Читать книгу The High Mountains of Crete. The White Mountains, Psiloritis and Lassithi Mountains онлайн

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In Chania, Pelekanakis on Halidon Street may have sold out of walkers’ maps by September, or, at least, the particular map you want. Anavasi maps are also found in Hora Sfakion, Loutro and Ay. Roumeli (where, naturally, the Samaria map is popular). Rethymnon old town has a well-stocked bookshop near Plateia Martyron. In Heraklion there are likely bookshops in the vicinity of Plateia Eleutherios Venizelou, including a foreign-newspaper stockist near the fountain.

Emergencies

There is no official mountain rescue service. The Police and Fire Brigade may be called upon to provide this service but they can be disadvantaged by not knowing an area as well as the local shepherds. This is why it is very important to leave the place name of where you intend to go (see below). Shepherds are often best at finding lost people, long after search parties have given up, unfortunately. In places where the landscape is made up of large stones and prickly plants, or forest, finding anything can be difficult – including your rucksack, if you leave it for a while. (GPS users should waymark the spot.) Cretan shepherds expect you to have a mobile phone at least – as they do – especially if you are alone. Save the Cretan ‘emergency’ telephone numbers into your phone (see Appendix D). And remember to take local accommodation telephone numbers with you. Unfortunate accidents can happen to anyone but, in general, Cretan opinion on trekking ventures is ‘if you can’t handle it, you shouldn’t be doing it’. This guide has been written to give you the necessary information, but the message must always be to take extra care on all routes. Injuring yourself and then running out of water is the chief danger.