Greetings to Jessica and Sarah’s fan base. Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Susan, the quiet young lady who has been lurking at many of your functions (Jay and Wendy’s shower, Sarah and Jessica’s party, etc.) but who you may not have actually met. I’m the girl who found out about the trip and said, “Sounds fun, can I come… pretty please?” And luckily for me it would be super awkward to say no, so here I am in Greece!
I would like to write a little about a topic that has consumed my attention for a lot of the trip: my feet. Yes, that’s right. I had such a difficult time deciding how to pack shoes. How many should I bring? What colors? What type? I didn’t want to be uncomfortable. So I ended up with 6 pairs which equaled the number of Sarah’s and Jessica’s combined even though I’m spending less than half the time in Greece that they are. And wouldn’t you know it? Despite my best planning, after two days I was uncomfortable.
No matter what shoes I decided to wear, after any significant amount of walking, they started to rub somewhere. Cruelly, the only shoes that didn’t rub my apparently delicate, sensitive feet were my dressy black sandals with heels. I had band-aids all over my feet and started thinking I might need some type of bandage that fits over my entire foot to prevent friction. Then I realized they have such a thing…it’s actually called a sock.
The condition of my feet caused me quite a bit of anxiety as we began planning our hike at Samaria Gorge. This particular gorge is the longest in Europe, and the 11 mile hike through it is a must-do for any visitor to Crete who is physically able. Our tour book boasts that the Samaria Gorge is “the most spectacular landscape in Crete,” but it also describes the hike through it as “tortuous.” The trail is steep and rocky making it easy to lose your footing. It drops 3,280 feet within the first mile. At certain points, the trail squeezes between two towering rock walls that are only 10 feet apart.
I was a basket case as the day of the hike approached. How was I going to manage this with my feet in this condition? My tennis shoes were old and worn and lacked support (After a ridiculous amount of thought I had decided I didn’t want to bring a good pair). Plus, I’m a bit more of a hmmm…what shall I say… perhaps more nervous traveler than what Sarah and Jessica are. As I told them, I’m just not used to looking for things to climb in and on and up when I’m on vacation. And after all, as I reminded them several times, people have died in Samaria Gorge.
The day started by Sarah awakening Jessica and I and informing us that we had an issue with our alarm clock (lousy wrist watch) and that we didn’t wake up in time. We had to start the hike early so we could finish in time to catch the last ferry to Omalos, where we would then catch a bus to Chania where we were staying. At first I felt relief. I don’t have to do it. And then I realized that meant another day of nervous anticipation. After a little discussion and time math, we reached the conclusion that if we hurried we could still catch the 8:30 bus to the gorge and complete the hike in enough time.
We arrived at the bus station just in time, bought our tickets, and hopped on board. Before long the bus was climbing through the mountains on windy, narrow roads. I removed my shoes and began applying salve and bandages in preparation. And at last we had arrived.
I was about 45 minutes into the hike when I realized, hey I can do this. Sure, the thought that I might die never completely left my mind, but it was tucked very deeply in the back, so I almost didn’t know it was there. We did see many spectacular sights that day. Some other highlights included meeting a couple from Pittsburgh PA on the trail, getting in trouble by the national park staff for lingering in a dangerous area of the trail to pose for silly pictures, and Jessica giving me a tutorial so that I could use a “squatty potty” for the very first time. I even found myself taking on the role of encourager at times. For example, when Jessica insisted after we stopped to eat our peanut butter sandwiches for lunch that she find a comfortable rock to lay on for a nap, I advised her not to do it…too risky. It may be too difficult to get going again. (Just for the record, I’m still against the idea, but she swears it was helpful.)
Finally after several hours, we found our way out of the gorge and completed the hike. We stopped to buy freshly squeezed orange juice at a roadside stand. We were hot, tired, and dirty, but we also had a sense of pride and accomplishment. And I only had 3 new blisters which wasn’t too bad for an entire day of fun.