by Justin
While the last post was certainly fun, Lofoten has more than birds going for it. So, despite my definite personal preferences, I’ll be moving away from birds this post to explore the rest of Lofoten. The birds around here certainly have the right idea, though …
I will say, while I’ve been excited for a lot of my trips, going to Norway was high on my list for many reasons. A lot of my favorite wildlife, like ptarmigans and stoats live here, and I’ve wanted to travel above the Arctic circle …
After we went to Lake Garda, I made a comment to my family that there was no possible way the Dolomites could do better than Lake Garda. If that were the case, this would’ve been a particularly boring blog post. Fortunately, it seems the Dolomites took that personally and made it their goal to prove me as wrong as possible. So, while I’m a bit disappointed to be proven wrong, I’m mostly just happy to share what may be the most beautiful place I’ve been to yet on this trip. The giant peaks were incredible, spearing up into the sky all around you, and the valleys were even better. Surrounded by giant mountains, they were little carpets of green in the most dramatic locations. And, if you think that’s all, you’re wrong. We were there during wildflower season, meaning that the entire area was covered in a carpet of rippling colors. It was incredible, at one point, we got to look down into one of these valleys where the flowers were growing from snowmelt water, and it looked like a giant, abstract mosaic, with clusters of moving colors overlaid against a green background. It was like walking into an art piece, and the mountains certainly made a wonderful background. This place was one of the most spectacular places I have ever been, and I recommend it the most highly out of any of the places we went on this trip, which is a high bar, considering the other places we went.
I’d say that the best way to explore the Dolomites (as with most outdoorsy destinations) is by hiking. My preferred method is day hiking from hotels, which is pretty easy and allows you to choose places for views, not transit value. I did a ton of great hikes here, the first of which being Cinque Torre. For this hike, we took a chairlift up the mountain, then hiked the trail around the top of the mountain. This place was incredible, with panoramic views across the valley below and, the defining feature of the hike, five enormous rockfaces sticking out of the floor at the top of the hill. Each one of them stretched high into the air, looking like the fists of giants. The hike stretched around them, and, at some points, even took us into the cervices between two of the rockfaces. The entire place was also scattered with giant boulders and was right on the cusp of a ridiculously deep valley. This place made you feel incredibly small, and the effect was jaw-dropping. The sloping cliffs, distant snow-capped peaks in the background, and the enormous drop-off to either side made you feel like you were little more than an ant. The area also boasted a different feature, one that didn’t have the same effect of sheer scale, and could even be classified as claustrophobic. The cliff face was dotted with WWI bunkers and artillery shelters. The area was used during the war, and had lookout posts, trenches, and spots for artillery cannons, including one reconstructed cannon that was on display in one of the outcroppings. The area was strikingly picturesque, with rolling green hills, towering rock spires, and a sheer gray rockface behind it. On this rockface there was a rifugio, which, in case you’re wondering, is a lodge for hikers. They’re typically designed for hiking overnight across the peaks, but they also are a bit of a foodie destination. Rifugios (at least, most of them) offer gourmet food and are actually quite well-known as having the best food in this region. Therefore, at every excuse we found, we tended to hike to rifugios and grab lunch. The one here was excellent, and I will talk more about it later in the food section of this post, but just know, if you’re looking for delicious, convenient food in this region, rifugios are your best friends.
While the hike to Cinque Torre was spectacular, hands down the most incredible hike was Seceda Ridge. Now, because it’s a famously beautiful area, it’s notably also the busiest, so make of that what you will. I’d say it’s worth it, though. We took a gondola up, followed by a chairlift, and when we got to the top, I was immediately hit by the sheer beauty of the area. The area is directly on the precipice of a drop-off thousands of feet down to a forest, with a stone cliffside that has grass across the downward sloping opposite side. The whole area was a slanted, windswept meadow perched precariously on the edge of the hill, crowned with a series of peaks making an imposing background silhouette, with rippling yellow flowers and tufted mountain grass ruffling in the winds, and wisps of cloud that were diverted upwards by the cliff hung around the ridgeline like a scarf. It was a nightmare to get a photo of the ridgeline where there wasn’t a cloud obscuring the camera’s view of one part or another, but I did my best. After that, I walked along the ridge and admired the flowers, then turned and walked the other areas near the ridge. There was a second hike there, and our search for a lunch spot ended up being shut down by renovations to the rifugio we chose. After that, I ended up wandering around and trying to get to another rifugio using a trail I underestimated the length of, but, eventually, I was able to get there. The scenery of the area I went to then was great though, especially sabretooth rock, a rocky, grass-covered spire jutting into the air like a sword. It was super pretty, and the surrounding rock formations were nice, as well. There were also marmots in this area, but we only heard those, not saw them. Overall, if you want a striking view and don’t mind there being a lot of people there, Secada Ridge is a popular place to hike for a reason, but even if you don’t want to deal with people, there are still plenty of back trails in the region you can take.
