Friends in the foreign
Towards evening, the wind has become stronger. Only now and then, through its noise, soft bells ring: tame goats searching for food in the surrounding hills.
Smaro Mourtzanakis covers the large wooden table in front of her guest house.
There are bread, olives and dakos, the Cretan bruschetta variant with feta cheese. Smaro lights lanterns, because now, around 9 pm, this late summer evening is already a dark black, and the first guests from the four small holiday villas will soon sit down at the table.
As always, in a jaunty mix of English and French and some chunks of German or Arabic spoken and joked, the political situation in Greece is discussed, raved by the hike that one undertook during the day and of course the wonderfully fresh fish that the 42-year-old Smaro has prepared.
Instead of fish it may sometimes be meat. For the preparation of olive oil is used by the owner.
"I use olive oil from my own home for my redbreads, which are freshly caught, because we even use olive oil for frying," says Smaro and laughs.
"Apart from salt and pepper, I only season with fresh thyme, rosemary and oregano from our garden, which is simple and tastes delicious."
Since 2008, the little Greek woman and her husband Marcos have been running the Mourtzanakis residence in northern Crete. It is located about 20 kilometers from the Iráklio airport, above the medieval village of Achlada.
Nestled between olive trees and mountainside: the Mourtzanakis residence.
The whitewashed little villas offer a wonderful view of the nearby olive groves with their more than 500 years old trees, the mountainous hinterland and the Mediterranean Sea. There are couples and singles, families with small children and active older people who come to Achlada - Americans like Russians, Japanese and French, Czechs, South Africans, Israelis, Moroccans and Canadians, Germans and Swiss. They all share the desire to experience nature far away from mass tourism.
"On this day we walked with all the guests through the Samaria Gorge," says Marcos, as he shows the photo.
And Marcos and Smaro organize tours for their guests to the remote Samaria Gorge. They give tips on how best to reach the 17th-century Savvathiana Monastery on the steep, serpentine roads. And they know which of the local olive oil and wine producers offers a tour.
"We want to give our guests an insight into the real Cretan everyday life," says Marcos, "in our customs, in our culture and our way of cooking."
Before Marcos and Smaro built the residence as part of eco-tourism EU projects in Achlada, they lived in Athens, where Marcos worked as a marketing and sales manager for an international advertising agency. Crete they knew until then only as tourists. In fact, both families lived on the island until the end of the 19th century.
This is where Smaro and Marcos met for the first time in 1995, more precisely in Agia Pelagia, Achlada's nearby beach.
Love and family brought them together: Marcos, Smaro and their new home Achlada.
Her new home is basically her old, family and love story in one. "In Achlada, we have found our home," says Marcos.
When Smaro and Marcos decided to settle in Crete with their 11-year-old son Valery, they wanted to create a special location with their residence: a meeting place for people from all over the world.
Therefore, almost always the door to the guesthouse is open. Here is read, eaten, drunk, played. It is surfed on the Internet, told and advised, welcomed and adopted.
"Having come as guests, as friends - that's our vision," says Marcos. "And if they later remember us and their time here, then we would be happy if they did that with a smile."
ACHLADA MOURTZANAKIS Residence
www.ecotourismgreece.com
low season Villa for 1-2 persons from 70 Euro / per day Villa for 3-4 persons from 85 Euro / per day (without breakfast)
peak season Villa for 1-2 persons from 80 Euro / per day Villa for 3-4 persons from 95 Euro / per day (without breakfast)
Extra bed on request Baby cots are available free of charge
With breakfast plus 7 EUR p.P./per day with dinner plus 15 EUR p.P./ per day
Book directly online: ACHLADA MOURTZANAKIS Residence
Travel Info for Crete
Best travel time: Early April to late May and early September to mid-October; For sun lovers: June to August (during these months it is very hot on the island);
airlines: Crete can be reached per line via Athens daily via Olympic Airlines and Aegean Airlines.Between Easter and the end of October there are charter and "cheap" flights from many airports in the German speaking countries to Iráklio and Chaniá.
direct ferry There is no such thing as Italy. You first have to translate to Patras on the Peleponnes and then from Piraeus to Crete. Daily ferries from Piraeus to Chaniá, Iráklio and Réthimno (1-12 hrs)
Recommendation: Rent a car, either on site or directly from Germany. A small car costs including all driven kilometers, full insurance and taxes from about 28 EUR per day.
You will find particularly favorable offers on the Internet at: www.cretecarhire-eurocar.co.uk
