The Hike

Greetings from a state of exhaustion,


Harry and I... for some crazy reason decided to hike the Monastery near our house.



The first Monastery is only about 50 feet from the parking lot... and that should have been as far as I went.



It is a fortress-type complex with a square tower on each of its four corners. The rectangular courtyard is dominated by a dome church dedicated to the virgin with an ornate sculptured Venetian facade. In the chapel in the small courtyard of the Moni Gouverneto there are some of the oldest frescoes in Crete.



During the Greek Revolution of 1821 the Turks sacked the monastery. Many monks lost their lives and the archives of the monastery were destroyed. Later, during World War II, the monastery suffered along with the Cretan population when German forces established a guardhouse here. Again invaders plundered and heavily damaged the monastery.





The Katholiko monastery is the most ancient monastery in Crete, dating back to the 11th century. The monastery became a place of formal worship in the thirteenth century. About three hundred years ago, the monks abandoned the monastery because of persistent pirate raids.

The Katholiko monastery, built into the sides of a ravine, contains a church dedicated to Agios Ioannis Xenos, or St. John the Hermit, the founder of the monastery, who lived and died in the nearby cave that bears his name. The church itself is carved into the rock of the mountain side, and its facade lines up with the slope of the mountain. The bridge across the ravine and some buildings of the old monastery are still preserved. The view is amazing.

Then we began the decent into the ravine... the view was amazing, but the heat intense.

Another little cave dwelling with various inside altars.

At the bottom of the river bed.... we finally made it all the way down. Now time to walk to the shore.

And we finally made it.... to the shore that is...

now for a swim and the trek back up....

What were we thinking?

I love these serious of pictures. I stopped for a break and watched Harry climb back up the side of the cliff.... I was dying laughing because he reminded me of the little guy from Price is Right. You know the little mountain guy in the hat and carries a hammer thingy.... and climbs up the mountain every time the contestant guesses the right price? Remember?

All he needed is a little yodeling music in the background...

We eventually made it back. Good thing I took the camera and snapped off a few good shots... because I will never do it again! I am NOT a hiker.

When we safely made it back to the car.... I noticed the sign we should have read before we started the hike.

We violated 5 of the 6 rules posted. How in the world could anyone smoke while they are hiking? Beats me?

Blessings to those who read the disclaimers,

Kristie