Chania; Monday, 27 July, 2020

Breakfast completed I headed off out of the hotel and down to the offices of the tour company who I was booked with for the day. I’d booked onto a tour that would take in several of the small villages to the East of Chania in the foothills of the White Mountains.

First stop of the morning was a drive to the town of Gavalohori where we visited the Folklore museum in the town, whilst the guide also introduced us to the various different fruit plants growing in the local area including oranges, olives, carob, figs and grapes. After looking round the museum we headed back into the van and continued on the tour, passing ancient Venetian wells on the outskirts of the town, and down to the small town of Xirosterni.

Here there is a raki distillery, the owner of which gives tours of the plant and talks about the history of raki production. The owner starts by showing his dad’s still, which is still in use by locals creating their own raki at the end of the wine making season each year, following ancient traditions. He also shows off his grandfathers still – which isn’t in use. Then its into the modern distillery where he talks about the modern process for the brewing of raki. After the tour there was a tasting session where we tried three raki’s – one made the traditional way in his dad’s still, one made in the modern factory and a flavoured raki that uses locally produced honey and herbs. Thankfully the tasting was accompanied by some food as it did feel a little early to be hitting the booze.

From Xirosterni we continued on our journey heading south to the town of Emprosneros where our first stop was two small churches that are partly carved into the rock. The upper church has a small building that clings to the side of the hill, with the main bulk of the building being carved into the hill. Below that church is another small chapel which is located in a natural cave, that even includes a small spring. Just down the hill from the churches is the Municipal theatre for the area set out as an outdoor amphitheatre, in the natural curve of the hills around it creating an excellent acoustic. Just below the theatre was another natural spring, where we were able to try the very refreshing water.

A short drive down the hill into the centre of the town and we stopped at a small bakery to try some of the local produce there – including the bread with olive oil, local cheese and more raki.

After the second food stop of the day we then drove onto the final stop on the tour in the town of Fres for lunch – which felt a little excessive, given we’d already had several raki’s and food – but you can’t turn down home cooked Cretan food, and it was well worth piling on a few extra pounds to enjoy it.

After the lunch it was time to head back towards Chania, with the drive back taking about 45 minutes to head back into town. The guide dropped my off outside my hotel so I popped back inside to freshen up and to have a bit of a relax.

I headed back out a little later and this time followed down the outside of the Western Walls towards the harbour, taking in the various forts and bastions that exist along the line of the wall.

Back down in the harbour I had a very light dinner – I was still pretty full from the various food stops on the tour – before having a bit more of a wander around the old town before returning to my hotel and my comfortable bed for the night.