Crete's Spectacular Vistas And Culture | Wanderlust! Europe's Most Beautiful Hiking Trails

[Music] from Greece to Norway from Spain to England hiking is [Music] hip hiking is Young hiking is green and healthy and you can only get up close when you're on foot everywhere in Europe sometimes it's hard to match the the topography to the to the map because there's so many small hills and ups and downs um but the way is so clearly marked that it's um I have to try really hard to get lost here so I think think I'm going that way Bradley Mayhew is a Brit living in the United States he writes travel and trekking guides usually in Far Away Asia now he's exploring the most beautiful hiking trails of Europe [Music] cre the largest island of Greece lies in the Eastern Mediterranean [Music] Bradley's plane just landed a short while ago but he's already on his way to meet someone in the ancient Port of Hana well I've only been here an hour so my brain is still getting around the idea of being in the Mediterranean instead of uh foggy London it doesn't matter how many trips I do it's still uh going to take me a couple of days but I got a local contact I'm going to try and find Penelope she's going to take me around for the first few days of the mountain so I got some uh got someone to help me with the the first few days anyway hi Penelope Bradley stumbled upon his hiking partner during his research Penelope and her brother have written a book about the E4 E4 is the name of the long-distance path that spans the entire island of cre [Music] the E4 starts at the most Northwestern end of creit it's an hour away by [Music] bus Penelope Pini was born on Creed since finishing her journalism studies she's making her living as a hiking guide for tourist tourists so what's what's special about walking in Creek what what makes this hiking creete different from I think the most special thing is that you can always swim in the sea okay even when SE too warm yes the sea is always there and if it's too hot you can just jump into the sea and uh it's very wild because there's no Road actually in the South so you're all by yourself with the the Pines the green of the Pines the mountains the rocks and the Sea nothing of the noisy Mass tourism found on the beaches of C's North Coast is to be felt in the [Music] mountains the E4 begins on Northwestern cre at the fishing haror of [Music] kissamos at first the path follows the western [Music] coastline the European longdistance path E4 is over 11,000 km long and spans all of Europe from Spain to Cyprus on cre it traverses the entire Island Bradley wants to hike its most beautiful section which is the west of the Island from kis to lutro but where is the path here in any event it's hardly marked at all it's not all that easy to find the E4 here is it well not always in some sections it's easier because there are more people going but in the west coast and even some sections in the south coast where it's more hard to find the PATH because it's also very difficult that it's Tippy it's a very there many people from CRE hike is that a popular thing to do here well not so many but we hope that it will be more and more because now there is this new program in the schools that now they are getting interest about the eforce and the past so in the environmental uh education they're starting talking about this cre is a fertile Island but its West Coast is auster and [Music] Rocky the local fishermen and Farmers live scattered alongside the mountains larger Villages or settlements are rare the Orthodox Christian chos ctis Monastery sits high on the Rocks overlooking the Libyan sea the E4 hiking path runs directly in front of the monastery's entrance well its name it's chosa MH and it means that there was somewhere a golden step but they say that Turkish took it from here but there's also another Legend where they say that you have to be very faithful so you can see this golden step oh keep an eye open for it sure yeah watch a little bit your steps although I am color blind well it's not it's just a of I have to say I didn't see any golden steps no so either I don't have enough Faith or I'm impure of spirit one of the two maybe the walk King will will be a Penance purify the soul 97% of all Greeks are Orthodox Christians the icons and sacred images seem to belong to another era highly venerated the ones painted today look exactly like those from a thousand years [Music] ago this this is our most famous icon over a thousand years old a Shepherd found it back then there was no Monastery yet but after he found the image this Cliff the place where he found it became the location for the founding of the monastery it's of the Immaculate Conception [Music] being in in this church for me it's partly familiar but partly very foreign at the same time the icons look familiar to me I've seen them in a lot of churches in Russia and Central Asia and suddenly are some I think Renaissance touches from the ventian times but it also feels quite um quite foreign to me I think um it has a feeling of being a much more ancient form of Christianity more connected to Constantinople than it does to to Rome time to take off the hiking [Music] boots only a few hours walk from the monastery the E4 reaches the most Southwestern corner of cre and a lagona reminiscent of the Caribbean the place is called [Music] eloni it's pretty hot in the in the mainland so to be up to my knees in water is lovely unfortunately my my legs don't get to see a lot of sunlight so they're not very taned at the moment it's the only day in the year where they get to see the Sun but it's lovely yeah lovely days hiking really uh it really feels like being on holiday the lagona is a nature reserve that's been supported by European Union fund since 2000 