Matala, the village of hippies and dropouts

25.02.2025

What can I say, we often change our plans, so today, on a rainy day, it became a laundry day. A laundry nearby (3.9 km) was open, and we could drop off our 2 bags of laundry. The laundry is run by a German couple...super nice, and we will get a call tomorrow when we can pick up the laundry..great.

Today is declared another 'lazy day,' and everyone is just doing their thing..I'm on the PC, and Freddy is looking for great campsites using VR glasses... that’s nice to do sometimes.

At noon, like every day, we eat fruit..we have consciously avoided chocolate, gummy bears, cake, and cookies for some time now...let's see if the scale at home sings a happy song later...that would be great.

26.02.2025

On the super nice newly developed road to Matala, we pick up our laundry...nicely sorted, socks matched together, and organized by pants, T-shirts, underwear, and towels. 45 euros for everything washed...that's really great..thank you.

Matala, the drop-out place for hippies and the young at heart since 1960. Wild parties, music, singing, togetherness, drugs, and free love. In winter, during the off-season, not much of that remains. The place is deserted; some work is being done here and there on the buildings since the season starts in mid-April. The sun illuminates the wall and street art, and we see a picture...let's just say...Freddy lived here back then.

The cave homes that can be visited are fenced off and unfortunately not open. However, some people aren't deterred and simply look for a gap in the fence to enter.... well... that's something we would never do.

We love empty cities and villages, but knowing the history of Matala, one can only say that the village truly lives with its people AND you get the best döner in Crete... (we were told since the döner stall was still closed).

We stayed one night in the parking lot right by the beach... it was okay, but it doesn’t need to be longer. Our car was besieged by countless cats... that’s not really my thing... but one has to accept that.

27.02.2025 - 03.03.2025

The road leads us back to the familiar. Afrathias Beach... is and remains a great spot to chill and relax... we love this place.