Crete’s Gorgeous Samaria Gorge

Sometimes our travels take us to the end before the beginning.

Such was the case with Crete’s Samaria Gorge. Our first views of the Gorge were of  its end, at Agia Roumeli, a small village on Crete’s southern coast. 

Approaching Agia Roumeli, Crete, from the Libyan Sea

Since our first visit to Crete five years ago, we’ve:
*vowed to hike the Gorge, and
* visit this small town -- with a population of less than 150 people - that welcomes hikers as they emerge from the Gorge's 18 km  (11.8 mile) route.

The gorge, by the way,  is said to be the longest  in Europe.

Streets are lined with cafes in Agia Roumeli

Last spring, while not accomplishing that hiking goal, we did have an introduction to both. We took a small Greek ferry across a portion of the Libyan Sea, traveling from Loutro, the village to its east where we were staying, to Agia Roumeli. (Part one of our adventure appeared last week, click this link to read it.)



Much to our surprise, Agia Roumeli, with paved roads and sidewalks that lead visitors to a large selection of restaurants and tourist accommodations, is more spread out than Loutro.

(And until we arrived in Agia Roumeli,we hadn’t seen ads for fish pedicures since we’d left the big city, Heraklion, on Crete’s northern coast a week before.)











And the Gorgeous Gorge. . .

Guidebooks say the Samaria (sah-mah-rih-ah) Gorge is carpeted with spring wild flowers and is home to a number of endangered species, including the Kri-Kri, a wild Cretan goat. 

Samaria Gorge from Agia Roumeli

It became a national park in 1962.  Overnight camping isn’t allowed though so trekkers need to make the trip in a single day. (an estimated 350,000 from around the world do just that each hiking season).

The Scout sets out to see the Gorge

Technically the Gorge ends at the 12.5 km marker, just before the now-abandoned village of Old Agia Roumeli.  The new town is at the water’s edge. So, we set out for the old town on an oleander-lined road that took us to the remains of that village and a bit further into the gorge.

The 1.2 km stretch we walked is described as ‘uninteresting’ in Lonely Planet’s guidebook. 

‘Uninteresting’ ?!?!  That must mean the gorge is pretty spectacular or the reviewer was tuckered out by the time he/she got to this leg of the hike.

We heartily disagree with that description! Here are just four reasons why:

This beautifully maintained church and cemetery we passed along the way

One of the many buildings that make up the abandoned Old Town

This minuscule chapel built into the rock wall high above us

And scenes like this along the way

So taken were we with this area that we are already planning our next visit to include a night or two  in Agia Roumeli and perhaps we’ll not only arrive via the Gorge, but have enough energy to climb the cliff behind the town and explore the remains of its Turkish fortress.

Remains of the Turkish fortress that towers over Agia Roumeli Crete 

If You Go:



There are excursions to Samaria Gorge from every sizable town in Crete.

* The full one way hikes leave from Omalos to the north (not pictured on the map) and end in Agia Roumeli; shorter round-trip hikes loop from Agia Roumeli taking you the narrowest part of the Gorge, its Iron Gates. 
* Locals have said it is more fun to hike the gorge on your own and not keep pace with an organized group. Note: It also means you are on your own for transportation arrangements to and from the gorge.
* Starting before 8 a.m. will help beat the bus-loads of hikers that have purchased the package hikes.
* The gorge opens late in the spring. It had been open only a couple of days when we visited in early May 2013. So, if hiking the Gorge is in your plans, make sure it is open.

Thanks to Lonely Planet for the map above.

That’s it for this week’s Travel Photo Thursday, but to continue your armchair travels head to Budget Travelers Sandbox.

Travel Tip Tuesday: The Importance of 'Trip Advisors'

A few years ago a travel agent friend of my mine – after reading one of my posts -- simply screeched, “How COULD you recommend people read TripAdvisor?!?!  That is nothing but people’s opinions!”

Alderbrook Resort and Spa proudly displays its TripAdvisor rating 

No, I thought, it is travelers opinions – many of them so current they’ve been posted within days of their stay and our research.

With TripAdvisor, however, the key phrase is ADVISOR. We use the site to help us make a decision; it doesn’t make the decision for us.

Hotel Electra Palace - Athens   The pool, our room and our balcony were stellar!

Take the Athen’s Hotel Electra Palace where we spent our last night in Greece, for example.  We booked it while on the road, just a few days before our arrival because of the great -- for a big city – rate of $204USD.

