CHANIA CHILL OUT & HOME

RUBI'S TREAT FROM THE APARTMENT OWNERS

CHILLING OUT ON THE APARTMENT BALCONY

A RARE WHITE PEOCOCK IN THE MUNICIPAL GARDENS

A SUBMARINE IN THE VENETIAN HARBOUR

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

NEA CHORA BEACH

EASTERN END OF NEA CHORA BEACH

NARROW STREETS IN THE TOWN

OUR APARTMENTS FROM THE BUS STATION

APPROACHING GATWICK

After 5 tough walks in the White Mountains on 5 consecutive days, we were due a rest. Besides, it was Rubi's birthday. After enjoying our last breakfast at the Neos Omalos Hotel, we said goodbye to George and the Hotel staff and waited outside for the 9.00am bus to collect us take us back to Chania. The views out of the bus window as we drove down from the mountains were stunning.

By 10.30am we were back at our earlier lodgings at Alena Apartments. Not surprisingly, the room wasn't ready for us at that time, but we were able to leave our bags while we walked around the town. The sunshine was out and it was warm and sunny. We wandered through the Old Town, then down to the Venetian Harbour where we visited the Nautical Museum, which also included the Battle of Crete Museum. The latter described how German paratroopers invaded the island in 1941 and, in spite of fierce resistance, were able to occupy it until 1944.

I had mentioned to the staff at Alena Apartments that it was Rubi's birthday, so when we got back there we were delighted to see that they had left a bottle of wine and a bowl of fruit out for Rubi which, of course, we both shared.

In the evening I treated Rubi to a mixed seafood supper. The restaurant gave her such a large plateful that she was unable to eat it all. I had a small vegetarian platter.

We had a lazy start on Tuesday and took a walk to the Municipal Garden, to the west of our apartment, where we saw goats, peacocks and other birds. We continued on to Irinis & Filias Parks before proceeding to Koum Kapi Beach for a drink and to eat our picnic lunch. After, we walked along the harbour wall to the Venetian Lighthouse and back, and then explored the covered market.

On Wednesday we visited the outdoor 'flea' market near Georgiadis Park and then walked to Nea Chora Beach to eat. We returned along the waterfront to the Old Town to do some last minute shopping. We had pizza and pasta to eat that evening (and no raki).

Thursday 6^th June, and all too soon the holiday was over and it was time to pack our bags. We had enjoyed exploring Crete. The people were friendly and we would certainly consider coming again. Our flight left mid-afternoon and by early evening we were back in the UK driving home. D-Day celebrations would be going on in Portsmouth during the coming weekend.

SAMARIA GORGE & GIGILOS

SAMARIA GORGE

FRAGILE BRIDGE

THE GATES

KRI KRI AT SAMARIA VILLAGE

BEAST OF BURDON AT SAMARIA VILLAGE

SHALLOW CAVE IN SAMARIA GORGE

ROUTE TOWARDS GIGILOS

ROCK ARCH ON WAY TO GIGILOS

ME ON THE SUMMIT OF GIGILOS

LAST FEW STEPS DOWN

At 15km, the Samaria Gorge is the second longest gorge in Europe (after the Verdun Gorge in France). The name is derived from Santa Maria, whose church is located half way down the gorge in the abandoned village of Samaria. The gorge walk is perhaps the most famous in Crete and is, in part, why we came to Omalos, just a few km from where it starts.

George, the owner of the Neos Omalos Hotel, drove us the short distance to the Samaria National Park ticket office, where, for €5 each, we were permitted to enter the park and start our descent of the gorge.

For the first couple of hours this involved a long zig-zag path that took us down the side of the gorge to the stream bed. From there on we were constantly crossing from one side of the stream to the other on stepping stones. Sometime after midday we reached Samaria Village where we ate our lunch. It was hot so we drank plenty and refilled our bottles before continuing on our way.

The terrain was much flatter thereafter. Crude wooden bridges began to appear as an alternative to stepping stones when stream crossings were necessary. Eventually we reached 'The Gates', the narrowest section of the gorge where the 300m high gorge walls are just 3m apart.

We exited the National Park after 13km of walking. There was a bar immediately outside the park where we enjoyed refreshing drinks before continuing the last two km to the village of Agia Roumeli on the southern coast of Crete. We had booked into the Agia Roumeli Hotel, so after checking in, we changed into our swimsuits so that we could  bathe in the Libyan Sea. Although early in the season the water wasn't too cold.

