12 Nov 2023
We had a wonderful day touring Chania area with Dimitri- he picked us up in Chania at the Chania Flair hotel (great place to stay near the waterfront) and we had a fun visit into the country side for an olive oil tasting and wine tasting. On the way we stopped at a 3000 year old olive tree and Dimitri shared stories of early Olympic tradition of the olive bough and garland of leaves for the winner—He treated us to a cup of mountain tea (healing and immune boosting herbs) with local honey- loved it!
Olive oil tasting was very fun, followed by interesting ride up the mountains on rustic roads followed by shepherds and hikers to the summit of the mountain where both the North and the South sides of Crete can be viewed. Stunning vistas of the mountains and the coasts- fun to see the goats along the way up at the summit.
The most spectacular thing that Dimitri shared with us was the entrance to the Samarian Gorge- we had lunch at a taverna right at the mouth of the gorge, with incredible views and wonderful meal of grilled lamb, Greek salad, herb and rice stuffed vegetables, braised rooster with noodles, and fava bean salad- of course washed down with very good white wine and Mythos beers- incredible meal with a very memorable view. Dimitri shared with us the info about gorge trekking (10 KM)
WE really enjoyed our day with Dimitri and highly recommend his as a guide of this area. Very fun day!