Wild Crete presents…
Herbs, Wildflowers and the Traditional Cuisine of Crete
April 17 to 25, 2010
Herbs, Wildflowers and the Traditional Cuisine of Crete
April 17 to 25, 2010
Traditional Cuisine, Aromatic Herbs and the Culture of Crete
the incredible local connections, the vast knowledge of
Crete—its culture, its people, its history—to bring
an experience to novices that none of us could have done
on our own. To by-pass most of the tourists and experience
Crete as it was meant to be experienced has been
a journey of wonderful bliss and relaxation.
Shirley Silberman, Virginia 2008
The tour begins Saturday morning, April 17, 2010 at the airport in Iraklion, Crete
and ends Sunday 25, 2010 after breakfast at your hotel in Iraklion.
For six nights, the rhythm of life in rural eastern Crete will surround you as the guest
of a small family-run inn in Kritsa. This traditional mountain village overlooking the Bay of Mirabello has been inhabited continuously for over 4,000 years.
With Kritsa as our base, each day we’ll travel by car or on foot into the surrounding countryside to see wildflowers, collect herbs, tour archaeological sites and museums, browse spice shops and, of course, feast on Cretan cuisine.You’ll spend the last two nights of the tour in Iraklion, the capital of Crete. A bustling coastal city founded in 824 CE, Iraklion will be your base for guided tours of Knossos (center of the first European civilization, 2,600-1,400 BCE) and the Iraklion Archaeological Museum (home of Crete’s most significant artifacts.)
In Iraklion you’ll also have time to browse shops and enjoy a modern spin on traditional
cuisine in some of our favorite restaurants and cafes.
Planned activities include:
• A day in the high mountains above Kritsa in the agricultural settlement of Katharo with a hike through fields and orchards of herbs and wildflowers and a traditional farmer’s lunch. This large fertile plain is a remarkable example of community-owned agriculture in practice. Farmed continuously using sustainable methods for 8,000 years, the well-tended soil of Katharo still provides most of the food for the people of Kritsa.
• A stunning hike along a wide stone path, or kalderimi, that is part of a road system built by the first inhabitants of Crete over 4,000 years ago. Our destination is a Bronze Age archaeological
site with views of the Aegean See to the north and the Sea of Libya to the south. Along the way we’ll gather wild aromatic herbs and see many endemic wildflowers.
• Time to browse shops in the picturesque seaside town of Aghios Nikolaos (where we’ll take you to meet our favorite herb and spice vendor) and the bustling city of Iraklion.
• A day on the Plateau of Lassithi learning its intriguing history, visiting several small farms and meeting the first woman on Crete to establish a certified organic farm. While exploring the circle of tiny villages, we’ll stop at a Greek Orthodox monastery that features an unusual natural history display, do some plant watching (lots of orchids here, too) and end our day with a sumptuous meal in a beautiful restaurant that features a friend’s family recipes, home-made goat cheese, wine and other locally produced ingredients.
• Hike to Lato, an Iron Age site (700-200 BCE) just two miles from Kritsa, where our
archaeological guide will help you understand why this extensive windswept settlement is one of the most significant excavations in Greece.
Guided tours include:
• A unique museum dedicated to the flora of Crete and their uses for medicine,
cooking, dyes, ceremony, etc.
• The only essential oil distillery on Crete. This small business specializes in quality
essential oils made from Crete’s wild aromatic herbs such as sage, thyme, savory and
oregano.• A 14th Century chapel famous for its exquisite, well-preserved frescoes that are some of
the most significant in Byzantine art -- a powerful glimpse of daily life and religious beliefs
in medieval Crete.
• The Aghios Nikolaos Museum, an award-winning museum with exhibits depicting the progression of eastern Crete’s culture from the Neolithic period into classical times.
• The world-famous archaeological site of Knossos. Covering almost six acres, this magnificent settlement was the administrative and religious center of the first European civilization from 2600-1428 BCE.
• The Iraklion Archaeological Museum, now undergoing massive renovations, has created a concise display of some of the most important artifacts from their collection.
