Hidden Crete – walking and painting

SUMMARY

Dates: Saturday May 13th to Saturday May 2oth 7 nights with 5 mornings walking and 4 afternoons of painting workshops with a painting party on the final day.

Guide and Artist:  Camille Marquand, herself a painter.

This is a holiday where you will be joining other women who are also keen to try painting.

Walking Grade: 2 Goats as some hills and a 4 hour walk which could be a little stretching .There is the option to opt out of walks  for more painting or relaxing.

Base: Sunny Bay Hotel on the edge of the small town of Kissamos and directly on the Kissamos Bay with it’s clean blue sea. The centre of town is 10 minutes walk away. All rooms have sea views.

Price: £850 per person per holiday  for solo occupancy ( £765 pp sharing)

• ensuite B+B accommodation in air conditioned rooms with sea views
• dinner on the first night together
•  local guiding and painting workshops
• Airport transfers included to and from Chania. Approx 40km / 1 hour from the hotel. These  are ongoing and pick up and return will be arranged to suit your flights. We recommend arriving on Sat 13th by 4pm and leaving Sat 20th from 2pm.  Pick up from Heraklion is an additional cost.

Not included:Travel to Chania.Travel Insurance. Meals and drinks after the 1st night.Local tavernas are in abundance and reasonably priced – you can expect to pay between 10 – 20 euros per person per evening meal. Travel Insurance which is mandatory .

If you would like help with flights or travel insurance please get in touch with Helen to discuss your plans – helen.wheatley@travelcounsellors.com
Call – 01522 716180/07775 927746

DETAILS

Our Walking and Painting holiday offers you the opportunity to relax in one of the most beautiful places of the Mediterranean. The area of Kissamos in Western Crete is part of the European Programme NATURA 2000 which aims to promote its rich natural heritage and to promote eco-tourism. We don’t use private transport and only leave green footprints!

Our family-run accommodation has been popular over the years and is situated close to the beach and with a swimming pool.

The walks are graded two goats – they are leisurely paced lasting 2-4  hours walking along beaches, in the hills and valleys and exploring the town of Kissamos and some of the surrounding traditional villages. You need to be reasonable fit.

On this spring trip there are an abundance of flowers and plants with lots of colour for great painting. You will learn lots about this fascinating island walking with our local guide.

We usually start at 9am and return at 13.30 There is plenty of time for stopping in local cafes and tavernas and sampling local produce.

In the afternoons we have painting workshops suitable for the beginner and more advanced artists.We sketch with either the medium you have brought with you (pastels,watercolours,oils) or the medium we provide (pencils,pastels and acrylics)

We start workshops at 17.30 and end at 19.00 in time for dinner. We can be flexible about timings of the week’s programme to suit the group and can combine painting with walking to give free time in the evenings. There is always the option to opt out if people need their own time. We will discuss with the group each day.

Workshops take place in the Studio or out in the landscape.

Basic painting materials are provided,including board,pencils,pastels and a wetbox with acrylic colours. We do however encourage artists to bring their own mediums. Light weight collapsible stools are also available.

On the last day before departure we exhibit our paintings and have a party.

ITINERARY

DETAILED HOLIDAY WEEK

DAY 1

Arrival day. Transfer from Chania airport. Welcome dinner.

You will be met by our local taxi driver and taken to your family run hotel. To get to our destination on the following days, we usually walk or take the public bus, to keep our carbon footprint low and to enjoy being part of the reliable local transport system. On the first evening we offer you the chance to get to know everybody at the Welcome dinner.

DAY 2   Walking part of the expedition: about 2.5 hours.  Difficulty : light

• 7:30-9:00 : Breakfast.
• 9:00 : Meet at the hotel.
• 9:00-13:30 : Walk : ’Platanaki – Korfalonas – Kissamos’.  From our hotel we walk to the sea and then along the beach to the Platanaki  and Korfalonas areas. We cross the little river of Korfalonas and continue further until we cross the little river of Kissamos and reach Kissamos town, where we can visit the local archaeological museum, the old fishing port and local traditional shops selling honey, wine, tsikoudia, herbs etc. We return by the regular bus service.
• Return at 14:00 to the hotel.
• 14:00-17:00 : Free time for lunch, relaxing, enjoying the beach and/or swimming.
• 17:30-19:00 : First painting workshop. At the studio to discuss the painting programme, try pencils and pastels and do some warm up exercises in drawing/sketching eg: still lives/views of the sea/painting from sketches or photographs taken on the first walk. Beginners will be introduced to drawing materials and encouraged to start sketching.
• 19:00 – … : Free time for further painting and enjoying the evening in the nearby tavernas.