We ate at the Hotel and then wandered around the village, picking up food for the following day from the local mini-markets.

The next day involved walking all the way back up the Samaria Gorge again. Since most people start from the top, as we did on the preceding day, we saw very few people on the way up until we reached the half-way point at Samaria Village. As before, we ate our picnic lunch here. Rubi teased a Kri Kri (a Cretan Goat) in an attempt to get a good photograph and was nearly rewarded with a head butting.

After then, the upward climb became more strenuous, with the final couple of km being extremely steep. We had climbed over 1,200m to get back to the start.

Unable to walk much further, Rubi called George, the Hotel owner, for a lift and within a short while we were enjoying a shower in our hotel room.

In the evening we were were joined by German couple Albert and Sandra and found plenty to chat about as we consumed a couple of glasses of Ouzo each.

On Sunday, our last full day in Omalos, the plan was to climb Gigolos, an intimidating looking mountain of hard grey rock, nearly 2,000m high. It was a tough climb on stoney paths with precipitous edges. It took us over 4 hours to get to the top, the last sections requiring hands as well as feet. It rained a little as we stopped for lunch by the summit, but fortunately this cleared by the time we needed to descend. The rocky paths and the scree made the descent slow and laborious, but happily George was able to pick us up again when we got back to the start.

On our last night in Omalos, we reflected on how varied our walks in the area had been. In the morning we would be catching the bus back to Chania for some well deserved rest.

CHANIA & OMALOS - CRETE

VENETIAN HARBOUR IN CHANIA

VENETIAN LIGHTHOUSE AT SUNSET

NEOS OMALOS HOTEL

ANCIENT CYPRESS TREE NEAR KOUKOULE

SUMMIT OF KOUKOULE

VIEWPOINT AT KALERGI REFUGE

SOME INDICATION OF A PATH TO KAIMENI SUMMIT

HARD WALKING - OMALOS PLATEAU IN BACKGROUND

KAIMENI KEFALA SUMMIT

BACK DOWN TO THE PLATEAU

Tuesday 28th May. Other than the fact that the EasyJet aircraft's air conditioning wasn't working, our flight from Gatwick to Chania Airport was uneventful. For €2.50 each, the coach from the Airport took us directly to Chania bus station, which happened to be just 50 yards from Alena Apartments, where we would stay for the night.

It was late afternoon, so we quickly settled in so that we could take a walk down to the Venetian Harbour to enjoy the views, look around the tourist shops, and find a restaurant. We settled on the Mixalis, which served us a mixed grill to share, preceded by a salad and followed by a chocolate sweet and Raki, the latter provided in a small bottle along with two shot glasses. We soon learned that this was the traditional way to end a meal in Greece.

We slept well that night, but needed to be up early to catch the 07:45 bus to Omalos in the White Mountains to the south of Chania. Not long after 9:00 we arrived at the Neos Omalos Hotel where we would stay. It was too early to book in, so we loaded what we needed for a day-walk into our rucksacks, left our suitcase, and headed up a mountain path which would take us to Kalergi Refuge.

This was a 4 hour walk which involved climbing difficult, rocky mountain terrain. Route-finding was assisted by the blue and red splashes painted onto the rocks.

The highest point of the walk was Koukoule at an altitude of 1631m. Shortly after we reached Kalergi Refuge, from where the views were spectacular. In particular, we could we could see down the Samaria Gorge which we would be walking along later in the week.

Climbing down from the Refuge was at least as difficult as climbing up although it was fascinating watching the Lammergeiers (Bearded Vultures) encircling us on our descent. Perhaps they were hoping that one or both of us would expire.

Finally, a 4km walk across the Omalos Plateau brought us back to the Neos Omalos Hotel. Once there we were able to enjoy a welcome shower and sample their cuisine.

We had a bit of a lie-in next morning, not getting down to breakfast until 9:00. We didn't leave the Hotel for a walk until gone 11:00. Although the day's walk was shorter, it was much tougher with rocks and trees to contend with on largely pathless terrain. Our route took us to the summit of Kaimeni Kefala at 1401m, where we ate our picnic lunch at nearly 3:00pm.

We returned to the Plateau by following a stream bed all the way down to the road, which we then followed back to the hotel. We were out for about 6 hours in total, but the day was most satisfying - for me because it involved tricky navigation and for Rubi because she was able to cope with such challenging terrain.

After supper at the hotel, we enjoyed a hot chocolate in our room using our newly acquired travel kettle. We needed to sleep well, for tomorrow we would be walking the length of Samaria Gorge.