Original subtitles

(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 ai-media.tv