It's the morning after and I'm sitting on the hotel balcony writing,the pain in my feet especially my big toes seems to be going, only the dusty boots just in my vision give a reminder of the day gone by. Overnight my thigh muscles and especially my calves have tightened, frankly I'm walking stiff legged reminscen of a cowboy without a horse. Why the discomfort ? Yesterday we chose to walk the Samaria Gauge.
When this trip to Crete was being planned, a gorge walk was built in to the schedule. Being the type of person that I am, I rejected the easier Imbros Gorge and argued that if we were going to do one, it should be the Samaria, the largest gorge in Europe.
Picked up at our hotel soon after 6am, yes that early on a Sunday morning, we travelled by coach though central Crete , as the sun came up we drove through field upon field of orange groves. The guide informed us that here the soil was so fertile that they can harvest oranges twice a year, and there is no need for artificial fertilisers. By 9am we reached the start of the walk , we got our ticket to the National Park (50 years old this year), and now owned by the Greek government.
The first four stages were virtually a continuous descent, down jagged , irregular steps. It started at over 4000ft and ended on the river bed below. The zig zag path Xyloskalo took us down 3300 ft in just over a mile. Water breaks provided relief and an opportunity to come face to face with a Cretan mountain goat.
We crossed the river,which in late September was more like a stream, and eventually arrived at the deserted village of Samaria. The last inhabitants left in the 1960s. It was hard not to think of the lifestyle of those people living their lives in such an isolated location, with donkeys as the only feasible method of transport. We decided that this would make a good stopping point for an early lunch, however the spinach pie that I bought with me, attracted a number of wild bees. Samaria has many seemingly attracted by the wild thyme whose scent hangs in the air.
Onwards upwards and then down through the narrow passageway between rocks and on to the coastal resort of Agia Ronmel. It took us five hours, and I've to write about it. Thirteen kilometres across rough terrain, a challenge and one that many tourists would be ill equpped to deal with. Apparently in high season 2000 a day trek through the gorge, yesterday's temperature of 33 degrees was dehydrating and however much water I consumed the thirst returned. I celebrated completing the walk with a beer, a mistake as I soon follow it with orange juice and two cokes, such was the extent of my dehydration.
Our journey home allowed us the opportunity to view part of the south coast of Crete from the vantage point of a ferry. The sea was as still as I've ever experienced, as we glided along the Libyan Sea . The south coast of Crete so unspoilt and unlike much of the north coast with it's enclaves of EU tourists and those from further afield.
The ship allowed a distant view of Gavdopula and Gaudos. I calculated that Gaudos was indeed the southern most point of Europe and indeed it is. Nest stop Africa. I took satisfaction in seeing it, and thought of those from North Africa who have desparately tried to reach such islands to escape conflict.
Our day trip once again put us in the position of being in a minority, heavily outnumbered by German tourists. The Cretans are exchanging sun for Euros. The previous morning we had visited a local market, and witnessed the vast range of locally grown fruit and vegetables as well as local olive oil, honey,eggs etc. Sacks of oranges , courgettes and tomatoes on sale. This is an amazing land.
The tour operator Thomson market the trip to Samaria as a walk, frankly that is akin to saying the Tour de France is a bike ride. The Samaria Gorge is a hike, a trek and indeed a challenge. A walk in the country it is not.
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