Well that’s it, another summer over!
It seems so long ago. I’m now well and truly back into the new year at work. But that hasn’t stopped me having a few running mishaps and getting into trouble!!🤭 It’s been a week of two halves on the running front really. First of all, a victory ………. the ‘Veteran 50 Lady’ bottle of wine in a local fell race! You see this was ok, because it was marshalled, and someone was stood in a fluorescent vest pointing the way. Then there was the call up to represent the Club in the British Fell running championships V40 ladies team (which involves a map), after saying “never again” following last year’s outing when I came an astounding second to last. So I have until 19th October to get my map reading and my act together and if there is no further post on here by Christmas you’ll know I got lost because I’m on a solo leg which is never a good thing. 😂This did however result in a lovely Yorkshire adventure on the hills all day yesterday with two friends and one dog from the team getting to know the area we are competing in. You can’t beat a glorious Yorkshire day on the hills with girlfiends! It was a fab day that involved a bit of mud, giggles, good times, getting lost, sausage rolls and sweets.😍
However, I proceeded my victory and team call up with a complete and utter orienteering fail a week earlier!!!! And one very annoyed husband! You see the thing is this involves me reading a map and finding checkpoints. No-one had time to come with me, so I thought, “not to worry I’ll go on my own”. But despite having attended a navigation course last year …………………. I was hopeless at reading a map before the course and unfortunately I am still pretty hopeless now!!!😂 Consequently, I have now been told I am not allowed out running on my own again when a map is involved, because it’s not safe apparently! I manged to get myself hopelessly lost in a wood, convinced myself I was on the correct path, and carried on despite cutting my legs pretty badly on brambles……………..because I don’t stop until I’ve found the checkpoint!😆 You have to give me 10 out of 10 for resilience if not for map reading!
I ended up miles away from the car, blood running down my legs, in the dark and had to call home for help and someone to come and find me and rescue me, which they did eventually, despite being a little annoyed. But I reminded them all at home how dull their lives would be without the continued adventures and mishaps of Dora the Explorer and her compass in it. They did not look convinced!😂
Anyway, I’m going to tell you about a little summer trip. I’ve been here, there and everywhere. I went to Spain walking and to visit the two Basque cities of San Sebastian and Bilbao. I went to do some running crewing over a long weekend that involved 48 hours without sleep and took in Mont Blanc and the countries of France, Italy and Switzerland. But the place I want to share with you is Crete, which I visited for a relaxing holiday at the end of July. I was so ready for this holiday! All I wanted to do was sleep, eat, read and do my puzzle book. Rather surprisingly I did achieve this for the first half of a week, but by Wednesday I had itchy feet and wanted to explore so I did alternate days. One day adventure followed by one day rest by the pool, until my two weeks were up.
The thing that I like about Greece and its islands is that you can completely wind down there. If you want to go out to eat in your shorts and T-shirt looking like you’ve just been dragged through a hedge backwards you can! It just seems light years away from the rest of Europe. People leave their cars and houses unlocked, in some places traffic is not permitted, you are still likely to see people using donkeys as their mode of transport. You can completely shut yourself off from the world and relax……………so I did. It was heaven.
I’m going to give you a whirlwind tour of the west of the island, I say the west of the island because Crete is huge. It has 3 airports. One which serves the east of the island, one the central area and Chania airport which serves the west. I flew to Chania as I wanted to explore the west of the island which is better known for its dramatic mountains, deep gorges and stunningly beautiful walking. It also has some pretty amazing beaches too.
If you want to explore this side of the island you need a car, so I picked mine up on arrival at the airport. Car hire is cheap, but don’t expect a Rolls Royce in Greece. The car will be road worthy (just), the driving is atrocious and not for the faint hearted, but just take your time and you’ll be fine! My car had four wheels, but that was about its only resemblance to a modern car. It was a Nissan Micra…………but not just any old Micra. It had 80k on the clock, more bumps and scratches than a toddler, a dodgy battery, questionable aircon……………….but it had four wheels and it worked!
