Kourtaliotiko Gorge

As with most Cretan gorges, Kourtaliotiko Gorge cuts through a mountain and drops into the sea. We parked the car a headland away, and made our way over to the mouth of Megalopotamos River and the base of the Gorge.

The river was running calmly where it entered the sea.

At first glance up the gorge, it looked interesting, but we hoped the sides would steepen as gorges often do the higher you climb.  At first, the going was easy, too easy. As the gorge sides narrowed though, we thought there may not be trek-able trail between the river and sides. Rocks that had worked loose by erosion or shaken loose by earthquake had crashed to the river below and littered the river bed. We hoped that would not happen while we were there.

As we went, the trail became narrow and rough, very rough, but continued on. It was definitely hiking boot material,  with lots of rock hopping. For anyone that couldn't make it on land, the option was to take to the water. There were numerous pools that were easy enough to navigate, though the water was cold. Between the pools, the rocks were large, the currents were swift, and progress difficult.

Eventually, neither land or water could take us any farther, but the scene at the upper pool was our treasure of the day.

After an few photos and a swim, we returned the way we had come, to Preveli Beach at the mouth of the River, then across the headland to the car. We were hungry and hot, but mainly thankful we had gotten out of the gorge safely.

On route back to Kerames, we stopped at Amoyia Beach. At one end of Amoyia, there was the secluded spot we called Mas Mikros (Our Little) Beach. It was just what we needed to rest, reflect, and bathe off the trail dust.

Trekking Kourtaliotiko Gorge was an adventure, and the dramatic scene high up, a treasure  under the Grecian sky.

Click here for the next story in this series:
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2015/07/a-rich-quality-of-life.html