Crete in Autumn Naturetrek Tour Report 18 - 25 October 2016 Report compiled by David Tattersfield Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ UK T: +44 (0)1962 733051 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk Tour Report Crete in Autumn Tour participants: David Tattersfield (Tour leader) and 14 clients Summary Crete had experienced a long and hot dry summer, with no significant rain since April. Temperatures still remained high and many of the autumn flowers were still to emerge from the parched ground. Nevertheless, we did see everything we expected, except in much smaller quantity than usual. We had a great week exploring the wilder parts of western Crete and many aspects of its fascinating geology, history and archaeology. Our success was due, in no small part, to the enthusiasm, camaraderie and humour of the group - a great week, with old friends and new, good company and great food. Day 1 Tuesday 18th October It was cloudy and cool on arrival in Hania, where we met our driver and made the short journey to our comfortable hotel. With ample time remaining, we made the short trip out of town into the Theriso Gorge, which runs through wild scenery, at the foot of the White Mountains. We made a few brief stops in the narrow gorge, finding our first Cyclamen graecum subsp. candicum, wedged into tight crevices in the limestone. A significant proportion of Crete’s fascinating endemic plants are chasmophytes, adapted to life on the many cliffs and rocky habitats found throughout the island. We saw the leathery-leaved shrubby thistle Staehelina petiolata, Shrubby Mullein Verbascum arcturus and some nice flowering specimens of Crete’s most famous endemic, the Cretan Dittany Origanum dictamnus. In the bed of the gorge, the most prominent plant was a robust scrambling shrub Cionura erecta, a member of the Milkweed Family. It had a few clusters of creamy-white flowers and, typical of its family, its fruits were follicles, splitting lengthways to release its many seeds, each with a tuft of silky hairs, to aid dispersal by the wind. Although common here in the Theriso Gorge, it a rare plant, restricted to just a few rocky gorges on the island. We enjoyed a coffee break in the almost deserted Theriso village, visited the next-door shop to see some of the dried herbs on offer, and were back in Hania for 6.30pm. After a freshen-up, we walked down to old part of the city, near the harbour, for a delicious evening meal. Day 2 Wednesday 19th October We left Hania travelling westwards and, after shopping for lunch, we made our first stop along the coast at a sandy bay, backed by a small area of dunes, at Gerani. A typical coastal flora included Cottonweed Otanthus maritimus, Sea Holly Eryngium maritimum and the enormous spiny, grey hummocks of Centaurea spinosa. Sea Daffodil Pancratium maritimum dominated the dunes, mostly in fruit, but still with a few spectacular sweetly- scented, white flowers. South of Kolimbari, on the rocky hillsides above the pretty village of Marathocephala, we found plenty of Cyclamen graecum subsp. graecum, which, on Crete is only found here and on the Rhodopou peninsula to the north. There was an amazing amount of variation in its heavily patterned leaves. Also noteworthy were the tall flower spikes of Sea Squill, Drimia maritima rising from huge bulbs, that were, in places, pushing through the tarmac. It was convenient to have lunch where we were, with some useful shade from the pine trees. After lunch, we continued westwards and descended steeply to the coast, an important area for vegetable production in the extensive poly-tunnels. Ancient Falasarna had been an important naval and trading port, in the Hellenistic period, from the 4th century BC until it was destroyed by the Romans in 69 BC. The site is still © Naturetrek June 18 1 Crete in Autumn Tour Report undergoing excavation and we marvelled at detail of the masonry and the harbour wall, its most impressive feature, where the boat moorings can still be seen. In 365 AD, a huge earthquake raised the west coast of Crete by nine metres and left the harbour high and dry. We saw further evidence of this along the shore, where a raised beach and fossil cliff showed, clearly, the former sea level. Sea Spurge Euphorbia paralias was common on the small dunes and of special interest was the silver-leaved near-endemic Inula candida, growing on the cliffs. After a cloudless day and a pleasant 25°C, we were reluctant to leave. We returned to Hania for 6.15pm and, after doing our checklists, we sampled another taverna by the harbour. Day 3 Thursday 20th October On a cloudy morning, we drove south into the rocky landscape of the White Mountains. We stopped briefly to