Another hike that I highly recommend is taking the trail from Tre Cime towards Cadini Di Misurina. This place is amazing. Tre Cime alone is wonderful, with enormous rocks that rise high above the trail in the shape of a triangle, but the really beautiful part is the destination of the trail off to the side. I turned off across a side trail, and started walking across the fields of tall, fluffy mountain grass (I’m not sure exactly what it is, but I love that stuff). I had to scramble across a few thin sections of rock along the edges of hills, but I eventually got down to the end of the hillside. From there, I looked out at the Cadini Di Misurina, and oh boy was it worth it. This rock formation is a horseshoe-shaped ring of peaks set off the valley, ringed with peaks and looking like a stone circlet crowning the valley below. To top it off, there was a viewpoint where you could walk out on a thin outcrop jutting out into the valley like a spear and giving nearly unobstructed 270-degree views of the valley (part of the view looks back at the line of people waiting to take your spot, so only 270 degrees of it are interesting). I recommend this hike if you want an extremely striking view, but don’t want to deal with the crowds of the Cinque Torre, as this hike is nearly as picturesque as that hike, with only a fraction of the tourists (what I said earlier is just because of the bottleneck formed by the thin path). I definitely liked this hike as a quick little excursion with a great view and not too many crowds (if you don’t go on the Tre Cime path, as that one is a common tourist attraction).
If you’re looking for a short, more chill hike, the top one on my list is the hike to Lago Di Boe. This hike is relatively short and flat and is broken up by multiple gondolas and chairlifts. There’s also a lot of really nice scenery, as the gondola takes you up a mountain, above the cloud line. Once you’re up there, the terrain changes to a steep, rocky spear (the trail remains simple, though) and takes you up the hill to Lago Di Boe, a small circular lake tucked in between the rocks and the cliffside. It’s a wonderful place, and the reflections of the hills rising high above the ground are beautiful to see in the glassy green water of the lake. After visiting the lake, you may notice that you’re still not done with the hike, and you’re right. There’s a chairlift going all the way up the peaks to the top, which, at the time we went, was still covered with snow in the summer. It was a crescent-shaped segment of peaks with rocks and snow filling the center, and it was really interesting to see, especially on a summer vacation. We walked around for a little bit up there, then hiked back to the car. If you want a simple hike with a nice little lake and a cool mountain peak, this is your best bet, and it has the added bonus of gondola breaks, which are always fun (at least for me, but it’s your trip, not mine, I already went here). If you want rolling green hills instead of jagged peaks, my second choice of chill hike, Piz La Ila, is the one for you. This hike takes you through numerous wildflower meadows blooming in all different colors, and looks like a rainbow painted onto the ground. I certainly recommend this one, too, and if you want to stop for a drink on this hike, one of the rifugios here (I don’t remember which one exactly) has some very nice skiwasser (a local berry drink) that I enjoyed greatly.
My first food recommendation is Tschoch Alm, as the food here was truly insane. We took a small hike here from the valley below, and after a long gondola ride, we got up to the restaurant. The rifugio was a small, charming log-sided hut set on a small cliffside looking out over an enormous meadow, and I honestly spent quite a while just looking at the view before I got cold and went inside to have food. Once we were there, I ordered a pasta dish that was truly incredible. The homemade pasta was super flavorful, and the meat was incredibly tender, as well as pairing well with the sauce and bacon, making for an amazing dish. I don’t remember exactly what it was, but I do know that I would be willing to fly back to the Dolomites to get another bowl of it (though I’d be willing to fly back there anyway).
