So Sunday morning we had to get up around 4:30 am, which is not a time I ever wanted to get up at on my vacation, but hubby really wanted to do this hike so I gave in and went with him. I didn't feel well, it was just way to early for my liking, I was hungry and tired. The Bus picked us up around 5 and I slept the first 2 1/2 hours while all the other people who also booked the trip were picked up from their hotels. We stopped at a small rest area to use bathrooms and buy some breakfast and arrived at the entry gate of the Samaria Gorge around 9:15 am. Our guide told us she would let us walk ahead and gave us about an hour headstart. She has been hiking through the Gorge almost every weekend and is pretty fast but also wanted to be the last one of your group so no one would be left behind.
We started around 9:30 and I regretted it after about 30 minutes, it was a steep descent over rocks and boulders and it was hot. Our guide told us there are rest areas about every 20 minutes who have little natural springs to drink and fill up your water bottles. Every 3 km there were big areas with toilets. The usual time to get through the Gorge (which is about 13 km long, plus an additional 4 km to walk down to the village/beach) is between 4 and 6 hours, fastest time ever to get through was 1 hour 49 minutes (! - we hadn't even arrived at the first big rest area after two hours).
It took us around 6 hours and the last hour or so was really hard. I didn't really look left or right, didn't take in any of the nature sights, I just walked, in the blazing heat, tired as hell, my feet hurt and I was sweating like never before. It was f***king hard, but in the end I am sooo proud I made it. My parents told me that they made me walk through it as a child, I was about 12 and according to my parents I liked it and took it pretty easy (no sore muscles or anything afterwards). This time I had sore muscles for the next three days, I had red blotches on my feet for the next few days (probably an allergic/overreaction to sunscreen + dirt + sun + swollen ankles), my back hurt and my right knee is still hurting once in a while.
At the end there is a small village on the coast, we ate some salad and went swimming in the ocean to relax our muscles. Around 6 pm we took a boat back to another village where our bus waited to pick us up and take us home (by boat is the only other way to get to that village, there are no streets, Cretes south coast is mostly cliffs and only a few beaches). We were back at the hotel around 11 pm and immediately crashed (after having some sandwiches that we had ordered to our room).
Monday morning walking was hard, my ankles were still covered in bright red blotches and I felt miserable. We spent the day by the pool relaxing and slept a lot too. We did the same thing on Tuesday, too. Just spending time relaxing by the pool, occasionally getting up to go eat something, had a lot of coffee frappe and cocktails (mostly wodka lemon) and swam in the pool a lot. In the evening we rented a scooter and drove to Chersonissos, which is the next bigger city, very touristy, lots of shops, clubs and bars and it was really crowded. we shopped a bit and bought some jewelery (I got two charms for my Pandora bracelet) and souvenirs, but it was way to loud and crowded for my liking. Lots of restaurants with people in front who wanted to convince you to eat there, they would constantly talk to you like: "Kalispera, you hungry, want to eat, very good food, come look at menu..." annoying!
The next day we took the scooter and drove across the eastern part of the island down to Agios Nikolaos, a cute little port town about 30 km from our hotel. On Crete there is a law that you have to wear a helmet when riding a scooter, motorbike or quad but most people only do that when driving on the "highway" which is more like a bigger two-lane street, speed limit is 70 km. On the beach roads or when cruising through tourist towns no one is wearing anything, sometimes you actually see girls just wearing a bikini and flipflops on their quads. It was nice and I felt like I was 20 again :). To get to Agios Nikolaos we mostly took some back roads, through the hills and small mountains, passing through small villages far away from any tourists. It was great, the air smelled like lavender and thyme and wood (like in a sauna), the view down to the coast was also great. We got to Agios Nikolaos around 11:30 am and the thermometer already showed 40 C (104 F). We walked around a bit looking for souvenirs and then drove off along the coast to find a nice spot to have lunch (Greek Salad again). Found a small bar along the road in Elounda, a small, not too crowded little village a few km north of Agios Nikolaos. Afterwards we drove back home, through the mountains and on the Main road and were back at the hotel in the afternoon. It was a nice trip but HOT, not even the wind was cooling you off because it was warm wind, even along the coast. Back at the hotel we found a place in the shade by the pool (I got a bit sunburned on my shoulders so I wanted shade) and enjoyed the rest of the (very hot) afternoon splashing in the pool and drinking cold drinks.
