Loutros

The next morning we were off by ferry to the tiny tourist town of Loutros. It can be reached only by boat, in a spectacular setting on the side of cliffs leading down to the ocean. There is one commercial street on the oceanside, the iconic white buildings with blue shutters. It exists only for tourists, and shuts down in the winter months when rains and cold weather settle in, but now it is hot in the day and still very warm at night. Tourist season is coming to an end but we have lots of company, including many Europeans who trek here along a mountainous route covering the south of the island of Crete.

We were picked up by small boat and a typical Greek boatman to go to a nearby family farm, where we helped make moussaka, which is layers of eggplant and potatoes, pork, and béchamel sauce. The family is mom and dad and two adult sons, who have learned English and many other languages from tourists.  Then to cool off from working over a hot stove we were taken to Marmara, meaning marble, beach. Its a tiny piece of rocky coast protected from wind and waves, surrounded by caves you can swim into. The water is so clear all the way out, there is no sand or silt to cloud the turquoise waters. And the sea is so salty that you can just float when you are tired of swimming.

Back at the family home we had a many course meal, ending with sheep yogurt with honey, but the highlight was the sea salt on our moussaka. Meals here are such a time consuming process, when you can eat no more another course arrives, you are never quite sure what is going to show up on the table.