My second recommendation comes with a recommendation for a hotel, too. For at least part of your time in the Dolomites, I recommend the Miraval Naturhotel. It’s an amazing hidden gem in the region, and has really comfortable rooms, incredible views of a nearby rockface that if the light hits right, it turns pink, and some of the most incredible meals I have ever had. If you get half board here (and by all means you should) you will get a five-course meal every night from an extremely talented chef. You’ll get wonderful (and inventive) pasta dishes like branzino with apple and orzo, which, by the way, was super unique and delicious, or octopus pasta, or even wild boar one night (you know how much I rave about boar). You’ll also get a battery of amazing soups made with fennel and other flavorful ingredients, wonderful meat dishes like ribs, steak, pork tender loin, and more. You also get an amazing desert every night, usually focused on fruits, as we had strawberry four ways one night and something similar for passionfruit another night. Oh yeah, and I’d be forgetting something if I neglected to mention the fully stocked cheese board of local cheese and bread every night. Everything I had there was amazing, especially the food from the gala dinner night. I know this is Italy, and the food from here stands out regardless, but it takes something truly special to stand out among meals in Italy, and this place was more than capable. We stayed here for a long time, and not a single meal, in fact, not a single course, was bad. I understand if you aren’t looking for a hotel in the region it is in (although that region is great, and you should be) but if you are, you should definitely stay here. Take my word on this, you’ll thank me later.
My next (and final) recommendation for food in this post is Rifugio Averau, a convenient option for if you go to Cinque Torre. I don’t have quite as much to say about this one as the others, but they did have a wonderful selection of dishes, including a wonderful white ragout that was just exploding with flavor. As usual, it was made with amazing homemade pasta, and the sauce here was stupendous, giving it a rich, delicious flavor. I don’t entirely recall what my family got here, but I do remember that those dishes were excellent as well. I definitely recommend this rifugio for anyone going to Cinque Torre during the lunch hours, and even if you aren’t planning on it, I could recommend going to Cinque Torre during the lunch hours just to go here.
All in all, I will say I loved the Dolomites. Picturesque hikes, amazing food, and wonderful scenery, and while those seem to often be present on the trips I go on, these were another level. Towering peaks, carpets of wildflowers, fresh-made pasta, and some wonderful animals (I didn’t mention the choughs because I doubt others got as much enjoyment out of them, but that doesn’t mean they weren’t there). The Dolomites are a truly special place, and if you go there, you’ll notice that, too, so please do yourself a favor and do that. You’ll love it, and it is a wonderful destination. I can’t vouch for how good it is as a ski destination, but for general outdoorsy fun, I do recommend it. My only regret was not trying paragliding somewhere on this trip, but if that’s my greatest regret, I am extremely happy with the whole thing. In Italy, there’s a lot of beauty out there, and odds are most of it is lying around in the Dolomites somewhere, so do yourself a favor and go find it.
While Lake Garda is, first and foremost, a place you will go simply to enjoy the scenery, it’s not like you’ll be lacking on food options. While the food in Portovenere wasn’t bad by any means, Lake Garda’s options blow it out of the water …
After our time in Portovenere, we took a drive to Lake Garda for the next leg of our trip. What I noticed first when we drove into this region was the mountains surrounding the lake. These weren’t ordinary hills; they were a giant set of …
Now, in the last post, I mentioned that there was an option for getting the beauty of the region without the crowds. If you are waiting for that, here you go. Enter Portovenere, what is known to the locals as the sixth town of the Cinque Terre (and yes, I know that Cinque Terre means five towns, don’t bother me about it). This town has all the charm and beautiful houses of the Cinque Terre, but without the tourist swarms. How is this possible, you may be asking me, and the answer is simple. The train doesn’t stop here, and neither do most of the large cruise ships, so the only ways to get here drive in yourself, take a bus, or take the ferry. While this may not seem like a huge difference right off the bat, tourists are lazy, and taking a 10-minute bus ride is apparently not worth it for them, since they only want a selfie in the towns. Please, don’t be like that, Portovenere is amazing, and it gives you an authentic taste of what life on the Ligurian Coast was like before the Cinque Terre became tourist towns. Speaking of authentic taste, I will also (as usual) give you recommendations for what to eat, with one small twist. I have photos now, so I will get even more hungry writing these posts.
