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| view of Chora Sfakion where we stayed for one week |
My life as an English teacher has led me to several amazing
places both near and far-flung. However, I’m not sure any has captured and
elevated my spirit as much as southern Crete.
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| first day's perfect walk |
For this holiday, I did not want to enter any temples or
churches or walk around museums reading thousands of informative blurbs that I
would soon forget.
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| Agia Pavlos (Paul's church) |
I didn’t want bistros or monuments or hop-on hop-off buses.
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| Imbros Gorge |
And I certainly did not want all-inclusive resorts or the
ubiquitous “Irish Pub”.
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| pub in the hills above Chora Sfakion |
I just wanted to walk for hours a day, be surrounded by
nature, and not see another person (besides my husband who graciously carried
the bag full of water and snacks every day).
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| Ilingas Gorge |
I was not disappointed. For seven days, the only sounds I heard were of waves, sheep and goats, and the wind. It’s been nearly impossible to sort
through these 1000 pictures, 200 of which contain sheep and another 50 or so of
cats. The tiny thumbnails in the picture folders reflect shades of blue I never
thought possible, and vistas worthy of Game of Thrones.
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| Can't you imagine an army or a couple of dragons landing here? |
The Accommodation
When I go on holiday, I like to have a home base. I prefer to put away
my clothes, settle in, and feel like I actually live in the place. Though driving would allow me to see more of an area, I generally don't move around. Given that I failed the
written test to get a license when I went back to the US last month, this isn’t
really possible anyway.
The “Sea-view Apartment”in Chora Sfakion is by
far the best place I’ve rented through airbnb. It’s located above a tavern,
which is located directly above a beach. When we arrived late at night after a
scary taxi ride through the mountains, the owners had left a nice spread. We
went down to the tavern, had a meal and a couple of pints of Mythos and went
back to the apartment to marvel at being able to hear the sea.
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| "local wine" on the balcony |
The next morning, I got up to watch the sunrise and drink
coffee while S slept soundly in the bedroom (oh how great it is to have a
living room AND a bedroom on holiday!).
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| first cup of coffee on first morning of the trip |
Having an apartment also meant I was able to buy local
produce and cheese and make some lovely meals.
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| omelette with spinach and soft cheese and a side of tomatoes |
The main thing to do in Chora Sfakion is walk. There are
only about 500 people in the “town” and the only activity to do in said town is
eat, drink, and swim. People are there to walk. I had bought a guide to the walks
before the trip and we decided on a mix that included the E4
trail along the coast, a couple of gorges, and a trek up through the mountains
to a few tiny villages.
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| The main road of the town which only has restaurants and small mini markets |
The E4 Trail
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| We stayed in Hora Sfakion |
The E4 (European long distance) trail is a 10,000km path that
starts in Spain and ends in Greece. We did two stretches: Chora Sfakion to
Marmara to Loutro (14km) and Agia Roumeli to Loutro (17km). Both Loutro and
Agia Roumelli are beach villages that can only be accessed by ferry, so on the
second walk, we had to push ourselves to make it in time for the last ferry. For the most part, the paths are well-marked with yellow
paint on rocks or by poles.
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| nicely marked path |
However, we took a wrong turn somehow on the first
day and ended up on the edge of the Aradena gorge with no way down. We
backtracked a bit but ended up going down goat style (zig zag) down the side of
a mountain.
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| Another 2 feet and it would be a long fall to the bottom of the gorge |
For most of the walk, we were right there on the cliff edge
and it was both thrilling and terrifying. My favourite stretch of the walk was
the first few kilometres from Agia Roumelli. The path winds through a pine
forest with the sea below. We stopped at Agia Pavlos beach which just has a small church and a taverna. The owners were sitting around and drinking raki and eating dakos and were more than happy to share their raki with us. That on top of the Fix beer made for a cheerful, if not dangerous, walk along the cliffs.
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| feeling happy! |
The path from Sfakion to Loutro passes Sweetwater beach
where a natural spring is just below the surface. There is one taverna and a
few German tourists were sunbathing with all their bits bare to the world. I found
out the next day that a Czech tourist died a few hours after we were there from
being struck by a falling rock. I had been paranoid about falling rocks before and was even more so after that.
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| Sweetwater Beach |
The absolute BEST THING about walking in Crete is that the mountains smell like food! Wild oregano, thyme, majoram, etc, grow everywhere and when you pass a herd of goats, you can smell the cheese that they are going to make. Incredible edible mountains.
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| those green bushes are herbs! |
Gorges
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| Imbros Gorge |
There are about 50 or so gorges that are cut into the
mountains of Crete and end at the sea. The most famous of these is the Samaria
Gorge which has about 2000 visitors a day who go on a package tour from the
Chania in the north. So keeping to our rule of trying to see as few people as
possible, we decided to do two other gorges: Imbros and Ilingas.
Imbros ended up being a walk for babies and there were
indeed a few babies on the walk and more than a few teenagers wearing sandals. The
walk took us less than two hours, but we walked on the main road back to Sfakion
and were rewarded by a few spectacular tavernas with amazing views.
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| taverna in Kalimades |
The gorge is also famous because during WW2, thousands of
British soldiers had to evacuate Crete and their only way to escape was through
the gorge to the sea.
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| Imbros Gorge |
The other gorge had absolutely no people and the only sounds
were the wind, the goats, and the birds. Unfortunately, it led to a dead end as
the path was blocked by several giant boulders. We’re not really mountaineering
types and didn’t want to risk getting injured by climbing up boulders and then
having to figure out how to get down.
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| sea caves at Ilingas Beach |
Mountain Villages
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| the nice path ended soon and gave way to rock scramblling |
Kalderimi are
switchback paths that are (or were) used by shepherds. We used the one that
links Chora Sfakion to the small village of Anopolis which is located in a
plain at the foot of the White Mountains and has about 300 people. The walk was
a steady climb uphill with no shade and took about three hours. We went much
more quickly after S climbed up a rock and saw a snake.
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| rock scrambling uphill |
In Anopolis we enjoyed a beer at a local taverna while two
Greek men drank and chatted nearby. We then had to make a long and scary descent to Loutro while
the skies thundered above. We could see the seaside village but it took ages to
actually reach it.
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| Anopolis with White Mountains in the background |
That night there was a crazy storm which we enjoyed from the
comfort of home.
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| strange storm at dusk |
Swim Day
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| not a fish to be seen by this snorkel dorkel |
I was bound and determined to snorkel on this trip. The
internet told me that beaches near Frangokastello would be ideal, so we took
the short 30 minute bus trip there. It was the only cloudy day and a
bit cold but we DID get to see a castle and have the best meal of the trip.
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| Venetian castle from 1300s |
It was so easy to fall into the rhythm of waking up and
drinking coffee while staring into the sea; going on six hour journeys on foot;
and ending the day with a swim and an amazing meal. I felt I could have lived
that way forever. But alas, these trips need to be funded, which means going inside and
talking to students rather than goats.
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| "I don't need English." |
On our last day, I nearly cried. I’ve never been more sad to
leave a place. We took the bus to Chania and though I enjoyed the scenic and
vertigo-inducing journey, I felt terribly depressed. Chania is a much bigger
town and we were able to spend a few hours exploring the old Venetian port and
have a long leisurely lunch before going to the airport.
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| lovely port town though a bit touristy |
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