Traffic Jams and Food Comas
Tuesday November 15th, 2022
Bright and early rise to get ready for a full day trip up to the White Mountains. Our guide picked us up at 8:30am in the jeep we were going to ride in all day. She was an oldie, but a goodie. Our guide today was Jason, native of Ireland, with a British accent who now lives in Crete. Interesting and funny fellow Jason is!
He gave us all kinds of information along the way. Crete is a volcanic islands. Sits on two techtonic plates. It's strategic location nestled between Asia, Africa and Europe has made it an island with a history of war and conquests from various groups throughout history, from the byzantines, to the ottamans, the greeks, romans, venetians and on and on. Total island population is about 670,000 which basically doubles during tourist season, and Chania is only about 80,000. Chania used to be the Capital but Heraklion experienced a population boom some years back and so they decided to change it to Heraklion. Crete is the fifth largest island in the mediterranean. Cyprus is 3rd behind Sicily and Sardinia. Crete could reclaim independence from Greece however it remains part of the greek nation. There are 4000 churches (Greek Orthodox ŕeligion) on Crete alone and 4 prefectures (provinces). The highest point is 2,483m above sea level and the length of the mountain range goes the full length of the island from East to West with 50 peaks at alpine altitude (i.e. can get snow). I did not expect it to be this "mountainy". They even get snow - lots of it in the mountains in the winter.
They produce and export 5% of the world's olive oil and have the world's oldest olive tree at 3,500 years old. The average age of a cretan is apparently 83? Not sure how that's possible... but they also consume something like 80 litres of olive oil per person per year! So maybe there is something to it? They deep fry their fries in olive oil here making them yellowish and with a slightly different taste and texture. This is the first place in Europe in all my travels that serves REAL fries. They grow and raise most of their own produce and meat. Goats and sheep are free to roam EVERYWHERE, causing traffic jams, and traditional farming methods are still used to this day.
He explained the Raki. It is an alcohol, similar to ouzo but made from the double-refinery of wine grapes boiling it down. It can be amber or clear. Depending on the grape it can vary in taste but is generally very strong (no kidding). Raki is the turkish name for it, in Crete they have a much longer name for it Tsikoudia, but with tourism, the work Raki is just easier to say. Why is this important? Well part of the culture here is to offer Raki after a meal (often with dessert) to aid with digestion and to say thank you for dining with us. It is perceived as rude to not accept it (although you don't need to drink it lol). And they are very generous with their Raki... at least 1 shot each, and usually more. It'll put hair on your chest! Hahaha!
Anyways, back to the trip. We drove for about an hour up into the mountains to a town called Lakkoi where we stopped for have coffee/tea. This was a very old, very traditional cafe. The lady working it had to be in her 80s! The kettle boiled on top of this weird boiler that I assume is used to heat the place. You can smoke inside! It's as authetic as you can get. I had already had too much coffee but Jason explained there is a special tea they brew there called Malotira (Cretan Mountain Tea) from a plant that grows on the island that has been used by Cretans dating back to antiquity for it's health properties. So we ordered ourselves each a cup of that. It's brewed by bubbling the dried plant for several minutes and you get something that looks almost like green tea. It was delicious! And helped with my nausea. These mountain roads are insanely windy so I knew today would be rough on the tummy. The tea made a big difference. Likely so did the gravol LOL.
After our pit stop it was another 15 minutes or so up the mountain before we veered off-road (this is why you need the jeep) for a good hour to drive up with the top of the mountain which is located almost smack dab in the middle of the island (N-S). A few sheep and or goat roadblocks on the way, reminded me of New Zealand. At the top is the Kallergi Mountain Refuge and a beautiful spot to look down into the Samaria gorge and South towards the Liberian Sea (approx 160km from Libya) and North towards the Aegean Sea (approx 80km from Santorini). And because it was such a beautiful sunny and clear day, we could see both seas! 38km one way and 35km the other. It was quite cold up there and there are skis. Apparently extreme skiers come up here to do some skiing when the snow hits. There was no snow though, it was still a bit too sunny and warm - that's ok, there will be plenty to see when we get home. Boo! It was a rocky and at times a bit scary road to get there, but was so worth it!
Maybe the most interesting part of the Kallergi refuge stop was the "facilities". When we pulled in he explained that there is a restroom but that it hangs over the edge of the cliff. So he's never used it but we could if we needed to. I thought he was joking...
On the way down we took another route. Still narrow and on the edge of the mountain. Met another van and had to very carefully squeeze by but made it down in one piece. We then headed to the start of the Samaria Gorge. With more time here I would have loved to hike it, but at this time of year with the unpredictability of the weather, if there is even the slightest chance of rain they do not allow people in due to the risk of flash floods. We got to see it from the top of the mountain though.
Our last stop was for lunch in this farming village at a local tavern. At first it didn't even appear open but it was. They only offered us a few things (we were the only ones there)... so we all opted for pork chop, and greek salad. The portions here are enormous! And well, I can eat with the best of them and even I struggle. The food is so delicious though that you don't want to leave any behind. I make good pork chops, but this was very likely the best GIANT pork chop I've ever had. And the greek salad was SO fresh!
Jason then took us back to the hotel and we got back around 2:30pm with extra time to explore around in the daylight. We are just outside the old town and only a stone's throw from the old venetian port so we headed to the waterfront and spent the rest of the afternoon strolling down the port and throughout the old town streets. I could walk through the maze of old european towns for days - I love it! Moo wanted dessert so we found ourselves a lovely little bakery and popped in for some treats. "We'll have one of everything, please!" How do you choose when everything looks so mouthwateringly delightful? 4 pieces of baklava, an eclair things, a dark chocolate covered walnut cake and a piece of apple pie type thing. And that was just my order! (No I did not eat it all... I saved some for Moo of course ;)).
Tired but not wanting to go back too soon, we then headed into the newer retail part of town and explored a supermarket. I have this thing with checking out grocery stores in other countries... see what they are like. This one was quite nice. Food here is reasonable given that it's an island. Gas is even pricier than back home though. Restaurant food is close to or less than home but again the quality and quantity are lightyears ahead. I don't understand how there are no overweight people here. Like none! If I stayed here, no amount of BodyPump and BodyAttack would keep me from gaining 100lbs.
The room is so nice and fancy we have no shame in spending extra time there. What a treat! Also, we are surrounded by food and so needing a late night snack we hit up Funky's this non-stop busy spot across the street that serves all kinds of stuff but also pizze by the slice. 5Euro got me 2 slices or basically half a pizza! Life is good!
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