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Best places to hike in Crete and Athens?

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redsoxdw_

redsoxdw_

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You may have noticed in the forum that I plan to go to Crete this year, as well as other parts of Greece. I love hiking and I do plan to hike while on Crete. I also plan to spend some time in Athens and maybe one other place. Do you have any recommendations for hikes? Since I don't know where else in Greece I am going, I would like to just stick to hiking around Athens or in Crete. I do plan to do Samaria Gorge in Crete.
 
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redsoxdw_ said:
You may have noticed in the forum that I plan to go to Crete this year, as well as other parts of Greece. I love hiking and I do plan to hike while on Crete. I also plan to spend some time in Athens and maybe one other place. Do you have any recommendations for hikes? Since I don't know where else in Greece I am going, I would like to just stick to hiking around Athens or in Crete. I do plan to do Samaria Gorge in Crete.
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Now I don't know if this will help you..... Many years ago I travelled all over Crete by my car..... Crete has main highways along coast, I just looked at the map!...The older part of Crete links up with off roads from the Highway which has access to all the many many villages and beaches....I used to go off the main highways and just travel in and out of these villages..... unbelievable what hospitality you will experience..... I can remember countless times just passing a village taverna where the sweet dear lady is preparing lunch.....no menu of course !!??...... you eat what is served.... aroma of the food which lingers will direct you along, expect the filotimo in the traditional Creatan style.... yasou vrey Kumbarey!!?... welcome and stay as long as you like kinda feeling..... Hope this helps!... depends where and which part you would begin your travels..... it is a very big island!.... Don't miss out the amazing Greek nights,Knossos comes to mind...... called Elinika vradia.... Greek and Cretan dancing(they are very different as you will discover!...Creta has it's own culture and history,)......lots of loud music and abundance of food and wine....and go easy on Raki?.... called Chipuro....I will write more later on!...Good luck with your travels..... Yasou apo mena from Thailand!

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Hash, Crete is my favorite and you summed it up nicely! I have had some experiences on Crete of eating what was being served. I had too much raki in one place and they made me stand on a chair and write on the beams. The chair was rickety and I was with my family. Haha. Fun times. To those of you who don't realize, raki is served like water on Crete. They bring it over on the house. Please don't shoot it, sip up. They fill the glass when it empties so if you drink it slowly (as the Cretans do) you won't end up drinking as much. I had an early mistake about 15 years ago where I got so very sick.

Regarding hiking, I would ask around when you get to the island. The terrain is deceptive - a hike may look like it will be fine, but the heat and dryness can get you dehydrated fast. I was on the Samaria Gorge trail and someone needed to be taken out on a donkey. At least on that trail, there is a water fill-up station but I am not sure about other places.
 
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k_tsoukalas said:
Hash, Crete is my favorite and you summed it up nicely! I have had some experiences on Crete of eating what was being served. I had too much raki in one place and they made me stand on a chair and write on the beams. The chair was rickety and I was with my family. Haha. Fun times. To those of you who don't realize, raki is served like water on Crete. They bring it over on the house. Please don't shoot it, sip up. They fill the glass when it empties so if you drink it slowly (as the Cretans do) you won't end up drinking as much. I had an early mistake about 15 years ago where I got so very sick.

Regarding hiking, I would ask around when you get to the island. The terrain is deceptive - a hike may look like it will be fine, but the heat and dryness can get you dehydrated fast. I was on the Samaria Gorge trail and someone needed to be taken out on a donkey. At least on that trail, there is a water fill-up station but I am not sure about other places.
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......??I like "I had (you mean made!) an early mistake about 15 years ago where I got so very sick"
Now I continued making those mistakes for many years as I made friends there,???I am gifted as I integrated and blended very comfortably as I continue to do even today with travellers passing through our lives..... now that comes with a price to stay up all night drinking....and riffles come out at night with a few shots in the air....all good fun.. best ever place in Crete is Panormos beach ⛱️⛱️..... the Tavernas used to close the street and put out the table and chairs to dine at night.... Night jasmine flower aroma and roses....(I had added advantage as I made friends with all tavernas so I used to pop in for early lunch sampling all the dishes, later to be served for dinner of course tasting better as well!)....I miss those years very much sometimes!... Kalley Mera from Thailand!
 
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