Weekend in Sitia

I had long been anticipating last weekend's trip to eastern parts of the island to visit two of my favorite people in Crete, Chantal and Clive. The journey got an earlier than expected start when my friend Vardis invited me to spend Friday night at the Ikaros Beach Village resort in Stalidha, a short distance from Clive's village of Skotino, so that I wouldn't have as long a drive to make on Saturday morning. A big thank you to him for this very thoughtful gesture.

I wouldn't normally choose to stay in a place like this (I prefer smaller, boutique hotels) but I have to admit it was very nice. I arrived before Vardis and killed the time waiting for him with a pedicure in the spa. The resort has three swimming pools, but none of them were heated so I happily let Vardis swim on his own while I took photos. The following morning we enjoyed a big, American style buffet breakfast in the resort's large restaurant, with floor to ceiling glass and beautiful views of the sea and beach. Then to the spa's sauna and indoor pool, and after checking out we stopped in Malia for coffee and ice-cream. We then went our separate ways, Vardis to the west and south to spend the remainder of the weekend at another resort in Plakias, and I just a tad to the west to meet up with Clive at his place for lunch.

I rather badly misinterpreted Clive's directions going through Herssonisos, and stopped at one point to send him an SMS asking for clarification. I noticed a car parked directly in front of me and took the picture below because the name is so close to my own (Mary Kyrstyn). Just thought it was kind of amusing.

I finally arrived in Skotino, a very quiet, old village in the hills near Gouves. Clive is the youngest resident in the village, and we remarked that before long, he'll be the only person living there since the other villagers are quite ancient indeed. Clive bought his house here several years ago, and has done an extraordinary job in fixing it up and decorating. He explained that it's a work in progress, but I think that even as it is now, it's a really beautiful, unique home. He put together a lovely lunch...deviled eggs, English cheddar, ham, potatoes, tomato salad, bread and red wine. I wish I had been able to eat more of it, but I hadn't yet fully digested the ice-cream from earlier. I left him shortly after lunch to continue my journey to the east to Sitia, where Chantal lives. He was in the middle of putting the final touches on his new website, NowHeraklion.com, and planned to join us in Sitia later that evening.

I stopped to take several photographs on the way to Sitia, happy that the weather was so much nicer for this trip than it had been for the last one in September. The drive between Agios Nikolaos and Sitia provides some of the most spectacular views in Crete, and I had to balance my desire to turn my head and gaze at the vistas with the need for attention to the road, which winds and turns almost non-stop the entire way. It was great fun to drive, but when took it again on our way to Spinalonga, with Clive at the wheel and me in the back seat, I found myself car sick for the first time in my life. Clive relinquished the wheel to me on the trip home after seeing Spinalonga, for which I was grateful but perhaps Chantal suffered (she was the back-seat passenger this time).

I was happy to finally make it to Spinalonga, having read the book "The Island" by Victoria Hislop, a fictional historical account of several of the inhabitants of the former leper colony. We took the small fishing vessel that transports visitors from the village of Plaka, and then had a nice lunch at a taverna afterward.

That evening we had dinner at a small taverna that is run by a Dutch woman, and I was really pleased with the food, tasteful decor and comfortable atmosphere. The food varied a bit from the usual taverna fare, with some slightly more exotic flavors and concepts. It seems to be quite popular with the locals, which is always a good sign. There was a football game on the television which several people seemed to take an interest in, but then suddenly the waitress closed the decorative shutters over the screen, presumably because she didn't like the way the game was progressing.

The following morning we had breakfast on Chantal's patio before I set out for my drive home. Unfortunately Chantal's cooking efforts were thwarted by a power cut, but she rallied and put out a very nice spread none the less, minus the eggs which couldn't be cooked on the electric stove-top.

I took a break from driving on my way home by stopping at a small beach near the exit to Fodele, for a coffee and a swim. Then another between Rethymno and Chania, where I met up with Vardis for lunch at a taverna along the National road.

Very nice weekend, I'm so glad I got to see Chantal and Clive one last time before I head back to the States.

