“Everything will be alright in the end so if it is not alright it is not the end.”
― Deborah Moggach, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Go-Date: Day 38, Saturday March 2.
Lesson Learned: Before leaping off the beaten path, make sure of your footing. We had heard storms had been bad in Crete with several roads blocked due to falling rocks, but the storms were a week gone, so of course everything would be back in order. Nope. Not so. During a 75 kilometer drive we encountered 6 washouts, a road closure, rocks all over the roadways, and terrible road conditions throughout. Never were we concerned for our safety (well, I wasn’t) but I was worried we would mess up the rent car, which could be an expensive problem.
Regrets: The great weather we arrived to has still not returned. What was sunny and 60 is now cloudy, rainy and south of 50 (8 degrees Celsius). Warm weather is expected back in Greece on Wednesday the 6th.
On our third day in Crete we decide to begin the barrage of day trips starting with a mountain-top monastery on the southwest coast of the island. Moni Chrisoskalitissis was a quick 80 kilometers from Chania, through the mountains, close to Samaria Gorge. Never heard of Samaria? Well, its rather famous in Europe.
The gorge is situated in the National park of Samaria, in Western Crete. This stunning gorge is considered one of the great attractions of Crete and many tourists want to visit it. It’s a long (5 to 7 hours) walk on rough terrain but that wasn’t going to be a problem for us since its closed to public until the first of May. Why? Floods, high water, landslides, washed out roads, and generally unsafe conditions. So of course, Ellen and I avoided Samaria and took the road through the gorge the next mountain over. We play is safe.
The day was challenging. What should have been a 3-hour drive turned into 7 hours. We thought the road through the mountains was so bad we decided to take the coast road around the western end of the island back to Chania. Wrong choice, the coast road made the mountain pass look like the beltway compared to gravel road in Telluride, Colorado.
Pictures tell the story. Oh, and by the way the monastery was closed because of bad roads. I will admit though, the views were incredible. We coulda stayed at the apartment and read a book.