All language subtitles for m.g.o.s05e03.1080p.hdtv.h264-cbfm_track3_[eng]

(THEME MUSIC)

In the first four series
of My Greek Odyssey,

we visited islands of the Saronic,

the Ionian, the Dodecanese,
the Western Cycladic,

and the Northern Aegean.

In series five,
we're seeing the southern

and central Cycladic.

Islands you've never heard of, like
Levitha, Anafi, Donoussa,

and ones you know well, like
Santorini, and the big one, Crete.

In this episode,
I continue my time in Crete,

showing you the caves of Matala,

made famous
by the hippies of the '60s.

I'll also be heading to some of
Crete's famous seaside cliffs

in search of the bearded vulture.

I bump into a local shepherd
and learn a bit about the life

in these wild mountains.

From there, I'll be visiting
some of the prettiest unknown islands

that surround Crete,

the beautiful Palm Grove of Vai,

before finally
arriving in Agios Nikolaos.

Matala is in the Southwest of Crete,

about 75km from Heraklion.

It's a highly developed town
that relies heavily on tourism.

Throughout the busy streets
are all the things you'd expect

from a popular holiday spot,

with plenty of gift shops,
restaurants, and bars

to keep the visitors spending.

But it's down at the beach
where you want to be.

Even if it does get quite crowded,

the pretty backdrop
and pebbled shore

make for a great place
to while away the hours.

The caves are what it's known for,
but there's plenty more

to this unique corner of Crete
than the geology.

So, you lived through
the '60s and '70s in Matala.

Yes, yes, yes.
I've been here.

I see all the hippies,
what they've done,

how they live,
and that was beautiful time.

Really?

Have you become a bit of a hippie?
I can see back there...

Ah, yes. Still.
Yeah.

Still grow my hair,
and from that time, you see?

(LAUGHS)

So, what was it?
Why did they come?

Why'd they come to Matala?

They come here,
they start the revolution.

Their own revolution,

because they don't like
the system for that time.

So, they like to blow up
the whole system.

Yeah.

So, they move to Matala,
they start their own revolution

to be free.

Right.

For love and freedom
and peace.

This is the idea.

And the type of people
that came here,

you know, in those '60s and '70s,
who were they?

They was student, mostly.
From all over the world.

Students, there was artists,
musicians, a lot of people.

Also Joni Mitchel came here,
wrote the song, 'Carey',

maybe you hear about it.

I've heard the song 'Carey'.
Yeah.

And Bob Dylan
and few others.

And...
They all came here?

Yes. Yes.

But it is a beautiful beach.
And, what, they lived in the caves?

They lived in the caves.

Not only this caves,
Matala is full of caves now.

Up there as well.
Yes. Yeah.

Wow.

It must have been
a very, very special time.

I mean, these people
are educated people,

but they're rebelling
against the system.

Yes. Yes.
You learnt a lot from this?

Everybody learnt,
because still today

we follow their old ideas.

Wow.

All the village,

and the people that come here
for holidays,

they have these ideas.

Most of the people.
It's beautiful.

And you're fishing off the edge.
Yeah. Yeah.

Don't tell me,
you catch fish off your balcony.

Of course, I do.

Has this guy got the life?

Has he got the life? Wow.

And you're looking
on the caves.

You look on this beautiful beach.

The morning time
is beautiful, my friend.

When the sun comes up,
sunrise is beautiful time.

Hey, Spyro,
you want to trade?

You can have the boat
and I'll live here?

No chance.
No, no, no chance.

No chance, my friend.

Alright, well,
take me to the caves at least.

Can you take me to the caves?

Of course.
I'll take you to the cave.

I tell you little stories,
but not dirty ones anyway.

But you've probably
got plenty of those, I think.

OK. We better leave those.
Of course. Of course.

We'll leave those for tonight.
We'll leave it out.

OK. No worries.
Alright, let's go.

OK.

This guy is awesome.

Spyro lives in an apartment
behind a hilltop tavern

with amazing views of Matala.

He was a young boy in the '60s,
when this place was made famous.

He has some great stories of life
in this paradise.

