Goat in Crete

A Beautiful Spring Road Trip Through The Hills Of Crete

I went to Crete just as the season was opening, so not a lot of tours had started yet. Buses weren’t yet running to most parts of the island. I really wanted to see more of Crete, so I emailed the people at Natour Lab to see if their tours had started yet. Their tours, too, hadn’t yet begun, but they still invited me out with them on a road trip through the Sfakia region of Crete. Natour Lab has an amazing concept. They combine gastronomy and hikes. Those are my two favorite things in life, so we were made for each other. Little did I know when I accepted their invitation that I would be having the best day that I had my whole time in Crete.

The original Crete diet actually consisted of many of the greens that are found along the roadside. I love that we pulled over and they picked some for me to try.

Crete

It felt like Spring, indeed, with all the goats, sheep, and wildflowers in bloom. I was stunned by the beauty of it all and felt so lucky to get to see this part of Crete.

goats in crete

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Goat in Crete

The panorama view of the sapphire blue Libyan sea was spectacular. I couldn’t believe how clear the water was!
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Viewpoint in CreteIMG_3554-001

We hiked to the top of a hill with a very small church on the top and a stunning view. Crete continued to astound me.

Wildflowers in Crete

Church in CreteThen, we went and watched a local cheesemaker make his cheeses. The raw sheep’s milk cheese that he made was the best cheese that I’ve ever had in my life.

Local cheesemaker in Crete IMG_3569-001

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local cheese in Crete

Apparently, one of the villages we visited was like the Wild West or like Texas, my new friends told me. All of the road signs had holes in them because the locals like to shoot at the signs with their machine guns. The air here was filled with the sound of gunshots during our visit. Um, OK, I’m not even sure Texas can compete with this, and I’m pretty sure the Wild West didn’t have machine guns.

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I also sat under a tree that had thousands of bees pollinating the flowers. The buzzing was so loud!

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Then, for my favorite part of the day-lunch! We stopped at a local taverna on the side of the road, and I ate the best food I had during my whole stay in Crete. For other views of the Greek food, make sure you check out my other website, Eating The GlobeIMG_3638-001 IMG_3640-001 IMG_3643-001 IMG_3645-001

 All in all, it was a perfect day, and by far my favorite experience in Crete. For a day closest to the experience that I had, check out Natour Lab’s The Southern Experience tour. You will be glad that you did.

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Have you been to Crete? What was your favorite part?