I finished my summer of selling by the beach in Almyrida on October 23rd. I sold six of my seashell mosaic collage paintings that day, but decided that as there were not so many tourists around, it seemed like a good time to end the season. October was good for sales this year and I sold over 31 artworks in total.
Amazingly the weather for the remainder of October and all of November so far has been glorious. It’s felt like we have had an extended summer here on Crete. Day After day it’s been really warm and sunny and the inspiration for many a day trip and Sunday lunch outing over the past month. I went on a lovely walk with David’s group (the other David I’ve known for years) to Volthones Plateau above Vafes, followed by lunch in Vrysess.
On David’s walk – The Volthones Plateau above Vafes
So David (my NEW friend David!) and I have visited Stavros, where we took a refreshing dip in the still warm sea, drove on to nearby Loutraki and then arrived at Marathi, where we enjoyed a late lunch. We drove to Bali the following week, swam in the sea and walked all around the winding streets, going up and down countless steps and steep hills, eventually reaching the little port where we had a lovely lunch. On another Sunday we visited Kournas Lake, again we swam in the inviting waters, then headed to Maza where we had hoped to have lunch. It is only a small village and because the Greeks like to go out on a Sunday, the village tavernas quickly fill up. We struggled to find a table at any of the surrounding villages so we returned to Geougioupoli, where we finally found a nice taverna with a spare table for two. These Sunday outings with David have been so wonderful and relaxing.
Inside the narrow gorge.. with no clear way ahead!
Before covid – my friends and I talked often of finding a way to the glass beach on the other side of Akrotiri. This beach is virtually covered in natural sea-tumbled glass. Many many years ago there was a glass factory on the cliff above it. I had been to this beach by boat in 2014 and didn’t think it was possible to reach it any other way. Last October I wrote about how four of us tried to access this beach on foot but couldn’t find a route. Then last spring Debbie found the name of the beach and a statement to the effect that it was accessible to walk.
To cut an even longer story short, Debbie and I went in search of it again and it took us a number of hours just to find the nearest place to park. We returned the following week and parked there – about one kilometre from the coast. The beach could not be seen from there but after the satellite and aerial photos we’d studied on Google Maps – we knew it was the best place to start our trek down. After several attempts to find a safe route down the cliff, we ended up in a narrow gorge. We knew that this gorge would eventually lead to the beach, but we had no idea how long it would be or how difficult it would be to get through it?!
Looking back at all the boulders we’d just scambled over!
Having both walked Samaria Gorge, which is the longest in Europe – Debbie and I thought this would be a doddle as we are both reasonably fit and agile. I have scrambled through far more difficult gorges than Samaria, with the walking group last year. This however, was another challenge altogether. It took us over 90 minutes of scrambling and climbing over huge boulders, crawling on our backs or bellies under myrtle bushes with our hair tangling in the spikey branches and frequently having to remove and pass through our rucksacks, in order to squeeze through tiny gaps in the dense foliage. Countless times we almost turned back when encountering a complete blockage in the gorge. But we never gave up because we were on a mission!
Getting closer.. you can just see the beach below the sea, ahead.
Finally we thought we were getting close as we came out of the gorge, only to come up against a huge mound of earth that we had to first climb up steeply, then down the other side. A short walk after this and we finally arrived on the glass beach – two hours after we’d set off!
The gorge w’ed just come through.
We were not disappointed! This beach was covered in natural sea-tumbled glass – lots of it jewellery grade. We bolted down our packed lunches and couldn’t wait to start collecting. Frustratingly, we only had an hour to collect what we could and then set off again – back the way we’d come… We had to allow at least two hours to scramble our way back through the gorge and up the cliff to where my car was parked. All before it got dark, yikes!
Nearly there…I am just left of the photo holding a large wooden stick that helped us through the gorge.
Looking back I think we were quite crazy. The sole came off Debbie’s walking boot when we got to the beach and we both worried what on earth we’d do if she couldn’t walk back. Yet again – we just stayed positive and got ourselves in mission-mode for the dangerous scramble back, knowing we were also up against time. Hah! I said to Debbie “Well at least we can’t get lost going back, as we just follow the narrow gorge to the ribbon we’ve left at the point where we climb back up the cliff”. But after about an hour and a quarter of scrambling over boulders and through bushes, we arrived at a sheer wall of rock that neither of us recognized. Luckily it wasn’t too steep to scramble up the cliff side at that point and we found the car about ten minutes later.
Finally! Part of the glass beach.
It was totally scary but exhilarating. We will never forget this experience but we will never ever do this again.. it was way too risky. We were extremely lucky we never got hurt or lost our bearings in such a remote wilderness. Next spring we’ll get someone to drop us over in a boat and collect us again later.
This adventure happened on the Friday and on Saturday morning David called me and asked if I’d like to go on a road trip to Matala. Yeah!!! With David driving it would be a totally relaxing day for me after the previous day’s exertions. We wanted to sound out a nice place to stay and book for next year’s music festival in June. The Matala Beach Music Festival is the largest free festival in Greece and is about two hours drive to the south coast of Crete. I went there in 2015 and have written about it in this blog.
Enjoying a drink on Matala Beach
We made a brief stop in Agia Galini on the way and the weather remained sunny and warm so that when we arrived at Matala, we had a cool refreshing drink on the beach. We spent about an hour exploring and walking around the pretty streets with painted pavements. There’s a real hippie feel to the place. Almost everywhere had closed for the winter and we began to wonder if we’d find a place to stay the night. Luckily we got talking to some people in a bar and they made a phone call to a woman who ran a lovely place with self contained and comfortable rooms, right in the centre of Matala.
The quiet taverna in Matala where we had dinner.
We have since booked two separate rooms there (one for our friends) for the festival next year. We are lucky to get them as most people book again right after the festival. Because over 100,000 visitors come to Matala for that weekend, it is difficult to find somewhere to stay, if you don’t bring a tent or camp on the beach!
We bought a few bits for breakfast next morning, showered and changed, then went out to dinner at one of the cool tavernas. The food, wine and service was excellent and we loved the music they played in the background. It was quiet but it was somehow lovely that it was not busy, it being the end of the tourist season.
A beach we explored on the way to Agia Galina.
The next morning we set off for Agia Galini, where we had already decided yesterday, that we would have lunch. On the way there we saw the signs for Phaistos and decided to make a quick stop there. I have been there several times but this was the first time David has visited this interesting archeological site, made famous by the discovery of the ‘Phaistos Disc’.
Curiosity got the better of us.. part of the cave we went through at Agia Galini.
Agia Galini is a very pretty coastal town and after a walk to the beach and a detour up many steps through a cave in the cliff, we settled on a lovely restaurant situated above the port and affording a lovely view. I have to say that the food was excellent again. It was a really fab weekend and a total success as far as next year’s big music festival is concerned.
View over the port in Agia Galini – from the restauarant where we had a late lunch.
So it is not long before I return to the UK for Christmas. I am going on 2nd December this year and staying for a month. This is because my daughter Zoe is expecting my 4th grandchild – a little girl due on the 11th December. I am staying at Karen and Mike’s for the first 5/6 days, before heading to Zoe and Rich’s in Yorkshire. I will also spend a week just before Christmas at Emma and Ash’s before returning to Zoe’s for Christmas. I am really excited about seeing all my family and some friends again, but especially my grandchildren. Christmas is such a magical time for children and no place quite ‘does it’ like the UK.