Palm tree forest beach
Saturday, October 1st: Crete, Greece
We parked in Rethymno to walk along the beach, since we were in desperate need of some physical activity after bumming on the couch for the last two days. We found a small gym with cross fit style equipment - they offered day passes and classes for €15, so we may check it out in a couple of days.
Then we drove to the Kourtaliotiko gorge, which at first glance was nothing to write home about compared to Samaria. The river bed was dried up and the rocks were a sandy color without much appeal. However, we kept driving until we reached the path to the waterfall. We walked down a short trail and followed the water pipes along the river - to our surprise, it was flowing and the water seemed plentiful. We reached the natural staircase and did not envy the two men carrying a full-sized generator down to the bottom. We came to a makeshift wooden plank that served as the ladder down to the bottom of the basin and saw people scattered in the pool and climbing the rocks to jump in. The water was freezing, so we took our sweet time wading in and acclimating. Though we toyed with the idea, we ultimately chickened out and did not swim back through the narrow gorge to the isolated waterfall.
After climbing back up, we drove to Preveli beach. As we started our descent, Matt added to his sticker collection. His water bottle now had more borrowed stickers than purchased ones. Like most Cretan beaches, it required a light hike down the cliff to reach the beach. From up above, we could see the river emptying into the ocean and the forest of palm trees that lined either side. When we reached the bottom, we walked along the sandy path through the palm trees and waded in the shallows up the river and back again. Without any cabanas or lounge chairs, we laid out our towels in the shade the old fashioned way and rested before trekking back up.
Accommodations: AirB&B, Loutra, Crete, Greece