The middle
of the 20th century

was a period of enlightenment,

when artists and musicians
came to Greece

to escape the mundane of suburbia

and the capitalist regime
that had taken over

much of the world.

Here, they could live
free from the shackles

of their perceived repression

and explore their peculiar art forms
and their other passions.

I can only imagine what many of them
would think of Matala today.

It was the free-spirited Bohemians
that put this place on the map

at a time when there was just
a couple of tavernas and homes.

They lived very simple lives

with little money,
few creature comforts,

but most importantly, peace.

Today, it's a stark contrast,
with loads of hotels,

streams of people,
and not much of that serenity.

The once empty beaches
are now covered in deck chairs.

That's the reality of progress,
which I'm not necessarily

being critical of.

But even with this influx
of human habitation,

there are remnants of that
hippie era still visible today.

Not only in the literal sense
but in the local culture.

The town still attracts
plenty of those

looking to relive the past.

However, it's that laidback attitude
of the residents

that embodies the Matala of old.

Spyro is a fantastic example
of exactly that.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Well, let's go inside.

How many caves are here,
do you think?

It's a lot,
but it's not only in this area.

It's also the other side
of the mountain.

On the other side.

So, we climb
a little bit up.

You see the beautiful caves,
how the hippies live that time here.

Wow.

Here.
It's a beautiful house.

Yeah.

Look at this.

They lived in there?
Yes, yes.

They lived in here!

Yeah.

Oh, because I can see

there's a little in there,
in here...

Yeah.
..in there.

Yeah.

And there was the love
being made here.

Also, I think so, I think so.

The other, the big caves
are up here.

The big ones are over there?

Here, you see?
Right.

Other people,
we can walk from here.

Yeah.

And tell me,
were they all full?

All full.
All full.

So, how many people
you think were here?

I don't know, that time
it was thousands of people here.

Yeah. Yes. Yes.

Wow.

These caves have been in use
since Neolithic times.

It's believed that
one of them was even frequented

by the Roman general Brutus,

who was a leader
in the assassination of Caesar.

In more recent times,

another of the famous occupants
was musician Joni Mitchell,

who came here seeking solace
after a breakup.

Nowadays, you could almost call it
a pilgrimage site,

where young people
come to walk in the footsteps

of their parents and grandparents,

who came here with the hope
of finding a better life,

one of peace and love.

Every day they visit,
a lot of people.

Yeah, still?

Look at this beautiful one,
look at it.

Go inside, check it out.

Look at this.

Yeah.

And this one is beautiful.

Yeah.

Oh, that's a beauty.
Yeah. Yeah.

(TRANQUIL MUSIC)

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

The central Southern coast
of Crete

is one of the wildest

and most dramatic regions
in Greece.

Access is limited
and places that are accessible

can be steep and quite dangerous.

It's for that reason,
people tend to stay away

from this seaside mountain range.

For me, the landscape and serenity
are alone worth a visit,

but there's also some
incredible wildlife here, too.

And you don't need to be
David Attenborough to find it.

But some sturdy hiking shoes
and a decent pair of binoculars

are essential.

Doctor, where are we now?

I mean, this seems pretty remote.

We're in the southern part
of Heraklion.

Yep.

We are on
the Asterousia mountain range.

It's a range about 50km long
and 10km wide.

And recently it has been recognised
as one of the most important

hotspots of biodiversity in Greece.

And it's the home
for a number of bird species.

And of my interest
is a number of vultures,

which are the vultures
that are here?

We have two species
residing here.

It's called...
It's the Gypaetus barbatus.

It's a quite rare vulture,
you can only find it in Crete.

Right.

And there's another one,
which, fortunately,

it has a very big
and healthy population.

It's the Gyps fulvus.

Its common name is Gypas or Scara,
here in Crete.

And the first one,
there's not many left.

There are not many anywhere.

It's a species that
has a big home range

that doesn't allow other birds
of the same species to come into.

This is why the whole island
can accommodate perhaps a few pairs.

So, here in Crete,
now we have about 20 individuals.

Wow.

Something like eight pairs
and some solitary individuals.

