Elounda Ilion Hotel

Flora

by steventilly

I have no idea what this flower is (answers on a postcard). I climed the hill above the small beach at Spinalonga in order to get a good view looking back. Whilst up the hill I saw this, in the distance further up - so naturally I climbed even further. Unfortunately it got a bit tricky and I couldn't get as near as I would like, but thanks to the 10x zoom of my trusty camera I still got a good shot. It looks quite exotic, doesn't it.

A Walk To Spinalonga - Ascending

by steventilly

50 to 100 meters after the bridge the path splits. You can stay by the shore or cut right up and over a hill. This is what we want to do. I don't know where the shore track goes to, that's one for another day, but the track up and over leads to the secluded beach. We learned this by accident - it was just a 50/50 call and we decided to go up and over.

A Walk And A Boat Trip In Elounda & Spinalonga

by steventilly

"Elounda"

Elounda is a small town on the coast a little way from Agias Nikolous on the Eastern end of Crete's North coast. It is a pretty little place, with colourful boats bobbing in the harbour and some interesting things to do nearby.
In the vicinity of Elounda are some of not only Crete's or Greece's top hotels but some of the best hotels in the world - pricey places to stay and well out of my budget. The reason they're here is, I suppose, for the warm, crystal blue seas and the almost year-long good weather. You'll pass a lot of these hotels on the road in from Agias Nikolous.

"Spinalonga Island"

We came here twice during our week long stay in Ag Nick., once to visit the town and the interesting old island settlement of Spinalonga, and the other time to do a hike to a secluded beach that passes some interesting archeaology and architecture along the way, as well as some breathtaking scenery.
It's all in the pages below.

"Spinalonga"

This is the beach that I mentioned. The walk to it from Elounda takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending how often you stop to look at other stuff. And there's plenty of other stuff to see...