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'The Golden Step: A Walk Through the Heart of Crete' by Christopher Somerville; part of 'The Armchair Traveller' series, published by Haus, Due for publication - July 26th, 2007; Size: 120 x 160 mm; Hardback; pp 318 inc. author's note and acknowledgments. 1 map. Price £12.99 (€18.00 approx.).
In memory of Tony Fennymore, who'd have loved this book.
 That I absolutely adored ‘The Golden Step’, by Christopher Somerville, may come as no surprise to those reading the subtitle: ‘A Walk Through the Heart of Crete’. You may know that your reviewer has spent the past 30 years attempting to walk as many centimetres of the island’s 8,336 square kilometres, as possible. It is no secret, either, that one of my favourite books is Christopher Thorne’s 'Between The Seas', in which the author traversed the island, on foot ('The Golden Step', is a far better read!), or that I have written glowing reviews for Jeff Collman’s 'Walks with Crete’s Wild Flowers', and Lorraine Wilson’s 'Crete: The White Mountains'. So, the question is, would I have enjoyed this book quite as much, if my idea of a good time spent, was to sit at a bar, five yards from sand or pool, wondering how to muster the energy to reach either, and pondering on the inequity of a situation where golf-courses get all the buggies? After a sharp intake of breath, the answer is,"yes". After all ‘The Golden Step’ covers exponentially more ground than a 300 mile walk could even come close to suggesting. I have also kept my commentary on the walks to a bare minimum; once started. I am afraid I don't know where to stop...
Approaching his 50th birthday, Christopher Somerville's wife, Jane, offers him a very special present; something out of the ordinary. Nothing material; everything spiritual. The gift of 'time'. To do "something for yourself", for a couple of months, whilst she'd take care of family matters and household affairs. "Middle-age men…don’t often get offers like this. We push our ostrich heads down the burrow labelled 'too busy to live'…and there we stay, pinned to the ground by our own lethargy and fears and nice comforting tunnel vision”. This wonderful gift came with just one proviso. That the author was not to write about his experience. That much was made clear. You see, Mr Somerville is a journalist, and in the animal kingdom, leopards have spots and journalists write, that’s the deal (Christopher Somerville is "walking correspondent" for 'The Daily Telegraph' - yes they really do have such a position -where his walk of the month has been a regular feature for the past fifteen years; he's also written some 30 walking guides to the UK and Ireland). If this were to be a break from the stresses of everyday life, he was expressly forbidden to turn it into a busman's holiday. Thankfully an exception was granted, and Mr Somerville was allowed to take a notebook on his travels, to record for posterity what may otherwise have been consigned to fading memory. I say "thankfully", for the sake of the author's sanity, but more importantly, I say "thankfully", for us...
...And so it was unwritten, that in 1999, Mr Somerville chose to spend his time on Crete, attempting to realise what had previously been merely a "pipe-dream"; that of walking between Crete's west and east coasts. He went straight down the middle, mountains and all, in the days when the island contained no golf courses to ruin a good walk! 'The Golden Step, is the result of that ambition; however, it is not a walking book per se; neither is it a travel guide. No, this is a fabulously lyrical memoir of a man enamoured with the island of Crete; wonderfully descriptive, with a keen sense of what makes the islanders tick. This is also a self-effacing portrait - painted warts and all - which illuminate the many talents of the author, of which walking is probably his least, and he's not too shabby in that department, either. Set against the background of the Kosovo war, the walks are almost secondary to a sparkling narrative, in which the island's past, present and people are treated with the utmost respect. The war was to cause a few problems; the author probably looks nothing like Robin Cook, but as an Englishman, among a nation with an affinity to their Serbian cousins and Orthodox brothers (in parts of Greece, "NATO" is "a four letter word", despite the country being a fully paid-up member!), he was unfortunate enough to run into the occasional Cretan who felt the need to vent his anger. Mercifully, assaults are rare and always of the verbal kind (as you'd expect!), but the full horrors of a war - shown on Greek TV, in all its technicolour gore, from a very different angle from that of the West's media - remains a background theme, throughout the book.