The town of Portovenere is an artistic masterpiece, with the dual charm of a Cinque Terre town and a quaint medieval sea village. And, as I mentioned earlier, it isn’t connected to the train route, so it is also possible to get a photo that doesn’t have a never-ending tide of tourists in the background. Matter of fact, it is probably the only place you could get a sunset photo of a Ligurian town without being trampled by a horde of selfie-snapping tourists that want your spot. So, if you want to experience the charm of the coast and its towns, or even if you just don’t want to deal with tourists clogging your view, this town is likely your version of a Ligurian coast vacation. At a glance, it looks like the Cinque Terre towns, but its unique nature shines through in two locations. The first unique feature is the church, set atop a sea cliff at the corner of the town. The church was positioned carefully to disguise the next feature from invaders or pirates. The second feature a large fortress atop the hill around it, a beautiful, sprawling construction of ancient stone bricks that sits atop the hill like a massive, rocky spider, with its outer walls sprawling down towards the harbor. Once you go in through a gate in one of those walls, you get to enter the town, with its thin, cobblestone streets and colorful three-story buildings crosscut by thin stone staircases leading up then hill, topped off with the massive fortress sitting atop the hill like a crown.
Possibly the prettiest part of the town, though, was lord Byron’s grotto, a crescent-moon shaped, rocky cove cut into the area behind the church. The grotto was filled with ice-blue water and beautiful waves that lapped up onto the rocks in a constant whitewater percussion. With just five minutes in this cove, it’s easy to see why this area is called the bay of poets. In fact, many people take a page out of lord Byron’s book and go for a swim here when the mood strikes them, I even saw some people just jumping in with normal outfits on. Regardless of how you choose to enjoy the grotto, I am pretty sure you will love it, but if you don’t, I have two things to tell you. The first is that you completely and utterly baffle me, and the second is that you should still give the rest of the region a chance, it’s wonderful.
Another wonderful beach in this area is Spiaggia Del’Olivo. The water there isn’t quite as rough as it was in the grotto and was a little clearer as well. It was by no means a fancy beach, but it was a nice place to relax and have a beach day. We went there on our last day in Portovenere, and were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful, rocky beach letting out into the crystal blue water, with a nice view of the islands off the point of Portovenere (I’ll get to those soon) and some sailboats bobbing lazily in the water. It may not have been anything you couldn’t find anywhere else, but it was definitely a nice beach, and if you have extra time, I recommend you give it a visit, as its a fun way to spend a few hours.
Another great way to enjoy the beautiful coast in this area is by boat. We took a boat ride along the coast one of the days we were here, and it was very fun, as there’s a lot to see here. The first place we went on our boat tour was actually the islands just outside the harbor from Portovenere. At a glance, the islands were fairly normal, trees, seagulls, and a lot of rocks. Once you looked closer, though, you might notice what made these islands unique. A WWII-era military base, complete with tunnels, hidden docks for warships, a lighthouse, and several gun towers. The first island didn’t have a ton of military infrastructure, but it did have a cool harbor for loading warships, complete with tunnels, a pulley system, and several lookouts discreetly carved into the rocks above. The other island, though, was a lot more unique, having both a massive lighthouse as well as an entire set of harbor buildings made from cobblestone bricks, now slowly being overtaken again by the island’s vegetation, and now manned solely by seagulls. On the side of the base is a large stone bunker, carved out of solid rock. It came with a massive stone roof that covered the entrance to protect from bombing, but the stone was so thick, and the opening so well placed it probably protected anyone inside from pretty much anything but a perfect shot with a remote-controlled missile. We couldn’t dock on this island to investigate, but I assume the bunker is now home to either a covert military project or an entire air force worth of seagulls. It seems too well placed to pass up, and if one such party isn’t using it, I am almost certain the other is.
The next place we went was the harbor in La Spezia, one town over from Portovenere. There was a lot to see here, and, as such, it was quite fun to cruise through. The town is home to the same typical coastal Ligurian house you are probably accustomed to by now, along with more modern buildings farther in. By far the most interesting part of the town, though was the harbor, for all sorts of reasons. The harbor is a massive trade center, and as a result of this, you will often see one or two cargo ships loading and unloading at the port. If military boats are more your thing, don’t worry. The harbor is also an active military base, and, at least when I was there, had a fair number of military vessels, (likely destroyer-class, but don’t quote me on this, I haven’t studied military ships in a while) and if you are lucky, you might also get to see the submarine stored here or some of the vertical-takeoff jets. If you don’t like the drab gunmetal gray side of boats either, there’s still probably something here for you, though, as the harbor is also the main place where Riva yachts are manufactured. It’s quite fun to watch the process through the giant hangar-like doors of the buildings where they are made. Additionally, if you are feeling shellfish, you can make everyone look at the mussel farms, as the harbor has a massive amount of them, which also doubles as a filtration system for the seawater in the harbor. All in all, the La Spezia harbor is very fun to hang out around and boasts a great collection of aquatic fun!
