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Reminder: the panoramic photos at the start of the blog change every 7/8 seconds and give a larger and clearer image than when viewed with the other photos. Also, there are more photos below the text if you want to skip the diary details; and if you double click on any of the photos you will get an enlarged, clearer image. You can return to the text anytime.
Blog 2 Friday 4th May: Our objective for the morning was to climb a prominent mountain that overlooked Damnoni beach, and which had a small white church at the very top. I had scoped this out last year; but when I had tried to get to the start point along one of the many tracks around the base of the mountain I had chosen the wrong track and so didn’t manage to do it. This time, using Google Earth, I plotted the way to the start point very carefully and we made it without any problems: other than with the quality of the road which varied considerably from half decent concreted track to graded uneven track (farm road standard). When we arrived at the start point, about 500/600 feet below
Going to Church
The church is on top of that mountain; a long way up from the pleasures of Damnoni Beachthe summit, we met a French couple coming down the track we intended to go up (graded but not good enough for a car). I asked them if they had come from the church at the top and they said that it was the wrong path and we should go to the other side of the mountain. As the only path visible on Google Earth was the one I had mapped out I thought that we should give it a try, so we carried on up. The turnings on the zigzag track we followed coincided exactly with my hand drawn map and estimates of distance, so we kept going. The graded track ended where indicated on my map and in front of us was an entrance to a well made concrete and stone path with pillars either side; each adorned with a iron cross. Eureka! We continued on this excellent path, far easier walking than the graded track, until it turned directly up slope and became an improved path through the rocks (with occasional concrete steps on the difficult sections) . We reached the church at the summit quite easily and spent some time there enjoying the views on all
Going to Church 2
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going!" The correct wording should be: "When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping!" sides; which were very impressive. Unfortunately, I had managed to forget my camera although I did have my smart phone and took some photos with that (the subsequent transfer of the pictures to my laptop proved to be a nightmare). We took the walk down quite gently in order to enjoy the views while at the same time being careful about our footing.
After reaching the car we headed off to the Gefyra Taverna not far away, which is on the Megalau River (stream) that flows out of the Kourtaliotiko Gorge, and which we had happy memories of from a previous visit. Not so good this time although the setting was just as idyllic. After an indifferent lunch we drove along another graded track to Preveli Beach and then on foot to Palm Beach: one of the “must visit” places on Crete’s south coast. This involved a 5 km/3 mile drive up and down a mountain road to Preveli Beach (car park and shingle beach), then a 10 minute walk along the cliffs to Palm Beach. Definitely not worth it. The beach, which is grey sand, is at the mouth of the Megalau River and there is a palm
Going to Church 3
Not quite the Pearly Gates but they looked pretty good to us after the uncertainty of the hike up the mountain tree grove: hence the name. It looks great from a distance but it’s not very big and has no facilities. So that’s another “must see” ticked off. We returned to the car and braced ourselves for another jolting 5 km drive back over the mountain. At the start of the climb we picked up a young German couple who had walked to Palm Beach along the opposite bank from the Gefyra Taverna; and had been directed back on this route without being told about the intervening mountain. Once they saw the long, dusty climb they had avoided (probable 2 hour walk) they were very grateful when we dropped them off at the taverna.
Despite everything we still weren’t done for the day and headed back towards the coast and the Mona Preveli Monastery as Jane wanted to buy some of their home made thyme honey; which she had enjoyed from a previous visit. Mission accomplished and we returned to Plakias for a well earned shower, change and then up the mountain to Mirthios for another excellent dinner at the Plateia Restaurant.
Saturday 5
th May: After our exertions of the previous day it was time to take
it easy so after breakfast we walked over to Damnoni Beach, and onward past a nudist beach (small cove actually) to Ammoudi Beach where a red flag was flying on account of the strong winds driving quite big waves on to the beach. After a refreshing drink at the beach bar there we headed back to Damnoni for a late lunch at our favourite restaurant, the Mesogeios: another superlative meal (
Note: of 272 TripAdvisor reviews 228 are Excellent: 39 Very Good, 5 Average, zero Poor, zero Terrible). Afterwards we strolled back to Plakias and took it easy until it was time for dinner and another, totally worthwhile, journey up the mountain for dinner at the Plateia Restaurant (418 reviews. 302 Excellent, 98 Very Good, 16 Average, 1 Poor, 1 Terrible – I can’t believe the Poor and Terrible reviews. Someone must have a grudge.
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