the host cities. Chania has had a little bit done, but a lot of the buildings have had less done to them giving the harbour area a bit more character, so the place I would recommend over the other.
Chania is also the closest city to the Samaria gorge which I believe is the second biggest in Europe. The bus drops you at the start, and 16km later you end up at a lovely calm beach in a town you can only get to by boat. So the faster you get through the gorge, the more time you have to yourself before the other walkers arrive. But no need to rush. The gorge Is lovely, and the boat back to the buses doesn't leave until early evening to ensure all walkers are finished, so there is plenty of time. It was a 13 hour day from hotel to hotel, and definitely worth it.
So as I say, at my final destination, so time to make the most of it. It had been great so far :)
Joshua