The eight crosses

Day one, and we set off enthusiastically on our first local walk, called ‘The eight crosses’. It was described as a moderate walk of 11km or so with eight crosses along the way. It was a beautiful bright day, so we were looking forward to a simple walk to break us in.

It began from right outside our chambre d’hôte, which meant we were instantly into charming rural surroundings, listening to the birds chirping in the trees and the cows mooing in the fields.

It wasn’t long though before the ‘ups’ began and things were a little more challenging in the heat. Although I’d rather be climbing hills on foot in summer than charging up them in snow chains at 90kph!

It has to be said that the roads here are rather narrow and very winding, but it doesn’t stop the locals from driving through them at speed. I mean look how fast this one is going!

We passed through some wonderful villages, pristine in their appearance and diligently cared for. We took a moment to cool down and visit the church in Vergheas, which was delightful.

The views were also spectacular, little vistas of hot fields through the cool of the trees gave moments to just absorb and reflect.

It has to be said though that by the time we reached the end it was actually 13.5km, and we were ready for a rest.

Day one walk over, and after some stretching the legs and hips didn’t feel too bad. We sat and looked at the photos and realised we had only found seven crosses, and at least one of them was perhaps a bit of a cheat. We never were purists though, so we won’t be going back to find the others.