Circular walk from Frati via Agia Pelagia

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Circular walk from Frati via Agia Pelagia
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Starting opposite the cemetry in Frati follow the
blue dotted line for a leisurely 3-hour stroll
taking in the traditional working village of
Agia Pelagia and the abandoned village of
Mixorrouma. Along with some wonderful views this
walk gives a real insight into rural Crete.
Walking is on tracks and paths with no stiff
climbs, along the walk you will see plenty of
other tracks you will want to explore in the
future.
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Park your car under the shade of a tree at the
cemetery on the Frati to Agia Pelagia road, the
start of the walk is the surfaced road almost
opposite the cemetery, after 100metres the road
forks, the right fork goes up to a small house,
take the left fork
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To your left there are great views of the awesome
Kourtaliotiko gorge and the road leading to
Plakias
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The route tracks high above the road to Spili and
Rethymno on your left. In summer the hillside can
look dry and barren, in springtime the roadside
is awash with flowers
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A goatfold on your left displays the remains of
some of its more extravagantly horned former
inmates. Im not sure of the purpose of this
display but its a common site on Crete
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After around 30 mins walking (depending on your
guard-dog avoidance tactics) look out for this
battered sign to the chapel of St Antony. Dont
do the obvious and assume the sign points in the
direction of the chapel, its actually down a
little-used track on the right of the road you
are walking - you may have to hunt around for the
track but the chapel, is only 5 minutes from the
road and well worth the diversion
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This is the track leading to the chapel, it may
not be immediately obvious but you will find it.
See in the picture nets ready to be put in place
for the olive harvest.
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Built into the rock-wall of the mountain, the
chapel is in a beautiful secluded and shaded
spot. Its too early in the walk to make a start
on your cheese pies but it is difficult to tear
yourself away from this peaceful place so just
take a seat and enjoy the solitude - or write a
poem if you are a literary type
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The interior has some rather sombre wall
paintings, relatively modern I suspect though I
am no expert on theological art. Personally I am
always pleased to return to the sunlight and to
the temptation of giving the bell rope a mighty
swing
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Sixty minutes into the walk and this old
threshing circle marks the approach to the
wonderful village of Agia Pelagia - one of my
favourite places in Crete. On both sides of the
track are signs of the industry of the villagers,
olives, vines, fruit trees, stone-strewn fields
sown with wheat and smaller plots for potatoes,
aubergine and tomatoes, an amazing abundance of
good natural food and in summer its tempting to
fill your belly and rucksack with this tasty
harvest
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Approaching Agia Pelagia there are wonderful
views on the left side of the track
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Getting closer to the village look out for the
two springs, a magical place where the villagers
come to picnic in the spring and summer
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With makeshift seating and tables, the springs
are a marvellous place to break your walk and
enjoy lunch and a glass of wine - if you bought
the local variety in plastic bottles the grapes
were probably harvested in the hills around the
village.
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You are now walking on the E4 European Hiking
Path, although shown on good maps, following it
on the ground is more difficult. A few years ago
these yellow and black E4 signs appeared marking
the route across the island, most are now gone -
destroyed by shotgun practice, eaten by goats or
simply removed.
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Yes, its another E4 sign, keep walking the
village is just around the corner. Off this track
to the left are vineyards, the grapes produce a
terrific red wine and the stalks and skins an
equally memorable Raki
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Look out for these trees on your left as you
approach the village, here you can take the right
fork which runs through the back of the village
or the left fork which is the village main
street. Whichever route you take, you will end in
the same place. Near here lives Uncle Marcos who,
over a few Rakis showed, me how to peel and
prepare artichokes, nibbling the tiny white nutty
part at the base of each leaf, before removing
the fluffy interior, slicing and soaking in lemon
juice - the entire operation performed with a
knife which looked as if it might have seen
service against the Turks and cleaned for the
process by wiping on his trouser leg. Artichokes,
like raki and just about everything else grown or
reared in a Crete village is good for you.