in order to protect this stretch of beautiful untouched Coastline the vegetation here is unique and threatened by Extinction these days eloni is very popular with tourists which makes it all the more important that the area and its forer are [Music] protected so people can come here during the day but they can't stay here overnight they have no they can't Camp it's a protected area that's lovely it's nice that it's protected otherwise it'd be uh hotels and cafes and burgers places I hope also that the people who are coming realize that they have to respect everything and not to leave garbage because that's the most the mainly problem in the beaches after the elephan nature reserve the E4 continues alongside a Long Bay then the path reaches the south coast of cre [Music] almost completely surrounded by water on a tiny Peninsula lies the small town of [Music] pahor Penelope and Bradley take advantage of the opportunity for lunch cit's Cuisine is said to be particularly healthy some scientists have even coined the term Creon diet with claims it can even delay aging this this what keeps crans living to 250 years old some researchers say that olive oil wine and good life what's she doing there she looks like she's sewing bits together or uh she's preparing maybe for you know The Weave after I think that's an interesting thing this one piece will make 52 layers watch on mobile devices or the big screen all for free no subscription [Applause] [Music] required Nikki sagaki weaves rugs from leftover Fabrics that she gets from friends this form of weaving has a long tradition on Creed her Loom is a family heirloom yeah it's like more than 150 years from her grandmother the mother of her grandmother Nikki tells us her rugs and bags are as colorful as the fabric remnants she's given before she said it was like just red and black because red was happiness and black was sorrow and it's like crit always you find that combination I don't really weave to earn money I like how people come in and ask questions I like talking weaving is also a distraction you become calm sometimes I weave just to relax I like to hand the art down to the young so it doesn't die out not as a living that isn't possible it's simply a beautiful activity the town limits of pahor soon lie behind them the mountains of the South Coast are wild and craggy they drop so steeply into the sea that there's no place for roads you can only get from one coastal location to the next on foot by taking the European long-distance E4 which follows the ancient foot paths that have always connected the different Villages because the E4 Grew From older paths it doesn't just follow the coastline it twists and turns up and down and also traverses a number of Gorges it takes Bradley and Penelope 5 hours to reach the pier of the next Village suya the ferry stops here twice a day aside from walking the ferry is the only other option for traveling along C's southern coast many hikers use it as a shortcut so how was how was the economy here in Creek you feeling much of the crisis from the rest of Greece well actually it's much better than the rest of the GRE but sometimes uh behind the scenery of Tourism you can find personal stories that are really uh sad and but then it's also a new start for other things so it's bizarre like a feeling that it is really a crisis not so much economy crisis but like a crack in your life and you are seeing towards where you are going to go yeah I imagine mentally it's quite difficult to deal with that kind of challenge it's quite well hiking a very good uh option relever great just thinking and walking walking walking and then the idea comes from the wings yeah I get lots of great ideas when [Music] I Penelope and Bradley use the ferry to shorten their hike by 8 hours like the other travel they take the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the passing [Music] [Music] scenery the next Harbor is Aya relli here the Somaya Gorge opens into the Mediterranean Sea The Gorge is the most popular hiking destination on Creed [Music] at 18 km long the Somaya Gorge cuts through the mountains The Gorge probably formed millions of years ago with the Collision of the tectonic plates that caused Creek to rise out of the sea erosion from rivers and running water then gave it its present day form [Music] Bradley and Penelope have reached the narrowest point of the gorge the iron gates this is the what they call the iron gates or PES it's one of the narrowest parts of the gorge just a few meters wide in this place goes up to about 150 M tall he was saying um that this called the iron Gates because the type of rock is different here it's not not the Limestone but it's more of an iron in the winter time the water comes all the way up to this High Mark so it's impossible to get through here so the whole Gorge is closed and that's just in a couple of weeks time so just snuck in before before they close the gorge for the season today the Somaya Gorge and the surrounding area is a national park park ranger FIS is out on the hiking path every day in High season it can get pretty crowded between the Steep Rocky faces of the gorge 4,200 4, on suay up to 4,200 people hike here and the rest from the top many people come with the wrong shoes and it's not like a park in the town you know some people thought think that the National Park is you know a flat area but here is kind yeah here is kind of tracking you know yeah you have to go rescue them yeah you and the you and the MU yes our partners in the middle lies what's left of the village that gave the gorge its name Samaya [Music] The Village was abandoned when the national park was founded today its only inhabitants are creeky a kind of wild goat native to the southwest of cre the Somaya is considered