We woke to a stormy sky, but decided to stick to our coastal walk plan anyway. Somewhere during the 1.5 hour drive to Chora Sfakion the sky turned blue and most of the clouds seemed penned away from the coast by the mountains. We caught the morning ferry to Agia Roumeli, and after another 1.5 hour ride, we were ready to begin. It was nearly 1pm after we docked, picked up a bottle of water, and found ourselves headed the correct direction. Estimating 7 hours to make the roughly 20 kilometer trip from Agia Roumeli to Chora Sfakionime, it was time to get moving.
Unlike the other routes we explored in Crete, we did see another person on the walk...maybe even 2 or 3. Mostly we moved alone along stretches of sandy beach, up rocky trails, cliff side forests. Early on, we made a brief detour at a beachfront Byzantine chapel, later past the small white buildings of Loutro, and just before the finish the sweet water beaches near Chora Sfakion.
We were lucky that the clouds didn't make it over the mountain ridge until late in the day, bringing a comfortable breeze at the end of the hike. When we returned to Chora Sfakion, it was time for a big dinner, Greek salad, stuffed tomatoes, coffee, fruit, a round of raki, Derek had grilled fish and baklava, too. This hike was really a treat, constantly beautiful and changing.
