Blogs from Crete, Greece, Europe - page 6

We're up at 5am for our long awaited day of hiking through the Agia Irini Gorge. I think that maybe it’s only me that the “long awaited” bit applies to; I suspect “long dreaded” may be more Issy’s take on the subject. We are picked up just before 6am, and we join a busload full of fellow hikers for the long drive up into the White Mountains where our hike will start. We originally considered hiking the 16 km long Samaria Gorge, which is apparently the longest gorge in Europe, before deciding that the Agia Irini, at a paltry 7.5 km, was a bit more our style. We assume that everyone else on the bus is also a fellow Agia Irini hiker, but we soon discover that it is only us and one other couple who ... read more

We’re tired after yesterday’s long drive, so we sleep in. We really sleep in; we miss lunch. Issy wants to spend most of the day relaxing. She must really want to relax; she says she’s even willing to let me go out driving on my own. I did happen to mention something about a monastery which may have played a small part in her decision. Issy’s not really into monasteries. I head off out through endless rows of olive trees and grapevines to the Agia Triada Monastery which is on the Akrotiri Peninsula north east of Chania. I read that it was built in the early 17th century by two Venetian brothers. Its church has three domes and has been built in the Byzantine architectural style, and the monks live in rooms off the cloisters surrounding ... read more

We’re a bit tired after a long day of travelling yesterday, so Issy glues herself to a lounge under an umbrella next to the hotel pool. Every effort to prise her loose fails, so I take the opportunity to read up a bit about Crete on the ever reliable Wikipedia. Crete is a serious island. It‘s the largest island in Greece and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean. Its major historical significance is as the centre of Europe‘s first advanced civilisation, the Minoans, who apparently thrived here from 2,700 to 1,420 BC. They then declined or disappeared, and one theory is that they were wiped out by the Thera eruption which created the famous Santorini caldera. That must have been some eruption; Santorini is more than 150 kilometres away. The Mycenaeans from mainland Greece were the ... read more

Note: there are more photos below the text if you want to skip the diary. Also, if you double click on any of the photos you will get an enlarged image and you will be transferred to the photo gallery where you can scroll through all the photos. You can return to the text anytime. Thursday 27th September Not much to report nor even display as the weather was not very good. There was intermittent rain throughout the day and we got caught in a couple of light showers when we went for a walk in Plakias town. We had a light lunch of vegetable soup which one member of our team did not rate very highly on account of lack of taste; although I thought it was ok. The view from the restaurant was also ... read more

Note: there are more photos below the text if you want to skip the diary. Also, if you double click on any of the photos you will get an enlarged image and you will be transferred to the photo gallery where you can scroll through all the photos. You can return to the text anytime. Sunday 23 September Things went very smoothly on the way to Bristol Airport, no delays or diversions, but when we called the Park&Go meet and greet service there was no answer. Several more calls and still no response, also no sign of a representative at the Express Drop-off where we were supposed to hand over the car. Fortunately the very helpful lady on duty at the Airport Information Desk saved the day. She took the details of our meet and greet ... read more