After La Spezia, we continued along the coast to Lerici, the final stop on our boat tour. This coastal town was rather like Portovenere, and even had a castle, too. The castle itself, at least compared to the massive cobblestone monolith of Portovenere’s castle, wasn’t anything special, just a beautiful tower covering the peninsula that split the town in two, but the town itself was very impressive. It was composed of two massive half-moon shaped harbors bisected by the castle. The left harbor (at least the way we approached from) was an old Ligurian sea village, with the same beautiful, three-story fishing houses, owned by both the fishermen and the rich. You could actually tell which houses were original pretty easily, as the normal ones were connected on the sides (a remanent of when heating was extremely expensive, as everyone could pitch in to heat up the building due to the connected walls), but the ones owned by the rich were not. These were arrayed in a crescent around a long, trailing harbor that cut back around the coast in a semicircle of rainbow colors set onto a beautiful background of rolling green hills and crystalline blue water so beautiful I almost couldn’t believe it was real. We stopped over here and got off the boat to walk around the harbor for a little bit while the boat driver picked up some oysters from the market for us to try. I didn’t really want to try them, though, so I picked up a pinsa slice from the market as we walked around and took photos. In case you were wondering, a pinsa is essentially a pizza, but with more airy dough, cut into a rectangle instead of a circle, and is more traditional in the coastal regions of Italy. It was great, and I ate it on our way up to the castle to take photos from the balcony across the town’s older harbor. The other side was not as cool, mostly being just concrete harbor walls and more modern waterfront villas, but it still was a nice area. A little further down, that area got nicer, and evened out into a row of beaches, where we ate lunch on the boat. Thankfully, I didn’t have to just sit there and watch others eat the oysters, though, as there were other things available as well, such as several flavors of focaccia and a lot of wonderful dips. Every different focaccia was like a little fireworks show of flavor, with the pops of salt and the little pockets of rosemary or tomato, it was amazing. I found it remarkably hard to leave any focaccia for my parents, it was just that good. I could’ve eaten it for hours, but eventually, the focaccia ran dry, and we had to go back to the harbor in Portovenere. All in all, if you want to see the coast around Portovenere in all its glory, you will want to take a boat tour as well, I will put the link here.
Now, before I go, I bet you all are thinking something along the lines of “wait, he mentioned food being more prominent, where’s the food?” but don’t worry, I’m getting to that. Despite Portovenere being so close to the Cinque Terre region, the food is not a tourist trap. The food here is the real deal, and even if you don’t think pasta is a course before you get here, you will leave knowing it is and wishing other places lived by that philosophy. The first place we went was Antica Osteria del Carugio, and, while I don’t have photos because I only thought of the food photography thing after having dinner here, you will just have to live with descriptions here. Me and Mom, as expected, had pasta here, but Dad wanted to try something unique. The pasta was simple but how well made it was blew me away. I got a bolognaise, which was exceptional, and the pesto pasta Mom had was probably some of the best pesto I have ever tried. My Dad, ever the outlier, had Tre Testaroli, a dish made up of three flatbreads The first had oil and parmesan, but the other two were more unique, with one having pesto (as was expected, this region was the pesto capital of Italy) and the other having walnut sauce. It was quite fun to eat, and each flatbread had an individual flavor, with the pesto one being herby, the cheese one being simple yet delicious, and the walnut sauce was sweet enough to be a dessert. Speaking of dessert, I don’t remember what dessert we had here, maybe a tiramisu or something like that, but I do remember it was great. I can definitely recommend this place for traditional cooking and wonderful flavor, it tastes like home (if home had access to a constant supply of fresh pasta and some of the world’s best pesto). The second place we went was Palmaria, a restaurant above the town at the largest hotel here. It was here we discovered that in Italy, pasta is a course of its own, a trend I can definitely get behind. For our first course, we ordered two pastas for the table, a white lamb ragout, and a pumpkin orzo with truffle and shrimp. The ragout was incredible, with and packed full of delicious flavor, I could’ve lived off that for a very long time The other was also wonderful, and while I would never have thought of truffles and pumpkin put together, the result was incredible. I loved it, and I would’ve eaten more of it, but if I did, I probably wouldn’t been able to eat for a week, it was that rich. The next dish I got was a gulf fry bowl. Yes, you heard me right, I ordered a bowl of deep-fried food at a restaurant located at a five-star hotel. I don’t regret it, though, as it was very traditional of the region, as well as being one of the best things I ate on the trip (and that’s not saying that the food on the trip was bad, it was insane, as you have probably noticed, a trend that will only continue later,) I am just saying that it was that good. We also got a wonderful desert here, a tiramisu semifreddo shaped like a coffee bean. It was insane and had so much flavor packed into a bean-shaped bundle. Safe to say, I enjoyed the food here, a trend that will only continue on this trip.