The first task was to find the villa. I had chosen to stay in Stalos, but there was a compromise here. I don’t do holiday resorts for my relaxing holiday because I don’t want lots of people and noise………………I’m retreating. But we were travelling as a family with a 21 year old who does like holiday resorts and hates quiet! And the thing is it was up to me to entertain him as his Dad, being only 5 weeks away from the Ultra run of his life, had a full training schedule to follow. So it was two weeks of mainly myself and mini me. But I was not complaining as I just love his company and he makes me laugh so so much! 😂 And I think that works both ways………….although I’m sure he would decribe me as more ’embarassing’ than funny. 😆 I just love the fact that at 21 years old he still wants to spend 2 weeks on holiday with me as entertainment.
The nice thing about Stalos is that it is easily accessible and is a good base for exploring the whole of the west of Crete, but Stalos itself has two parts. There is Kato Stalos which is a beach resort full of bars, restaurants, discos, bikinis and speedos. Then there is Pano Stalos which is the old original village of Stalos around 1.5 miles inland in the green foothills of the mountains. The deal was (because I book the holidays) that the villa would be in Pano Stalos! But near enough for the youngest member of the party to get to the resort and beach easily.
Stalos has lots of ancient medieval history. Original records show its name as Talos and according to Minoan myth it was named after the legendary Talo, the giant king who protected the island of Crete by circling it three times a day. It then became know as Stalos from around 1629.
Pano Stalos (the old village) is so peaceful. There are amazing views of the sea, mountains and olive groves. There are no high rise buildings, just local houses, villas and a few apartments. There are a couple of tavernas aimed at locals rather than holiday makers but they are so eager to welcome you. Other than the tavernas and a church there is nothing ………………………. no supermarket or other amenities. It was bliss ………… just the sound of crickets, which in July in Crete is deafening. How can something so small make so much noise?!?!?
The villa was beautiful. It was owned by a lovely, welcoming, Cretan family who also owned the local taverna. It was in a really quiet area of the old village. It had two large bedrooms, both with a balcony overlooking a beautiful view, two bathrooms, a really well equipped kitchen, a swimming pool and then the most amazing shaded veranda. The veranda was probably my favourite place. It was situated underneath a large lime tree and was shady all day. There was a large table, comfy benches and cushions. I spent hours reading under the lime tree.
It was also the perfect place for breakfast, lunch and watching the sun set. So I spent an awful lot of time on the veranda. I did spend a lot of time in the pool too, but not too much time just laying by the pool as it was just too hot. It hovered between 38 and 42 degrees for the whole of the two weeks which is just too hot for me. If you don’t like it this hot, May or September time would be a much more comfortable time to visit the island.
What else do I think of when I think of Crete?…………………….Goats and cats! You have to like them both as they are everywhere. There can be goats roaming on the beach, like at Balos beach, where you turn your back and they’ve pinched your food. And every villa comes with resident cat! Ours was a lovely, cute, little female cat who took a bit of a shine to me, and waited by my sunbed every morning before moving onto the wall to sleep and laze in the sunshine.
There are so many places to visit in western Crete but here are the highlights of my stay which aren’t to be missed.
The main city in western Crete is Chania. It is a definite place to visit if you like a pretty port and some history. The harbour of the old town is Venetian in style and is so colourful and photogenic. Just behind the pretty harbour is the old town. This is filled with bougainvillea lined narrow streets, shops, and stalls selling local handicrafts. The side streets are filled with music and restaurants serving local specialities. I’ll tell you about food separately, because I love Greek food.
The harbour of Chania faces west, so it’s also the perfect spot to watch the sun set, with the fiery sky reflecting on the water and bobbing boats. It is a picture perfect setting.
