My First Hike on Crete

Not counting the Samaria Gorge! Hiked that on my first trip 4 or 5 years ago.

This hike was with Greek Mountaineering Club of Chania. Here's what their office looks like from the outside:

A *lot* of people went on this hike! They chartered one full-size bus plus another small one; there had to have been 50 - 60 people. I'll see if they have an official count next time I stop by their offices. This was quite a shock to me: I'm used to the 12 person limit on most group hikes in Washington.

It quickly became apparent why the group was so big: 1. Hiking is not very popular on Crete, and even though the trail is marked with paint (!) it would very easy to get lost; and 2. It's a lot of fun to gather for a feast at a taverna afterwards and have a bus carry you back.

Here are people waiting to get on the larger bus, in Chania:

At the trail head, those who didn't bring their own trekking poles are invited to choose a loaner. I opted not to use one, but I regretted it toward the very end when I was trying to pick my way through the outrageous pricker bushes common in the Lefka Ori.

The trailhead:

Going down before heading up, it felt like we were going through people's backyards at first. The path was completely overgrown with long grass here. See that kid in front of me? His name's Theodore (same as my dad) and he's a Swiss of Greek descent, visiting his uncle (the guy in front of him in the bandana). He's sad because he can't climb any of the big mountains in the Alps because he's only 13 and you have to be 16 to climb the big Alpine peaks.

Down we go.

Up at last!

...and down...

We are definitely not in the Cascades!

If you look carefully, you might be able to spot the sheep on this hillside. I broke my camera and it won't zoom any more. I hope to have a fancy new camera with 12x optical zoom in the next day or two.

First rest stop, and they are passing around the tsikoudia (aka raki, aka grappa). Only on Crete!

Mixing tsikoudia and hiking? What could possibly go wrong? Find out in Part 2!