As you can probably tell, Portovenere is a wonderful little town, with all the character of the Cinque Terre and almost none of the tourist traps. I loved this little town, and if you go there, I am almost certain you will like it as much as I did. There’s just something about it that I can’t exactly capture in words, but, for your sake, I did my best. I hope you love this little town as much as I did.
The Cinque Terre region of Italy has some of the most iconic sights in the world. You’ve probably seen pictures of it on your friend’s computer as a lockscreen or something like that. Almost everyone has, even if they don’t know it, but most of the photos …
Now, I think I have covered inland Crete pretty well, but a lot of you may be asking me “Isn’t Crete an island? When do I get to hear about the water?” Don’t worry, I’m getting to that. I will also mix in some recommendations …
One of the most fun things I did in Crete was go on a guided hike through the Platania Gorge. This spectacular gorge has a lot to love about it, but there’s one thing in particular that sets it apart from the rest of Crete’s spectacular landscape, Griffon Vultures. These spectacular birds are some of the highest-flying birds in the world. The wingspans on these things are massive, ranging between 5.3 and 9.2 feet in width. So, clearly, being the bird enthusiast I am, I had to take a hike to go see them. When I first heard that I could see these amazing birds here, my Dad helped to book me a tour. The company we chose was Staori Ecotourism Experiences, and I personally recommend you go on a tour with them as well. The tours are run by Haris and Eleni, who are both very nice and quite knowledgeable about the area, and there is no better way to go looking for Griffon Vultures. They take you on a tour of the Amari Valley, one of the most picturesque places in Crete, with lush, rolling green hills that seem to stretch on and on until they hit one of the island’s mountains or slope down into the rocky areas closer to the azure-blue waters of the island’s many beaches. If you would like to book a tour, click here.
If you choose to go on the tour, they will likely take you to the start of a trail that leads up into one of the more mountainous areas, through jagged cliffs of orange and yellow rock. Once you reach a certain point (which the guides will point out), you will be able to start seeing the vultures. I showed up there relatively early, and I got to watch in awe as close to twenty massive vultures took off from the outcropping and began to circle slowly around our position. It was incredible, watching as these birds, which had a wingspan larger than I am tall, floated gracefully on the wind like they weighed nothing more than a sheet of paper. It seemed almost effortless, too, and their slow, elegant, whirling flight paths traced a series of expanding circles in the sky around me. Then, I started to notice some of the late risers, tucked into convenient cubbies in the rock face. I also noticed the chicks, just waking up and walking out to the edges of their nest caves (which functioned very similarly to apartments) to get a look at the world around them. It was so cute to watch the adorable vulture babies climb over onto the rocks and stick their curious beaks out at the world. Granted, they probably had none of this in mind and just wanted breakfast, but I still think the way they poked their heads out of the nest was adorable. To their credit, though, the scenery on the hike was wonderful, too, so they had good taste. There were beautiful, giant orange cliffs stretching over verdant green valleys, and bent olive trees hanging over the trail. The trail was rather difficult and surprisingly steep in places, but the combination of amazing views and beautiful vultures made it quite worth it. Also, I may just be out of shape, since the old ladies in this area come up this trail quite often during olive season to harvest olives from the trees here.
After negotiating the rather steep downslope, when we got back from the hike, the guides offered us a sampler of homemade cheese and fresh apricots from their yard. The cheese was quite good, but the apricots really stood out. They were perhaps some of the most flavorful apricots I have ever had! I am very picky with my stone fruit, and these sure met my standards! After the apricots (which I probably ate too many of), we drove up Mount Psiloritis (more commonly known as Mount Ida) to look for bearded vultures. Unfortunately, we didn’t find any. But the mountain was beautiful, and the view over the valley was exceptional. Overall, I very much enjoyed our tour, and I think it was a great way to explore the wonders of Crete and get in some good birdwatching while you are at it!
I hate soft cheese with a burning passion. Or at least, I did, until a cooking class in Crete changed my mind. I was walking down a small cobblestone path through the abandoned olive mill of Kapsaliana, enjoying the gardens as I went to the …
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