Crete is also home to one of Europe’s longest and spectacular gorges, the Samaria Gorge. The people of Crete will tell you it’s the longest in Europe, but it’s not. At 16km end to end it is slightly shorter than the Verdon Gorge in France. However, its beauty has to be seen to be believed. No photographs could ever do it justice. It is truly stunning and the good thing is you can walk the full length of it in a day.
You can do this trip using your own transport but logistically it’s a bit difficult. I decided to book it as a self-guided trip from Chania, which was ideal. The tour company provided the transport to the top of the gorge, you walk down at your own pace and you meet again at the bottom of the gorge at 5pm, doing what you want in the interim period. From here the tour company transport you by ferry back to the waiting coach which drives you back to Chania. This worked really well. The hardest bit was trying to persuade a 21 year old whose primary focus is beer and babes that it’s a good idea to get out of bed at 5:15am and walk 16km in the heat on your holiday. 😂 Anyway, I managed to get him all the way from top to bottom of said gorge, with one small sulk, but not too much moaning, bribing him with sweets and the promise of a beer at the bottom. He even said he enjoyed it when it was over!
It is a really early set of from Chania at 5:45am. This is to get you to the top of the gorge for when it opens at 8am. The gorge is the most visited place in Crete and you really want to be one of the first people down to enjoy it at its best otherwise it just becomes too crowded. The gorge ends at the lovely small town of Agia Roumeli. There is no vehicle access to Agia Roumeli, the only way in and out is by ferry. It has a lovely beach and a few tavernas and apartments. I walk at an average pace and take lots of photographs and I exited the gorge at 3pm. This gave me a good 2 hours to have a long cooling swim in the sea and visit a taverna for some lunch and a beer before the meeting point and ferry back to the coach.
The walk is not easy. If you have bad knees you need to hire poles as the first section from the top, into the bottom of the gorge is very steep, uneven and long. Once you get into the bottom of the gorge it is a lot more walkable. There is lots of water in the bottom, unusual flowers and wildlife……………it is the most beautiful place. There is fresh spring water available at various points on the way down the gorge, so it’s not necessary to carry lots of water. Toilet facilities are limited but adequate and are just a hole in the floor. I would say the walk down the gorge is a must do on any itinerary to Crete.
Our next little adventure a few days later took us inland into the mountains, to look at some of Greece’s most famous agricultural exports and how they are produced…………….olives and honey.
Not to far away from Stalos, in the village of Ano Vouves, is the ‘Ancient Olive Tree of Vouves’. It is one of the oldest olive trees in the world and still produces olives today. It was declared a protected national monument in 1997 and although its exact age cannot be determined it is believed to be around 4,000 years old. Branches from the tree have been used to make winners wreaths in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Next to the tree is the Olive Museum, all about the cultivation of olives and olive oil, and a small café. I am glad I made a little detour to visit it, it was a lovely little place.
Not too far away from the ancient olive tree is one of many family honey farms. You will find honey absolutely everywhere in Greece and a lot of their recipes, and almost all their desserts incorporate it. A lot of the honey farms offer a tasting and tour so I followed my visit to the ancient olive tree with a visit to the Stathakis family honey farm. It was really interesting. There are so many different types of honey depending on what flora and fauna the hives are situated next to. I think my favourite was the wild thyme honey and a couple of jars were duly purchased for my Dad who adores honey!
The following day was a relax day so we decided to visit a beach. Crete has some absolutely amazing beaches and it has a beach for every taste. There are large beaches with amenities and sand, pebble beaches, little quiet coves………you cannot fail to find a beach that you like in Crete. We decided to visit Preveli beach on the south of the island. It is a beautiful sheltered beach surrounded by high cliffs. It’s part sand and part pebble. But what makes it beautiful is that it is backed by a really unusual palm forest and the Megalos Potamos river which flows down into the sea here after gushing down from the top of the Kotaliotikos Gorge.