the longest gorge in all of Europe most people hike down the gorge but not Bradley and Penelope the last 3 hours uphill are very Steep and Serpentine straight uphill yeah 1,200 M up this is I think I forgot my water bottle oh it's not the right time to do [Music] that at the top of the gorge surrounded by a range of mountains is the omalos plateau it isn't large but it is fertile [Music] Penelope and Bradley's long day ends at a Tavern with wine and roasted lamb as a hiking guide Penelope comes here often and knows everybody with this song and like that like being together away from the coast and particularly in the mountains the old traditions have [Music] survived the old songs are known as ritica which means from the foot of the [Music] mountains that's wonderful you know I've been walking up through the mountains most of the day and now I feel like I'm hearing the mountains you know in the evening so it's it's wonderful yeah great I think they all seem to be drinking songs though sad drinking songs more than anything else the people of creit are known to be rebellious and able to hold their drink the old songs date from when the island was under the suppression of the Ottomans and venetians and they praise Rebellion friendship and [Music] Freedom the next morning Penelope has to return to Hana to work but before she leaves the two make plans to meet up for the last part of the hike as for Bradley he catches a ride with the shepherd kristos vakis whom he got to know the previous night and up they go high into the left Kori otherwise known as the White Mountains after all the wine of the previous night Bradley's happy to not have to walk all the way up christos's animals live free range in the mountains but he checks on them every morning Christos wants to show Bradley how to Shear a sheep something a real creeton knows how to do look [Music] dangerous that's the beauty of hiking you're up close to real life you meet people enter conversations and get to experience new things I think the Sheep's a lot more comfortable than I am I'm I'm terrified I'm going to hurt him but he seems quite relaxed so he's all good you show me the proper way to do it [Music] [Applause] [Music] the herbs the sheep eat are very aromatic due to the dry climate so the animals cheese yogurt and meat tastes more intensive here than elsewhere in Greece there's no breeding Secret it's just nature shaping everything on This Island from here Bradley continues on his own into the high mountains of [Music] C the massive Lea Ori the White Mountains mold the character of The Island Southwest there's a reason why creit is known as the mountains of the [Music] sea the Cal egy Mountain Refuge is one of the few in the Lea Ori anyone who wants to can spend the night here but Bradley only allows himself a short respite [Music] for me it's like I'm feel much more at home up here I'm much more comfortable in these altitudes and temperatures when I'm down on the beach I just want to drink a cocktail and lie on a sun bed but up here I feel like I really want to go exploring and do some serious hiking so I got a couple of days across the across the big high spine of the the the island so I'm I'm looking forward to it the Lea Ori formed the biggest mountain chain of creit in some places it looks just like the surface of the [Music] Moon Peaks saw higher than 2,000 M into the sky the mountain range separates the north of cre from the south [Music] coast PES the second highest peak on the island Rises up 22,000 M this is my kind of hiking it's just empty it's tough It's Barren um um very Rocky you kind of need to know what you're doing up here the sun's very strong there's only a few places to get water um but I love it it's quite it's quite a challenge it takes Bradley two days to cross the White Mountains in addition to hikers the White Mountains also attract scientists the biologists Electra rundo and panayotis Nikas work for a European research project hello hello speak English yeah hello Hi how are you so do you mind me asking what you're doing here it looks like you're counting rocks actually we are counting plants ah okay uh we are now in the Alpine zone of the White Mountains ofi and um this is a very important area for plant biodiversity and how many different species do you have in this square meter then W we'll find many it's very small and Tiny between the rocks and uh but I can show you one somewhere here this is this is one of the endemic of Lea wow yeah I miss that one one you can smell it also it's PR ouch spiky little plants F yes oh that's nice you can use the food also yeah it's like oregano yeah you're right yes smells Italian to me yes the same family with Arana yeah you can make a nice Italian pasta with that in the whole UK that is third times bigger than crit the island of crit H you have 1,800 different species uh and 1% of them are endemic uh that means that they're only in UK in creit we have the same number of speci species and 10% of them are endemic that is impressive I I take it back I apologize it's not just rocks the biologist Electra is heading in the same direction as brown L she accompanies him part of the way back to the coast Electra was born on Creet after her studies in Athens she returned to her home Island and now she works at the University of Hana but it's not the plants alone that makes her heartbeat for the lefa Ori and the south coast part of her family comes from the Tiny Village of AAS yanis in as yanis her cousin Adonis has converted an old derel house into a guest house most of the rural youth leave for the bigger towns Adonis however returned to the country at one time about 200 people lived in as yanis now there are only 13 with the guest house Adonis and his family are trying to bring