Unique Guided Tour

As I mentioned, friendships form fast at the youth hostel in Plakias, Crete. Ameigh, my roommate, introduced me to her friend "Florida James" who now lives most of the year in Plakias. I was treated to an all day guided adventure with our destination of Saint Antonio Gorge. James has a wealth of knowledge of the area, history, flora & fauna, plus great places to eat.

We headed up the hillside to the town of Frati which lies between the two gorges of Koutaliotis and Kotsifos.




It looks like this from the ridge.



A huge old olive tree we met along the way.


Crete has many gorges of which the most famous is Samaria and full of tourist. James and Ameigh swear that Saint Antonio is just as beautiful with less people. I will take their word for it.

At the beginning of the gorge is a church carved into the stone dedicated to, of course, Saint Antonio.


Inside the church


The gorge is magnificent and not sure the pictures do it justice,
but I tried.







After our hike, James knew just the restaurant in Kanevos to stop for dinner. The family invites you into the kitchen to show and explain the different dishes you can choose from. Need I say, I nearly tried everyone! Their cute little daughter with the sweetest smile served us our appetizer and desert. It was by far the best meal I had in Greece :)

We still had some traveling down the mountain and our discussion lead into my not leaving Greece until I tried the Greek yogurt with honey and walnuts. James stopped at a restaurant in Myrthios overlooking Palkias to take care of this. Yum!

Second Day in Plakias, Crete

At the Plakias Youth Hostel, Chris, the manager, has many "off the beaten path" hikes to share. I decided to hike to One Rock, a secluded beach....sounded perfect!

I was excited to get started instead of waiting for others who were still sleeping off the previous evening's fun. This might have been a mistake, because the "easy to follow" printed directions from Chris were not so easy to follow. I missed the first stone marker; good thing I knew which direction to go. I learned that it is very easy to get lost in an olive grove.


Damnoni Beach is the first beach you come to after hiking through the hills and olive groves.



One Rock Beach from above (see the one rock?).


I climbed down and spent the afternoon swimming and painting.


I must admit, there were a few other people there too swimming and sun bathing. I waited for this photo.

My watercolor rendition......


Could not resist another sunset!

Transition to Crete

I learned how to dodge tourists in Santorini, but I was not expecting the confusion navigating the huge city of Iraklio, the capital and ferry port on the island of Crete in Greece. The bus station was a long walk after several stops for directions. I knew there was only one last bus that evening to Rethymno, west of Iraklio and in the path to my final destination on the Southern Coast of Crete. I made it to the bus on time!

Unfortunately when I arrived around 11:30PM in Rethymno, there was no one there with signs waving for rooms to rent. In fact, it was rather deserted! At the bus station I saw a sign for the Rethymno Youth Hostel and I saw cab drivers....bingo! The funny part was that the youth hostel was only a couple of blocks away, but worth the 5 Euros cab ride for a place to rest my head.

Early the next morning after a warm spinach pie from the bakery, I was on the bus to Plakias on the Southern Coast of Crete. As soon as I saw mountains and the countryside I was in a much better mood.

The youth hostel in Plakias is totally unique. First of all it sits in an olive grove and people tend to stay longer than planned. Friendships are made quickly, group hikes are planned daily, large groups go to dinner together, and I learned that there have been nine marriages of people who have met here.

The Plakias Youth Hostel and the view from the youth hostel.



After all my traveling, I walked a short distance down the hill to the beach. I was pleasantly surprised to see the profusion of wild sand orchids. After a swim, I decided to create a watercolor painting.



Looking at the town of Plakias from the rocky cliffs adjacent to the beach.





My first sunset on Crete.

Last Day on Santorini

Since the ferry to Crete did not leave until evening, I had one more day to spent on the lovely island of Santorini.

I chose to take photos and sketch.

View from Firostefoni looking towards the volcano on Nea Kameni.


Looking North with the island of Thirasia in the background.



Looking South towards Fira, Santorini's capital.



The magnificent village of Oia.




I have a fascination with olive trees; their gracefulness, curly carved trunk, silvery thin leaves, and the profusion of olives. I created a sketch of one tree while waiting for the ferry to Crete.



Since returning home, I am on my second watercolor painting featuring olive trees.

Southern Part of Santorini

Having another extra day on Santorini, I traveled to the southern part where I visited Ancient Thira and Red Beach.

A strategic location on the hill top of Mesa Vouno mountain, you can walk through the ancient ruins of the city of Thira which dates back to 8th c. B.C. The site consists of Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine ruins including temples, houses, an agora (market), a theatre, and a gymnasium. There are splendid views from the mountain.

I took some photos and did a sketch while spending time experiencing the "vibes" of antiquity.










Next stop, a must see, the red cliffs at Red Beach. The water is crystal clear with smooth, hand-size pebbles.




After a dip in the Sea, I did a quick watercolor painting.


Back in time for one last sunset on Santorini from Firostefoni while eating an amazing dinner of fresh fish and veggies, olive spread on bread, and a glass of local wine.








Need I say, a stellar day?!?!?