The only easy way to the beach is by boat from elswhere. Otherwise it’s a long hike down the gorge or almost 500 steps down from the parking lot. I decided to go for the steps option from the parking lot and it was worth it as the view of the beach from half way down the steps is beautiful. Once you get to the beach there is a beach bar and some toilets but there aren’t really any other amenities as it is a protected area. It’s good to wade up the river for half an hour though, climbing and scrambling over the rocks at the bottom of the gorge and sitting in the whirlpools made by the swirling water………………….so refreshing on a hot day, like a cold jacuzzi!
If you have driven all that way to Preveli breach it would be a shame not to visit Kotaliotikos Gorge. It has the most amazing waterfalls and wild swimming spots. If you are feeling really energetic you could walk to it from Preveli beach. However, bearing in mind this was my rest day, I parked at the top of the gorge by the small chapel and walked down to the waterfalls and swimming areas. It was so pretty but the water was oh so cold. Both the gorge and the beach are definitely worth a beach day trip.
On the way back from Preveli, if you are staying on the north coast you will go past the city of Rethymnon and this you definitely must see. Just like Chania, Rethymnon has a beautiful harbour. It also boasts one of the best preserved Venetian old towns on the island. It is gorgeous, with it’s maze of little tiny streets weaving one way and then another. It’s impossible not to get lost in there but being on holiday and not having any time constraints it was rather nice to just wander. There are so many tavernas serving wonderful food that I decided not to rush back to Stalos but to stay for dinner. It felt bigger and busier than Chania, and I still think that of the two I preferred Chania, but it’s still one of my holiday highlights.
After a couple of days relaxing by the pool I was ready for another little adventure……………….and this was a lovely day. But it did not go to plan and that was part of the beauty of it. It was one of those days when you end up doing something other than what you planned and it ends up being a fabulous day anyway. I wanted to visit the small fishing port of Loutro and then do a circular gorge walk taking around 5 hours. Loutro is so very pretty. It is only accessible by boat. We drove to Chora Sfakia, from where there is a regular ferry to Loutro which takes around 20 minutes.
Loutro is the most beautiful little place. Boats bobbing in the harbour, the sea so unbelievably blue, rows of tavernas with brightly coloured deckchairs and Coco the parrot to welcome you. I’m never quite sure about African Grey parrots…………there’s one in the garden centre near home and whenever I say hello to it it tells me to ‘F*** Off!’ 😆 However, Coco was far more pleasant. Apparently he bites, but his vocabulary is very good. He says “Hello”, tells you his name and can tell you he’s a pretty boy, all without uttering a single swear word!
I managed to persuade the youngest party member to come with his swimming trunks but he kept reminding me that under no circumstances was he doing any more walking this holiday, he was staying in Loutro on the beach for the day. He’d done one gorge walk and that was his exercise for the month. 😂 Now this is where I made a slight mistake……………..I left him in Loutro with my credit card and told him I’d be back in a few hours and to get himself a drink and some lunch. I now know I need to be more specific about how many and what drinks and food are allowable on my card.
I set off on the most beautiful walk, however the track up to the top of the gorge was so steep and it was now over 40 degrees. As I started to descend into the gorge my feet were slipping on the loose rock, so sensibly, I decided to abandon my walk and turn back. This led me into the little village of Livaniana, which I would otherwise not have come to. I had plenty of water but I saw a taverna on my map. I was so disappointed when I got there as it appeared to be closed. However, on closer inspection I saw it never closes…………………you let yourself in and serve yourself! How good is that!!! I took the latch off the wire door and let myself in, onto the most beautiful vine covered veranda overlooking the blue sea down below. In one corner of the veranda was a plugged in fridge and inside the fridge were soft drinks, water and a selection of beers. At the side was a price list, bottle opener and a tub in which to put your money. This tub must only be emptied periodically as it was early morning and there was at least 50 Euros in there and not a person in sight. I helped myself to a lemon Fanta and put my money in the box.