Irene
We started around 9:30 and I regretted it after about 30 minutes, it was a steep descent over rocks and boulders and it was hot. Our guide told us there are rest areas about every 20 minutes who have little natural springs to drink and fill up your water bottles. Every 3 km there were big areas with toilets. The usual time to get through the Gorge (which is about 13 km long, plus an additional 4 km to walk down to the village/beach) is between 4 and 6 hours, fastest time ever to get through was 1 hour 49 minutes (! - we hadn't even arrived at the first big rest area after two hours).
Samaria Gorge
It took us around 6 hours and the last hour or so was really hard. I didn't really look left or right, didn't take in any of the nature sights, I just walked, in the blazing heat, tired as hell, my feet hurt and I was sweating like never before. It was f***king hard, but in the end I am sooo proud I made it. My parents told me that they made me walk through it as a child, I was about 12 and according to my parents I liked it and took it pretty easy (no sore muscles or anything afterwards). This time I had sore muscles for the next three days, I had red blotches on my feet for the next few days (probably an allergic/overreaction to sunscreen + dirt + sun + swollen ankles), my back hurt and my right knee is still hurting once in a while.
At the end there is a small village on the coast, we ate some salad and went swimming in the ocean to relax our muscles. Around 6 pm we took a boat back to another village where our bus waited to pick us up and take us home (by boat is the only other way to get to that village, there are no streets, Cretes south coast is mostly cliffs and only a few beaches). We were back at the hotel around 11 pm and immediately crashed (after having some sandwiches that we had ordered to our room).
Monday morning walking was hard, my ankles were still covered in bright red blotches and I felt miserable. We spent the day by the pool relaxing and slept a lot too. We did the same thing on Tuesday, too. Just spending time relaxing by the pool, occasionally getting up to go eat something, had a lot of coffee frappe and cocktails (mostly wodka lemon) and swam in the pool a lot. In the evening we rented a scooter and drove to Chersonissos, which is the next bigger city, very touristy, lots of shops, clubs and bars and it was really crowded. we shopped a bit and bought some jewelery (I got two charms for my Pandora bracelet) and souvenirs, but it was way to loud and crowded for my liking. Lots of restaurants with people in front who wanted to convince you to eat there, they would constantly talk to you like: "Kalispera, you hungry, want to eat, very good food, come look at menu..." annoying!
The next day we took the scooter and drove across the eastern part of the island down to Agios Nikolaos, a cute little port town about 30 km from our hotel. On Crete there is a law that you have to wear a helmet when riding a scooter, motorbike or quad but most people only do that when driving on the "highway" which is more like a bigger two-lane street, speed limit is 70 km. On the beach roads or when cruising through tourist towns no one is wearing anything, sometimes you actually see girls just wearing a bikini and flipflops on their quads. It was nice and I felt like I was 20 again :). To get to Agios Nikolaos we mostly took some back roads, through the hills and small mountains, passing through small villages far away from any tourists. It was great, the air smelled like lavender and thyme and wood (like in a sauna), the view down to the coast was also great. We got to Agios Nikolaos around 11:30 am and the thermometer already showed 40 C (104 F). We walked around a bit looking for souvenirs and then drove off along the coast to find a nice spot to have lunch (Greek Salad again). Found a small bar along the road in Elounda, a small, not too crowded little village a few km north of Agios Nikolaos. Afterwards we drove back home, through the mountains and on the Main road and were back at the hotel in the afternoon. It was a nice trip but HOT, not even the wind was cooling you off because it was warm wind, even along the coast. Back at the hotel we found a place in the shade by the pool (I got a bit sunburned on my shoulders so I wanted shade) and enjoyed the rest of the (very hot) afternoon splashing in the pool and drinking cold drinks.
this is how I spent most of my days!
Well, I'll leave you with this picture and will continue later, have to pick up Fynn (my son) from the Kindergarten in a bit and then make lunch for my hubby who is in bed sick, looks like he caught some kind of stomach bug, he has not been feeling well for the last few days and I took him to see the doc this morning (men really turn into little kids when they are sick!).
Irene
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