The second week we rented a car, which gave us a lot more freedom
to travel farther afield. We drove to Hora
Sfakion on the south coast. From the road through the White Mountains we
could look down on the Imbros Gorge. On another day we hiked the Imbros Gorge
(we were too early in the season to hike the Samaria Gorge; the danger of sudden
floods is too high), then drove along the south coast eastwards to Frangokastello
and on to Moni Preveli before
turning northward for "home".
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Looking down on the Imbros Gorge from the road to Hora
Sfakion. This photo is looking north towards the head of the gorge. |
Imbros Gorge from above. The flowers in the foreground are yellow asphodel
(Asphodeline lutea). |
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The path through the gorge is obviously the riverbed. We checked the weather
very carefully before starting out. A sudden downpour in the mountains can
quickly change a dry riverbed into a raging torrent. |
Evidence of past floods in the gorge - this dead tree looked like a
giant antler. |
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The gorge is getting deeper - the walls are at least 20 metres high. |
| There is a surprising number of trees and plants growing in the gorge.
Many are quite rare species that have adapted to the very special habitat
in the gorge. |
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The gorge is getting narrow... |
| ...and narrower... |
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...and narrowest. I could touch both walls with outstretched arms. One
wouldn't want to be caught here in a flash flood! |
| Bill emerging from the narrows into the sunshine. Not a rain cloud in
sight. |
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The walls are closing in again. |
| The gorge is getting very narrow again. |
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Not much sunshine down here. Bill is trying to estimate how high the walls
around him are. |
| Nearly at the end. Here the path is roughly paved with stones. The Imbros
Gorge used to be the main way to Hora Sfakion on the south coast before
the road over the mountains was built. Back then donkeys were the main mode
of transport. |
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A final surprise before we reach the sea. Here the river has cut an archway
through the stone. The man standing at the left side of the arch gives you
an idea of the size.
We drove the car to the village at the end of the gorge and took a taxi
back to the top, so we didn't have to hike back up the gorge.
From Imbros village to the sea is about 8 km, is downhill all the way and
took us just over 2 hours.
We then drove eastwards along the south coast to Frangokastello. |
