Crete - Mochlos
After an hour or so wandering around the ruins of Gournia we headed East for the little village of Mochlos, also called Mokhlos or Mohlos,which Lorna said had one of the view accessible beaches on that part of the coast. Mochlos is located about 5km off and below the main road and it's a fairly steep road down to it but the drive is pleasant enough.
Mochlos Island
Mochlos' claim to fame here is not for the village or its nice wee bay but for the little island of the same name just offshore with its archaeological site of an ancient Minoan settlement. All there seems to be there now though is the little white church of Agios Nikolaos. However, we weren't there for the ruins as we'd just done that at Gournia and all we wanted to do here was to laze by the sea and have a bit of lunch. Boy were we to be disappointed…
It was May 1st and that's a big public holiday on Crete so, for the same reason that Gournia was closed, Mochlos was absolutely packed with Cretan families. The village was full of cars so finding a parking spot took ages and bear in mind that these wee streets are only wide enough for one car at a time. Okay we got parked and then went on the hunt for some lunch but that too was a waste of time as everywhere was full of munching Greeks. Not normally a problem but these guys know how to enjoy a meal and with lots of large tables full, the restaurant staff were really under pressure.
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We gave trying to get lunch and bought some drinks and a snack from a little shop and then headed for the seaside. Which brings me to the other revelation - Mochlos has no beach or at least we couldn't find it easily enough so we ended up sitting on the rocky foreshore for a while. It wasn't so bad and we had a wander around the village, which is quite nice, for a while but ended up heading for Kritsa and Lato as an alternative diversion for the rest of the day.
So if you happen to find yourself on Crete on May 1st, then be aware that anywhere you go might either be closed or full of locals enjoying a well-earned break themselves.
Mochlos IslandMochlos' claim to fame here is not for the village or its nice wee bay but for the little island of the same name just offshore with its archaeological site of an ancient Minoan settlement. All there seems to be there now though is the little white church of Agios Nikolaos. However, we weren't there for the ruins as we'd just done that at Gournia and all we wanted to do here was to laze by the sea and have a bit of lunch. Boy were we to be disappointed…
It was May 1st and that's a big public holiday on Crete so, for the same reason that Gournia was closed, Mochlos was absolutely packed with Cretan families. The village was full of cars so finding a parking spot took ages and bear in mind that these wee streets are only wide enough for one car at a time. Okay we got parked and then went on the hunt for some lunch but that too was a waste of time as everywhere was full of munching Greeks. Not normally a problem but these guys know how to enjoy a meal and with lots of large tables full, the restaurant staff were really under pressure.
Useful ContainerWe gave trying to get lunch and bought some drinks and a snack from a little shop and then headed for the seaside. Which brings me to the other revelation - Mochlos has no beach or at least we couldn't find it easily enough so we ended up sitting on the rocky foreshore for a while. It wasn't so bad and we had a wander around the village, which is quite nice, for a while but ended up heading for Kritsa and Lato as an alternative diversion for the rest of the day.
So if you happen to find yourself on Crete on May 1st, then be aware that anywhere you go might either be closed or full of locals enjoying a well-earned break themselves.
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