Published on Oct, 2023
Advisory: this is a long review.
Last year I used the services of Alex for a customized tour of Western Crete for me and my group of cruisers from Souda/Chania port. That tour was excellent on all counts so I had high expectations for this year.
This year there were 21 people including me and my husband, divided amongst 3 vehicles. Each vehicle had its own guide, wifi, water, and then there would be snacks.
Alex's tours are super well organized. This means that we saw a lot without feeling rushed, avoided crowds, and for the geocachers among us there were opportunities to find some types of caches. . For me of course, it was a delight to get to greet Alex in person again.
Alex shows such zest for life and love of what he is doing, yet he is professional through and through with tremendous attention to detail. Example: He explained history of the fountains in Krasi and the sycamore tree accurately, and yet in such a way that old history and modern life are connected.
Before the pottery shop there had been stops at marvelous viewpoints.
Also before the pottery shop, we stopped at the Moni Vidianis Monastery. Alex differentiated among real monasteries and those aimed toward tourists. The chapel was small but beautiful. One of the guides enhanced our experience by singing briefly.
Just outside the monastery, our drivers and guides had set out a snack buffet I will call it, including raki if people wanted to imbibe that potent drink.
Then it was back on the road again to the pottery place owned by the Pitarokillis family. This was a REALLY big shop. No, it was not a tourist trap. No way would Alex take us to one, unlike ship tours. Would they be happy if people bought pottery, tea, or whatever? Of course, but as I say, definitely not a tourist trap. Mrs. P explained the process of what they do there, with cheerful exchanges of teasing between Alex and Mrs. P. There were some exhibits of how pottery was made in the past. A staff member demonstrated how pots were shaped and decorated on the wheel, then some people got the opportunity to make their own pots. I was one of them. What a great experience that was!
Our next destination was the “Zeus” Cave/Psychro Cave. This was a delight for more than one reason: the exercise to get up to it, the history and myth of it, and the earth-cache (type of geocache) there as well.
There was then an approximately 20 minute hike/walk up a sort of paved trail with switchbacks to the cave entrance. Alex and the other guides set a very easy, slow pace with a couple of pauses in the shade, some of the people turned back part way up the trail, and one person chose to ride one of the donkeys (for an extra fee) As you might imagine, the views from the trail were great..
Then comes the steepish steps down, down into the cave. A couple more people dropped out at this point. We continued on, and were glad we did. The cave is really interesting in terms of geology and myth both. The water is so clear at the pool of the back of the cave we didn't even realize there was water there until a guide tossed a pebble.
After walking back down the mountain, we had a delightful lunch at a taverna, the Halvro Restaurant.
After traveling through more striking country side, we arrived at Knossos Palace. It worked really well to arrive at the site in the late afternoon. There were lots of people, of course, but not the major crowds there would have been earlier in the day when the many busloads of tourists from the several cruise ships in port that day were present. Alex had arranged for an expert guide/historian to lead us through the ruins and explain things.
A very short drive to the port followed,
It was time to say goodbye to Crete and to Alex.
There is NO doubt at all who I will contact if life brings us to Crete again. Alex and his company are the best!