Koutsamatada Ravine, A Really Old Tree and the Organic Olive Oil Woman

My neighbor Mandy hiked part of the Koutsamatada Gorge while her son and his family were here visiting, but she wanted to explore it further and I was happy to accompany her. We set out in her car at 8:30am to drive the short distance to the head of the trail, and then proceeded to spend almost 7 hours in the gorge. I'm not sure how long it would have taken had we just set about "hiking", but we definitely dawdled along the way, stopping to look at the various flora, take pictures, eat a picnic lunch by the river, and explore a cave. Really nice walk, I hope that the water is still there when my sister (and maybe my dad!) come to visit in a few weeks.

Various landscape shots from our hike.











This is the cave that we found. It was quite a scramble up a hill through some pretty thick brush, but I'm glad our curiosity got the better of us because it was pretty cool. We found a few very old signs of life...a glass lantern hung from one of the rocks, a crucifix hanging in the entry way, and what seemed to be a little shrine of sorts, with a broken mirror, a couple of empty glass bottles, and some animal bones! We named the cave "Fegarri" which means "moon" in Greek (Φεγαρρι) because there was a
full moon scheduled for that night.

After hiking the gorge, we took a short trip up the road to Vlatos to see a very old plane tree, and the woman who runs, along with her daughter, a small organic farm that produces olive oil and other products. The name of the establishment is To Metohi tou Monahoyou (Το Μετοχι Του Μοναχογιου), and they also provide several incredibly atmospheric but tastefully decorated rooms for let, and I would love to stay in one of them some time.

I left with a very expensive but very nice bottle of organic olive oil, and a jar of olives in lemon juice that may be some of the most amazing olives I've tasted.

More Hiking Pictures

Just some photos from a hike I took a couple of weeks ago into the hills to the west of Kastelli. I haven't viewed the town and the gulf from this vantage point yet, so it was a nice, new perspective.

I found a great footpath that led straight up to the top of a decent ridge, although coming back down on the loose gravel was a bit of a bitch. I also found tons of wild sage growing along the path, and stopped to have a quick chat with a shepherd who was driving the flock in the picture down the opposite hill.

I went back last week in the hopes of picking a bunch of the sage, but the bees got there before I did and I wasn't in the mood to see if I could take it from them without getting stung.

My plan last week was to try to hike over the top of the ridge and eventually find a way down to the other side, on the road to Falarsana. However, the bees made me nervous, their angry attempts to dive bomb me reminded me of my trip to Gramvousa when I was attacked and stung by several of them, and I finally decided to just get the hell off the mountainside and back to town as quickly as possible. Not wanting to backtrack down the path, I followed the footpath off to the left, in the hopes of eventually meeting up with the paved road that I could see across the valley. And eventually I did, but not before having to walk by a hillside covered with man-made bee hives. I could see the air traffic getting heavy as I approached, so I took my long-sleeved jacket with hood out of my pack and put it on, covering up as much of myself as I could, just in case.

Alas, I escaped unharmed and have decided that I will no longer hike into the hills at mid-day, since that seems to be when the bees are most active.

Cooking with Koula Part III - Kreatotourta, Pilafi & Stamnagathi

This past Saturday we made meat pie, pilafi and horta. Well, Koula made it and we watched, although we did chip in and contribute some soft labor like pulling the mint leaves off the stalks, brushing the pan with oil, etc. In addition to Luella and I, Debra Papadinoff, the president of the CIC, was there. I had exchanged several emails with her regarding an article of mine that they published in the CIC Times, and it was nice to finally meet her in person. As soon as I saw her I realized that she had been on the March 28 CIC trip that I attended, but we had never been formally introduced.


While we waited for a goat's leg to boil, we enjoyed some coffee, bread, cookies and chit-chat.

Once the leg was cooked, Koula set about tearing the meat into bite-sized pieces.



The mixture called for two different types of cheese - malaka (yes, that's actually what it's called, for those of you familiar with the derogatory Greek term), and mizithra. Salt, pepper, mint, oregano, cinnamon and lemon juice also went into the mixture.




And the mixture goes into the pan, which is lined with a dough that was made using yeast and eggs. This is the first time we've made dough like this during my lessons with Koula.





The mixture is then liberally "dotted" with staka, a 100% fat cream in clotted form.






The dough for the top crust is rolled on, cut around the edges, tucked in and then covered with two beaten eggs and sesame seeds.





