I + 7 : Agios Nikolaos - Stuck in the Marina

We are stuck in the Marina of Agios Nikolaos but the Sailing School for Kids is undeterred

Saturday is change-over day. The first guests left the MYRA at 6.00 am, the last at 10.30 am. Time for shopping in town. Sadly, our chef got sick and had to be replaced. We will be on our own for the next two days. Never mind. With plenty of good ideas we set out for the fish market and found an entire salmon, five sea breams and three sea bass. Back at the MYRA, deliveries arrived one by one. Yiannis, the fish monger showed up, the water delivery boys, then the van with fresh fruits and vegetables. New linen followed a bit later, then we got the cleaning products and - last but not least - the bread. The crew is busy with giving the MYRA a wash to remove the salt which accumulated yesterday.

Given the windy Weather, we skipped the Sardines which we

love to fry or bake - but they looked super yummi

Our main challenge for the next two days will be the frontal wind we face on our trip to Heraklion. Today, it blows at 35 kn and the waves are rather big. Even Elouda Bay where we stayed yesterday is not safe. But tomorrow, there is a 24 hours window to get west. It started to dawn on me why there are so many ports in Crete. Already the Minoans had figured out that the violent northwinds during sailing season (June - Sept) were a structural feature, not an exceptional occurence. Anybody sailing in Crete needs safe bays to sit out a Meltemi. The regular location of the ports on the north coast are thus not an accident but there by design: Agios Nicholaos, Heraklion, Rethymnon and Chania.

Wind Forecast for Sunday, 27 July 2025

Once all was done on the MYRA, we decided to visit Lato, the ancient Dorian town, in the mountains behind Agios Nikolaos. Built by Dorian settlers in the 8th century BC, Lato's structure is amazing. Its acropolis sits between two peaks, the body of the town lies in a valley basin. There are terraces everywhere.

Lato's Fortified Town Portal is still clearly visible

On the saddle between the two peaks are the town's meeting and market place and something that looks like a prototype of an ancient Greek theatre albeit not arranged in semi-circular fashion but linear. The view from the acropolis is spectacular. Agios Nikolaos is visible as little white speck against the background of the dark blue Aegean sea.

The Stairs leading up to Lato's Acropolis are still in good shape

Wonder what convinced the Dorians to settle in a place so high up in the mountains. It must have been for security reasons. The 8th century BC was not the safest period in history. It was the end of the transition from bronze to iron age which toppled big empires in the Middle Eeat. The violent Assyrians were on the rise, the Phoenicians built strongly fortified cities to remain independent, the Dorian towns in the Dodecanese formed the Doric Hexapolis as defence alliance.

Lato's Acropolis with the linear steps which look like the Prototype of a Greek Theatre

We walked around the Valley Basin which opens to the Aegean Sea - there are so many terraces. Not sure whether they were used for housing or farming - the site was deserted 2'200 years ago when the citizens moved to the coast to establish Agios Nikolaos. Since then Lato slowly decayed - earth quakes did the rest. There must be springs at the bottom of the basin - the green of the trees is lush.

The lush Valley Basin is today home to plenty of trees - there must be a lot of water

View from Lato's towards the Aegean Sea - the white Sliver is Agios Nikolaos

Lato is only 20 minutes by car - we were back by 4 pm. The wind had freshened even more than expected. We are glad we delayed departure to tomorrow. Dinner in town by 19.30 h.