If you look in the guide books or on the travel sites, Elafonisi Beach is listed as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. Elafonisi Beach is on the western shore of Crete, and it really does have pink sand, lapped by the clear waters of the lagoon that surrounds it. The coral sand gets its color from the fragments of red and pink shells that get ground up by the water, and as it is a lagoon you can wade across the knee-deep water to the island for more beaches and areas to explore.
It is one of Crete’s most popular tourist spots. The day we went, it was difficult to get a couple of lounge chairs with their fake palm tree umbrella overhead, but we did for $20. The lines for food were long and the food was expensive. After hanging out at our home in the small mountain town of Pendamodi, we felt very out of place there. Instead we headed back to the southern shore town of Paleochora, where we grabbed a couple of lounge chairs and were served drinks and food with about a dozen people on the whole beach.
One highlight of the trip to Elafonisi was a stop at a local beekeeper/ olive stand. The gentleman knew a fair amount of English, and we were taken by his dozens of bee hives and honey operation. Cretan honey is wonderful – I suppose as good as our local Bayfield honey in Colorado. But, it seems really special, and that’s what matters! And the olives were truly delicious. They were wrinkly and salty with an allure that made it difficult to stop eating them.