Straining the broth from the goats leg into the pan in which the pilafi will be made. Pilafi is a traditional Cretan rice dish served at weddings, and seems a whole lot like risotto to me (although there are subtle differences, and pilafi seems easier to make).




Stamnagathi, a type of horta (wild green). I've been eating a lot of this since coming here. It's usually boiled (as it was here) but I've also steamed it to good effect. It's then served with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.




As someone who doesn't even hit the 5" mark, I can appreciate this shot of Koula standing on a chair to reach the dishes in the cupboard. Story of my life!




Meat pie, fresh out of the oven. My salivary glands really kicked into action at this point.






The cooked horta.







The pilafi simmering on the stove.








This isn't the wine we had with lunch, but Koula wanted to share a taste of this rose which her uncle made (at least I think that's who she said made it...please leave a comment to correct me if I'm mistaken, Koula!). It's a blend of Kotsifali (red) and Vilana (white) grapes, and the color was a gorgeous, pale amber-salmon. This was just harvested last fall, so it still tasted very tight, but given a few months I think this will turn into quite a nice wine.


The table is set...










And then we ate:-D







Koula sent us each home with some goodies:

Wild sage, which I bundled and hung in my kitchen and have since used to mix with mountain tea...yum!








And cardamom pods that her sister brought back from a recent trip to Egypt. Luella suggested mixing the seeds from one of the pods into my coffee grounds, which I have done and which tastes SO nice. I'm afraid this might become habit-forming!



Koula sent us home with a copy of the recipe for the meat pie, except it wasn't really a copy because her printer had run out of ink or something, so she hand-wrote it out for each of us! Although I feel bad that she went to all that work, it's kind of cool to have an original, handwritten recipe from a published author of a cook-book:-)

Another Dinner Post

I think this is purslane. I bought it pre-packaged at the supermarket and didn't bother to look up the wording on the package before throwing it out. I don't know if I've ever had purslane before. There was some radicchio mixed in, and I added some chopped tomatoes and leftover grilled zucchini. Simple oil and balsamic dressing w/ salt, pepper and oregano.


Easy recipe for the 1/2 kilo of pork cutlets I had bought:
Saute chopped onion and garlic in oil, add pork to brown.
Add about 1/2 cup of red wine, 10 oz. can of chopped tomatoes (I use the stuff that comes in the cardboard package since reading about how the aluminum cans leak dangerous stuff into the tomatoes over time), enough water to just cover the pork, 2 bay leaves, lots of cumin, and slightly less dill, fennel, salt and pepper. Cook covered over medium heat for about an hour and a half.

This turned out very nicely, I was surprised at how much the sauce condensed down even with the lid on. I think this is because my stove doesn't really have a "low" setting, so it cooked at a higher temp than I would have wanted. Didn't matter though, the pork was tender and the sauce flavorful.

I've become addicted to dipping my fried potatoes into Greek yogurt seasoned with salt, pepper, dried garlic and dill, although I probably didn't need to include that since the sauce for the pork was already pretty rich. Seemed like a bit of overkill on the flavor.

Not bad overall, though!

Iced Tea

It's not something I typically drink, and definitely not something to be found in abundance on a Greek island (they have the canned Lipton crap, but it's rare to find any fresh-brewed, much to my sister's dismay).

However, I recently brewed up some mountain tea with wild sage that Koula had given me at our last cooking lesson, and I had some left over after pouring my cup, so while it was still hot I added a liberal spoonful of honey and stuck it in the fridge overnight.

I like it!! Just brewed another batch for tomorrow. Hopefully my sister will like it, too!

Polyrina to Sirikari R/T Via the Sirikari Gorge

Well, we never actually made it to Sirikari. The trail wasn't always very well marked, and we got a late start from Polyrinia because we had trouble even finding the trailhead. Soooo, I'll have to go back and try again sometime, but we had a fabulous, leisurely walk of about about 6 1/2 hours when it was all said and done through some gorgeous terrain.

I should probably write more about it, maybe describe where we got lost so that others can be aware should they decide to try it, but then they'd miss out on the adventure of it all and I wouldn't want to deprive them of that aspect;-) Actually, I'm just very tired and don't have it in me to go into any more detail right now!

So here are just some pictures, and as always, they don't do justice to the actual surroundings.