Going East from Soughia

We had walked to the West and to the North, so today it had to be towards the East.

I climbed up out of the village and at the end of the track took a detour to the north to make a circular route by ascending a ridge with Alpine Swifts swooping around above and showing off their pale underparts and with what seemed like a short dive into the sea behind. I was climbing up volcanic rock, with the red soil between the bolders hosting innumerable flowers and shrubs. Near to the top I shared the ground with some mountain goats, with long shaggy coats and impressive horns.

The top was marked by a trig point and the start of a track which heads off to the village of Koustogerako in the foothills of the White Mountains. It has been built and rebuilt 5 times after twice being destroyed by the Venetians in the 16th century, then by the Turks in the 19th century and finally by the Nazis in the 20th century.

My path was to veer off to the south east, across a couple of gorges with a brief diversion to enter Spiliara's cave which is the size of an average house, and which is lit by a Pantheon- style hole in the ceiling. It is reputed to be the cave of the Cyclops in Homer's Odyssey.

In a short while my path was to join up with the path from Soughia to Agia Roumeli, which is the village at the sea end of the gorge of Samaria. That will have to wait for another day, and I turned to the west and headed back to Soughia for one last swim.

Could it get any better?