the gorge of Samaria

the bus to Omalos picked up a full crowd of folks doing the16km hike downthe Samaria Gorge.  we expected a Tuesday in May to be slow, but we were wrong.  nearly there, we switched buses and finally arrived at the entrance.  in the distnce we could see distant mountain peaks with snow on them.

we breifly befriended a british man who was very excited about this. hike of a lifetime.  thefirst 3km were a series of switchbacks leading straight down.  the path was very uneven and difficult.  

the first rest station was at the bottom of the stairs, though there were no stairs.  every km there was a distance marker, whiched helped countdown the hike.  we were assaulted during this part by people, mostly older germans, trying complete the hike first.  they were rude, unsmiling people, who rarely stopped to take in the amazing views as giant miuntains loomed above us and the ever. present river below.  eventually the path reach d the river and for the rest of the hike we danced on, over and around the brilliant blue waters of the river.  

the stream of germans continues to rudely push past.  eventually we arrived at the old town of samaria, recently populated before the gorge was blocked off as a national park, but the crumbling stone buildings looked ancient times enough.  this was roughly the 7 km point.

  the path now began to really ride the river.  the path crossed both rock paths and the occasional wooden bridge that was a few planks nailed together.  it was also at this time we noticed hikers coming the other direction.  we had at one point considered the ferry to agios romali to hike the easier part of the trail.  jjulia was the one who decided he full experience was the way to go.  as we got closer to the bottom of the gorge, the mountain closed in on both sides, getting narrower and narrower until the pinnacle of the hike, the so called iron gates, where the gap between was merely 9 ft across.  this was breath taking to say the least.  

though it never really got hot, by now our legs were weak and we were sweating profusely.  every inch forward became a chore, and we became much less friendly with the rude power walking germans who pushed passed people waiting in single file to go over a rock bridge and never apologized.  by now we had really grown to hate them.  km.marker 10 then 11 and 12 we were making better time, having started at just after 8, it was now approaching 3 when we came around a corner to a gift shop and drink stand and the last few feet of the trail.  but wait, you say, isn't it a 16 km hike?  oh yes, the last 2km are the walk from the end of the gorge on a paved road to the village of agio romali, which though not particularly hard, were in full sunlight with no shade.

we rounded the last curve and strode towards the town, and made our way to the boat kiosk to buy our ferry ticket back to Sougia.  we picked a nondescript and mostly empty taverna for a light snack and a few drinks.  then down to the boat dock were the big ferry going to hira sfokan awaited the majority of the people leaving the town.  our boat arrived at 5:30 sharp and was 1/4 the size of the larger boat.  the rudness of the germans didn't end on the trail as they pshed their way on to the ferry.

 we ran into the british man from the start sof the hike and sat next to him on the hour long trip back to Sougia.  he was very informative about the sites along the coast.  when we finally arrived, we were exhausted but still managed to enjoy the best meal of the trip at the very popular tavera polifimos.