From Sitía we went on a tour to the north-eastern peninsula of Crete, which is the driest part of the island, with a desert like landscape without any trees.
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| Access road to a radar station which crumbles on the edges |
We made a first stop at Ítanos, an ancient town which was once allied with Ierapetra and together with this city ruler over all of eastern Crete. It was inhabited until the 15th century, when finally pirates drove the last inhabitants away.
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| Beach at Ítanos |
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| Slab from the basilica |
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| Pink column inside the basilica |
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| All that is left from the basilica |
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| Road at the peninsula of Siderón |
Another obligatory stop was at the beach of Vái, which is famous for the palm forest in the little valley leading to the beach. Just the weather wasn’t right for the beach. It was quite cold and windy.
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| Beach of Vái |
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| Parking in the forest of palm trees |
It wasn’t possible to get to the most northern point as it is a military zone and the access prohibited. So we tried a different road to find a nice spot for the sunset. It was the road from the first picture. Even as the edges are crumbling away, there was enough left to drive on. We didn’t find the ultimate spot but decided anyway to stop on top of a hill for the night. The next day we went back to Sitía, which is a lovely harbour town with many restaurants and shops along the sea front.
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| Sitia with a Venetian castle on top |
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| Muskovy ducks living in the harbour |
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| Stairs leading up the hill |
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| At Mitzakakis – Café and pastry shop |
We had stayed twice at Sitía, using a different parking each time, both from park4night. I suppose it is different in summer, but finding a parking for the night was very easy at this time of the year.
