Samaria Gorge - Crete

After 19 years of visiting Crete I finally walked down the Samaria Gorge. I'm slightly surprised I've never done it before but something always got in the way, or I was at the wrong end of the island,or I was here to paraglide. Partly it was perhaps that I wondered aboutI walking down as part of a huge group.
So finally I waited in the darkness for a bus pick-up at 05:50, ate a slightly chilly sunrise breakfast on the Ormalos Plateau and set off into the gorge in the company of at least three busloads of fellow walkers.
At first the atmosphere was more fun run than anything but the first three kilometers, descending 1000 meters in zigs and zags spread the crowd out and after that I sometimes found myself alone, though more often there a few people around, usefully providing a little scale in my photos.
I rested in most of the frequent resting spots, took a leisurely lunch and stopped to take a lot of photos, so I averaged a fairly slow 3 km/h but still arrived down at the sea in plenty of time for a swim and a rest before the boat left. I got back to the hotel about 9 in the evening so it was a long day!
The guide books say it's between 16 and 18 kms, but my app reckoned I'd done 20 kms. Take your choice.
A great trip and if you are ever in Crete I'd recommend the trip if you are reasonably fit and enjoy spectacular scenery.