Goddess Tours International
The Goddess in Crete
A sacred sites tour of Crete
Next tour - Sept 12th - 25th 2013
Malia
A special opportunity to visit not only the major sites but also lesser-known and more remote Minoan sites of central and eastern Crete. With experienced and informed Goddess-loving guides Cheryl Straffon and Lana Jarvis.
- See Crete from the inside
- Connect deeply with the Land
- Ritual and ceremony at some places
- All accommodation arranged
- Transport to all sites
- Time for rest and recuperation
- Be with a small Goddess-loving Group
Makriyalos
The Tour
Introduction
Crete is one of the most attractive and amazing places that had a Goddess-celebrating culture that still retains many of the sacred sites from that Minoan era. Many holidays and tours go to the island, but there are very few that offer an informed guiding to the sites from detailed Goddess knowledge and experience. This Tour visits some of the major, and many of the lesser-known and little-visited, sites of Central and Eastern Crete, where many sites have remained undiscovered. The approach to visiting the sites is as being on a pilgrimage: there will be plenty of time to connect with the sites and the spirituality of the landscape, and there will also be opportunity for ritual and ceremony to honour the Goddess at some of the places. Join us now with this special chance to reach out to the Goddess in the landscape of Crete, along with experienced and Goddess-loving Tour Guides Cheryl Straffon and Lana Jarvis.
Knossos
The Tour – Itinerary
The first week will be spent in a Hotel in Piskopiano, to the east of Heraklion, on a hillside overlooking Hersonnisou. Piskopiano is a small village with a delightful mix of local craft shops and tavernas, and the Hotel has excellent facilities, including a large swimming pool, an attached resturant, a bar and breakfast room, 24 hour reception, and Internet access. Accommodation is based on 2 sharing a room (single room supplements available) and all rooms have sea or garden views. This is a good centre for visiting the major Temple, Palace, Cave, and Peak Sanctuary sites of central Crete, as well as the Heraklion Temporary Museum.
The second week will be spent in the quieter seaside village of Makriyalos on the south coast, overlooking the Libyan sea. Makriyalos is a friendly, laid-back resort that has its share of shops and tavernas, but is small enough to retain a village atmosphere. It also has probably the best beach in SE Crete for safe swimming. Accommodation will be in self-catering apartments based on 2 sharing (single room supplements available), each with their own en-suite bathroom and shower, fridge and small cooker. Makriyalos is a good centre for visiting some of the lesser-known sites of eastern Crete, including the earliest Mionoan settlements, the hilltop villas and the late-Minoan tombs.
It is intended that most visits to sites will be in the morning, returning to the resorts, or to a nearby beach for the afternoons, so that there will be plenty of ‘down-time’ during the warm afternoons for resting in the shade, journal-writing, swimming or taking a seista.
Achladia
The Tour – Details of Sites
The Tour begins with your collection from the Airport and transportation to your accommodation. The first day is then spent at Knossos, the internationally famous Palace/Temple site of the Minoan people. Many tours go to this place, but this will be the only one that will have an informed Goddess view of it! Later there will be a visit to Mount Jucktas, the Peak Sanctuary site, an amazing place where offerings to the Goddess were thrown into a sacred chasm. Other days will include visits to the powerful ritual cave at Skotino on its four levels, where we will sing sacred songs to the Goddess; Malia Palace/Temple site, where shrine rooms can be identified and we can gather for a simple ceremony to honour the Goddess; and the Dictean Cave, where offerings can be made to the Goddess in the sacred pool at the bottom. We will also visit the Heraklion Temporary Museum with its fine collection of Goddess figurines and artefacts. All these sites are easy to access and do not involve any difficult walking.
The second week visits some of the lesser-known sites of Eastern Crete, where access may involve some walking, though nothing of a long or strenuous nature. These sites are well ‘out-of-the-way’ and are unlikely to be on the itinerary of most other tours of ancient Crete. They include:
Gournia, a wonderful site where we can wander amongst the ancient early Minoan streets and find the shrine room where Goddess figurines were discovered; Vasiliki, an early settlement where it all began and where we can honour the ancient ancestors of the Minoan people; Hamezi, a spectacular site in the hills with views to the Goddess in the Land; the Achladia tomb, a powerful tholos tomb with great acoustics for chanting and singing; Pyrgos, a dramatic site overlooking the sea, where beautiful artefacts were found, including a pink conch shell; and Zakros Palace/Temple, on the furthest eastern shore, where we can once again seek healing and inspiration from the peace-loving Minoan peoples. The final day will look at the ending of the wonderful Minoan civilisation, and what happened to its peoples. Visits to all these sites will include opportunity for rest in the beautiful land and swimming in the azure blue Aegean sea.
All arrangements subject to change arising from local conditions.
Tour Guides
Cheryl Straffon and Lana Jarvis
Costs
The total cost for the full 2 weeks tour is £950 (shared accommodation) and £1050 (single accommodation).
This includes:–
Transfer from and back to Heraklion Airport at beginning and end of the Tour
- Accommodation in hotel or self-catering apartments
- En-suite rooms with fridge (air conditioning also available which needs to be paid locally)
- Transport to all the sites
- Informed tour-guiding and ceremony by guides Cheryl Straffon and Lana Jarvis
You are responsible for making your own arrangements for the following:-
- Flight to Crete (value-for-money flights are available from UK airports – check the Internet, or we can advise reliable operators)
- Your travel insurance
- Your main meals in Crete (people usually eat out at tavernas. This is inexpensive and a great way to meet other travellers and the friendly Cretan people)
- Adequate footwear, sun lotion protection, and anything else you may need
Oh, and a willingness to be enthralled, excited and touched by the ancient, deep and spiritual land of Crete, its powerful Goddess-celebrating past, and its beautiful and magical present!
Rachael, who came on the 2009 Tour to Crete, has written an (unsolicited!) article about it for the on-line magazine Goddess Pages called Six Women in Search of the Goddess in Crete.
Important things to note:-
If you choose the shared room occupancy you are responsible for providing a room mate. If you wish, we will endeavour to select a room mate for you from any others who have booked for the Tour in this way, but if we are unable to do so, then you will need to pay the single room occupancy supplement. This is a standard requirement for tours of this nature.
A deposit of £100 must be paid at the time of booking this Tour, and the balance no later than 8 weeks before the commencement of the Tour. You have 28 days in which to change your mind about the booking, after which time the deposit becomes non-refundable. This covers any administrative and cancellation charges that we may have to pay. If you are forced to cancel your booking after paying the full amount, the following refunds will be given: Before 8 weeks prior to the Tour – total amount less £100. Between 8 – 4 weeks prior to the Tour – 50% refund. Within 4 weeks – no refund. If we are forced to cancel the Tour for any reason, we shall refund any money paid in full.
The prices for this Tour are set at a rate current at - Seprtember 2012. We hope that this price will be the final price you pay, but in these uncertain economic times, if the exchange rate between the pound and the dollar or the pound and the euro changes significantly before the beginning of the Tour, we reserve the right to impose a surcharge to reflect this which will be no greater than the change in rates. We shall only do this if there is a significant fall or rise in the exchange rate.
We shall endeavour at all times to ensure that care is taken of your needs and abilities, but equally you are responsible for your own safety, and by signing up for the Tour, you agree to absolve the Tour and its organisers from any responsibility for your own safety.
You download details of our "A sacred sites tour of Crete" as a PDF document, 318kb.
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Snake goddess of Crete