As many times before, I was going to the competition by bike. On the second day in the afternoon, after covering 90 kilometers, I had one last, long and steep climb ahead of me. Almost 1000 meters up, but I believed that I would reach Petrilo - the starting and finishing place of the Argithea Mountain Race - in time for dinner. As I slowly climbed the steep slopes, my faith weakened more and more. Finally, I decided to check exactly on the map, how far I was from my destination. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that I could not reach Petrilo through any gentle valley. I have to climb the St. Nikolas Pass at an altitude of 1,500 m and descend 400 m. The total climb is not 1000 but 1600 m, and the distance is not about 30 km, as I thought, but 45 km. I was not able to do it. I stayed overnight in an abandoned hotel, in the middle of the forest, somewhere at an altitude of 900 m. I was in Petrilo the next day, just in time for a late breakfast. This initial adventure best shows how much I underestimated these mountains. I didn't fully realize that what stretched out in front of me was Agrafa.

In my personal opinion, the southwestern part of Crete is the most beautiful place on Earth. It is there, on the very coast of the Libyan Sea, that the White Mountains, or Lefka Ori, are located. They are high, rocky and dry. The highest peak - Pachnes reaches 2,453 m above sea level, and the impression of great mountains is enhanced by the fact that Pachnes is 8 km from the sea in a straight line! The White Mountains are a vast range, apparently there are 55 peaks higher than 2000 m, cut by many gorges with almost vertical walls, with the famous Samaria Gorge at the forefront. It is in this area that the Sfakia Sky Marathon takes place.

Κατά την προσωπική μου άποψη, το νοτιοδυτικό τμήμα της Κρήτης είναι το πιο όμορφο μέρος της Γης. Εκεί, στην ίδια την ακτή του Λιβυκού Πελάγους, βρίσκονται Λευκά Όρη. Είναι ψηλά, βραχώδη και ξηρά. Η ψηλότερη κορυφή - Πάχνες - φτάνει τα 2.453 μέτρα πάνω από την επιφάνεια της θάλασσας και η εντύπωση των μεγάλων βουνών ενισχύεται από το γεγονός ότι οι Πάχνες απέχουν 8 χιλιόμετρα από τη θάλασσα σε ευθεία γραμμή! Τα Λευκά Όρη είναι μια τεράστια οροσειρά, προφανώς υπάρχουν 55 κορυφές υψηλότερες από 2.000 μέτρα, που κόβονται από πολλά φαράγγια με σχεδόν κατακόρυφα τοιχώματα, με προεξάρχον το περίφημο φαράγγι της Σαμαριάς. Σε αυτή την περιοχή πραγματοποιείται ο Sfakia Sky Marathon.