The unexplored island of Crete, Greece

[markas]

The green Vstrom has no proper tires or bash plate so at one point he heard a loud crack under the bike. No big damage done but the pipes got a small dent to remember this ride. Next time come better equipped Painterakis!





Given the chance to stop and check the Vstrom we take a few more pics...
















(click to open full size panoramic pic)

[markas]

Opening 2-3 more gates (and closing them after we pass of course) we stop again after only a few km to admire the view (again, yes).
Didn't i mention that my wife LOVES heights?











Hmm, this gives me some nasty ideas...







Clicking reveals the full size of the panoramic pic

[markas]

The road continues, a bit harder or steeper sometimes...





....but we finally make it in one piece at the foot of Liopetro hill.




We open three (!!) more shepherd's gates ( Καγκελόπορτα) and finally arrive on the top. But before we start exploring the visible () ruins lets eat something, I am starving!









Cheers mates, we made it!

[markas]

The castle was build in the first years of the Venetian rule around 1200-1300 on top of other ruins from an ancient acropolis on this natural fortified mountain. The name Liopetro itself is of course similar to the name the Venetians used (Lione di Pietra, meaning Lion of the Stone). Unfortunately today its walls and towers lie mostly in ruins but you can still observe many houses and a huge number of cisterns used to collect rain water. The Castle itself never saw any action and was left to rot, but...





...but around the 16th century Turkish pirates sacked the nearby town of Sitia and Venetians reconsidered giving Liopetro life. It had enough space for 6000 citizens and considered invulnerable. Anyway, the plan was thrown to the garbage when the Venetian lord heard about the expenses needed to repair the time beaten castle

[markas]

Clicking reveals full size

[markas]

Small part of the ruined wall...





And the tower...






King of the world?

[markas]

The ride is practically at its end. Of course we have to get back to civilization but at least we explored this unknown part of Crete. Relaxed we enjoy some cold coffee and admire our bikes that serve us day after day without trouble.












Painterakis with his painted Vstrom was lucky not to break his plastic bash plate. Well, i heard later that he bought a proper one...

[markas]

The ride back to asphalt didn't took very long. Don't forget that we live on an island, not Australia...

[markas]

Last stop and last photo of the ride. Still some light to travel back home, tired but but with our minds relaxed and full of pleasant memories.





A few statistics of the ride:
Km traveled: 290
Consumption: 5,5 lt/100km




We enjoyed this ride a lot, I hope you did too. More rides to come, exploring places close to ones any tourist would visit, but not close enough

[gremor]

Great stuff.

Keep it coming!

[Yossarian™]

How does the island's southern coast compare; is it as rugged as the northern?

[yns]

Originally Posted by Yossarian™

How does the island's southern coast compare; is it as rugged as the northern?

No, it's worse

Just kiddin', the good thing about Crete is that it's a relatively large island so you can find all types of terrain, all types of beaches.. From palms to pines, from golden sand to snow in only a handful of kilometers. Stay tuned and you'll discover all these with us.

[Madv]

I love this isle (cause i live there )

wtg guys, keep it rolling

PS I was thinking lately opening a similar topic but you got me....

ΥΓ2: Ακόμα δεν έχω καταφέρει να πιούμε αυτόν το καφέ....

[markas]

Originally Posted by Wolfgang55

Very good RR.
Hope DAN is doing better.

Thanks, but...
Who is Dan?

Originally Posted by LarryGee

Wow. Thanks for the memories. Crete is truly one of Greece's gems. My wife and I spent our honeymoon there...
More pictures please !

Glad you liked your stay. Don't expect to see many pictures of places most tourist go see though. The whole point of this thread is about revealing the unexplored side of our island

Originally Posted by East Coast Rider

One of my favorite classes in college was a specialized class that concentrated strictly on the Minoan culture...Crete is the at the heart one of my favorite periods of history

I am sorry to say that any Minoan valuables can be found only in the museums. The rest of the Minoan cities, villages or villas lay in ruins, few offer any real sightseeing and those are already closed, guarded archaeological sites (thank god). Don't forget that Minoan culture is at least 3500 years old.
But don't despair!
We have lots of fun ancient Greek cities to explore (Only 3000 years or less old ) and a few Roman ones (bah, only 2000 years old )
Don't forget newer ones like lots of Venetian ruins and (only a few) Turkish and of course a lot of nice Greek Churches etc. Well, history is something we have lots here so stay tuned and we will see what we may find.

Originally Posted by Yossarian™

How does the island's southern coast compare; is it as rugged as the northern?

Crete has hundreds of sandy beaches but is mostly covered with mountains. The Northern part is the most delicate part of it and with the major part of its population because of the trade with mainland Greece through the centuries. In our rides we tend to find the most isolated parts of the island, the less populated and more pure parts of it. Perhaps i will post a summer ride one of the following days to give you an example of a less rugged part of Crete.

Originally Posted by Madv

I love this isle (cause i live there )
wtg guys, keep it rolling
PS I was thinking lately opening a similar topic but you got me....
ΥΓ2: Ακόμα δεν έχω καταφέρει να πιούμε αυτόν το καφέ....

You made your choice and make a career with international travels. I stay low for the time till the kids grow up a bit and explore my beloved island.

ΥΓ: Πράγματι, πρέπει να βρεθούμε καμιά φορά. Τόσα έχω διαβάσει στο blog σου, διάβασες και εσυ κάτι δικό μας, άντε, δικός μας άνρθωπος είσαι πια

[Mr Pif]

Beautiful unexplored Crete,awesome pics Καημό το έχω ρε σύντεκνοι να δώ φωτογραφίες από το χωριό του Ψαρονίκου...αυτή η ρημάδα η θάλασσα με έχει καταδικάσει να ονειρευόμαι μέχρι στιγμής την Κρήτη.αλλά που θα πάει,θα κάνει ξαστεριά κάποια μέρα...!