Crete
Samaria Gorge
by
Kenny, Kristen, Chad & Emily
Posted on 2017-10-02
Day three started out early as we woke up on the boat grabbed our showers and departed into Souda. As we walked off the boat, we looked around for a rental car agency and we found one pretty early off the boat. The down side is the language barrier is pretty rough – but it is super easy to get a car (I think we overpaid by a day but when I went to the old man to correct it he just said “same price” so we moved along). (pictures from the gorge will be used from the beginning because 1. it was so dark in the morning, 2. I didn't have any, 3. the gorge was so awesome!).
After getting a rental car, we sat down to eat some breakfast and grab some snacks and water for our hike later. Chad and Emily both got toast sandwiches with cheese and turkey, Kristen got toast and butter (the plain breakfast), and I got a ham and cheese omelet (it just took an extra 20 minutes).
Once breakfast was taken care of we drove in to Chania to see about catching a bus. We were lucky to find a parking garage, but the downside is it was nearly 20 Euros for our day of parking (It was convenient though!). Once we parked we headed over to the bus station to grab a bus ticket to Omalos where we would begin our hike to the Samaria Gorge!
The bus ride took about an hour and was super nice. It was a very narrow road like most the other roads and pretty neat overall. The landscapes that passed us went from city to country in no-time and once we gathered altitude, the mountains started having very sharp and steep faces. We drove from sea level to about 4000 feet once we were let of the bus!
Once the bus left us, we bought our entrance tickets and started hiking down the gorge. The beginning was pretty steep and the elevation started dropping rapidly. The views on the way down were absolutely awesome though!
About mid-way we actually started to make it to the gorge itself. The views were amazing and the gorge itself was spectacular. At one point, you are standing between to huge walls with a gap that fully spread arms could fill!
As we wound our way through the gorge, we started walking with the water as it twisted and turned though the small rocks. The trail was literally made of these small rocks so if you plan on hiking it, be prepared to walk on nothing but smooth gravel for about 13.2 miles until you hit the Libyan Sea. But let me tell you a bit more about the water. It was so clear coming down the trail it was pretty awesome, but one of my favorite parts comes a bit later once you hit the end of the trail.
Near the end of the trail we did make a pit stop after leaving the park to grab a glass of fresh orange juice and an ice cream cone! It was a super awesome treat to finish up the trip. The pro-tip would be to hold off on the first stop, because in about 2km you can stop in a town and grab all sorts treats and snacks and souvenirs.
13 Miles later once you hit the end of the trail you are brought in to a nice tiny little town called Aghia Roumeli. Here you can grab a bit to eat and get some trinkets and what have you. More importantly you can grab your ferry tickets to make your way back to Chania and also go swimming on the beach! This was probably one of my most favorite parts of the day. You might think that in early October, the water would be too cold to swim, but it felt great, the rocks on the beach were warm (no sand, just rocks), and the water was the deepest and clearest blue I think I have ever seen! Kristen and I went swimming for a while and it was spectacular!
Afterward, we caught our ferry, which took us to Sfakia where we then caught a bus back to Chania. The ferry ride was gorgeous. As we sailed east we were able to see the sun start to come down over the water between the islands. That mixed with the deep blue of the water was a beauty to see.
Once we made it back to Chania, we picked up our car and headed down in to town for a late dinner. We were able to scoot around through the city in the car and finally find a place to eat (and park – after we were stuck in a one way in trap). And we had some Greek dinner and finally headed to our Airbnb. We were planning on sleeping in just a bit for the next day and then driving over to Heraklion to finish off the day. The room was extremely nice though, it is a bit of a shame we won’t be able to spend more time to enjoy it.
