The Island of Crete with Discover Greece
In paid partnership with Discover Greece and the partners associated and mentioned. Our experiences were gifted.
In October I was invited to join a “blogtrotters” trip to Crete with @Discover.Greece to experience the popular Greek island, and especially the culture and nature of the region of Chania.
I brought my good friend @sebtelmer with me and Discover Greece showed us a great time for 4 days showcasing the best of what the region has to offer. And as the days had gotten colder in Denmark, the warm 22 degrees celsius were much appreciated. It was quite a fun project for me to be a part of as I got the chance to try my hand at some more candid photography, embracing the laid back lifestyle and feel of the Mediterranean, focusing more on the details and small moments on the streets, than the grandiose sceneries that I’ve often focused on when travelling. Our trip started off with a travel day flying down to Athens and onwards to Crete with Aegean Airlines.
Day 1
After a relaxing first night at our hotel Oscar Suites & Village after arriving the day before, we were off on adventure for our first real day. We headed up towards the mountains with for a jeep safari experience to The White Mountains of Crete with Uncharted Escapes. The first stop was a delightful little coffee shop owned by an exceedingly happy gentleman with perhaps the best hair and mustache combo I’ve ever seen. We tasted a delicious espresso and played with the local cats, and then it was onwards towards the mountains.
On our way we stopped by a little town to look at this magnificent blue church, which was really something special architecturally. The blue colour also really made it pop out in real life. We continued up towards the peaks and made it to our stop after a long bumpy road at a local farmers hut up in the mountains. Our guide proceeded to tell us stories about how they live up in the mountains producing goat’s cheese for months on end, working to supply for their families, selling the produce at the local markets. I find it fascinating to learn about these wildly different ways of life to our own, and how old traditions are still being upheld in these local communities.
Afterwards we’d started to work up an appetite, so the journey continued down the mountains to a small local village, with beautiful classic houses, and was a great place for lunch.
After making it back home from the mountains, it was about time for dinner at Apostolis seafood restaurant. We took the car down to the local harbour, which offered beautiful views of the marina with gorgeous colourful buildings up against the clear twilight sky.
Day 2
The second day was all about olive oil, and what a treat it was! I had never tried an olive oil tasting before and had no idea how much the taste and quality can very, much like wines. It was fascinating to learn more about the process and how the Biolea farm makes their olive oils not only taste fantastic, but do it in a sustainable and healthy way to preserve as much of the benefits of the oil as possible. It tasted so good I bought two bottles home with me for myself and my family.
After a great morning tasting olive oil, it was time for lunch, and a wine tasting at Karavitakis winery. I think we tasted about 11 different wines, and although I spit out most of it during the tasting (which is common), I could definitely still feel an afternoon buzz. Lunch was served, and it was perhaps the largest midday meal I’ve ever consumed, but it was absolutely delicious. Cooked by the winery owner Nikos Karavitakis’ mother, and made to perfection. I highly recommend a visit to both places.
In the evening we had a cooking class booked at The Olive Farm. Although I was still very much full from lunch, it was time for another meal. And of course we started out with a shot of “raki”, their local spirit made off of grape skins, a spirit both Sebastian and I got very familiar with over the course of the trip, as I don’t think we went a single meal (except for breakfast) without it being offered to us. After the raki woke us up, it was time to make dinner. The two guides and chefs, Giannis and Julie, were extremely kind and nice, and truly made it feel like we were making all of the food, which we were, just through specific instructions and tips, but it made it feel very natural. After we’d prepared dinner and set it over to cook, they gave us a tour of the farm. It was a beautiful place, with plants and animals all over, a really vibrant spot and it was clear that they were all about sustainability and being mindful about their impact on the ecosystem. We also met a very kind Swiss couple, a little younger than my parents age, who had a son that plays basketball, just as I did. It was a lot of fun to talk about his career and bond with them, and Sebastian could talk to them about tennis as well, so we had a lot of fun at dinner. Definitely a place worth a visit, for a different and social evening experience.
Day 3
Perhaps my favourite day of the whole trip, as this was the day we got to experience what Crete is especially known for, at least to my knowledge, their incredible blue turquoise water and magnificent cliff beaches. We went out on a boat tour with Notos Mare, which took us around the southern coast of the island, at the Sfakia region, with glorious views of the dramatic coastline, stopping at small fishing villages along the sea, such as Marmara and Loutro. This is what I’ve always imagined Greece to be like, and I almost find it hard to put into words, so I’ll let the images do most of the talking. I can’t recommend enough the experience of exploring these local towns, relaxing at the beach and going for a dip in the water.
The journey continued and we got off the boat and drove back up through the hills to a little mountainous village. called Aradena, next to a massive gorge, crossing a bridge that felt just a little sketchy, as we could literally see the abyss below through the wooden planks. It was an incredible view though, and the little village had lots of old ruins as well, which made for some fascinating exploration, and cool photos of course.
In the evening it was back down to the coastline to view the sunset on the southern coast of the island, which made for some spectacular views of the sea cliffs plunging into the ocean below as the warm mediterranean light poured in over the glistening ocean. And before we hit the road again we had to do a final pit stop at the highlight of Sfakia, Ntourountous’s Bakery to try and take back home some Sfakian Carob Rusks, Breadsticks and Bites.
For dinner, we returned to Chania and went back down to beautiful town harbour. We ate at the delicious Pallas restaurant, which also had an elegant interior design and architecture, a place I’d definitely recommend for a great classy dinner date. We capped the night off with a shot of raki (of course) and a few cocktails, which marked the end of three great days exploring the island.
I had great experience on Crete and in the region of Chania, and it had much more to offer, especially culturally than I had anticipated at first. I would definitely recommend a visit and deviating a bit from the classic tourist areas of the island, as it clearly has so much more to offer. And if nothing else, you have to go olive oil tasting, that was definitely an eye-opening experience and very informative.
Thank you again to Discover Greece for inviting Sebastian and myself, and to Androniki and Dimitris for showing us around the island. I hope to do it again someday.
/ Daniel