Life in the slow lane
Winter is the best time to visit the gorgeous Greek island of Crete
GIANNIS BOULEROS is standing in his olive grove, knee-deep in mud. It’s been raining for days – even more than usual for Crete at this time of the year – but Giannis takes it philosophically.
“Nature can use it,” he says, rubbing his beard.
Chickens cackle happily as they push through the tall grass between the olive trees on Giannis’ farm in Litsarda, in the north-west of the Greek island. The farm dog lies dozing, comfortable in the knowledge that cars rarely come this way.
That’s because there are hardly any tourists at this time of the year, in sharp contrast to the summer, when visitors from all over the world flock to the island.
Giannis grows a wide variety of herbs. He stops to pick some fennel, calendula and mint.
“We’ll need these for the salad,” he explains, before collecting tomatoes, aubergines and courgettes from his greenhouse, where they grow protected from the cold and wet.
Whatever he can’t grow himself, his neighbours can provide. Orange and lemon trees, for example, are covered with fruit even in the deepest winter.
Together with his girlfriend Julie, a Seattle chef who has settled here, Giannis showcases Cretan cuisine to visitors from around the world. In winter, his house provides a cosy retreat; in summer, guests spill out onto the large terrace with its old wood stove.
Guests help prepare the meal by peeling and chopping the vegetables. Everything is piled into an enormous roasting pan – goat meat cut into handsized pieces, carrots, potatoes, onions, apples, spices and herbs. Then it’s all drenched in olive oil (another local speciality) before it disappears into the cavernous oven.
While the food stews in the oven (a relaxed process), friends and neighbours drop by bringing a few bottles of the local red with them. Wine has been cultivated on the island for 4,000 years – the soil is perfect here. And so is the slowcooked food.
In Chania and Heraklion, Crete’s two big towns, visitors can stroll through the alleys and see the sights even in winter. And the palace ruins in Knossos – not far from Heraklion – are open all year round.
Those who come at this time of the year are not usually looking for sun, anyway. “Most visitors come because they want to enjoy nature,” says Nikos, a local tour guide.
Hiking and cycling are popular ways to see the island’s interior, and even skiing is possible.
“We have no lifts or any of the other infrastructure you’ll find in the Alps,” says Nikos. But he adds that touring skiers who like the challenge of climbing the mountains for themselves will find a lot to like here. – dpa