Discovering Crete, Part 15 - A backcountry road trip

in #photography6 years ago

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Greetings Steemians!

Usually I like to explore new places by walking or hiking. On foot I can devote all my attention to the surroundings and it leaves enough time to let new impressions sink in.

But when time is limited and I still want to get a sense for a certain region, I sometimes just get in the car and drive off. With my camera ready on the co-driver seat I stop at the roadside whenever I see something worth capturing.

Towards the end of my stay on Crete I decided to undertake such a road trip to explore a bit the backcountry between Mátala and the mountains of the Psiloritis massif. I had no specific destination but rather a vague direction. Maybe I could spot something worth a second visit for further exploration on foot.

I started close to Kalamaki with the foot hills of the Psiloritis already in view:

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Can you spot the dark shadow at the right of the mountain flank, just above the vegetation line? This is in fact the entry of a large cave, the Spílio Kamaraikó. Minoan artefacts were found in it. I realized this just after my trip by checking pictures in the web. The cave can be reached in a three-hour hike starting in Kamáres. Next time maybe.

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A marvelous view back on the plains of Messara opens up.

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A nice turning point. It's time to think about dinner :).

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After a short pit stop in my holiday home, I arrive in nightly Pitsidia.

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Mike's Taverna is the place to go for the hungry.

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Grilled squid. Plain, simple and absolutely delicious! The perfect ending for today's road trip.

Thanks for watching and have a great day on Steemit!

Shaka


All photos were recorded by myself with an Canon EOS 7D / Tamron 18-270 mm in Mai 2018. All rights reserved.


Discovering Crete - All previous posts:

Part 1, Agiofárango I Part 2, Agiofárango II
Part 3, Monastery Odigítrias I Part 4, Monastery Odigítrias II
Part 5, Phaistos I Part 6, Phaistos II
Part 7, Phaistos III Part 8, Mátala I
Part 9, Mátala II Part 10, Kamilari
Part 11, Agía Galíni I Part 12, Agía Galíni II
Part 13, Zarós Part 14, Island glow
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Oh man those landscape shots are incredible! I heard Crete is one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean. As for Greek islands, I have been only to Zakynthos so far and I loved it. But I think Crete is more diverse and thus even more attractive. Thanks for this great travel series! :)

Ahhh! I love the views. I agree, traveling by foot is always better. I feel like, I'm able to soak in more when I'm walking. Car is always convenient when short on time! :)

This is natural place and truly this composite pictures reflects beautiful creations and in my opinion these natural creations always reflects that story telling essence and also these places holds the unique essence and that is nature face all aspects of life like an fighter.

And whenever i see monuments or statues then it's reflects great stories for sure and these type of monuments and statues always great to explore because these statues can relate with the places and we can also connect with stories effectively.

And that late evening time is reflecting so beautiful with beautiful colour essence in the sky. And in my opinion whenever we watch something great colourful essence in the sky then for sure that will give awesome essence.

And that plate is reflecting as holding some delicious and natural stuff and these kind of beautiful and natural foodie stuff can give that pleasant essence to our tummy.

Wishing you an great day and stay blessed. 🙂

as usualy lovely pics!
did you say grilled squid!!!
that's delicious!

It absolutely is :)

Psiloritis itself looks like it would be a good challenge. Have you thought about climbing it? The views at the top would have to be amazing.

Btw I assume this is the same peak as here

Hi Terry,

The double peak mountain with the cave is called Marvi and is an outlier south of the Psiloritis. It is possible to climb the Psilioritis (or Mount Ida) but not from the south via the Marvi. At least the hiking path ends at the cave.

The Psiloritis can be climbed from either the east or west flank. The view must indeed be fantastic. It would have been an option for me but I will have another dedicated hiking holiday later this summer and so I thought to take it a bit easier during my Crete trip.

Very impressive pictures. I wakes up my fernweh ! :)

These rugged mountains remind me the Himalayan mountains. Everything seems similar, except the seashore. Whole Himalayan region is not rocky. Some places are rocky there but those rocks are dark, rugged and have sharp edges.
@shaka your photographs and narrative encourage me to go on world tour but unfortunately my pocket don't allow me. Perhaps, one day I'll be able to make my dream a reality.

A nice place without a doubt something different I think it would be something interesting to do that 3 hour walk to the cave I also like to walk I think it is much more enjoyable but there are places that are too big to walk @shaka

Mmmmh der Salatteller sieht mega fein lecker aus. Nur deswegen alleine lohnt sich vermutlich schon ein Ausflug dorthin, oder?

Ist ein echter Geheimtipp, wenn man dort ist, muss man mal hingehen. Alles super lecker dort.

ich kenne die griechische Küche von meinem Aufenthalt an Olympia 2004. Das Essen ist mir jetzt noch in Erinnerung.

Was für tolle Bilder <3
Mir gefällt ja besonders die Ziege :D