It is 14 long years since I first walked Samaria Gorge here on this beautiful Island of Crete.  It was before I started this blog so I am really pleased to be writing about it now.  The first time I went with a group of friends from my local taverna, Vangeli’s in Plaka.  This time I went on an organized trip with a tour company.  One of my friends from David’s walking group had always wanted to walk Samaria and I eagerly agreed to go with her.

At the beginning of our descent into beautiful Samaria Gorge

I drove to Kalyves to meet Collette and the coach which was leaving at 5.50am.  Despite going to bed early the night before – I didn’t sleep at all!  There was a whole bunch of reasons for that… excitement, trepidation… would I be fit enough?  So then I had the worry of whether I would have enough energy and stamina to complete this arduous trek without any proper restful sleep?

I’m pointing at the incredible Dragon Flower (Dracunculus Vulgaris)

Samaria Gorge is in the Lefka Ori mountains. It is 16km long and begins at Omalos Plateau, 1,230 meters above sea level.  The trail runs down through the most wonderful and spectacular scenery.  Luckily the first half is mostly through forested and shaded areas, but actually the weather was perfect on the day. At the top it was a chilly 11 degrees and became gradually warmer the further down we walked.  We had to remain flexible before we booked the day to walk Samaria.  Last week the Gorge was closed twice, due to the recent earthquake and after that, high winds.  Samaria Gorge is a dangerous place to be, if the conditions are not perfect.

I can honestly say that it was much more difficult than I remembered it being.. or maybe that’s because I am that much older?!  You really cannot take your eyes away from where you are putting your feet, not for one moment!  The rocks and stones covering the entire trail are very uneven and in some parts, shiny and slippery.  Good balance is essential and a pole helps, although I never use one.  You had to stop walking if you wanted to take in and appreciate any of the surrounding scenery.

There were many areas where we had to cross water on stepping stones and the terrain was generally challenging for the whole of the 16 kilometers.  I mentioned to Collette how much like an assault course it felt!  There are several rest areas en route and plenty of natural fresh water springs where we could refill our water bottles.  Rest stops were always brief and rarely lasted longer than 10 minutes.  We stopped at about 4 of the rest areas and I reckon we trekked for at least 8 hours altogether.  I can’t remember walking for that length of time since I last walked Samaria.  We took lots of food with us as it would be many hours before we would arrive at the seaside village of Agia Roumeli on the south coast of Crete.  The other factor we were always aware of was that the whole walk was time sensitive, so we kept up a certain steady pace throughout the day.

We were hoping to reach Agia Roumeli by 4pm latest, which would have given us time to enjoy a refreshing swim in the sea, before getting on the ferry to Sougia at 5.30pm.  This is the only way back to meet with the coaches.  In the end we didn’t have time for the swim because we stopped several times along the route to take photos and admire the awesome nature that surrounded us, especially high up above us.  We entered the Gorge at 8am and didn’t exit it until 4pm after which there was a further 4 km walk to the sea and centre of Agia Roumeli.

Although it was absolutely exhausting, both Collette and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, feeling a deep sense of achievement afterwards.  We had to laugh because everything hurt… our knees, feet, calves and even our shoulders and neck from carrying the rucksacks on our backs!  Disembarking after an hour on the boat, our knees had seized up and they weren’t much better after a further 1.5 hours on the coach back to Kalyves.  I was just so so tired by then and I still cannot believe I made it without mishap, when I never even got to sleep the night before.  Actually, there are donkeys and mules stationed throughout the gorge and we did see someone having to be carried out of the gorge on one of them.  I’m happy to say that didn’t happen to us and yet I can remember that happening to one of my friends in our group when we last walked Samaria in 2011.  I would recommend this experience to everyone, but it’s not for the faint hearted…

The ancient fort on top of the hill in Askifou Plateau

The Samaria Gorge trip was just a few days ago but before that, David’s walk to Askifou was pretty cool.  Askifou is a beautiful plateau 730 meters up and also in the Lefka Ori Mountains.  I visited the plateau many years ago and have passed by it many times when driving down to the south coast on beachcombing trips.  Debbie and I would always marvel at the ancient fort atop the hill at the edge of the plateau.  We always wondered how you got up there.

Among the ruins of the fort

Well on David’s walk he showed us a route up to the fort because there was no existing road or clear path to follow.  So I finally got to visit the fort which seemed to beckon us but sadly, I know I will never be able to remember the route well enough to show Debbie.

Askifou Plateau as seen from the fort

When we stopped for a late lunch at a taverna above the plateau, we were rewarded with a stunning display from several vultures cruising around the taverna.  So yet another great day out amongst the beautiful and wondrous nature abounding here on Crete and as usual… I just feel so so lucky.

‘Love Seagulls’ – Seashell Mosaic Collage Painting – 25x30cms

I have still found time to create my Seashell Mosaic Collage Paintings and have just finished one more ‘Love Seagulls’ artwork.  On Saturday I’m off to the UK and Yorkshire for my usual stay at this time of the year.  I couldn’t get decent flights to Leeds Bradford this time so I have to fly to Manchester airport and then take the 2 hour train journey to Emma’s home in Thirsk and a week later, on to Zoe’s home in Golcar.  It goes without saying that I will be doing lots of childcare for my 4 grandchildren and I can’t wait to spend that quality time with them.

Oooh… and at around 6.30am this morning, we had yet another earthquake!  But I felt this one as I woke up with the bed shaking and my wall mirror was rattling!  It was 6.1 magnitude and the epicentre was located deep in the sea 56 km northeast of Heraklion.