Walking the Samaria Gorge in Crete

The Story
The only way to see the whole of the Samaria Gorge in Crete is on foot or by mule. One of our travel goals for years was to walk through this gorge, the longest in Europe. On our second visit to Crete one July we decided to do it. My husband, Rod, and I bought tickets for the excursion, which leaves from Hania on the northwest coast.

Unfortunately, in the middle of the night before I begin to feel extremely ill, with stomach cramps, headache, and many visits to the bathroom. Obviously something I'd eaten for dinner the night before is affecting me. In the morning I¹m tired, drained, and still running to the bathroom.

What to do? I still want to see the gorge. But can I do it? I waiver a while, tempted to stay in my bed, but take some Imodium tablets. This is not a good start to an adventure.

The bus leaves at 6am for Omalos, the village at the head of Samaria Gorge, and stops at the Tourist Lodge at the trailhead. This is my last chance to turn back. The Imodium seems to be working, though it's making me light-headed with a pounding headache, so I take two Tylenol tablets and say to Rod, "Let's do it!" He carries the backpack, so all I have to do is walk.

The walk through the gorge is 16 kilometers long. We begin by going carefully down the wooden and stone steps and ramps, which gets us off the valley onto the side of the gorge. The rocky path then zigzags steeply down. Many rocks are worn shiny slippery, so it's easy to lose your footing, especially if you're tired.

It takes a while to actually get down to the riverbed and then the walk continually crosses and re-crosses the rocky river, which doesn't have much water now. The day is hot and sunny but there's plenty of shade. We pass the deserted village of Samaria, and the little chapel Agios Nikolaus. It's a good place for a quick break and I stretch out gratefully on the grass.

The gorge proper only begins about halfway down, and later we reach the sidheresportes (iron gates) where the rock walls are so close it's like passing through huge gates. I begin to feel a little better, to relax, to look around me. I'm here, walking this famous gorge. Soaring mountains, pine trees, and cicadas chirping slowly become stronger images in my mind than the pain in my stomach. I look around and begin to enjoy the sheer, almost white, rock faces and amazing rock formations rather than just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.

At the end of the park is old Ayia Roumeli village. The last few kilometers from the old village are extremely hot and dusty, and we begin to have visions of a beer and a shower. We arrive at the end of the trail, a little footsore, flushed with heat and achievement.

"I did it; I did it!" is the refrain in my head. We walked almost six hours. We sink down onto a chair in a shady taverna and relax with a beer, feet up, the moment so perfect. THIS is what makes travel so worthwhile.