Samaria Gorge Hike

Today we decided that it was a good idea to go for a hike. Every one knows that the Samaria Gorge is gorgeous (see what I did there?? heh heh)

Anyway, we caught an early bus to the entrance to the gorge. Again, we weren't the only ones. Its an 18km hike through the gorge with an additional 2km to the coast where you then take a ferry to Skafia , and then a bus back to Chania.

What we didn't realise was that you had to first descend into the gorge. Seems logical now in hindsight. So down and down we went. As much as folks complain that going up is hard cardio-wise, going down is brutal on the knees and quads...and feet...and calves. Especially since its all an uneven stone surface. It took us about three hours to go down, but we were going through a forested area so we were protected from the sun for the most part. Most of the journey down was spent looking down of course, but every once in a while you'd look around and it was indeed magnificent.
The trek across the floor of the gorge is a dry river bed which fills in the spring with the melting snow from the surrounding mountains. It is full of rocks and again, not an easy place to go for a walk. But oh, the views!!! Breathtaking.

By this point it was early afternoon and there was no place to hide from the sun. It was HOT and everyone was marinating in their sweat. I was dreaming of the sea at the end of the hike, where I could take off my sweaty shoes and socks...and sweaty everything else. We took a multitude of photos, which I'm sure will do the place no justice at all.


When we finally arrived at the small village by the sea five and a half hours after the start of our journey, we went for a well deserved swim. AHHHHH so refreshing! We were warned by the gent at the bus station in Heraklio NOT to go for a swim, but when you're that hot and that weary, you can't help it. We were going to pay for it tomorrow.

 

We got back to Chania at around 9:00 - the time where most Greeks eat dinner - and after a couple of hours on the bus and seized legs, we thought it best to stay very close to the hotel.


After our dinner, when I got back within reach of the hotel's WiFi, I got a message from my sister-in-law to call my brother - Urgent. Shit. That can't be good.
My mom had died.