But we didn’t book until we’d checked maps to make sure of its location and TripAdvisor. (We found a 1,000+ reviews of which more than half were ‘excellent’ and another 300+ were ‘very good’.). And those contributing ‘Trip Advisors’ didn’t steer us wrong! We will definitely stay there again.

In the last few years we’ve noted not only a growing reliance by fellow travelers on the website, but a similar reliance by restaurants and guest accommodations on all user-review sites, such as TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google Reviews. 

Have you seen the “Find us on TripAdvisor” or “If you liked (your stay, your meal) please write about your experience on TripAdvisor,” notices as you’ve traveled? Stickers on doors and windows, certificates on display?

The growing importance of web sites was illustrated well at this restaurant in Heraklion, Crete.  While it was eye-catching and made us laugh. . .we didn’t eat there because we had another favorite place just down the street.


Another restaurant outside Plakias, on Crete’s southern coast, also boasted of its Trip Advisor recommendations, but we’d decided to eat there long before we noticed this sign.

(You can probably tell by the looks of this vegetarian meze plate why we chose to eat there!)

When planning a trip what resources to you use? Have a favorite 'go to' source you want to recommend? Tell us about it in the comments below.

WAWeekend: “Gold!” ~ and the Rush was on!

Seattle had a real ‘rush’ following the arrival in July 1897 of the  SS Portland. The ship was carrying  68 miners and nearly two tons of gold. The Klondike Gold Rush was about to begin and it would have a significant impact on The Emerald City:

In fact it was that discovery more than a century ago that put Seattle on the map as a Gateway to the Klondike; marking its beginning as the Pacific Northwest regional trade center it is today.

At the time, Seattle’s Chamber of Commerce promoted the city as the ‘only place’ to outfit for the gold fields.


More than 100,000 people would seek their fortunes as result of that discovery near where the Klondike and Yukon rivers meet. And large numbers of them set forth from Seattle, taking either overland or water routes as shown on the map below:

I had never paid much attention to the Gold Rush nor its impact locally until I made a discovery of my own:
The Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park* in Seattle’s Pioneer Square. 

(*It is not Museum – although housed on two floors of the historic Cadillac Building, it sure looks more like one than it does a park).

This haven of history is an easy two block walk north of Century Link field, home of the Seattle Seahawks or King St. Station, the city’s Amtrak hub (its clock tower is visible in the cityscape photo above).

I’ve visited the historic park three times in recent years and each time discovered something I’d missed on previous visits in its audio and visual displays or in the life size models of a store, cabin and a mining operation.

I can assure you that a visit to the Klondike Gold Rush Historical Park is a gold mine of an experience – and the best part, admission is free!

If You Go:

Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park
319 2nd Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98104
206-220-4240
www.nps.gov/klse
Hours: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. daily. Closed Jan. 1, Thanksgiving Day and Dec. 25

It is a great place for kids – stop by the Ranger’s desk and get one of the activity sheet they have for the wee ones.

Parking is limited on the street, but there are several nearby lots. Bus stops, the train station and local ferries are within walking distance.

Thanks much for spending time with us this weekend. See you back here next week, until then,  ‘Happy Travels!’

Crete: A Tiny ‘Ferry” Tale About A Sunday Sail

The Place: The Libyan Sea. . .

The Backdrop: . . .blue sky . . .blue sea. . .

The Time: . . .a laid-back Sunday afternoon. . .

That’s the setting for this week’s Greek ‘ferry’ tale - the tale of a trip from one of the tiniest villages on the southern coast of Crete to another tiniest of villages . . .

Both of the villages we traveled between in this ‘ferry’ tale are accessible by boat or on foot. We opted for the easier option and traveled on the sea.

The Libyan Sea, as a matter of fact, is the sea on which we sailed. It is the rather exotic sounding  portion of the Mediterranean Sea, that lies north of the African coast (eastern Libya and western Egypt) and the southern coast of Crete.

It is the same sea that St. Paul is believed to have sailed (landing somewhere in between the two villages – a place still marked by a small chapel and spring.)

Our trip between two tiny villages was aboard one of the tiniest of Greek ferries, the Neptune.

We left Loutro on a warm spring Sunday afternoon. It was that time just after mid-day when the intensity of the heat has slowed the pace to near standstill. The only things stirring are the ferries that serve the villages and those who, like us, were waiting to board them.

On this small ferry we shared deck space with the supplies and every seat guaranteed a non-obstructed view.

