Sfakia

Monday, May 5, 2014 Hania
We're back on the northwest side of Crete where we're finally getting a decent internet connection, at least in the hotel lobby.

 Last Tuesday morning, we joined a tour of Imbros Gorge near Chora Sfakion on the south side of Crete. We would have preferred to walk it alone at our own pace but we needed a ride to the top and a ride back from the bottom. It was only 10 euros each to go on a guided tour with those rides, so away we went. The bus rides were good and the gorge, which is about 1,000 feet deep and, at its narrowest, is only 1.64 m wide (about 5 feet), was very beautiful.
However, the tour guide kept rushing our group of 18 people along, saying that we had to be in time for the bus that would meet us.

 This is one of the narrower parts but not the narrowest. The local Greeks used these narrow passages when they were defending against the Turks a long time ago and the Nazis during WWII. The gorges were the easiest paths to get down the mountains to the south coast. The Greeks would hide  and wait until their enemies were in the narrow passages and then they would attack. Many people on both sides were killed.
Unfortunately, our tour guide kept rushing us along and didn't explain anything on the way. We even passed a small memorial which we assume was commemorating fallen soldiers but she just walked by and didn't say anything. We did have a good time in spite of the poor guide and it was an interesting 8 km walk on the loose stones of the dry stream bed.

As usual, there was no shortage of goats (or their deposits). In the end, we got to the end of the gorge 40 minutes before the bus arrived so we were in plenty of time. The goats are always fun to watch since they scamper up and down cliffs, right at home.

On Wednesday night, we went to a demonstration of Greek dancing in a bar. It was okay, with lots of boot slapping and hopping around but we were so tired we didn't last too long.
We've just arrived in Hania this afternoon and we're tired and hungry for dinner. We'll continue with the Sfakia story tomorrow.