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This is entering the village from the lower, left
fork. When I first came to Crete nearly 20 years
ago it seemed like the battered pick-up was the
standard form of transport in south coast
villages, now like the donkey this form of
transport is being replaced by massive 4-wheel
drive ATVs, Im not sure if its the donkey or
battered pick-up I miss the most. There are
plenty of these old trucks still around, gently
rusting away under the shade of olives trees and
even some, like this one in Agia Pelagia, still
transporting goats, sheep, animal feed, firewood,
furniture and people.
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Its a real pleasure just to stroll around the
village, parts of which can hardly have changed
in the last 50 years
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There are some great photo-opportunities in the
village
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making Raki in Agia Pelagia
If you have been on Crete for longer than 24
hours you will probably have been offered a Raki
- the potent symbol of welcome and hospitality
throughout the Island. An industrial distilling
process satisfies the souvenir trade but the Raki
you will be offered in restaurants and Tavernas
is made by the owner, his father, uncle or cousin
in a village like Agia Pelagia. The days of Raki
making are a great social time in the village and
if you are lucky enough to be invited to a Raki
making session dont miss it. Raki making is in
early October, when wine making leaves a residue
of mushed grape stalks, skin and seeds - you can
see great plastic vats of the stuff by the
roadside waiting to be processed. This unpleasant
looking mush is used to create Cretes wonder
drink, the cure for all ailments (and probably
the cause of quite a few). The distilling process
is simple, the grape mush is boiled in ancient
copper stills over roaring wood fires and the
distilled liquour drips through an old cloth into
5 litre plastic jugs. It is a communal activity
lasting several days during which time much food,
wine and of course Raki is consumed. Photograph
on the left was taken in Mixorouma, photo on the
right shows Yiannis stoking a still in Agia
Pelagia
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Wether you take the upper or lower road through
Agia Pelagia you will rejoin the main Frati to
Mixorouma road on the outskirts of the village
and in about five minutes reach the main Rethymno
to Spili road, just before the main road there is
a smaller road on the right, take this road
through the back of Mixorouma village. After
another 5 minutes you will reach a junction, take
the right fork down to the abandoned village of
Ano Mixorouma, another right fork skirts the old
village which you can see on your left. Its an
interesting detour to stroll around the old
village where there are some wonderful views from
the church, below the church theres an
interesting property restoration, Angelika the
owner has some pet ducks which you can see
swimming in the river below the property.
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Abandoned houses in the old village of Mixorouma
- if you are looking at these on your left you
are on the right road
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Further along this road on the right hand side
are more abandoned buildings, this is an old mill
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There are wonderful views on your left across the
valley where you can see lots of tempting tracks
to explore. A longer, more adventurous walk is
through the old village of Mixorouma, here,
keeping the valley and river to your right you
climb to a higher track just visible in the
photograph above, to return to Frati you will
eventually have to cross the valley, although
there is no obvious route, a track across a side
valley coming in from the left will eventually
allow you to cross the valley and the river and
rejoin the Frati Mixorouma track. Save that walk
for another time and today just enjoy the sound
of the river in the valley below, eventually you
will be on the valley floor with the river beside
you.
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From this point the route back to Frati is well
signposted, just follow these brown and white
signs
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There are many small chapels in the valley on
your left, you can see two from the track, its
easy to scramble down to explore these, there are
terrific views down the to the gorge and the
river which eventually reaches the sea at
Prevelli Beach. Although its tempting, dont try
to climb down to the bottom of the gorge from
here - theres no obvious route and some alarming
vertical drops.
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Almost back to the start of your walk, the
impressive peak on the left is Xiron (904m) you
can see Frati village top right in the
photograph, the final climb up into the village
takes you past some particularly noisy dogs but
dont worry they are always tethered. At the main
road turn right to return to your car or better
still, left into the village of Frati for a
Frappe or a beer in the small taverna. Depending
on how long you lingered in Agia Pelagia and Old
Mixorouma you will be back in Frati in around 3
hours, its a wonderful valley walk with lots of
other tracks you will want to return to and
explore during your holiday.
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In fond memory of Yiannis polychronakis
The Spirit of Agia Pelagia
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