some life back to the [Music] Village Hospitality creton style Grandma vangala insists on baking her famous sakian pie for the guest you have toing the simple d is stuffed with maitra a homemade Creon goat cheese the cheese nice and cold in the middle squish it down the 77-year-old and her pie are legendary and she's a strict teacher but Bradley doesn't do so badly down [Music] whilst frying in the pan the pies rise and the cheese melts but frying the pies isn't as easy as it first appears look at that that's a good one no you want to go back in there the cheese filled pancake is sweetened with honey since childhood the biologist Electra has spent all her free time in the Tiny Village it's located next to the arenna gorge which nowadays is banned by a bridge in the past they didn't have Bridge so everybody you want to live from uh this Village should pass the the Gorge you have to go down go down and go up again that's tough so what she say you should learn the Greek yeah I'm trying sorry Bradley has to leave the high mountains behind him he has a rendevu planned the meeting spot is impossible to miss the bridge spanning at a fenna g [Music] Mariana haraki is a friend of Penelope she wants to accompany Bradley Down The Gorge along the ridge of the canyon lies the village of arenna it's been deserted for over 60 [Music] years the reason a terrible and bloody feud between the two families of the village two boys began to fight over the Bell on a dead goat then the fathers got [Music] involved the casualties are buried in the graveyard so about four to five people were killed from uh you know both families Y and then the others and then the the others they have to go in order to save themselves that's mad a whole village just lost because of the bell of a dead goat there are still goats here they use the Old Village path leading to The [Music] Gorge and search for something to eat along the steep [Music] slopes sometimes they slip and fall so in the arthenna gorge you should always keep one eye looking up [Music] we have to be a little bit careful in this Gorge cuz there are dozens of goats up on the hillside and they keep kicking Stones down apparently Mariana was saying that the uh Dead Goat that we just passed was killed by a falling Stone so it's uh for goats it can be a dangerous place either that or it was a suicide attempt we're not quite sure [Music] The arthenna Gorge lies in the heart of the municipality of Sakia Sakia was and is the home of most of the freedom fighters from the island this is a great place to hide out isn't it that's true yeah nobody can find you here yeah and it's difficult to come here yeah and a great place for a booby trap you come up you Retreat up the gorge someone follows you you hide up in the CH and yeah sakian people are incredibly hospitable but they're also incredibly independent minded very uh very Fierce very um Freedom loving and you you don't tell a sakian what to do so the the venetians the Ottomans anyone who's tried to conquer this part of the island they've they've always failed when it comes to this part they'd hi hide up in the Gorges everyone has their own gun and it would be absolutely impossible to take this this part of the land [Music] [Music] after 3 hours the trail ends at the small mamara Bay this place on the southern coast can also only be reached on foot or by sea [Music] but the great thing is that you start off in the mountains and you go through this hot Dusty Gorge and then in the afternoon you cool off in these gorgeous turquoise Waters have a nice meal on the beach I mean there you can't think of a much better day than that I reckon [Music] tomato bread and roasted liver round out the hiking day and the pair shell their plans to make it on to the next Village Bradley and Mariana have spent the night on a beach technically this isn't allowed but it is tolerated I'm good did you sleep well yeah very well it's extremely comfortable comfortable here the locals call this sweet waterer Beach and it's because underneath the beach here there's a whole series of fresh water Springs water comes down from the White Mountains and apparently Mariana tells me if you dig deep enough you can get a source of fresh water just 5 M from the sea it's good it makes a great cup of [Music] coffee the trail continues along the South Coast always close to the Sea the section is popular and well marked there a yellow and black E4 marker every half [Music] kilometer after 2 hours Mariana and Bradley reached the former fishing Village of lutro again it can only be reached on foot or by [Music] ferry allinclusive tourists seldom stray this far lutro is popular above all with hikers Mariana says goodbye here she has to go home and help prepare a family gathering ing to which she's invited Bradley thank you very much see you on Friday okay have a nice time and good luck with this okay bye trip byebye bye well uh say goodbye to my latest partner I've now got to go all the way up top of the hill got to climb about 700 m in 4 km I think that's why I'm doing it alone all the sensible guides have decided to go by ferry or car it's going to be a tough fight but um it's a good way to get up there I'm looking forward to it should be a great view lutro with its narrow Bay was a good place to hide ships that's why the harbor indeed the whole region was always a rebel [Music] stronghold since time immemorial foreign powers have always cast an eye on Creed the byzantines sarasin venetians and finally the Ottomans all conquered and Ruled The prominent Island but never this area here [Music] even today the people here are viewed as free-spirited cit's great Rebel leader thar lanis was also a local [Music] after a good 2 hours Bradley reaches the chapel of Aya aarini it belongs