Is that the bearded vulture?

Yeah,
it's called the bearded vulture

or also called Cocolas.

Right.

Because his main food
are the bones of animals,

stray animals or animals that die
in the mountains,

like feral goats and sheep.

So, he specialised

in finding the bones
and eating them.

He can digest them really easily.

Big wingspan.
What's the wingspan?

He can reach up to 2.9m long.

When he stands, he's about 1m high.

Wow.

So, you said it can only,
Crete can only accommodate

like 20 of these birds.

So, what's their range?
The range must be huge.

Yeah.

They have a huge range
of several square kilometres

that they don't allow any other bird

of the same species to come into.

But he can also travel
huge distances.

He can go up to 600km a day
and come back.

Wow.

He can go
from one side of Crete

to the other and then go back
in the afternoon.

So, if there's 20,
our chances of seeing

one are pretty minimal,
I would've thought.

Well, it depends on
how much patience you have.

(PETER LAUGHS)

If we stay for, I don't know,
for half a day here...

Yeah.
..we might see one.

Well, doctor,
let's go look for one, eh?

OK then.
Let's go and have a look.

Let's go.

Like other vultures,
these aren't a hunting bird that

capture prey.

These guys are scavengers,

flying extraordinarily
long distances,

searching for carcasses.

They're amazing in flight.
Amazing.

There's not much effort,
is there?

Oh no, no.
They're gliding.

They're taking the warm currents
and they glide.

And they just glide.
Look at them all. Look at them all!

Yeah. Amazing birds.

What I find really interesting

is that it's not so much
the meat that they're after,

instead it's the bones
or what's inside them.

Their diet is almost entirely
made up of marrow

and they've become
quite adept at extracting it.

The smaller bones
are easily manipulated

and ground down
using their strong beaks.

The larger ones are cleverly lifted
and flown upwards

before being dropped
from a high altitude

and smashed
into more manageable pieces.

So, you have been lucky...

We've been lucky,
but all day, we're out here

for a few shots of birds.

You've got to be patient
to be an ornithologist.

Yeah. Patience.

You have to have time
and something to drink.

Because this sun
is really hot.

Let's go
and have something to drink.

I think we've got to go
have something.

Come on.

I don't think
I could do this all day, mate.

I don't know how you do it.

No, no, it's really...
It's the best.

Yeah.

It's the best profession
I could get, I'm telling you.

Yeah. It is.

Because you are in this landscape.

You're in the landscape.
Yeah.

And you see these
majestic birds.

Yeah.

It's very rewarding.

Look at them.
Yeah. I know.

I was lucky to have
Dr Kostis with me,

but you don't need to be an expert

or even an amateur bird watcher
to appreciate these

wonderful animals.

Pick up a set of binoculars,
open Google,

and come and visit this
wonderful location.

You'll be surprised
by the adrenaline rush

of seeing these
spectacular creatures.

I was silly enough to think
this was for geeks.

First it was flamingos in Lesbos
and now bearded vultures in Crete.

I'm beginning to like ornithology.

And guess what?

The term just happens to originate
from the Greek language.

So, perhaps it's in my DNA.

One of the main sources of food
for the vultures

are the carcasses
of goats and sheep.

There's thousands of them
wandering about the countryside,

either as livestock
or feral animals.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Those that are part
of domesticated flocks

have the guiding hands
of mountain shepherds.

These hard working people
are an iconic part of Greek culture.

These rocky mountain ranges
are vast and extremely remote,

very little grows
in this rugged terrain.

So, every day, 365 days a year,

Babis comes down
to feed and water his flock.

The sheep come from kilometres away,
knowing exactly

where and what time
breakfast is being served.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

It's vital that he turns up,
rain, hail, or sickness.

His sheep are relying on him.

This is the life of a shepherd,
wherever you are in the world.

It's a relentless job
but peaceful and rewarding.

It does get easier.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

I could get used to this.
No phones ringing or no emails.

Only one appointment each day

and no line of staff
at the front door

with their daily problems.

Just a herd of sheep
and their ringing bells,

chiming like
music through the valley.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

6,000 goats...Sorry, sheep.

