Advertisement
Published: September 16th 2012
Edit Blog Post
The earth didn't move last night. Nor did it move this morning. My sheet did - it was laying on the floor when I woke up.
After a breakfast taken whilst sitting in the garden, I left the hotel and walked down to the (new) bus station, where I bought a single ticket to Platanos ... and then waited ... and waited ... and waited!
That's the problem with the buses - you know the time that the bus leaves the depot and you then have to work out roughly when the bus will arrive. I'd estimated 40 minutes but ended up waiting a further ten minutes until a full bus arrived!
Once my rucksack was stored in the baggage compartment, I went to find an empty seat. There was none and I ended up standing on the stairs. However, once we'd reached the port, most people got off and seating became available.
Once in Platanos, the bus reversed into its parking bay and I got out, watching the bus depart and leaving me in the quietness of a Cretan village. I followed the bus back along the main road, going past a Venetian Gondola (?!) and
through the outskirts of the village, eventually reaching the small church of Agios Konstantinos. In the heat, this was my first water stop!
Leaving the church, I followed a stony track taking me along the top of the ridge where I passed the village football field - a stony surface offering a challenge to ball control! Slowly, in the heat, the track eventually began to descend towards Falassarna, visible below. The coastal plain was covered with green strips of trees interspersed with white strips of greenhouses - all edging against the white sand and blue sea.
Finally, the track abruptly finished at the edge of a large parking area, across from which was my lunch spot. The taverna was the perfect spot for a late morning drink before heading off across the sands to investigate the old port.
I walked to the far end of the beach, where I came across a tiny harbour. I suppose
harbour is too strong a word as it implies some form of infrastructure whereas this was simply a sheltered area with enough space for one or two boats to be pulled up on to the sand.
Heading inland, I reached
a dirt road and before long, was greeted by a
Throne on the side of the path. No one is sure what this represents as it appears to be
in situ yet is isolated. Whatever, it clearly is not a throne!
Finally, I reached the ancient harbour, now high and dry, having been lifted from the sea by two earthquakes.
Back at the taverna, a lunch of Cretan salad was accompanied by tremendous views across the sand to the sea.
Later, I found myself climbing steeply looking down on that taverna, the path becoming rougher as it rose high into the cliffs. Suddenly, it turned back on itself and headed towards a hidden col. There, on the corner, sat an abandoned hire car, its driver unaware that roads marked on the map do not necessarily exist on the ground!
Having reached the summit, I headed off down into an olive grove, treading over ploughed soil in an effort to find the faint traces of the continuing footpath. Eventually, I spotted its exit from the grove and continued towards some old buildings and into a farm yard. There, barking dogs barred the way, but Cretan dogs are
renowned for making lots of noise and little else, so it was not difficult to walk past them - but unnerving!
Back on the road, I then turned into someone's drive and walked through their garden before coming out into another olive grove. Dropping over a wall, I again reached the road which now took me directly into the village of Kaliviani, a taverna and a lovely cold bottle of beer.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.086s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 11; qc: 28; dbt: 0.0463s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
deleted_49612
deleted_49612
Great pics, as usual. :)
Hopefully, I will one day get out of Athens when I am in Greece and see places such as you have described in this blog. I will be in Greece next month, but just for 7 hours. Last time, I was in Greece, I was too travel exhausted to venture out of Athens for the 2 weeks I was in Greece. :)