DAY 3 Walking part of the expedition: about 2.5 hours.  Difficulty : light

• 7:30-9:00 : Breakfast.
• 9:00 : Meet at the hotel.
• 9:00-13:30 : Walk : ’Ancient Mythimna – Agios Georgios – Villa Trevizan’. From the hotel we walk to ancient Mythimna’s archaeological site. We continue our walk through the olive groves in order to reach the medieval church of Agios Georgios which was built on the ruins of an ancient Roman temple, which can still be seen today. We walk further across the southern end of the village of Drapanias on soil tracks to the ruins of the 16^thcentury Villa Trevizan, named after a Venetian feudal family governing the area. After a short break in the center of Drapanias village we visit the Pnevmatikakis winery . We can choose to taste from more than 25 different wines and drinks made of local grapes. Our hotel is not far away.
• Return at 13:30 to the hotel.
• 13:30-17:00 : Free time for lunch, relaxing, enjoying the beach and/or swimming.
• 17:30-19:00 : Second painting workshop. Meet at the Studio to collect paints and materials and then walk east along the bay to find a shady spot from which to sketch the rocks, trees and sea. For beginners this second workshop is the chance to try painting in colour, using shading to add depth. The receding rocky coastline is an excellent subject for the study of perspective and tone to create distance and for all artists it is a chance to paint ‘en plein air’.
• 19:00 – … : Free time for further painting and enjoying the evening in the nearby tavernas

DAY 4 Walking part of the expedition: about 3.5 hours.  Difficulty : medium.

• 7:30-9:00 : Breakfast.
• 9:00 : Meet at the hotel.
• 9:00-14:00 : Walk : ’Kolymbari – Astratigos – Afrata’. We go by public bus to Kolymbari we walk uphill to the west on the Rodopos peninsula in order to find the picturesque village of Astratigos: a very small village at an altitude of 210 metres without any shops but with beautiful views to Chania bay. We walk further to the north of the peninsula and arrive in Afrata, another small village with a tavern and a traditional Café. Time for a coffee break. From here on, during our whole way to the Gonia Monastery the views to the Chania bay are spectacular. The city of Chania and the island of Ag. Theodoroi are visible. Our next stop is at the famous Gonia Monasterywhich was built between 1618 and 1634 in its present location, with Venetian influences in its architectural design and adornment. The distinctive fountain in front of the monastery’s entrance was built in 1708 and the belfry in 1849. The monastery was heavily damaged by Ottoman bombardments on many occasions throughout its history, including in 1645, 1652, 1822, 1841, and finally in 1867 during the Great Cretan Revolution (1866–1869) against the Ottoman Empire, evidence of which can be seen today by the remaining cannonball lodged in the monastery wall. The monastery contains numerous Byzantine artifacts from the 15th and 17th century including Cretan icons by painters of the famous Cretan school of icon painting (which shaped El Greco). It also has numerous relics and other rare religious treasures from the Byzantine period and ancient inscriptions on the walls.
• Return at 14:00 to the hotel.
• 14:00-17:00 : Free time for lunch, relaxing, enjoying the beach and/or swimming.
• 17:30-19:00 : Third painting workshop. Having found a subject to draw or paint on our walks, either from photos or from sketching on the spot, subjects maybe churches, doorways, colourful gardens, ancient olive trees, strange stones, seascapes, landscapes, whatever you like. By now beginners will have found the confidence to tackle more varied subjects. Help is at hand from the resident artist, Camille Marquand.
• 19:00 – … : Free time for further painting and enjoying the evening in the nearby tavernas.

DAY 5

A free day to rest or do further walking or sightseeing on your own. You could enjoy the many attractions of Chania, or visit the famous Balos beach by a short boat trip or hire a car to explore further a-field or …

DAY 6 Walking part of the expedition: about 4 hours.  Difficulty : light

• 7:30-9:00 : Breakfast.
• 9:00 : Meet at the hotel.
• 9:00-14:00 : Walk : ’Drapanias – Potamida’. After a 20 minute walk from our hotel, we reach the village of  Drapanias which we skirt round. Going uphill we find an old track leading through the olive groves to the little chapel above us built into a cave… Michael the Archangel. We continue on this track over a small river bed and a magnificent mulberry tree until we reach a country road and more old tracks. At the sides of the path is a rare kind of mint and a lot of caper flowers amongst many other plants. Now coming downhill we reach another cave chapel … another Michael the Archangel, nestling under the shade of a plane tree from which the old church bell is hanging. From here we take the road to Potamida in the valley and turn back towards the sea, passing on our right the famous natural clay marls which tower above the fields. We will visit the mill museum and have a break there before we return to the hotel.
• Return at 14:00 to the hotel.
• 14:00-17:00 : Free time for lunch, relaxing, enjoying the beach and/or swimming.
• 17:30-19:00 : Fourth painting workshop.  Either at the studio or on location: street scenes/café scenes or anything you want to do.
• 19:00 – … : Free time for further painting and enjoying the evening in the nearby tavernas.

DAY 7 Walking part of the expedition: about 3.5 hours.  Difficulty : medium.

• 7:30-9:00 : Breakfast.
• 9:00 : Meet at the hotel.
• 9:00-13:30 : Walk : ’Nopigia – Panagia Myrtidiotisa – Agios Vasilios’. Starting from the hotel we will walk past the open air theater to the little chapel  of  Panagia Myrtidiotisa in Nopigia and then along a rough path over stones and rocks towards the little medieval chapel of Agios Vasilios on the Spatha peninsula. The blue sea is always beside us. We will encounter only a few sheep and goats and enjoy great views towards the  Gramvousa peninsula  across  Kissamos bay, with the Spatha mountain on our right. We walk along Nopigia beach back to our hotel.
• Return at 13:30 to the hotel.
• 13:30-18:00 : Free time for lunch, relaxing, enjoying the beach and/or swimming.
• 18:00- … : ‘Painting Exhibition’ of your work and party to review, discuss and appreciate the week’s work and developments in a relaxed way…

DAY 8

Departure day. Transfer to Chania airport.