Wow.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

Wow.

Hear that?

They go mix with
thousands of others,

but they always know
to come back here to their home.

That's unbelievable.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

(PETER LAUGHS)

Times might be tough
for the present-day shepherds,

but in the past,
it was harder still.

In the old days,
they stayed alongside their

flocks in the mountains.

Using these mitato for shelter.

These centuries old structures
are very primitive

and provided just enough space
for a shepherd to sleep

and have a small fire.

And where today
they use bags of grain

to supplement their feed,

in the past they carted up
bales of hay

or constantly moved their animals
in search of pasture.

One thing these mitato
are great for

is providing some respite
from the heat and sun.

Inside they might be cramped,
but at least they're cool.

Mind you, I couldn't imagine

having to spend several nights
in one of these.

Maybe it's my age,

but just getting in and out
was hard work.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

High up in the mountains
of Eastern Crete

is this wonderfully
picturesque landscape

known as the Lasithi Plateau.

It stretches for 11km
and is 870m above sea level.

Winters here are harsh,

but the valley is fertile
and has been inhabited

since neolithic times.

Further up Mount Ida,
on its eastern slopes,

is another
fascinating natural marvel,

the Ideon Cave.

Since antiquity,
it has been a place of worship,

and to many, it's as important
as the foremost Greek temples.

We've been to our fair share
of caves on this Odyssey,

but I don't think
we've been to one that

has so much theatrical history
as this one.

Apart from the fact that the Minoans
used this as a sanctuary,

a spiritual sanctuary,

it was also used as an initiation

for a number of philosophers,
like Plato and Pythagoras.

They came here for a cleansing,

and there's not much known about

what they actually did,
because they were sworn to secrecy.

But my personal favourite
is in popular mythology.

And the story goes that
the king of Titans,

Cronos, was so concerned
about his position at the top,

that every time his wife Ria
had a child,

he would devour the baby.

Now, Ria cottoned on to this
and had a baby, which was Zeus.

She hid Zeus and then gave a rock
in a wrap to Cronos.

Cronos devoured the rock
thinking it was Zeus.

But Zeus was hidden away
in this cave.

He was brought up here
and the Cretan warrior Kouretes

hung outside.

And every time Zeus
cried or made a sound,

they would stamp their feet
and hit their shields.

Apparently, later on,
that stamping of the feet

became the famous Cretan dance,
the Pentozali.

Anyway, that's another story.

Zeus grows up.

Apparently, Cronos was given
some sort of drug and felt sick.

He vomited up
all the babies that he had eaten

and they were all gods.

They helped Zeus defeat Cronos.

And that's the end of the story.

Now, I don't know
how that came about,

but surely someone
may have been smoking something,

I'm not too sure,
but it sounds really good.

I must apologise
to all those academics

and lovers of mythology
for my last comment.

I too am passionate about this
ancient fictional history,

but sometimes I get caught up
in the moment

trying to understand
how anyone could write,

let alone believe this stuff.

And while
I might have mentioned that

some say the Cretan Pentozali
was inspired by this mythology,

it in fact came about
in modern times.

Created in 1770
by the Cretan Ioannis Vlachos,

better known as Daskalogiannis.

He led the Cretan revolt
against the Ottomans at the time,

and asked the musician
Stefanos Triantafilakis

to compose a dance
dedicated to the occasion.

The steps are very symbolic
and invoke great emotion

and patriotism for Cretans.

In Greece,
there's a mythology behind

every landmark you see.

In the thousands of years
civilisation has thrived here,

people have sought explanations
for the world around them

or dreamed up
far-fetched stories to police

and develop a civilised society.

Such beliefs have shaped
the present day,

adding colour
and texture to Greek culture.

For me, these stories
bring places like this to life.

The towering cavern
is reminiscent of a cathedral

with an eerie calm about it.

If you took it as simply
being a wonder of nature,

it's incredible in its own right.

However, when you include a story
that's full of drama and fantasy,

it adds another layer
to the experience.

Exploring these
out of the way places

is what a Greek island adventure
is all about.

