Zoniana Gorge

If Samaria is the best known gorge in Crete, Zoniana may well be the least. My time was limited this morning, as I was leaving the mountains to begin our family holiday, so my discovery that a gorge left the village just a few hundred metres from my hotel was serendipitous. That said, it was extremely obscure, and I very much doubt more than a handful of people ever venture up the gorge, which lent it a rather eerie feel. As soon as the village is left, the valley gives way to the usual messy shepherd dwellings - these then give way to the gorge proper, which twists around until it passes two more remote shepherd houses. I annoyed one of these by jogging round the corner and scaring his flock. Above this, the gorge becomes much tighter and continues to twist and turn - but the walls are never very high. A few dry limestone bowls needed negotiating and the bouldery base of the gorge was awkward throughout. After satisfying my curiosity round some twists and turns I ran back the way I came and checked out - didn't find anything for breakfast until I got to Perama near the coast!