Guided Flower Walk on Katharo

Seeing something familiar through someone else’s eyes often adds an interesting dimension so I eagerly accepted the opportunity to take a walk on Katharo Plateau with Steve Lenton, a keen amateur botanist who lives locally.

Although cooler on the plateau at circa 1,100 metres, some flowers had already started to die back.  With this in mind, keen botanists should aim to visit late March or April to see a wider variety of flowers.  That said, there was plenty to see.  

Now, take this quick quiz to test out if a walk with Steve would be enjoyable for you.  

Is the plant above:

A) Anacamptis pyramidalis

B) Pyramid orchid

C) Pretty pink one

Yes, you are correct!  So, chances are you will enjoy a walk with Steve.  It is a relatively flat walk on good paths so there is no need for walking boots, but perhaps not your best high heels!  Do remember a sunhat, sun cream, a bottle of water, and perhaps a piece of fruit to keep you going.

By taking the main road through Kritsa and then following the signs to the plateau, the road rises to give you fantastic views as it twists and turns.  If you are in a hire car, there is no need to worry, as there is a good surface all the way, and there are several places to stop so that even the driver can appreciate the scenery.  Just don’t be distracted if you see goats climbing trees!

Depending on how many stops you make, it will take circa 30 mins to drive from Kritsa to the parking area outside of the Katharo meeting point at Giannis’s taverna.  It is worth noting that you are welcome to use the taverna ‘loo’ even if you don’t want a drink before you set off.

Within yards of starting the walk, Steve shared some of the local folklore, and this added ‘extra’ peppered the walk like good seasoning.  With frequent stops to look at, and discuss the many specimens found along the way the walk was never strenuous.  One of the key facts that I enjoyed hearing was how the plateau has examples of plants that enjoy the extreme points of the compass with the most southerly, most northerly, most easterly, and most westerly specimens all in close proximity.

Throughout the walk, Steve guided our attention to plants, some rare or endemic to Crete, and explained the influence of local agricultural methods as an engaging chat, and never a lecture.  Sometimes we were wandering along chatting when Steve suddenly stepped off the path to show a specific specimen, even though it never once looked as if he was keeping a close eye on where we were.  Steve obviously does know the area like the back of his hand.  There is plenty of gentle humour too.  For example, look at this:

The Latin name is Onopordum bracteatum ssp. creticum.  Onopordum is derived from the Ancient
Greek, ονος-πορδον, Ass-fart!

Half way through our walk was a wide shady tree, a great place to sit on convenient rocks, and open our rucksacks for a drink and a snack.  Once refreshed our walk continued, and there were several points where Steve checked to see if we wanted a short cut back to the taverna or if we wanted to continue.  We chose to go on, and this meant walking through the water in the fast receding river.  In the annual race between the heat and developing tadpoles, the heat seemed to be heading for a win, and we certainly didn’t get very wet as we walked to the far side.

Once back at the taverna a cold beer was very welcome, and if you have time, I can recommend their chip omelette (a local tradition) and Greek salad, enough for two to share. 

When you plan your next trip to Crete, do book a walk with Steve, it is bound to give you a fantastic experience, and samples to treasure.  You can find a wealth of information, and Steve’s contact details on  www.exploringkatharo.com and www.cretanflora.com

Lake and Gorge Walks

Near to Ierapetra on the south coast is Brahmia reservoir, created to provide a good water supply for the many greenhouses in the area.  Now the huge wetland provides a home for many different birds and animals, and is a stopping off point for many more migratory birds.

1^st May, is a Bank Holiday here in Crete when it is traditional to collect a posy of wild flowers so we decided to collect ours during a walk around the reservoir, and after so many mountain walks it made a change to enjoy a relatively flat and easy path.

Water has obviously made an important contribution to the local environment to the local area over many years.  The photo below is of an old water mill.  Water ran along the channel to drop down at the end with enough force to turn the grindstones.

At one point we spent ages staring at a rock to identify the creature basking in the sun, and thanks to Alan’s binoculars saw it was a terrapin.  

Shame I don’t have a powerful enough zoom on my camera but you can just abut make out the shape.  We might have gone closer to investigate except a huge Alsatian puppy came bounding along and wanted to lick us to death!

In the event there were less flowers around the lake than we expected but a quick stop on the road between Prina and Kroustas ‘delivered’ and now my May Day posy hangs outside the front door. 

Similar bunches and wreaths are on now houses throughout the village.  By midsummer’s day, they will all be dry, crispy and ready to be burnt as part of an ancient fertility rite where traditionally young women jumped over their burning flowers.  The church has obviously given up the fight against this paganism and embraced the tradition, so each year a different church plays host to the ceremony where children play ‘dare’ and leap the flames.  We'll be in Crete to see this, so I’ll make a note of events.

To develop the theme of walking in different terrain we decided to pay another visit to Kritsa Gorge.  This time we decided to take the path around the hill towards Lato, and then drop into the gorge at the 1^st exit.  When out walking in Cretan countryside it is not unusual to find the path barred by a rusty metal fence, and in the past we thought this meant go no further.  However, it is to control livestock not people, and there is usually a metal ‘tie’ that can be untwisted to gain access.  On this particular path there’s no doubt that it is OK to pass through as there is a helpful sign:

Once in the gorge its high sides protected us from the wind that had been gusting, so we ‘strolled’ downhill enjoying splendid isolation with warm sun, birdsong, and invisible bleating goats.  Often when we walk in the gorge we enter at the same point and walk upwards, so we had forgotten just how narrow it gets towards the bottom.

Here it was like going down a drain created by tonnes of water crashing through over the millennia. 

One of the reasons we had seldom used this part of the gorge was that the huge boulders are hard to clamber over, especially when there is still water lying at the bottom, but now some kind soul has fixed metal rungs into the rock to make things easier.

Last year I shared a description of the Kritsa Gorge with Beryl Derby, (author of the great book about Spinalonga called Yiannis), as she wanted characters in her latest book Tassos to walk up through the gorge. I recently bought a copy of the book and to my surprise, saw a note of thanks to me in her acknowledgements.  If you are interested in finding out more about Beryl's books they are all on sale at the Eklektos bookshop in Elounda or available via www.beryldarbybooks.com.