The mountains create a contrast
to the beaches and seaside towns,

getting you away from the crowds

and to places
where things have changed

little in recent history.

But my journey was now taking me
momentarily away from Crete.

As each day passed,

we unearthed more things
I needed to see.

So, we upped anchor
and made our way to Ierapetra,

to refuel 'Mia Zoi',
then onward to Chrissi,

and eventually Koufonisi.

Come on, boys.

We've just travelled
9 miles south from Ierapetra,

to this island called Chrissi.

Chrissi is gold in Greek,
but it's also called Gaidouronisi...

Gaidouronisi.

Gaidouronisi.
Thank you, captain.

And Gaidouronisi means
donkey island,

because this is an island that

the farmers
would bring their donkeys

to in their retirement
so they could enjoy

the last moments of their lives.

We're going to go in there,
because there's three people

that live here and I want to try
and meet one of them.

It's all hands on deck.

Even after a 15-minute journey,
these guys are out there

cleaning all the salt off the boat.

That's why 'Mia Zoi'
is always looking awesome.

The boys
are as proud of 'Mia Zoi' as I am.

On occasion,
they also like to have a bit of fun.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

On the really hot days,
the hose gets a little misdirected.

Everyone needs
to let their hair down sometimes.

It's a tiny island
and I'm trying to find Golden Beach,

but I don't know where I'm going.

Can't believe I'm getting lost.

Even on a tiny abandoned island
like this,

it has some sort of history.

And in the Minoan period,

they used to have an
establishment here

that farmed the sea snail
for its purple dye.

They get one drop of dye
out of every snail.

Amazing.

I've been walking for half an hour,
but in fact,

it's only a five-minute walk
if I walked straight.

(THEME MUSIC)

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

The wonderful feature
of this island

is that there's a beach
on either side.

And when one
is wind swept and choppy,

the other is calm and serene.

Being five minutes' walk
from each other

means that when you visit Chrissi,

you're guaranteed
a picturesque swim.

The other cool thing here
is on the path

between the two beaches

is a quirky little stall
that appears to have been

built from the flotsam and jetsam
of the Aegean.

Manning it is an equally
unique character.

Manolis, how long
have you been living in Chrissi?

The last ten years.

Yeah?

And You come from...

This May,
I close ten years.

I just come
from a kid here.

Yeah.
And you like it here, in Chrissi?

It's the only place
I can find my peace.

Your peace.
And you're here in winter as well.

Yes, yes.

And how many people
live here in winter?

No-one.

Just...

Just you?

Yes. In winter.

It's a simple life here,
isn't it?

Very simple.
Very relaxed.

No, no,
nothing to break your rhythm.

No telephone.

Nothing to break your quiet time.

Yeah.

You have to stay 20 days
for you to understand the energy

and the power
you get from the nature.

Yes. Yes.
I think you're right.

I think you need
a good month to be here,

to absorb that peace
and tranquillity

and that health
of the nature.

If you be close to nature,

you're going to be
a normal human.

When you are in the systems,
you go like they drive you.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Here you drive...
On your own...

Here you drive it though.
Yeah.

I drive my heart.

Everything my heart needs,
I make, anytime.

I think I know the way now
to live free, little bit.

Yeah.

Manolis is a special guy.

He's the Tarzan of Chrissi,

living off nature
without a care in the world.

I got lost exploring
this little island

and rather than laughing
at my lack of direction,

he dropped everything,
left his stall unattended

and showed me the way out.

Now, that's
hospitality.

Oh, mate.
You're a gentleman.

Thank you.
The sea salt. Awesome.

(SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

I think I found another local.

That makes two of the three.

Or maybe he's just lost at sea.

The island of Chrissi
is truly beautiful.

The beaches are fantastic.

And I don't think you'll see
many better in all of Greece.

It'll be up there, anyway.

My memory though of Chrissi

will be about Manolis
'cause he symbolises for me

the word 'filotimo' here in Greece,
and it's about humanity.

It's about friendship.

The guy just gave me
four bags of salt.

He doesn't even know me.
We've met for three minutes.

He was ready to cook for me.

