Words + Photos By: Vanda Turcerova
The doors of the local airplane open and you feel it right away: the air is summer-dry, warming up your skin at a pleasant 28°C; green hue all around you delighting your eyes as if they have forgotten the richness of it, and you struggle and squint to adjust; the smell of earth, olive trees and the bright sun. Above all, you realise you have touched down on a historic place and about to explore what the first recognised civilisation in Europe, the Minoans, has chosen as their home seven millennia ago. During your stay you will walk in their footsteps, rest on the same boulders they no doubt had rested on, drink from the same waterfall and live off the land as they did.
Crete is the largest of the Mediterranean islands, floating majestically right at its center; southern seaside is 305km away from Libya, northern shores a bit closer to its mainland, Greece. Since its creation, the Minoan civilisation has settled here and it is not difficult to see why: wide open plains with rich soil to grow grains, fruits and vegetables; calm seas teeming with octopus, squid, crab and shellfish; constant wind, mostly gentle and only occasionally rough enough to keep you indoors; yet for the Minoans (some would refer to them as the Atlanteans) it was not meant to last. Santorini volcano blew up one morning in the second millennium BC that sent waves of 70m high rushing to the northern shores so hard destroying everything in its way and wiping out most of life on the island.
This devastating event, however, enriched the soil with volcanic ashes and layers of eruption matter that thousands of years later gave Greece its famous export, olive oil. This is evident all around the island; the largest plantation of olives in Europe is in the centre of the island; thousands of trees bearing millions of olives keep the economy fueled. You can touch the trees right from the road, and not just olives, but figs, berries, limes and other citrus fruits. Mountain sides have wild goats staring at you, eagles high in the sky circling their prey, the ever-present crickets and cicadas humming their tunes. They have plenty of hideaways for Crete is rural apart from the capital, Heraklion, and a few larger cities scattered along the coast. Most of the country consists of farms and growing fields, with makeshift roads barely wide enough for one car. But what a beauty to watch the island wake up to its simple way of life; locals descend from mountains and hill villages to their summer coastal establishments to cater to tourists with food and beverages, beach services, lodging, car and scooter rentals. When summer ends, they retreat back to their homes to care for livestock and tend to their fields. Such is the life here — uncomplicated, simple and enjoyable.
We have chosen to explore the eastern and south eastern part of the island this summer. Travelling with a six-year-old, we were itching to reach further than the resort beach with its umbrellas, sun beds and combo rental for six euros a day. Equipped with a guide book, trekking boots, walking poles and backpacks filled with water, snacks and mosquito repellent, we have started off on our first trek.
Richtis Waterfall: The Waterfall Symphony
1hr round trip, fairly easy
Some 15km west from the northeastern port town of Sitia, the only fresh water waterfall of Crete awaited our presence. As we left the village of Exo Mouliana and took a dirt road seemingly leading nowhere and snaking through the endless olive tree fields, the departure from the modern world was immediately evident; roads are unkempt, signs often missing or barely visible through overgrown greenery, and not another car on sight. In fact, this was a regular occurrence on all the treks we have conquered. For such a beautiful and trek-rich country, it would seem visitors still prefer to sit on a beach with prepaid package stay.
We crossed a coastal mountain serpentine-style that led us to Tigania beach opening with cars parked in ancient-looking lot, unmistakably noting the end of car drive and the beginning of foot work. We rechecked our supplies and backpacks and started off into the hills; this was one of the richer treks visually and nature-wise – offering shade with forest trees already losing their coloured leaves that provided comfortable carpet for our feet, pink and crimson flowers and sweet-smelling berry bushes lining up the sides of our path, vines literally dropping ripe grapes into our hands as we walked under their canopies. The walk was comfortable and easy for the first 15 minutes, almost flat without inclination on the terrain; the path took us from open spaces into thick tree growth and out into the open again. Because our destination was a waterfall, we also stopped at still water ponds, scared tadpoles and tried catching frogs that were too fast for us.
Back into the forest again, the second half of our journey was a careful stepping exercise with steady inclination; we trekked across rocks and soil with stones providing natural stairs among the bushes and bamboo growing around, occasionally helping junior to cross the larger stones and higher ground. We could hear water flowing around and knew we were near our destination.
Finally, after the fairly steep 100+ meters we conquered steadily with the help of our walking poles, the waterfall welcomed us. It was a 30m drop of pristine and refreshingly cool water gushing into a small pool. We jumped in and splashed around, exploring the rocky sides and stony floor lined with moss. We didn’t stay long because we had another trek in mind for the afternoon and as a couple of tourists turned up, we were packed and ready to descend back. We picked up grapes to eat on the journey back; we waved the tadpoles goodbye at the ponds as we headed down to the beach where we started from.
Gorge of the Dead
4hour one way trip, medium difficulty
Zakros Gorge is located off the village of Zakros, ending the coastal village Kato Zakros. A part of the E4 European trekking line, its frightening name comes from of the tombs found in its caves dating back to the Minoans. This is our most difficult and longest trek. Although we don’t know it at the time, we had taken the Entrance A into the gorge; there is another shorter trek available as we discovered later on our journey back when we got lost from our original path.
We started off on stony path through an olive orchard, steep enough and snaking through the trees, with occasional markings of the route visible on rocks at crossroads. After 10 minutes, we entered wild and beautiful landscape; rocky path scattered with large stones and frequent small bushes. This trek is much greener than the previous ones, with plenty of trees providing good cover as we walked past a small spring, crossing it a few times while we followed the trekking part. We found ourselves walking in and out of tree lines and along a water supply pump. The path took us along rocky narrow passage where we clung to the wall because missing a step would be dangerous and no doubt painful. We were careful to follow the poorly-made markings spray painted on tree trucks and stones; there are many crossings without signs and lateral paths that could lead to dead ends.
Entering the river bed, it took us up and down its sides and occasionally its centre, through tree growths and in between large rocks that provided a decent workout for our leg muscles. The little one needed help crossing as some proved too high for his short legs. During our rest, we admired the cave openings and curious goats with bells around their necks, indicating they belong to a farm. The cliffs looked razor sharp and as we were nearing the coast and the end of our journey, they changed from dry white to slightly reddish color, getting sharper and steeper. It would not be wrong to assume that they’ve lost their front facades years ago, perhaps due to Santorini explosion which could have violently stripped their majestic faces to the ground and we could be now looking at the cliff’s insides.
After nearly two hours of walking, the river bed widens and we had a comfortable walk on the small pebbles covering its base. The gorge trek ended on the road that took us down to the marvelous coastal village of Kato Zakros. We walked through a vine canopy belonging to one Niko Platanakis. The sign told us that if we eat at his restaurant on the beach, we can pick up grapes, tomatoes and other vegetables and fruits for free. And so we did! We rested our tired limbs and sampled a delicious array of food overlooking the perfect stone beach. After, we walked a bit more to an almost private bay where we rewarded ourselves by swimming and throwing stones into the sea. We found a shorter route, completed our journey and walked towards our car that was the last one on the lot.
Equipment
Trekking boots, backpacks, comfortable sports clothing, long trousers preferable
Sunscreen, mosquito repellents, first aid kit
Brimmed hats very important
Reusable drinking bottles
Walking poles are very good investment
