Biking Around Again

The impetus for this whole trip to Greece (in June!) was my cousin Andrew’s invitation to the house that he rented for a month in Emprosneros. I did a little research and learned that Crete has some nice walking opportunities. People particularly recommend the Samaria and Imbros gorges which are conveniently on the western part of the island not so far from where we were staying. After Ferda and my rather enjoyable spring Likya and Zengibar walking tours, I put together a four-day walking tour from Imbros to Xyloskala via both the aforementioned gorges, staying the nights in Hora Sfakion, Loutro, and Agia Roumeli. Sounds great, doesn’t it? Somehow the only ones Ferda and I were able to convince to join us were my cousin’s kids, Philip and Antonia. Anyone’s who older might be a little more sensible than to think it’s a good idea to walk around Crete in the summer?

The only photo I have of the four of us is at the end of the walk.

So now you know — we survived and are even still smiling after four days together.

Andrew greatly facilitated the transportation by dropping us off at the top of Imbros Gorge on the first morning and picking us up at the top of Samaria Gorge at the end. That meant we didn’t get an early start the first day, but Imbros Gorge is a short, casual walk — about 3.5 hours all the way to Hora Sfakion.