He told me his whole life story.

This guy lives simply.

Grows his own vegetables,
makes his own bread.

Doesn't need anybody.
Doesn't need anything.

Just a nice fellow
living in a tranquil place.

Time for a swim. And then I'm off.

Before all the tourists come here
on that tourist boat.

The distant tourist boat

is a symbol
of the approaching wave of humanity

that will likely
arrive here someday.

It's rare that anywhere
as pretty as this remains

unscarred by human hands
and commercial enterprise.

But I hope I'm wrong.

And Manolis is left in peace
to live out his days.

There are islands like this
throughout the Mediterranean,

places where you can have a beach
to yourself

and feel like you're a million miles
away from civilisation.

Yeah, I might have my own boat
to bring me here,

but across Greece,
you can often get a ferry

or water taxi
from one of the larger ports

to nearby islands.

With Chrissi
as isolated as it seems,

we're only about 10 miles
from Crete.

That means there's
a lot of day trippers

that come across
for some respite from the crowds.

A boat full like this
quickly disperses

across the island with each person
or family group

finding a sunny patch of sand
or shady tree

to park under for the day.

Hopefully, a bunch of them
visit Manolis

and buy some mementos of their time
on his slice of paradise.

Not long after
the tour boat arrived,

it was time for me to make a move.

I've been lucky enough to enjoy
a few hours on Chrissi

without anyone around
but a couple of locals.

So, with the murmur
of happy tourists filling the air,

I swam back out to 'Mia Zoi'.

Upping anchor,
we made our way east,

around 50km to Koufonisi.

Another of those
stunning uninhabited islands.

We're on an island

just off the southwest coast
of Crete.

It's called Koufonisi.

And it hasn't been inhabited
for a thousand years,

but there are a number of ruins
all over it.

And it's only 5.5 square kilometres.

There's an old theatre
made of stone.

There's a temple. There are houses.

There's burial grounds.

So much here, but for me,

put all that history stuff aside.

People talk about
their favourite beaches.

The best beaches in the world

are the ones that
it's hard to get to.

So, they haven't been
touched by humans.

This one is one of those.

You can come here from
just off the south of Crete,

and I think there's a daily cruise
that gets here,

but just check it out.

I could come here
and strip off completely

and nobody would know.

(LAUGHS)

It's peak season,
and not only do I have

a beach to myself
but an entire island.

How good is this!

Add Koufonisi to your list,
it won't disappoint.

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

It never ceases to amaze me

just how beautiful
this part of the world is.

The water, the beaches,
the landscapes, the list goes on.

Our next major stop
was going to be another

picture perfect location,
Vai Beach.

But, before getting there,
I had a quick side trip to make.

I've spent much of my life
exploring the islands of Greece

and I never lose my passion
and appreciation of them.

Some places I might have been
to a dozen times or more.

Others, I've never stepped foot on.

Regardless,
I always arrive full of excitement

and with an open mind.

You never know what you'll find.

And a spot that
you may not have been

so keen on in the past

might reveal something new
that changes your perspective.

We're on
the extreme east coast

of Crete and you can see our boat,

'Mia Zoi'
heading around to Vai Beach.

But before we join them,
we are here at Erimoupolis,

only five minutes down the road.

This is a bit more special for me

because you can come here
for a swim,

there won't be many tourists,
and the kids can play

amongst the old ruins,
which are 2,000 years old.

And they're all over the place.

This must have been
a fairly big city.

You can see some up
on the ridge there.

And across here, you can see some

old retaining walls,
which are definitely Hellenistic.

And over there,
there seems to be something special.

I'm going to go
and check that out right now.

Well, you don't have to be
an archaeologist

to work out that up here,
these are actually houses.

You can see the doorways

and even the kids
that are playing up here

can work that out.

But thankfully there
are archaeologists from Belgium,

France, and Athens

working on this
whole city at the moment.

It's so important
because it was settled in Minoan,

Hellenistic and Byzantine eras.

And you can see they're sort of
continuing to dig out that way.

There's a lot more to do.

An archaeologist
can spend an entire lifetime

toiling on the one site,

each day chipping away at the soil
and sifting through the dust.