view the Askifou plateau, a wide fertile depression, below us. Areas such as this are known as poljes, from the Yugoslav word for field, and are formed by the prolonged solution-weathering of the limestone. The Askifou plateau is one of the largest of such features in Crete and now funnels the drainage, from the surrounding mountains, underground. Originally, rivers would have drained south, carving the Imbros and adjacent gorges, before these were captured by a lowering of the land surface. Round our feet, we noted spiny hummocks of Greek Spiny Spurge Euphorbia acanthothamnos and Spiny Chicory Cichorium spinosum, a popular vegetable eaten by the locals. A little way into the Imbros valley, we stopped at a taverna and sampled the local speciality of pancakes with cheese and honey, to help sustain us on our walk. At the start of the gorge, we noted one or two Crocus laevigatus and the endemic Cyclamen graecum subsp. candicum, wedged into tight crevices in the boulders. We followed the bed of the gorge, as it dramatically deepened beneath towering cliffs, with Cretan Grayling flitting along beside us. On the cliffs were many of Crete’s endemic chasmophytes, including Dittany, Origanum dictamnus, Cretan Sainfoin, Ebenus cretica, the striking shrubby composite, Staehelina petiolata and the shrubby Bedstraw, Galium fruticosum. With some patient searching we located the endemic onion, Allium callimischon subsp. haemostictum, with delicate red-spotted flowers. During the latter stages of the latter stages of the walk the sun came out and it warmed up considerably. After several narrow sections and four hours of walking, we eventually emerged from the gorge and enjoyed much-needed refreshments at the Taverna Komitades. Rather than returning to Hania, we drove down to the coast for a quick look at Hora Sfakion, and had a delicious meal, overlooking the harbour, as the sun went down. Day 4 Friday 21st October We drove out to the rocky headland of the Akrotiri peninsula. Our first stop was at the Monastery of Agia Triada, where we visited the museum, wine cellars and its richly decorated church. We drove on, through a narrow gorge, to the Gouverneto Monastery and walked down the path to the Cave of St John, where some of us had close views of Chukar. A few of us continued down to the ruins of the Katholikou Monastery, in the bottom of a small gorge. The cliffs and walls of the building support some interesting plants, which included the shrubby Pink Dianthus fruticosus subsp. creticus, the silver-leaved Helichrysum orientale and Inula candida. After a hot climb back to the bus, we took the road through Souda to the hilltop archaeological sites of Aptera, where we ate our lunch. The extensive site was inhabited for over a thousand years through Minoan and Roman times and we marvelled at its massive cisterns, the recently-excavated Theatre and the Roman villa. The full strategic significance of the site was clear to us from the Turkish fort, overlooking the entrance to Souda Bay. It was a hot afternoon and we returned to Megala Horifa, the nearby village, where cold beers were most welcome. We 2 © Naturetrek June 18 Crete in Autumn Tour Report finished off the afternoon with a visit to the Allied War Cemetery, at the head of the Souda Bay, and were back in Hania for 6.15pm. Day 5 Saturday 22nd October In the morning we spent an hour and a half at Agia Lake, where a natural freshwater spring has been dammed to create one of the finest wetland sites in Crete. Among the usual Coot and Moorhen were small numbers of Mallard, Ferruginous Duck and Northern Shoveler. Little Grebe dabbled around the margins and both Great Reed Warbler and Cetti’s Warbler were seen. Overhead, were Short-toed Snake Eagle, Western Marsh Harrier and lots of Common House Martins and Pallid Swifts. The normally strong-flowing spring was much reduced in volume, reflecting the severity of the summer drought. We drove on, up the winding road into the White Mountains, stopping at Lakki for the view and finally the cafe, at Omalos, where we stopped for coffee. It was a beautiful sunny day, up here, 22°C and with no wind. In the nearby meadows were masses of Colchicum cretense, in various shades of pink, endemic to the higher mountains of Crete, and patches of Crocus laevigatus, showing the distinctive purple feathering on their outer tepals. We took an hour for lunch in the stony fields across the plateau, before going to the end of the road, to gaze down into the depths of the Samaria Gorge, still open to walkers, on account of the continuing dry weather. We followed the E4 footpath, that leads up to Gingilos, some of the group going quite some distance, before we reconvened at the lower cafe.