Samaria Gorge

We awoke today at 5:30 so we could be in Chania - an hour away - to catch  the 7:45 bus to Samaria Gorge.  The bus trip took an hour and seemed to be going uphill for 75% of the trip.  Samaria Gorge is a 16km walk down to a beach.  The idea is that from the beach you get a boat around to another village, then the bus back to Chania. We didn't realise until we were about to start the walk that there is basically only one boat, at 5:30pm.  The walk is expected to take 6 hours, though we were hoping to do it in less and get back home relatively early.  The boat timetable put paid to that.

The walk itself is well marked, but starts out quite steep and on slippery rocks.  We were very glad when we were past that section.  There were lots of rest stops, many with small water fountains, though we didn't risk drinking any of that water.  We were carrying 3 water bottles and some food. The track had several uphill sections, some river crossings but was mainly downhill.  The scenery was fairly spectacular with lots of rock formations and huge cliffs.  Photos don't do it justice.





We completed the walk in about 5 hours and sat in a Taverna for a well earned beer. With about 3 hours until the ferry, we also enjoyed a Moussaka for lunch.  The boat trip took 1 1/2 hours and so did the bus, so by the time we drove an hour back to our apartment it was very late and we were very tired.


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