Our journey of an hour and a half took us along a section of Crete’s rugged, uninhabited southern coast.

It also allowed us to look back on a route we’ve walked so many times that links Loutro to Phoenix, an even smaller hamlet on the coast. How interesting it was to see our pathway from the sea and the little chapel where we’ve so often stopped to rest – a quiet place disturbed only by the sound of distant goat bells.

For miles the coastline entertained us with its peaks and valleys and then off in the distance we caught a glimpse of our destination:

We docked next to the larger ferry that alternates with our small boat, serving the small towns on this route and we set out to explore.  Where had we landed?

Well, you’ll just have to come back next Thursday and we’ll give you a walking tour of Agia Roumeli and part of Crete’s famous Samaria Gorge.

If You Go: 

Loutro and Agia Roumeli are on Crete's southwestern coast.  We traveled by car to Hora Sfakia, parking there and catching the ferry to explore these villages.

That’s it for Travel Photo Thursday, so head over to Budget Travelers Sandbox for a bit more armchair travel! If you’ve not signed up to receive our posts regularly or haven’t added your photo to the Google friend section (both on the right hand column) we hope you’ll do so today. Happy Travels ~

Silly Souvenirs: Something to Crow About

We don’t buy many souvenirs that can’t be consumed within a few weeks or months of our return. Honey and spices are among our favorites because they tuck so well into the suitcase and are flavorful reminders of good times and tastes we have had during our travels.

From a practical standpoint, when you spend a good deal of the year traveling, as we do, the last thing you need is more ‘souvenir stuff’ to collect dust in your absence.

So I can’t explain when I became focused on ceramic roosters; the kind that are often used to decorate European kitchens. It was somewhere between Italy and Portugal or possibly, France that I decided in order to look more European, our kitchen ‘needed’ a colorful ceramic cock!

The Rooster’s ‘Tale '’

Portuguese tile

Before you label me quite feather-brained, let me tell you a bit about the rooster in Europe. 

Take Portugal for instance. . .

As the legend goes about the Galo de Barcelos, a man accused of stealing was sentenced to death by a judge who was about to dine on a roasted rooster. The convicted man told the judge that the rooster on his plate would rise and crow to validate his innocence. And sure enough, as he was placed on the gallows, that rooster raised up and began crowing – and spared his life!

To this day, the rooster represents faith, luck and justice in Portugal. And roosters like those in the photos above and below are found in every tourist shop!

And then there is Italy. . . .where the story is told that back in 1516 a crowing rooster in the middle of the night is credited with waking the powerful Medici family and foiling an assassination attack on them. As a result, Guiliano Medici ordered the creation of a ceramic rooster pitcher and they were given to the peasants for good luck. The rooster continues to symbolize blessings, prosperity and well-being.

Back to ‘my’ rooster quest . . . those  beautifully sculpted Italian ceramic roosters don’t fit in our small travel suitcases and I am not birdbrained enough to carry one back in my lap on a 10-hour flight from Europe. 

Meet “Dooley” – our kitchen rooster:

Sometimes things are just meant to be.  At a recent auction that our animal-loving friends at Dooley’s Dog House in Kirkland had organized for homeless animals, I found my rooster. 

While he isn’t quite the sleek, tall, good-looking Italian ceramic version I had in mind, my somewhat reasonable (okay. . .$15 bid) secured his homecoming at our house. (I did note no one else seemed interested in bidding on him, let alone taking him home)

While he isn’t a suave Italian specimen, he is turns out to be one talented cock!

He’s actually a cookie jar – one of a collection of whimsical jars made by a long-ago company AMC in New York – and he crows - every time you open the jar!) 

And by coming home with me, he’s already provided some good fortune  for some homeless animals out there. . .


So what about the souvenirs you buy? What are your favorite things to bring home? Practical or silly?  Tell us about it in the comments below or shoot us an email.  Hope to see you back here on Travel Photo Thursday!
And stop by The Tablescraper for some Sunday reading at "Seasonal Sundays" - you'll find some posts by us and many, many other entertaining writers!

Until then, hope your travels are something to crow about (sorry, I couldn’t resist)!!!

WAWeekend: The Old West ~ Fort Simcoe

Fort Simcoe in Central Washington State isn’t a place that you happen upon along the way to somewhere else.

It is an out-of-the-way place -- definitely a destination – surrounded by miles of undeveloped range land; so much so, that first-time visitors might wonder if they’d taken a wrong turn along the way.