Their research
is painstakingly slow,

and it has to be.

There's precision to what they do,
which requires patience,

constant examination,
and physical labour.

It's incredibly important work.

And what I really get excited about
is that the discoveries they make

can rewrite the history books.

Imagine unearthing an artefact
that totally changed

the way we believe
a culture existed.

In Hellenistic times,

Itanos was considered
one of the most powerful cities

in all of Crete, for two reasons.

Its geographical position
between Europe and Asia Minor,

and for the production
of that purple

Tyrian dye from the sea snail.

They harvested it from
Chrissi, Koufonisi,

and other regions in the area.

This Basilica seems to me

a recycling
of old Hellenistic walls.

And, you know,
you walk through here,

you can't really see
any of the Minoan stuff,

but you'll definitely see some
Hellenistic and Byzantine ruins.

And if that's not your cup of tea,
I tell ya, I'm hungry at the moment,

and over next to that city wall,
there's a bit of a tavern.

And it's I can smell it from here.

So, too much walking.

I need to have a...
need to fill it up.

There it is. I'm off.

Even in a dilapidated state,

the stonewalls
are beautiful to look at

and act as a testament
to the skill of those

that built them.

Apart from their aesthetics,
it's amazing to think

how long they've managed
to withstand the weathering

of Mother Nature.

The windows and doorways
frame up the countryside,

like words of art,

making a walk amongst the ruins,

akin to taking
a stroll through a gallery.

There's an inescapable romance
to them.

I eventually made my way to Vai,

where we overnighted just offshore.

The following morning,
I was able to share one of the most

popular places in Crete
with just a handful of others.

The early bird gets the worm

and also gets
the best deckchair on the beach.

I'm not one of those people

that sits on the beach
and does nothing.

I like to read,
and when you like to read,

it's nice to be quiet.

And that's why
I come to the beaches,

in Greece anyway,
fairly early in the morning.

And what they consider
early in the morning is like 9:00.

I get here about 7:30, 8:00.

The crowds don't get here
till like 11:30 or 12:00,

so I've got a few hours on my own
to do any reading I need to do.

Vai, or more specifically,
the palm forest of Vai,

is one of the most popular sites
in Crete.

And one of the most beautiful places
in the whole Mediterranean.

The area draws
thousands of visitors each year,

that come not only for its
wonderful palm forest

but also the sandy beach.

How beautiful is this?

We could be in the Caribbean

or some remote island
in the Pacific,

but we're not.

We're at Vai beach.
And Vai means palm in Greek.

This guy here
is Phoenix theophrastus,

and there are 5,000 of them
in this 250-acre palm grove.

The largest palm grove
in all of Europe.

And some of them
are a thousand years old.

I wonder if people that are swimming
and sitting in these deckchairs

know what's behind them.

Vai was made popular
by the hippies

who were kicked out of Matala
in the early '70s.

They sought refuge in the area,
finding a green oasis,

largely untouched by outsiders.

A decade later,
it had become a permanent campsite,

but thanks to so many people
inhabiting the area

and the lack of resources
to manage them,

sadly, it became covered in rubbish.

Later in the 1980s, Vai was decreed

a protected area and cleaned up.

Today, it's considered
one of the prettiest parts of Crete,

and the beach has been awarded
a Blue Flag by the European union.

The trees cover an area
of about 250,000 square metres,

making it the largest palm forest
in Europe.

There are different stories about
how they came to Crete.

Some say,
Arabian pirates sailed here

and the seeds from the dates
they ate

grew into the palm grove.

Another story suggests that
they arrived with Venetian sailors

who colonised this part of Crete.

Science says otherwise,

that the Vai palm trees
are actually an endemic species.

(GENTLE MUSIC)

(UPBEAT MUSIC)

The humming of the engines
and sea spray over the bow

means only one thing,
we were on the move.

Ahead laid quite a long transit,
as we had left the palms of Vai

and we're making our way across
the north-eastern end of Crete,

to the island of Psiera.

The plan was to make
the most of good seas

and get there early.

