stellas Traditional appartments, Kato Zakros, Crete, Greece

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‘’Stella’s Apartments’’ is a small, three-apartment complex, built exactly right on the top of the amphitheatrical, fertile valley of Kato Zakros. It is situated at a conspicuous location, overlooking the sea high above the tops of the olive trees, which grow lower at the valley.

The sea-shore is 500metres away, quite close for someone to enjoy its scents and glare under the sunlight and far enough to make every ‘’civilized’’ sound coming from the visitor’s cars, fade away. The area’s peace and quite is disturbed only by nature’s sounds: birds, cicadas, the wind or the rustling of leaves. One can reach the apartments via a dirty road passing by the Archaeological Site first, and then by the exit of the ‘’Dead’s Gorge’’ (Faragi ton Nekron). The Apartments are only 150 meters away from the Dead’s Gorge exit. This road used to connect Ano Zacros with Kato Zacros and a visitor ‘’must’’ either drive or walk along it because the view to the Gorge from it, as she/he moves along its edge, is truly grandiose.

The path to the beach goes past small gardens, which the Zacrites (the inhabitants of Zacros) have in order to produce their own vegetables, potatoes, fruit and citrus fruits. The beach is about a 7 or 8 minutes walk ( of course it is less by car) and it is a very pleasant route. The beaches of Kato Zacros – famous for the clarity of the water- are covered either by pebbles or by fine sand. They are rich in fish and are suitable for either an amateur fisherman or a spear fisherman and a professional fisherman as well.

Three taverns, a fast food with Greek delicacies (e.g. gyros, souvlaki, e.t.c.) and a cafe-bar are the beach’s popular and only attractions. At the local tavern one can taste the wide range of the traditional Cretan cuisine, dishes which are cooked by natives only with locally-produced ingredients (oil, vegetables, fish). One must note here that the tavern-owners have their own gardens and grow the products they serve, themselves. Dinner at the beach, accompanied by a local wine, combined with the scent of the sea, is a unique pleasure one can enjoy.

 

The interior as well as the exterior of the apartments are covered with sedimentary rock, extracted from the Sitia region. The area where the quarry is, was once the bottom of the sea but after some geological rearrangements, lasting millions of years, it came up to the surface.

So, on the stone tiles appear interesting fossils of sea-shells, limpets and various shellfish which tell the long and adventurous geological history of the region.

The ceilings as well as the furniture are wooden, while the beds are either made of stone or of a combination of wood and stone. The interior decoration is full of elements from the Cretan culture and follows the austere tradition of the region.

In the kitchen, one can find all the comforts required for the preparation of one’s meals e.g. pans, cutlery, a small cooker, a coffee-machine as well as a fridge, plates and glasses for various uses.

There is also air-conditioning, communal washing-machine and iron, necessary things when one’s vacations last long.

Although the rooms are protected by nets which do not allow the insects to disturb your sleep, there are insect-repellent appliances relieving one from possible annoyances.

There is a shower or a bath in every apartment and hot water is provided round the clock. As for the water, there will be no need to buy any bottled one, as one of the best (perhaps THE best) water of Crete, coming straight from the Zacros source, is running through the tap.

 

Outside the Apartments there are over 30 big trees, such as pine-trees, carob trees, horse chestnut ficus trees, arocarias, fig-trees e.t.c. During high noon, they provide those who enjoy swinging on their hammocks with their cool shade.
Apart from the stone jardinieres, which decorate the area surrounding the apartments, there are two large rock gardens, in which ornamental plants and scattered bushes of local herbs, such as thyme, oregano, mint, throumbi, rosemary, sage e.t.c. grow together. During the evening their scents mix with the aroma of the jasmine and the basil.

Outside every apartment, there is a wooden canopy and comfortable seats- “rustic”-style- while all the interior and exterior decoration is a hymn to the Cretan tradition.

The tiled yard is the beginning of many paths which lead either to the barbecue -at the disposal of every visitor- or to the small Greek- Orthodox church of Agios Nikolaos( Saint Nicolas); or to the rock gardens; or to the open-air “Weight Training” Gym, addressed to those who don’t want to lose their fitness during vacations. Moreover, seats, hammocks and areas for daydreaming are available all over the surrounding space.

 

If lying lazily on the hammocks or on the armchairs reading, makes you bored, if swimming and enjoying the sun on the beach sounds dull, if exploring the sea-bed or fishing is not your style, if you are not interested in using the open-air gym because you want an activity closer to nature, then don’t forget to take your best climbing boots with you. There are trekking routes of gradual difficulty- varying from very easy to very demanding ones- which you can enjoy under the instructions and with Elias and Stella’s help.

We must inform you that Elias and Stella are trekking fanatics and they have climbed all the Greek mountains as well as Kilimanjaro, the Alps and the Himalayas. And if asked, we thing that you will not find Elias reluctant to lead the way to one of these trekking paths, getting you away from the tourist routes and discovering in the nearby mountains, things that only the natives are aware of.

What’s more, if you are interested in climbing, there is a secure climbing field at the exit of the Dead’s Gorge and Elias will be very willing to lend you his own climbing equipment in order to follow easy or difficult routes, or even to create your own one. Moreover, if you are interested in Greek or Cretan traditional dances, you can ask Stella to teach you some: from “syrtaki” and “hasapiko” to “pentozali” and “tsamiko”(Stella is a P.E ( Physical Education) teacher, specialized in Greek traditional and folklore dances). Unless, of course, you happen to be present in one of the Greek nights we organize regularly.

There you can taste “raki” (traditional Cretan spirit) and roast wine combined with lots of music, dance and love, under the starry sky of Kato Zakros, in Stella’s Traditional Apartments’ yard.

But whatever one says or pictures here, it is impossible to give even a glimpse of the atmosphere you will find here. It is the feeling of an escape from civilization; it is the scent that rises from the Cretan soil; it is the color of tradition and of simplicity one will find here; it is the music deriving from nature’s sounds in an immaculate environment; it is the tastes of the local products, varying from fish, vegetables and meat to wine, fruit and “raki”; these are the things that cannot be captured by any camera-lance.

But above all you will experience the feeling that YOU are not a tourist.

YOU are not a client. YOU are not a part of masses that visit Crete every year.

For us YOU are a potential friend, honoring us with your choice and we pay you back by recognizing your uniqueness and the respect to the notion of Philoxenia (Hospitality).