The walk itself is magnificent. The author sets-off from Kato Zakros, on Crete's east coast, and attempts to follow the fabled 'Pan-European Footpath, Number E Four (Cretan Branch)', all the way to the Chrisoskalitissa monastery (situated north of Elafonissi beach, in the extreme west of the island). For those who have visited Chrisoskalitissa, you'll know the legend of the "golden staircase of our lady" (let those without sin cast their eyes upon stairs, not of stone, but gold), from which the book cleverly derives its title. There may be more than one golden step at Chrisoskalitissa, but to reach them from Kato Zakros, the author would need to take more than half a million of his own. The route takes us from Kato Zakros - beautifully described - to Kritsa (via Ziros and Thripti), where the author spends Easter. To Archanes (via Psychro on the Lassithi plateau and Kastelli Pediada), where we get a wonderful description (and poem; more of these, later) of the human sacrifice, which took place almost 4,000 years ago. From there it's across to Ano Asites, where the author is lucky enough to get a bed for the night, and on to the Nida plateau, for the next day's ascent of Psiloritis (Mt Ida). What goes up...comes down in Thronos, to the north of the Amari valley. From here he heads for the White Mountains, via Spili, Argyroupolis (and a meeting with the sagely mayor, Stelios Manousakas) , Asi Gonia (birthplace of 'The Cretan Runner', George Psychoundakis) and up onto the Askyphou plateau. This last bit would have been even more difficult than it is now, as the road between the Askyphou plateau and Asi Gonia, was not yet built when the author walked this walk. Weather dictated his next course of action, forcing the author to take the coastal route. So it's down the Imbros gorge, into Chora Sphakion, on to Loutro where he celebrates his 50th birthday, to Aghia Roumelli, and UP the Samarian gorge via its wooden steps (the "xyloskala" at the end of this walk can be back-breaking and the whole ascent from the sea to the top of the wooden steps is over 4,000 foot and not the 3,000 stated by the author. No wonder he was exhausted at journey's end!), and on to the village of Omalos. From here, it's west to the Aghia Irini gorge, and down into Soughia, on to Paleohora, and finally to Chrisoskalitissa, via Krios and Elafonisi. If all this tires you just reading it, remember it's our author who takes the strain, and we can just settle back and open another Mythos. The ascent of Psiloritis is particularly exhilarating, and stays at Kato Zakros and Archanes bring the island's archaeological heritage to life. He is joined for a few of the walks, including the one up Psiloritis, by the extraordinary Pantelis Kampaxis. To discover just how extraordinary this man is, you'll have to buy the book; suffice it to say that after a long day's walk, Pantelis's idea of a "warm down" is a 15 mile run!
The evident beauty of the walk, may encourage some to try it out for themselves, but be very wary. The problems involved are well explained, as are the dangers. A minimum of three weeks is required to do this walk, but, thankfully, our author had a couple of months. An extra day of exploring a locale would be no problem, and he took the opportunity whenever he chose (his stay in Thronos was to last a couple of weeks; exploring the Amari valley in all its beauty!). This was no mad sprint in order to reach an objective, this was a studied and composed meander through Crete's heartland. The extra-time allowed our author to do another thing he does rather well; write poetry. There are more than 20 poems in the book; nine of which were first published in his collection, 'Extraordinary Flight' (Rockingham Press, 2000). It was in fact during his stay in Crete, that he learned that his poetry had been accepted by the publisher, which no doubt inspired him further. The poems are a great bonus; I hurried through them far too hastily whilst reading the book, preferring to go back and savour them fully, once finished. A constant travelling companion was the author's book of Psalms; one of only two books he took with him; the other being an English edition of Homer's 'Odyssey'. You may never fully understand the full scope of misery and unworthiness, until you read the Psalms. "I am weary with my groaning, all the night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears", is a mild example! Each chapter starts with one, and others are dispersed throughout the main body of text. Occasionally their message would be upbeat, but more often than not they are as cheery as the one above! One can be pretty certain that, despite his seemingly effervescent spirit, the author found comfort in some of the Psalmists words, as another day was spent collecting blisters and being led up somebody's garden path, by the E4!
