Island in the Sun. We arrived on a night flight from the autumnal UK for our first visit to Crete. Awaking to glorious sunshine and the Cretan heat flooding into the rooms of the ‘Wine Press’ – our home for the week. The ‘Wine Press’ is one of three tastefully restored houses, each set in their own courtyards with their blue and cream colouring perfectly reflecting the sun and sky as we sat on one of the two verandas enjoying our first morning. The courtyards allow for both private and shared areas and are filled with a cocktail of colour from an array of plants – notably the Bougainvillea along with lemon, lime and orange trees.

The collection of houses provided a superb setting for relaxing as they nestled into the hillside on the edge of an ‘authentically’ Cretan village supplying a backdrop of sights, sounds and aroma of rural life. The ‘Wine Press’ provided a perfectly peaceful and relaxing environment from which to begin our exploration of this western region of Crete. We began by taking the short pleasant walk to the village of Gavalohori, with the road winding alongside olive groves, traditional houses with a backdrop of surrounding hills. The village opened up to a collection of local shops, including supermarket and bakery along with at least two Taverna’s – one of which served an amazing Moussaka as a signature dish – ordering and booking essential, as it was popular with both locals and visitors throughout the day and night!!

During our week we visited several local beaches and walked back from the beach at Almyrida – a gentle uphill walk taking around forty minutes. We also walked the Imbros Gorge, with its spectacular scenery and arid landscape, baked dry by the summer heat. The trip ended with a thrilling return taxi ride back up the twisting mountain road giving panoramic views of the south coast of Crete and two more small islands, set in the Libyan sea and onwards to the North African coast. We spent our last two days in Chania the main town of the region staying overnight to enjoy the flavour of the ancient and historic port with its many narrow lanes leading up from the harbour, providing photo opportunities galore as the atmosphere and mood changes from the heat and bustle of the daytime to the glistening lights reflecting off the water at night. Crete and Chania certainly have the promise of yet more – we will be back!! Thank you, Alan and Jo, for your ‘Place in the Sun’!

Back to Home Page Leave your own review