October 21: Paleochora–Elafonissi–Chania
This was our last day under the care of Trekking Hellas. After a reasonably late (and heavy!) breakfast, we took a car to Krios beach, where we started walking. Yannis had the idea that we might prefer to stay on a dirt road as long as possible, for easier walking and better views. Since the E4 is uniformly challenging, we were happy to concur.
We stopped at one of the many chapels dedicated to John the Forerunner (Prodromos).
Then there was nothing for it but to resume the E4, which was rough as always.
Elafonisi is now one of the “most beautiful beaches in the world”, which means it’s also one of the most crowded. Even its sheer inaccessibility doesn’t make much difference. The Chania hotels run bus excursions and every Brit and German has rented a car, so it’s easy enough for them to make it there.
Elafonisi itself is famous for its pink sand. It really is pink, but the color is mainly visible right at the edge of the water. It’s protected, so hopefully the millions of tourists won’t carry it all away in ziplock baggies.
We spent about an hour taking refreshment from the snack bar (lemonade and Coke Light?). Yannis and I went swimming. The water really would be ideal for small children–its warm and there’s no surf whatsoever. And there is actual SAND instead of all those pebbles that line the beaches on the south coast! I can see why the place is popular.
And that was the end of our outdoor excursion!
At 3:30, we walked back up the path to the parking lot (oh, yes, the parking lot is a good 20-minute climbing walk from the beach, for those of you considering a visit) and met our driver. He and Yannis took us back to Chania by way of an inland road that goes through mountains and past gorges and includes a tunnel built in the 1920s that is only wide enough for one vehicle. This is the main road between Elafonisi and Chania–it must be hellacious trying to navigate it in August, when the tourist burden is at its height. It does the usual thing of going right through tiny towns.
Yannis had the driver take us to our hotel, the very nice Malmo Historic Hotel in the old town of Chania. And he said goodbye, needing to head to his parents’ house for family dinner.
But he was still taking care of us! He made us a dinner reservation at Oionopoieo, a traditional Cretan restaurant right around the corner from our hotel. He also hooked us up with a car rental place just a couple of blocks away. We went there to reserve a car for the next morning and then grabbed an outside table at the restaurant.
It was a fine evening, and a fine conclusion to our extensive contact with Trekking Hellas.
The next morning, we headed east, to Lasithi and our last “home” in Kavousi!