Staying safe on Greek trails
I just returned to the US from a great three-week vacation in Greece. My wife and I like to visit Greece mid-May to early June and avoid the intense heat. We returned to the US June 4, just when Greece started experiencing a heatwave. This was the time that the first of a number of tourists was lost and some are still missing. As it happens, I also like to hike and I have some experience. While on Crete my wife and I hiked two gorges as well as a hiking trail. Comparing my experience hiking in Greece and the US with that of the recently missing tourists, I noticed some important differences.
I like to hike as early in the day as possible; that way I avoid the midday heat, especially during Greek summers. I think some of the people missing started their hike a bit later. I never hike alone; I usually hike with my wife and often with a group of friends. The Samaria Gorge has plenty of local people working there so help was always near but even on our other excursions, where we were mostly alone, we had our cell phones and if needed one of us could seek help. We were also equipped for the task with proper clothing and hiking boots. My understanding is that some of the people missing had neither a phone nor were they equipped for a hike. We always have some food and water with us; again, I believe one or more of the people missing did not have either.
The main issue, I think, is heat and the intense sun. The sun of Greece is glorious and has inspired poets from Homer to Seferis, but it can also be deadly if one is not prepared. We who live in northern climates assume that the sun of Greece will be just like that of Minnesota; I can assure you it is not. Its heat and intensity, particularly at midday in the summer, can turn a hike into a nightmare. When I hike, I always wear a hat. By the way, if any of the readers happens to be hiking in Minnesota and encounters someone wearing a Greek fisherman’s hat and holding a Cretan walking stick (katsouna) come and say hi; none but me sports such attire in the American Upper Midwest!
The sun of Greece is glorious and has inspired poets from Homer to Seferis, but it can also be deadly if one is not prepared
In short, we as hikers should be proactive and prepared for the worst-case scenario when hiking in Greece, or anywhere else for that matter. There is only one thing that I believe local governments, or, better yet, local hiking clubs can do: have better signs to indicate the right path. My wife and I got lost twice, once in the Sarakina Gorge and another time when we were hiking around Vamos on Crete (in both cases there were signs by the local hiking club but a few more were needed). Both times we found our way back fairly quickly, but if one was alone and dehydrated the outcome might have been different.
As I am writing this, we have reports of two tourists dead on Symi and Samos, and three or four missing; I hope the outcome in their case is better.
John Mazis is an author and a professor of history at Hamline University in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