It’s little things like that this restore my faith in this world. If that taverna had been situated at home in the UK the box would have had to be bolted down and emptied hourly to deter theft. I would doubt the drinks would have been there long either, and if someone had a car boot big enough they’d take the fridge too!!😂
After my little pit stop I them stumbled across Finika beach just around the headland from Loutro. It was just beautiful, my type of beach. A lovely, quiet, secluded little bay . The water was still, like a millpond, and bright turquoise blue. I could not resist getting in for a long swim, drying off on the beach for an hour afterwards reading my book. I thought Loutro was amazing but this was even better because it was quieter.
I walked back into Loutro 3 hours after I had left. In those 3 hours my credit card had purchased one pizza, an ice cream, some snacks, two mojitos and a beer. 😂 Lesson learned………….I will just leave him with a bottle of water and a 10 euro note next time to ward off starvation and dehydration! I never authorised cocktails!! I had very little sympathy when he went a shade of green on the boat on the way back.😂
After another villa pool day we decided to venture to Elafonisi beach on the south west of the island. I had heard this was one of Crete’s best beaches and was famous for its pink sand. It’s a journey of around one and a half hours from Stalos but we broke the journey up at the pretty little Taverna Spiliaraki in the village of Topolia at the top of the Topolia gorge in the mountains. This wins the prize for being my favourite café in Crete. It is basically the veranda of the owners house. Traditional Greek food, cakes and drinks are all it serves, all home made by the lady who lives there. The veranda has the most amazing, colourful, vine covered seating area. It has an outstanding view over the village and the gorge and there are hammocks all around for you to laze in. The traditional Greek iced coffee was delicious.
We eventually made it to Elafonisi beach. There was a bit of moaning from the youngest as the walk from the car to the beach was more than 10 metres but eventually we made it after bribing him with the promise of beer again. This was was definitely my favourite beach on the whole of Crete. It is AMAZING!!!! The water is turquoise blue, the fine sand is pink, there is so much space it never feels overcrowded, you can swim so far out and still touch the bottom. It is truly spectacular. I’m led to believe the sun sets from here are fantastic as it faces directly west, although I left late afternoon. It’s quite remote so if you are looking for a beach with water sports equipment and entertainment you’ll not like it. There are two very small beach bars and a very basic toilet……………that’s it! And that’s what’s nice about it.
The next day was the day that I’d rather forget…………………..because family holidays are all about compromise aren’t they!?! When you are 21 you just want an endless supply of Mythos beer, banging tunes, a beach sun lounger and bikini clad babes!!😂So that’s what I got in the very hip and trendy beach club after losing the coin toss as to who was going to be the unlucky person to accompany him and take up the extortionately priced second sunbed! All joking aside I did have a good day. I spent the day reading my book, the cocktails were good, I did lots of people watching, avoided the topless pool games and if anything good came out of it……………………….it was the fact that I came out of there feeling extremely glad to be 53 and not having to look for a suitable suitor from those available to choose from in there!
The next day was the final adventure of the holiday……………….a trip to Balos Beach on the very north west tip of the island. It’s gorgeous! It is a huge lagoon of crystal clear water. You can get a drink and a snack there but that’s all, so it’s one where you need to take supplies if you are going for the day. My advice however if I ever went again would be to arrive by boat from Kissamos town just around the headland. We drove and the road to the beach is horrendous. It’s a good 5 miles on a dirt track which is only really suitable for 4 x 4’s. How on earth we made it there and back in the Nissan Micra I really have no idea. It rattled and bounced all the way there and back. Then once you get to the parking lot it’s a good one mile walk down an extremely steep and uneven track. If you are not up for a bit of an hair raising adventure then take the boat!
The final thing to share with you about Crete is the food. It will come as no surprise to you that I love Greek food……………because I love all food! The only thing I will say is that I travelled with a vegetarian and the choice for vegetarians is quite limited unless you are in a resort and don’t mind fast food. If you are anywhere more remote or in a traditional taverna you will be limited to the salads and cheese based dishes of which there is not a lot of variety. Vegetarianism has not really found its way to the more remote areas of Greece yet.
