A Canuck visits Loutro- a hidden paradise

Loutro is a little isolated fishing and tourist village on the Libyan Sea, about an hour's drive across the White Mountains and a 20 minute trip by ferry from Chora Sfakia.


The following block of pictures are from
Chora Sfakia.

Anyone familiar with the Battle for Crete know that the British army had many "Dunkirks" in 1940-41.The Germans were pushing them hard everywhere.

On Crete the British had the first real opportunity to stop the Germans but the British were still working on old leadership ideas that were not good for war.

Incompetence at the top led to gross failure to prevent an invasion they knew was coming and had the resources to stop. The British retreat, together with the ANZACs [Australian and New Zealand forces], ended at Sfakia where most were rescued by Australian and British naval vessels.

These monuments commemorate their lives- those rescued and the 1000's who died.

The Cretans on the south end of Crete value their unique "tough" nature. Feuds still happen here.

This canon points to a dock where, last spring, 2 taxi drivers got into a fight over a pickup. One pulled a gun. Others got into it. Dozens of shots were fired. 4 were injured including the 2 taxi drivers. The police said "oh well- Sfakians".

While a little unusual the event is simply another example of life in Sfakia.



The following are ferry pictures between Sfakia and Loutro.






















yes- it is this blue here!













Crete is largely limestone and so extensive caves and cave systems are everywhere





























Loutro is peaceful. It is small. It feels like a village even though 95% of the people here in the summer are visitors.

It takes less than five minutes to walk from one side of Loutro to the other. It is composed of hotels,  tavernas, mini-markets, the "Blue Houses", the pebble beach, a church  and a few other buildings - that's it!

Loutro is somewhat unique. The blue white style of houses, most common in the Cyclades Island group but also found along parts of the south coast of Crete, contrast brilliantly with the steep, harsh, rock mountainsides, audibly decorated with the clinking of goat bells.
















































As the sun moves across the sky the mountains visibly change the panorama in view as its ark lights different aspects of the slopes forming the bowl. The bay is warm and sheltered. This is a magic place.

No road leads here. In fact there are no roads in Loutro. Therefore no mopeds, cars and trucks disturb contemplation, conversation and consumption of food and wine. 

According to the Bible it may have been the port where St Paul found shelter from a storm that shipwrecked him on his way to Rome. At least that is the story they are sticking too. 

Small, stunningly beautiful with a conscious decision to offer no nightlife or discos this is a peaceful place. It his composed multinationals staying in its closely grouped buildings.



During the day, even when all rooms are full, Loutro can feel almost empty - many have gone for a hike along the ocean side trails to private beaches and to sauté in the sun, read the summer stack of books, strolls, walks or try to meet the challenge of some serious hikes up the mountains. 

The ruins of the old Venetian fortifications litter the old hillside with walls, mostly collapsed houses and numerous other structure.














One can relax and gaze at the Libyan sea from the ruins on the hilltop, watch the ferries that ply the coastal waters regularly come and go. decide whether to read a few pages more or walk over the hill to one of the out lying tavernas or plot a route to Anopolis a thousand metres above...it's up to you. Time passes.

Loutro village was named for the baths (Loutro or Loutra) found in the area, and from which water was directed to nearby Anopoli Village.

















Loutro also served as the port of ancient Anopoli. Later it became the winter time port of the town of Sfakia, due to the fact that the enclosed bay and the small island at its entrance create a natural harbor where ships can be safe even in very bad weather conditions.

Mountains rear straight up from the sea with deeply wooded gorges, ravines and valleys. They naturally attract your eye. 

The Sfakia region has been the site of heroic deeds, ancient civilizations, and constant intrigue for thousands of years, and the home of brave tough people, made so by their hard life on the land and their experiences of the sea.

And finally there is the sea- warm and clear. The fish are abundant swimming in schools of radiant colours.

The swimming is wonderful. Loutro is an oasis of peace. 

War Memorial Cemeteries Visit

I visited the graves of 5 young Canadians killed in the Battle of Crete in 1941 today. The bottom of this marker says "missing but never forgotten".  He was 20


They are buried in the Commonwealth War Cemetery located at the end of Souda Bay.











They were all airmen, mostly pilots, serving with the British Air Force.

In this case these two men, one Canadian and the other British,  crewed together, died together and thus are buried together. He was 21 and from Trail BC. When I lived in the interior of BC before moving to NB, I lived just up the hill from his home.


This is another mixed crew, British and New Zealand airmen similarly, having served together, buried together. 

The Souda Bay Cemetery is the final resting place for the remains of 1527 soldiers, mostly from Britain, New Zealand and Australia.

I walked every row of this cemetery twice searching for the monuments to our five Canadians here. I found three. There is no guide book in this cemetery, as often found in others, to aid in finding a specific grave.

What gave me pause as I began my search, is that well over half of the makers indicate this is a "soldier known unto God"

Note the inscription on the top of this stone, "Believed to be..."








Every time I visit one of these cemeteries the incredible waste of life confronts me.

The Battle for Crete is one we Canadians know little about. It came towards the end of that long struggle at the beginning of WW2 when the allies were having a hard time stopping the Germans anywhere.

The Allies lost this battle. 12,000 were captured. 18,000 were evacuated by the British Navy and about 2000 died, many of whom were never found. 




This is the gorge the Allies fought their retreat through. It is steep, harsh, rugged. It is unimaginable to me what it might have been like.

This map depicts the naval battle for Crete. Each white marker is a British ship sunk. The British desperately wanted to keep the island in order to limit German ability to exert power, but after heavy loss of ships and damage to many more, England simply could not afford the cost to keep Crete. The main war effort to stop the Germans then moved to North Africa and the Battle of El Alamain.

Last Saturday I visited the German Cemetery on the western part of the island at Maleme, one of the main paratroop landing fields. Many young Germans were slaughtered in the first phase of the land battle. 

Over 4000 Germans soldiers are buried in this site on a ridge overlooking the main drop zones and the sea. This was the first time in history a large paratrooper attack was ever attempted.

Hitler was so horrified by the heavy losses that he ordered the paratroop divisions disbanded and never to be used again.

Here is a marker to German unknown soldiers. In this cemetery, each flat stone has two names on it.

This is a Cretan wedding dress made from the silk parachute lines from German parachutes retrieved after the battle. I came across this dress in the Naval Museum in Chania.

The Cretans have various ways to acknowledging their victory over oppression. This is one such gesture we may find hard to understand, but neither are we a people oppressed for centuries by one power or another.

Another example are the head coverings worn by Cretan mountain men in the villages. Each tassel symbolizes a man this man killed. Most would be German.

The British, Canadian and Americans took notice of this parachute attack and concluded this, although very risky and extremely costly in lives, could have enormous benefits. Thus the paratroop regiments and divisions were born that would be so successful later in the war.



On the same day I went to Maleme, I visited this lonely mountain top memorial overlooking the sea and the German drop zones. It is dedicated to the youth of Crete who also joined in the battle to protect their homes from the Germans.

Note the ancient Greek shield on the right of the top monument






On another hill I came across this memorial site that appears to honour soldiers and freedom fighters who fought for their island dating back into the 1800's.

This memorial stands beside the harbour in Chania and is dedicated to the 267 Jewish men, women and children who died when a British submarine torpedoed the ship they were on. It sank just outside the harbour. No one survived. They were on their way to northern Europe to be killed in the extermination camps.

It all serves to remind us that when someone offers a war...

... everyone dies.