Looking back, it seems amazing to me that I decided to move to Crete having visited the island twice, for 3 days each time.
On my first visit (late October), we drove up to Omalos, where the Samaria gorge starts. It was a cloudy, chilly day and when we arrived at the gorge entrance wisps of cloud were covering the gorge below and the whole landscape seemed “mysterious.” Not so welcoming…I thought. Then we stepped into the café by the edge of the road and it was all different – welcoming, warm-hearted people served us hot mountain tea (“malotira”) and we had delicious Cretan mizithropitakia (small cheese pies) with honey. All was well again and Crete enticed me to leave an engineering career in Athens and embark on a new business adventure in travel.
Being Greek, but having not spent much time on Crete before, I was intrigued by how different it is to the rest of Greece. Almost like its own country, with a very distinct character and atmosphere. It is sad when people visit and all they get is a “beach & sun” experience. There is so much more.
If you are coming to Crete, do yourself a favour and forget about the must-see tourist attractions.
If you want to experience what it is like to be on this island, enjoy its unique characteristics, I suggest you….
Visit the Amari valley, south east Of Rethymno
The area is practically “virgin” from tourists, there are hardly any “rooms for rent” or signs in English beckoning tourists. Here people go about their daily lives, tending to their farms and stock-breeding. Most of Crete is covered with olive trees, but in Amari valley apple and cherry trees, laden with fruit in late spring, are a common sight. Dense green landscapes, pretty villages, red roofs, courtyards with lots of flowers, donkeys, running waters and springs, wild flowers and the Psiloritis mountain magnificently standing above the valley knit the canvass in my mind when I think of Amari. Monastiraki is one of the villages I remember most, for the tranquil atmosphere, old buildings and wonderful views, while we walked around the village. Stopping at the square to ask about the small church, we were overwhelmed by the hospitality and generosity of a local family who insisted we stay with them for the night in their house if we could.
Wherever you drive or walk, there are countless churches (some with great Byzantine frescos), monasteries and a sense of a heroic past (the area is known for its resistance during the German occupation and many of the villages were totally destroyed in 1944 as retaliation for the abduction of General Heinrich Kreipe). The Venetian bell tower in Amari village is a reminder of the more ancient, equally fascinating history.
There are different routes you can follow to get here (you can even choose to go on foot, as the European E4 path crosses the valley) – don’t worry about which you take. Serendipity always leads you to witness another charming facet of the valley.
Enjoy sea, archaeology & sunset in Falasarna (west Crete)
There is something about this bay on the west of Crete that makes me feel very relaxed and like I am on a “different” Crete. I love the open sea and occasional sea-sprayed windiness of the western face of the island, which is lined with a wide sweep of sandy beach, interrupted by small rocky branches reaching into the sea.
You may notice the greenhouses as you drive down to the coast, and the place can even feel “eerie” for some. There is not a real “village” on the coast, just a handful of ‘rooms for rent’, tavernas and cafes, with their sunbeds taking only a small part of the expansive beach – you can always find a corner you can call ‘your own’.
The part that completes the special feeling of the place for me: at the north end of the beach, at the end of a dirt track through olive groves, the Falasarna archaeological site shows itself. Ancient Falasarna was a city-state and a very important closed harbour of the Classical and Hellenistic periods. Today, the harbour and its installations are on dry land, after the coast raised 6-9 metres, probably due to an earthquake in 365 AD. The city was destroyed by the Roman conquerors in mid 1st century AD.
The site looks rather neglected and unattended – and all the better for it. There is something about the combination of the ruins, the glistening sea across scraggy green on rocky ground that makes this an ideal perch for reflection – or even a picnic!
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