So what are my favourite Greek dishes. Number one has to be Souvlaki. This is basically a grilled meat skewer or kebab cooked over a special outdoor grill, a bit like a BBQ but the meat has usually been marinated beforehand and the flavour of oregano is really noticeable. It normally comes as chicken or pork and my favourite is the chicken Souvlaki.
Next up has to be Stifado. This is a tomato based beef and red wine stew with onions. Local herbs and spices and often all-spice or cinnamon are added to give it that extra flavour and warmth. I love Kleftiko too. This is an entire meal baked in a parcel. Its is a leg of lamb baked slowly in parchment paper with potatoes, onions, lemon, herbs and garlic. The potatoes cook in the juices of the lamb, lemon and herbs. This is delicious. You can probably see now why it’s not ideal for vegetarians. A lot of the key Greek dishes are meat based and there is a heavy bias towards red meat.
That being said there are a couple of vegetarian dishes I love. The first is a greek salad……………..simply cucumber, tomato, pepper, red onion olives, feta, oregano and olive oil. Easy to make yourself and simply delicious. Another favourite is Saganaki which is fried cheese, usually graviera, halloumi or some other sheep milk type cheese.
They also eat a lot of snails in Crete which I wasn’t expecting. I’ve always associated snails with French cuisine. I have to admit that I had got to 53 years of age without trying a snail. But they sounded intriguing cooked in wine, garlic, olive oil and rosemary. My little sidekick is very adventurous with his food so we decided we’d try a portion of snails. They were really nice. Although I don’t think they’d be my first choice on a menu, once I’d got my head around it being a snail and worked out how to eat it, I thought it was really quite tasty. It was not the really slimey texture I was expecting, it was more meaty and had the feel of a mushroom in your mouth.
Last but not least ……………… desserts!!! And I love a dessert! But they don’t really have dessert menus in Greece. What they normally do however, is bring a complementary large dessert out to the table to share and a bottle of home made raki. Raki is the national drink of Crete. It is made from twice distilled grape pomace and is flavoured with aniseed or another spice like cinnamon. It is generally around 40% ABV but can be higher if home distilled. It puts hairs on your chest it’s that strong!
Now the other half of the parent duo is very good and well behaved. His body is a temple, and training for an impending major ultra marathon meant that alcohol was completely out of the question. However, my body is not a temple, and I have very little willpower when it comes to dessert and the odd tipple when on holiday, so it just descended into a little nightly raki shot drinking finale between the remaining two of us. However, I have 53 years of shot drinking experience so it normally ended with my little buddy swaying and staggering to his bed, only to resurface very late the following morning to discover I had bounced out of bed gone for a little early run before the sun got two hot. 😂😂 The youth of today just have no staying power.
In terms of dessert you sort of get what you are given but quite often it will be Loukoumades………………..and these are just to die for. Imagine a little deep fried doughnut ball, all crispy on the outside and soft and squidgy in the middle. When they come out of the fryer they are smothered in honey and they soak it all up. When they get to you they are still warm. When you pop one in your mouth you get that crispy crunch of the outside of the doughnut, the softness of the interior and all the honey it has soaked up just oozes out in your mouth. With a scoop of vanilla ice cream there is no better Greek dessert!
So that’s it……………..your very brief guide to the west of Crete and its food. I’m sure it has a lot more to offer too, but I did spend a lot of much needed time relaxing and getting away from it all. I’d definitely return here to explore more. I loved the island, the culture the people and the food.
No big ‘out of the country’ adventures planned now until the beginning of November, just little mini Yorkshire adventures at the weekend, some creative projects at home, a big pile of books to read, a national fell running competition I’m trying to forget about, and a few weeks of pressing my escape key like Steve 😂😂………………………………………
