A Soak in Loutro

Rule of thumb--when multiple Greeks rave about a place, plan a trip there. Loutro checks the box, so we followed the rule and were amply rewarded. Loutro is 22 miles from Chania if you draw a straight line on a map, but it takes about two hours to meander through the mountain switchbacks and then it's either a 20 minute water taxi ride or a very long, sweaty walk from Sfakia because no road goes there. We opted for the water taxi. Maybe because of the water taxi, it felt like we left Crete to go to another nearby island, a kind of fantasy island--it just lacked a welcome from Mr. Roarke and Tattoo.

Lovely Loutro

The whole whitewashed and blue shuttered village is shaped amphitheatrically (a word loved by Greek travel literature!) around a giant, placid bathtub of clear, electric blue water (Loutro actually means "bathtub" in Greek). To circumnavigate the village you must walk between the taverna kitchens and their waterside seating. If you go slow it takes maybe 3 minutes to walk from one side of the village to the other. The activities are: eating excellent village fare, staring agog at the spectacular setting, floating on the water in some fashion, or hiking along the coast. The most prominent sounds are goat bleats and bells and children playing in the water. It's a tranquil, time warp kind of spot.

We stayed in a place above the waterside; the couple running it are artistically inclined. We showed each other some of our artwork and the hubby kindly offered me the use of his art supplies next time we go. He also asked us to critique his work in progress, a fun sculpture of an undersea scene which he forecasts needs another year to finish. His wife is Polish and she told us it took her ten years to really understand the Greek language. Not what we want to hear having been here for 9 months now, but it feels depressingly realistic.

Winter Cats

The hotel couple stays year-round in Loutro, along with 20 to 25 other full timers. (Note: why is it always a number range like this? In the old town of Island A. we always hear that "20 to 25" expats live there year round!) In places like this that fold up in October, we wonder (or rather fear) what happens to the numerous cats during the cold offseason. Turns out hotel hubby is the cat guy. He goes to catch fish for the cats each day in the off season. He says that when he walks around the village any time of year, the cats all greet him with a look of both acknowledgment and respect. He showed us some videos of numerous cats coming to the winter morning breakfast he hosts for them.

Thyme for Goats

Sam recently bought new swimming goggles for open sea swimming and got to fully exploit them in the crystalline water. She even got to see a scorpion fish. She swears she’s never going back to dinky little pool goggles. As with almost every place she swims, she impressed others in the water. Some stand-up paddleboarders said they couldn't believe how strong she is. She's always one of the few people who actually swims. Myself and the Greeks? We bob around in the water for a bit.

We did several pleasant if sweaty walks along the coast. Just above Loutro there are ruins to explore, ancient olive trees, and a few dramatically located churches. There's also practically no shade anywhere on the trails and the sun is intense this time of year.

Thyme honey is perhaps the most famous of Greek honeys and we’ve wondered where all the Cretan thyme flowers are. Turns out they are in southern Crete. The hills there, where we did our walks, are covered now in purple bushes of thyme and heather. At least for now---the goats seem to chomp up everything they can get their cute lips on. We saw several warnings when we hiked to another town that goats might destroy your car if left in a goat-accessible place. Loutro and nearby areas have fences around all sorts of vegetation to protect such from free roaming, hungry goats. These goats certainly get some amazing views as they quite literally chew the scenery.