WHY A VILLAGE-BASED HOLIDAY?

Image: A village house in Latsida

Why a village-based holiday

For those who want an extra dimension to their holiday, a village holiday will entrance and delight you. Instead of being just a tourist staying in an hotel or apartment, you’ll experience the village firsthand and really appreciate what the Cretan way of life is all about.

Of course you can still enjoy the beaches, sightseeing and the many holiday activities that Crete has to offer, but some days you might just want to become a villager. This involves adapting to the rhythm of the village!,

The village wakens early so that most jobs can be done before the heat of the day makes work impossible. The kafenion opens at 6.30am to prepare coffee for those that might want it, usually the older men who tend to use the kafenion as a social club. Adults drift off to work and children to school. You might care to potter about in your house, walk to the local market or buy delectable fresh food from the numerous vans which tour the villages. You might want to wander around the village catching glimpses of village life through open doors, windows and shady courtyards. You will be greeted everywhere you go and might well be pulled into a house for a welcoming raki! Take your camera for almost everywhere you look is a photo opportunity. And your senses will be stirred with delectable cooking smells in preparation for the midday meal.

After 2pm the village becomes soporifically hot and quiet. The mesimerianos hypnos (siesta) is being taken! Loud music, or any loud noise is definitely frowned upon during this time. At 4pm the village starts to awake. More salesmen appear in their vans, people start to gather outside their houses or in the squares just to pass the time of day and catch up on the gossip - children play in open areas - the noise level slowly rises.

As night falls the tavernas and kafenions light up and the long night begins! The villages fill as people from the surrounding areas come to eat in the excellent tavernas of Latsida and Limnes. After you have eaten you might care to go to one of the kafenions for some drinks and you might well be bought a carafe of wine by some friendly villager. The tavernas and kafenions stay open until the last guest has left - sometimes midnight or sometimes 2am but by this time the rest of the village will have quietly retired for the night, ready for an early start the next day. The villagers certainly know how to get the most out of every day.

On another day you might care to explore the area surrounding your village. There are gentle tracks leading up to the mountains or you may care to walk to some of the little white churches and monasteries that are dotted around the olive groves surrounding the villages. For the adventurous there is a wonderful walk out of Latsida that takes you over the hills (with a possible sighting of the native Griffin Vulture) and drops you down by the sea at Milatos, where a mouth-watering array of fish tavernas awaits you.