Psiera, which means lice in Greek.

Now, maybe after 250-odd islands,
they ran out of names.

I don't know.

But we got here with 'Mia Zoi'.

There's no actual fixed tourist boat
that gets you here,

but I'm sure one of the locals
or the fishermen will get you here

if you really like the place.

Now, let's see if you do like
the place after this.

If first impressions
are anything to go by,

then this is going to be
the kind of island I like.

It's really pretty,
has a fascinating history,

and it's peaceful.

The island of Psiera
is about 1.5 miles

off the northeast coast of Crete.

It's uninhabited,
and hasn't been inhabited

for probably 3,500 years,

when the Minoans
had a seaside village here.

There has been some evidence
of a small camada over there,

which is Byzantine,
but that's not major civilisation.

Here the archaeologists say that
these people were wealthy

because they've found artefacts
that are of wealthy people.

What I love about Psiera

is that it hasn't really
been exploited.

And as a result,
you can walk through these

narrow streets that prove

that this was
an advanced civilisation,

and you have got evidence
all around you

of this wonderful
Minoan civilisation

that you can't get in other places
around Greece

because here,
the tourists just don't come here.

There's no beaches.

The Minoans supported themselves

by fishing
and subsistence agriculture.

Terracing suggests
they cultivated the land

and there's evidence they used
dams to collect rainfall.

There's also a cemetery
on the western edge of town,

with burials spanning
the many centuries

of the island's occupation.

Archaeologists believe
the once thriving settlement

was largely destroyed
sometime around 1500 BC.

Although people still lived here
amongst the ruins for long after.

It's definitely a community.

And I look down here
at these fairly large stones,

and in the Byzantine times,

they didn't have the ability
to move big stones like that around.

So, it's definitely
an advanced civilisation.

It's got to be Minoan,
and I'm not an archaeologist,

but, well,
that's what they say anyway.

It's written.

Everywhere you look on this
Rocky Headland,

there's evidence of buildings.

It's abundantly clear,
this was a bustling settlement.

Complete with a small port

that would've connected them
to the outside world.

In the years after the collapse
of the Minoan civilisation,

only a few others have come
and added to the island's

architectural history.

Perhaps life was too hard here

for a new town to emerge
from the rubble.

Now, the beautiful blue water
of the Gulf of Mirabello

is just too inviting for me
not to take it on.

And I'm going to jump in

because 'Mia Zoi's' only
a couple hundred metres away.

Now, I'm going to put these
things on

and I know it offends some of you,
but it's me.

I'm sorry.

Just turn off now.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

On days like today,
I have to pinch myself.

Life can feel surreal at times.

And this was one of those
special occasions

I'll never forget.

Back aboard 'Mia Zoi',

I barely had enough time to change

and we were steaming
our way the 15km

or so across the Mirabello Bay,
west to Agios Nikolaos.

The two places
are in stark contrast,

with the serenity
of the uninhabited Psiera

being replaced
by the bustling streets

of a major tourist hub.

Agios Nikolaos is a city
of some 30,000 people

with numbers swelling,

thanks to all the visitors

that use it as a launchpad
to explore the region.

Somehow,
it manages to blend an artsy

and chilled out vibe

with the energy
you expect of a modern city.

There's the charm of the old
fused with the convenience

and comfort of the new.

Stretching along the foreshore

and around the lake
is a pretty promenade,

full of bars and restaurants.

This is the main place
where locals and travellers

alike gather of an evening.

After a morning stroll
and some breakfast,

most people leave the city
and spend their time

in the mountains
or at one of them nearby beaches.

It's a very family-friendly place
to visit,

with plenty of options
to keep people

of all ages entertained.

In the next episode,

I'm going to show you
why Agios Nikolaos

is such a popular spot,

as I explore the city and surrounds.

I'll be heading
to the island of Spinalonga,

meeting famed novelist,
Victoria Hislop,

taking the plunge
to check out some ruins,

as well as experiencing
what life is like

for those living
in the mountain villages.

And of course,
Kyriako is going to cook up

a popular local goat dish.

(INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC)

Captioned by Ai-Media
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