The bay of Loutro was shrouded in heavy fog when I awoke this morning, and I wondered if it would affect our plans to take the ferry to Agia Roumeli. Fortunately the fog burned off shortly after the sun moved around into the bay, and we departed Loutro just after 11:00 a.m., as we had planned. The day turned out to be beautiful -- a perfect day to sail along the coast to Agia Roumeli. The journey took about 45 minutes. 

Once in town, we confirmed where the trail to the Church of St . Paul is located (Agios Pavlos in Greek), stocked up with plenty of bottled water and began our trek. This was our first time back to Agia Roumeli since we hiked the Samaria Gorge here a few years ago with Mom and Daddy, as I mentioned in an earlier journal entry. We would like to hike the gorge again, perhaps with Matt next time, if he's interested in doing it. The town doesn't seem to have changed much at all. The hike to the Church of St. Paul was extremely beautiful, and we enjoyed a clear view of the Libyan Sea on our right as we walked. The trail begins on the beach just east of the village. We had to walk through sand for awhile, which was a bit difficult. My foot sank into the sand with each step, which required that I twist and lift it up again for the next step. More than once I stopped to empty small rocks and sand out of my hiking shoes. The trail led us up to a high bluff over the sea where we could look over steep cliffs to the beach and dramatic rock formations below. We could hear the endless rhythm of the waves tumbling in with thundering booms, crashing and breaking onto the beach, then retreating with the gravelly sound of small pebbles being reclaimed and pulled back into the sea . We walked in a gentle and refreshing breeze permeated with the scent of fresh pine and oregano. After an hour and 15 minutes we arrived at the Church of St. Paul, which was built to commemorate his visit here. Tradition says that St. Paul baptized his first converts in Crete on the beach near this church. The church itself is built in the Byzantine style and is located right on the beach. I was delighted to discover once inside that it contains several ancient frescos, mostly depicting St. Paul. Some were ghostly and translucent, barely visible due to aging and fading over time, while others were in brighter hues. I took several pictures and then we walked around outside. There is a small taverna near the church (aptly named Saint Paul Restaurant) and we replenished our water supply before heading back to Agia Roumeli. The return trip didn't seem to take as long, mainly because several portions of the trail were downhill.

Once back in Agia Roumeli we sat at a shady table in a taverna overlooking the sea and the small port . I had a cappuccino and read a little while Ed had a beer and enjoyed the view. We had about two hours to relax while we waited for the ferry to arrive.

There were so many people waiting to get on the ferry that I wondered if it would hold them all. Many people were lined up on the pier, thinking that is where they would board the ferry. From past experience, we knew that the ferry would pull in to the left of the pier, and we waited near the landing. As it turned out, we were the first passengers on board! We quickly climbed the stairs to the second level and secured prime seats on the left side so we would have an excellent view of the coast on the return voyage.

Once we arrived back in Loutro we immediately went to our room and peeled off our sweaty hiking clothes and got a shower. Later in the evening, we had wine and dinner on our balcony, all the while enjoying soft Greek music and muted laughter and conversation from the taverna below. We spent the remainder of the evening talking and watching the reflection of the lights of the crescent shaped village shimmering and twinkling on the water.

We have decided to stay one more day here (I am beginning to wonder if we will ever leave!) to relax and read, since we had such a busy day today.

We enjoyed another beautiful day and evening on this southern coast of Crete. It is late now, so I will sign off until tomorrow.