to the next Village The View back onto the starting point lutro is well worth the Steep exhausting walk tiny chapels like this one are found all along the E4 on creete their walls are always decorated with holy images [Music] so I think they're not really places where people would come and and hold a mass or a liturgy they're really to to Mark sacred places or you know for for passing um Walkers or for fishermen they see the church up on the cliffs or or by the water get a sense of protection sense of Solace the church is there don't worry you'll be safe 2 km beyond the chapel is the village of anopolis in the center next to the big statue Bradley meets Penelope again as arranged hello Hi how are you all good well good and you good you look very relaxed well and you're very exhausted what were you doing ping maybe I've had a much tougher day than you have I think so this is dusanis is it yeah but you know many things yeah I do some research sometimes okay yeah he was one of the first revolutionaries against the Ottomans in 770 all right yeah the decision for the Revolution was taken in lutro yeah and then they just attacked from the mountains to the Ottomans in the north a local hero then is he yeah something like that Penelope wants to show Bradley the location of the most important battle between the cretans and Turks frango Castello built by the Phoenicians lies directly alongside the [Music] footpath 600 cretans faced 8,000 Turks the battle lasted a week a bloody defeat for the cretans they say that the Shadows every May because it was it happened on May you can see the Shadows of the soldiers who has even been burned so like they are wandering and trying to find peace okay it's called Rus this phenomenon that we see Shadows here you people actually see this Shadows I don't know really but they say they exist someone saw them it's maybe something like a weird meterological phenomenon that you see the Shadows of the Saharas Creek's got an incredible history I mean it's not measured in centuries it's measured in Millennia you know it's got the the from the Minoans probably the earliest form of writing the earliest cult culture in Europe all the way through the Byzantine times the venetians were here the Ottomans um all the revolutions and rebellions that have taken place in the last couple hundred years there's so much to see and discover here [Music] back in the mountains at this time of year the air is fragrant with wild herbs like Thyme and [Music] [Laughter] Sage the E4 goes through a small Gorge called calicis which leads to the Village of the same name [Music] [Applause] [Music] The Village Cafe also houses a small herbal shop full of sweet smelling natural [Music] products these are the hers this is the stage that we were cutting that's the sage yes 22 years ago the Danish proprietor came to creit and fell in love with her husband and the rich nature of the island but our main job actually is to distill essential oils in addition to dry herbs Yanina also sells herbal soaps and oils everything is homemade babis collects and sorts the wild herbs by hand they dry in the sun on big sifters nature is his role model organic and biodynamic agriculture orients itself to the stars and the Moon it really doesn't do anything except imitate nature but what we do here with the herb stands above agriculture these are active substances of nature try and smell into the oil smell into the oil okay I'm not sure what that means look you get one superficial idea smells like this right super smells something doesn't it something yes now if you take it just start smelling close your eyes smell into it let it fill you kind of like this yeah it's very deeper deeper sense isn't it and something for my mom that's why it's good for for your mind I need something for my mind for clarity when I'm writing my books I need something then we are back to Bor Bor okay because that is apollon's oil that's the oil of inspiration oh you know apolla the Greek god of uh um light of light of the Arts of music it's almost uh called an ex I just had a great idea Yanina homemade food on the sun porch local musicians are not a rare sight here the liar is the national instrument of creit it's a Remnant from the time of the byzantines and it sounds almost Oriental [Music] Bradley's time on cre is coming to an end he's been walking the E4 for 2 weeks and has now reached the esku plateau it's October so the fields have long been harvested in The Villages everyone's looking forward to the sodia Festival this is a village few Mariana and her cousin have invited Bradley to their family celebration but before the food comes the work the pomas Brandy sikia is distilled from the mash of wine grapes on cre it's also called [Applause] raki distilling alcohol is traditionally a man's job and very common every second household in the mountains distills tudia after the grape Harvest [Music] the E4 continues to the Eastern end of the island for Bradley however the path ends here the combination of Landscapes you know the mountains the Gorges the sea the the weather's been perfect October is the absolute greatest time to come here that's for sure and the people have been really that for me is is what C's all about yeah really enjoyed it [Music]

Channel: TRACKS - Travel Documentaries

Views: 14,264

Keywords: E4 path, European hiking, TRACKS - Travel Documentaries, adventure, documentary series, hiking and swimming, hiking escapade, island hiking, nature hikes, nature lovers paradise, traditional Greek food, travel escapade, travel guides, travel the world, travelogue, unique stories, vacation ideas, wanderer's paradise, wanderlust, wanderlust travel, world exploration

Id: 8qPnrI0U-q0

Length: 52min 17sec (3137 seconds)

Published: Thu May 23 2024