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Agia Galini
Twenty years ago AGIA GALINI must have been an idyllic spot: an isolated fish ing community of some five hundred souls nestling in a convenient fold of themountains which dominate this part of the south coast The village itself is barelya hundred years old, its inhabitants having moved down from the mountain villages of Melambes and Saktouria as the traditional threat of piracy along the coast receded. Catch it out of season and the streets of white houses, crowded in on three sides by mountains and opening below to a small, busy harbour, can still appeal. But this is a face which is increasingly hard to find. Packed throughout the season with package tourists, and confined by the limits of its narrow situation, the village's old houses are rapidly being squeezed out by ever larger apartment buildings and concrete hotels. Since the beach was never up to much anyway, there's little reason to stay here long in summer. The lack of a decent beach is a shame, for otherwise there's something appealing about Ayia Galini's relatively staid and respectable brand of tourism. Its a nicer place than it looks, or than you'd expect from first impressions; largely because despite the development the people have stayed friendly and the atmosphere Cretan.
Practicalities
Buses to Ayia Galini terminate at the bus station by the church, near the top of the village proper. Ifs a handy spot to get your bearings since few of the streets are named and such names as there are seem rarely used. The nucleus of the place is built around three streets which run down to the harbour. The first of these (technically Venizelou) is a continuation of the main road into town; along it you find post office, bakery, doctor and a couple of car rental places. In the narrow street parallel to this to the east is the garage and stores; the next street along is packed with tavemas (and known locally as "Tavema Street"), All of this falls within an extremely small area where nothing is more than a couple of minutes' walk away. Many places near and including the post office (below the bus station towards the harbour) change money.
Beaches and day-trips
The beach at Ayia Galini is small when you consider the number of people who expect to use it It's not even very sandy or attractive - once the few patches of soft sand have been claimed you have to rent a chair if you hope to lounge in any comfort. It lies to the east of the village, reached by a narrow path that tracks around the cliff from the harbour front, or by one that descends from the top of the town (or you can drive round and park by Camping Agia Galini).
Walking
round by the cliffs, youll pass caves which in Worlds War II served as
gun emplacements. You can get food and drink at a number
of places immediately behind the beach.Further afield to the west are some much
better patches of sand. Boats from the harbour (details
from any travel agent, or get your tickets when boarding) make
daily day-trips to the beaches of Ayios Yioryios and
Ayios Pavlos as well as to the Paximadia islands 12km offshore, which
have wonderful fine sand beaches but little shade,
making a sun umbrella a must. Ayios Yioryios
is also fairly easily reached on foot take the main road up past the
bus station and at the crown of the first bend follow a left turn towards a
group of apartments. Just beyond these, cross a dry river
bed and head up the hillside on a well-wom path marked
with splashes of red paint The beach is almost two
hours away, a shingly cove with two tavernas,
Ayios Pavlos is even further, but also much more attractive, with some striking rock formations around a sheltered bay, and excellent snorkelling. In addition to the people arriving by boat from Ayia Galini, Ayios Pavlos has now attracted a colony of New Age yoga practitioners who fly in stressedout executives for twoweeks of muscle stretching at their centre, the Practice Place The boat is the easiest way to get here, but you can also drive via Saktouria, with the final 6km on a very rough, unsurfaced road. The quicker route is to take the main road towards Spill out of town and then turn left (signed) after about 12km, but the old road via Melambes has been newly sealed and is an excitingly winding route with great views.
| Rethymnon |
| The City |
| The Old Town |
| The Old Harbour |
| Archaeological Museum |
Cretan Cuisine buy the book. The recipe book. 207 Simple and Delicious Recipes from Crete The ultimate cook book
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