Vamos circular walk via Gavalochori and Douliana

A pleasant introduction to hiking on the Greek island of Crete, a 12km loop from Vamos to the nearby villages of Gavalochori and Douliana and back. There was a variety of sights, including ancient villages, olive groves, many churches, snow capped mountains, and unexpectedly, the largest aircraft carrier in the world!

Vamos is a quiet, traditional village, home to a number of restored heritage buildings making it a low key tourist destination, increasingly popular for the many walking opportunities nearby. When Greece was under Ottoman rule Vamos was the administrative centre of the Apokoronas region, and many of the notable buildings date from this period.

Vamos lies on the foothills of the White Mountains. These mainly limestone mountains have over 30 summits more than 2,000m above sea level. At the start of April there was a reasonable amount of snow, though clouds surrounded them all day.

I headed north out of Vamos on quiet sealed and unsealed roads, past the first of many olive groves, and the first of half a dozen barking dogs, thankfully behind fences. I’m not a dog fan but these were thankfully far less aggressive than the dogs I’d encountered while hiking recently on Gran Canaria.

There was quite a variety of views along the way.

In the distance was an American aircraft carrier. I thought it was the USS Gerald R. Ford, as that was moored at Souda Bay naval base the previous week, but according to the news it had moved on. There wasn’t any information online at the time as to which ship this was.

I headed down to Gavalochori, a historic village that flourished during the Venetian period (before the Ottomans).

In the village square were vehicles that showed evidence of Storm Erminio, which had blanketed the island in dust from the Sahara desert two days prior, the day before I arrived.

I’d planned to visit the Folklore Museum of Gavalochori, but it was shut with a sign saying ‘back in 10 minutes’. I waited 15 minutes and nothing changed so I kept moving as rain was forecast for midday and I still had a way to go.