There is no doubt that Mr Somerville knows Crete, intimately. He is, after all, the author of one of very best guide books to the island ('Explorer Crete'; AA World Travel Guides, 1995/2001). He has friends in high places - or at least in the foothills around Katharo and Amari - and takes the time and effort to meet old - and make new - acquaintances. If you know nothing about Crete, you’ll learn more about the island’s history in the time it takes to read 318 pages, than practically any other book to the island. Each of Crete’s historical periods - Bronze Age (Minoan), Achaean (Mycenaean), Dorian through to Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Venetian, Ottoman, and the island’s part in W.W.II - have dedicated pieces dedicated to them, which are both flawlessly accurate and delightful to read. The wonderful world of Cretan mythology (Zeus, Hera, Europa, Minos, Pasiphae, Ariadne, Minotaur (the), Theseus, Daedalus and Icarus, et al), is beautifully retold, by an author who not only knows his stuff, but has the ability to express it, superbly. On more contempory matters religious, we not only have the Psalmists for discomfort, but the wonderful churches and their icons are described expertly. The walks are entirely set within the two month period Mr Somerville was on the island; with one small exception. Last October (2006), Mr Somerville went back to Crete, to experience the wonders of the White Mountains, and climb the island's second tallest mountain, Pachnes. Accompanying him on that arduous trek, was none other than Jean Bienvenu; an expert to this region, and also the webmaster of the site you are currently reading. It's a small world; though try thinking that as you set off from Kato Zakros, hoping to reach Chrisoskalitissa! There is a distinct advantage of this kind of narrative, over a guide-book. Places where you never intend to visit are brought to life, and history which may have otherwise remained buried, becomes totally compelling. You will not want to miss a word in this book. The whole is a veritable series of vignettes, with Crete as a common theme. I have every intention of re-reading this book when I return to Crete. next year. Perhaps it'll be accompanied with the book of Psalms! Perhaps not!
If you want a "light read" - 'The Golden Step' is as entertaining and racey as a good novel - don’t be too alarmed by the fact the book has 318 pages, its size of 120 x 160 mm, is smaller than A5. Which brings us to the production value. You may judge this book by its appearance. If the author has done the publisher proud with his elegant prose, they have reciprocated with the book's design. ‘The Golden Step’ looks great! A hardback, with stunning dust jacket; a luxurious-looking map of the island, drawn on tracing paper (not detailed enough to follow the E4, but name one that is!), with pages sewn in to the binding, as opposed to glued. It fits comfortably into the side-pockets of any of my rucksacks, and would equally slide into a jacket pocket, handbag or, better still, hand, where you may not be able to remove it!
By way of criticism, I have none. Heaven knows who the publisher, 'Haus', employ as copy-editor and proof-reader, but whoever they are, may I borrow them? There are probably more mistakes in this review, than in the book; the only "typo" I found, came straight from the author's pen, and that was an extremely minor one (the plural of hero/warrior 'palikari' is 'palikaria' not "palikares"), despite there being a considerable amount of Greek words, in transliteration. 'The Golden Step', is a book which could, and should, be read by anybody who loves the "Great Island", and everybody who loves great travel literature. It will live on my shelf alongside such classics as Fielding's 'The Stronghold', Llewellyn Smith's 'The Great Island', Hoe's 'Crete: Women, History, Books and Places' and Rackham and Moody's 'The Making of the Cretan Landscape'; the author should be very proud to learn his newly-born, is already capable of rubbing dust-jackets, with such esteemed company.
Stelios Jackson - July the 8th, 2007
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