The cache: The churches of Kournas - St. John
Driving from the Lake of Kournas uphill to the village of Kournas, you can park your car near the community centre at 35º18’53N 24º17’57.7” E and walk in the direction of the cemetery.
The distance to the cache is 1300 meters or a 20-minute walk.
From the parking, you follow the blue sign with “KOIMMOTIRIO” (graveyard). When you see the gate of the cemetery, you turn to the right and follow the concrete path downhill. At the T-crossing, you turn right and follow the dirt road. You follow the red and blue dots. When the path ends at an asphaltroad, you turn left and continue on the asphalt road in the direction of the St. John’s church (Agios Ioannis). Here you will find the cache.
At the St. John's church, you can enjoy a wonderful view of the village of Kournas. Do you see the centuries old cipres trees?
You can also drive to the cache on an asphalt road. Driving from the lake of Kournas to the village, you stop at 35º18’47.6” N 24º17’42.9” E and turn to the right and follow the steep road uphill. Follow the sign “Villa Calanthe” and continue driving downhill, turn to the right and follow the asphalt road (don’t turn left). After driving for 7 minutes, you arrive at St. John's church. You can park your car at the parking place on your left and start searching for the cache.
The cache is a metal container that contains a logbook, a pencil, a sharpener, and the geocaching note in Greek and English.
While searching, please take care that you are not watched by muggles. Don’t forget to hide the cache well again in the end.
The village Kournas
The traditional village of Kournas is built at a height of 250 meters and is located 5 kilometres from the beach at Paralia Kournas (Kavros, Georgioupoli municipality) and 4 km from the lake Kournas. You have a beautiful sea view on the northside of the village and south of Kournas, you are overlooking the valley at the foot of the first White Mountains.
In the small village, it seems as if time has stood still: the men of the village discuss the news of the day at the kafenion, the women ask each other what they are going to cook today, and the children play safely in the street.
Who makes a stroll through the village will see many old and renovated traditional houses. The narrow streets are wide enough for a donkey to pass by. Cars drive on the new, wider roads.
In the valley south of the village, you can walk the hiking trail "monopati Azilakas Street" or just stroll in the "backyard", through the olive groves. Here you will meet the goats and sheep, see the beekeeper gathering the honey, the farmers working on their land and ladies picking the edible vegetables.
Kournas is well-known for the Agios Georgios Church, one of the oldest churches in Crete, built in 1200 AD. Also, the traditional Cretan food, served in the 3 taverns, has made Kournas famous.
Most of the inhabitants are farmers, so Kournas is a year-round lively village with pressing the grapes in September, in October it is time for distilling the "tsikoudia" (the Cretan raki) in the 2 “kazanis” and in November it is the start of harvesting the olives.
In 1583, Kournas was already mentioned as a village with plenty of activities, and the village has played an important role during the Ottoman occupation. In 1866, Kournas was the centre of the Revolutionary Government, and in 1897, Kournas was the seat of the Cretan General Assembly.
Approximately 500 people are living in Kournas, and in the centre you will find two kafenions, an ouzeri, a bakery with a small mini-market, a ceramics shop, three taverns and a statue of one of the heroes of Kournas. There is also a primary school, attended by over 100 children from the Kournas area, an olive oil factory, a soccer field, a children's playground and a community centre where you can visit theatre, wedding parties and music performances.
On August 16, the Community of Kournas organise its annual party with live music and dancing.