'Tonight is the first time in six months we can leave our homes without sending an SMS' 15 May 2021 • 4:00pm Scenes in Chania, Crete, yesterday evening following a slow start to Greece's reopening in the island's capital, Heraklion, yesterday Credit: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP After six months in lockdown, Greece’s long-awaited tourism reboot in the Cretan capital of Heraklion was a bit of a non-event. At 11am on May 14, despite temperatures of 27°C in the shade, the museums were empty, many shops were shuttered and only pigeons strutted along streets that had bustled with life pre-Covid. “It’s not just that there are no tourists, its Greeks, too, who are missing – they have no money,” said Evgenia Chasapidou, manager of Capsis Astoria, one of the few city hotels that stayed open during lockdown. “I think it will not be an easy season for us here in Crete. So far all the bookings are last minute. People all want to be vaccinated before travel – to feel safe.”