Paleochora
Western Crete. (map)

Each time you come back to Paleohora – you will definitely come back if you have visited the place even once in the past – you will relive the same experiences all over again: undisturbed bathing at Anydrous, a relaxing stroll on the main street. If you like fresh fish, then this is where you look for it. The local cinema features “Alexi Zorba” at least three times a week. Paleochora is an ideal place for sea sports as well. Paliochora is located in the south coast of Crete, overlooking the Libyan sea.

CAFES
Starting your day with a full breakfast at Paleochora is the right thing to do in this remote area of Crete. The hot spot for such a breakfast is the KASTELO or Castle, a coffee shop overlooking the beautiful beach of Pachia Ammos.. For sweats, pastries and ice cream there is the EVEREST shop. Next to it there is the FROUTADIKO (a fruit shop) for those on a healthy diet. An all-time classic morning post is the LABRAKI coffee shop situated strategically in the village of Paleochora. If you crave for oriental pastries, custard pies and “tsikoudia” on a tall glass, then the MEGALONISOS pastry shop is the place for you.

RESTAURANTS
The GRAMMENO restaurant is overlooking a beach by the same name offering a wide variety of dishes and a lot of cool spots to enjoy your lunch: patties, fried snails, fresh fish. APOSPERIDES is on the right as you enter Paleochora. The owner, Mrs. Maro, is an expert on Cretan delicacies that fit perfectly with cool red wine in bulk. The KYMA restaurant, also known as STOU PATSOURI, the menu changes almost daily and the fish is always fresh. For homemade dishes, call at RENA’s restaurant and try the casserole dishes and the mousaka. The sign on this restaurant reads not RENA’s but “Restaurant, small garden inside, Eutychios Archontakis”. The DIONYSOS restaurant is a neat and tidy place to eat at reasonable prices: roast lamb with pasta and tomato sauce, casserole dishes, all kinds of meat and wine. The TRITO MATI (“Third Eye”) restaurant, also known as STOU EFTYCHI, offers a vegetarian menu with Indian influences (the Nirvana going through the stomach, right!). The NIKE pizzeria offers pizzas baked in a wood-fired oven; pizzas are tastier this way. PORTOFINO specializes in the Italian cuisine. However, if you like the Greek “souvlaki”, THALEIA is the place for you. CALYPSO on the seafront next to Portofino offers meat & vegetarian dishes from around the world, in an old stone house covered with vines. The ANEMOS restaurant is a little further on the main street. It offers snacks and tsikoudia but this information is not recorded on the blackboard listing the menu outside the shop. At CAPTAIN JIM the spits loaded with meat delicacies are turning over charcoal. Make haste or you will waste an excellent opportunity for delicious chunks of meat.

NIGHTLIFE
The interior of the NOSTOS is designed to function as a club and bar at the same time. The former function is indoors and the latter outdoors, in the open area. NOSTOS is housed in a refurbished old manor of Paleochora. The owners have insulated key areas inside the club and installed air-conditioning systems. This is a favourite place for those keen on the latest Greek dancing hits. The AGIOS is also a good alternative for a drink and chat. Across this bar you will find the COCONUTS, a bar in the same class. Along the main street of Paleochora there is the ALALOOM and the FREEDOM STREET. They are always full of young people.

The SUNRISE is open from morning (serving breakfast) until early morning hours (for drinks and chat). It is quite popular among the young. The SKALA is one of our favourites, perhaps owing to the sociable character of the owner, Panos. The CAMPING CLUB changed ownership last year. Big news! It is ideal for romantic nights with a full moon and with a view to the Libyan sea and music by Mr Mitsaras

BEACHES - GETTING AROUND
There are plenty of them, just pick and choose the one that best suits your purpose. The waters here are a bit colder than anywhere else around the island. Sometimes, however, they get warmer, even up to room temperature. The Pachia Ammos beach is long, really long, and attracts the majority of tourists and locals during the summer. This is quite discouraging when you need a cozy place on the beach to lie down and bathe in the warm rays of the sun. For peace and quite some brave locals prefer to walk a little to the west where one can find isolated inlets. These people are brave not because the road looms over the beach, but having failed to get on that beach early, they will have to spend much time under the sun looking for a vacant spot elsewhere. On the other hand the ANYDROI location is not isolated anymore. To go to SOUGIA you need a 4x4 jeep or a mountain bike. The road is rough but the surrounding nature does compensate for the trouble one goes through. From there you can take the boat to GAVDOS, SFAKIA, AGIA ROUMELI, ELAFONISSI. Make sure you have an early start.

Source: Stigmes, Crete's magasine

Nikos Papadogeorgakis