Fort Simcoe – now a 200-acre day use heritage park on the Yakama Indian Nation Reservation – was established in 1856 at the foot of the Simcoe Mountains on a route that linked the Yakima Valley and the Yakama Tribe’s traditional fishing area on the Columbia River. 

As a child growing up in Yakima, it was always a ‘far away’ adventure to visit this outpost that seemed from another world and as an adult far too many years had slipped past without a return to this sprawling testament to history. So one fine summer’s day we went back in time . . .

 

Fort Simcoe was built on the site of the Indian’s campground, an area they called “Mool Mool” (‘bubbling water’) for the natural spring that existed in the area’s oak grove.

The purpose of this United States Army post was to keep peace between the settlers and the Yakamas, although the Fort’s history includes the hanging of two Yakamas from a beam set in an oak tree because they had been implicated in the killing of an Indian agent. (Source: historylink.org)

The original Commander’s house, as well as the houses of three captains (which were built at the upper end of the parade ground )and one blockhouse still stand; other buildings have been reconstructed. Several of the homes serve as interpretive areas and have been furnished as they might have been when lived in.

The supplies for the Fort were brought in by pack trains from the Columbia and Yakima Rivers because the transportation route, Satus Pass, (now a major cross-state route) hadn’t been completed.

The Blockhouse

Fort Simcoe, as such, lasted only three years. In 1859 the soldiers were dispatched elsewhere in the Territory (statehood didn’t arrive for another 30 years) – some to Colville and others to Walla Walla. The Fort became an Indian agency at that time.

It became a state park in 1956 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. 

The place, we found, hadn’t lost its magic. It is well worth a visit, so pack a picnic lunch, get a Discover Pass and take a trip back into Washington history!

IF YOU GO:

Fort Simcoe
5150 Fort Simcoe Road
White Swan, WA 98952
(509) 874-2372 Call for interpretive center hours of operation

Fort Simcoe is about 40 miles southwest of Yakima, seven miles from the small town of White Swan as noted in the map above.   The drive is through cultivated truck gardens, hop yards, orchards and open range land. (Yakima is about a two-hour drive from Seattle and a less-than 45 minute flight from SeaTac airport).

Driving Directions:

From Yakima: Take the Hwy. 97 exit off of I-82 (south bound), and drive to the first traffic light (Lateral A). Turn right onto Lateral A. Drive to the second stop sign, about 12 miles (Fort Rd.) Turn right on Fort Road. Drive about 15 miles to the city of White Swan. In White Swan, watch for road signs to Fort Simcoe. The park is seven miles west of White Swan.

Note: A Washington State Park’s  Discover Pass  is required – for information on how to obtain a Pass, visit that website by clicking the blue link.

More Information for History Buffs:

Visit HistoryLink.org for more information on Fort Simcoe history.

That autumn day in Dubrovnik. . .

“Those who seek paradise

        should come to Dubrovnik. . .”

said George Bernard Shaw, who is also credited with labeling this city as being “the pearl of the Adriatic”.

 

We would heartily agree with Shaw on both counts and we’ve just scratched the city’s surface! 

But, thanks to the wonders of cruising, we’ve visited this town ---on the other side of the world -- twice in the last decade; our most recent visit a day trip last fall. As with most day-trippers, on each visit we headed directly to the old Walled City:

And much like our first visit, we went straight to the stairway that led to the top of the wall (this time, however, there was a ticket booth and entry fee). The wall at 4 – 6 meters wide and 2 kilometer (1.24 mile) long envelops the old city in a continuing protective embrace that has lasted through the decades.

But the wall wasn’t enough to protect the old town from the destruction caused by a late 20th Century conflict -- a part of the seven-month siege that began in Oct. 1991 after Croatia and Slovenia  (once a part of Yugoslavia) – declared their independence.  One of the worst battles resulted in 19 deaths and 60 injuries.



More than 56% of the buildings were damaged during the conflict and there were some 650 artillery hits within the old walled city. On our first visit here the new roofs were  a striking contrast to the old; this last visit, thanks to weather and time, the new roofs had become less visible.

The views, the history and the beauty from atop  that old wall will forever be stored among our special travel memories:

Have you been to Dubrovnik? What is your special memory of this ‘pearl’?

That’s it for this week’s Travel Photo Thursday. Check out Budget Travelers Sandbox for more armchair travels. We appreciate the time you spend with us and hope to see you again. . .real soon!