A very Sacred Journey to ancient Greece brings us to the feet of the Melissae - the oracular bee nymphs. We'll explore both Athens and Delphi for several days, and then off to the island of Crete for six days where we'll discover the ancient settlements of the Minoan people - a highly spiritually, advanced culture of people. Their temple remains reveal a passionate culture with a love for color, music and festivals, along with a devotion to both the snake goddess and the Melissae. 

Today you will be flying into the ancient city of Athens, unless of course you chose to arrive early. I've arranged to have a taxi driver pick you up and bring you to the hotel. However, the cost of the taxi is not included, but because of the language barrier, I wanted to make sure someone was at the airport. More details as our trip gets closer.

Today is a day to rest and get acclimated to the time change. We will all gather in the evening for a lovely Greek dinner at the hotel restaurant that overlooks the parthenon.

This morning we'll visit the ancient ruins of the Acropolis - the Parthenon and Museum. After a lovely lunch of traditional Greek foods, we'll head to Thiseio and Plaka known as the neighborhood of the Gods. Here we'll find narrow, winding streets that are over 3500 years old where you'll walk among ruins, Byzantine sites blended in with some more modern architecture.

Demeter and Persephone are at the heart of the Eleusinian mysteries that took place at Elefsina. We'll wander through the ruins of this ancient temple where the initiations were kept forever secret. 

In the afternoon we'll visit Lake Vouliagmeni - sacred, healing waters that was created centuries ago by an earthquake.

We'll leave in the morning and head straight to Delphi. Our lovely hotel is in the village of Delphi and within walking distance to the ancient site of the oracle Pythia. 

You'll have time to visit the ancient temple both with our tour guide and also on your own so that you can tune into what oracular messages want to come through. 

We'll also have a lovely lunch at a nearby farm where they keep bees and you can purchase their medicinal honey with time to explore the village of Delphi and its quaint shops on your own.

In the morning, we'll visit the Temple of Artemis - the Goddess of the Hunt who is associated with the moon and her mysteries. 

From here, we'll fly to Heraklion, Crete and get settled into our lovely hotel by the sea. We'll be staying here for the next seven nights. Just down the road from our hotel, a short walk, is a lovely family-owned restaurant that serves real, traditional Greek food where we'll dine each evening.

Not far from where we're staying is the Knossos Palace - a well-known Minoan site. Compared to many Greek ruins, Knossos has enough intact that we can truly discover the Minoan's colorful past and passionate lifestyle.

Heraklion, the largest city and capital of the island of Crete, is a lively port city with several markets selling a variety of fresh foods and goods. 

We'll wander through the markets after our visit to the Heraklion Archeological museum where you'll find amazing artifacts that reflect both Crete's and the Minoan people's ancient past.

The Palace of Phaistos, situated just south of the sacred moutain of Psiloritis is a remarkable palace complex that reveals much of the ancient history of its people. 

Our local guide, Maria, will guide us through Phaistos and the surrounding sites where archeologists have unearthed a variety of pottery and other artifacts. 

Today we visit the charming coastal village of Rethymno. Rethymno offers both history and beauty with brightly colored buildings that provide a striking contrast to the surrounding landscape.

Nearby, is the Melidoni cathedral-like cave, once use by the Minoans as a ceremonial site. 

Psiloritis Geopark, in the center of Crete,  presents an almost continuous rock sequence from the Permian period (around 298 million years ago) to the present. Offering a number of hiking trails, we'll explore this vast site and tune into the wisdom of the rocks.

In this area, is the village of Anogeia recognized for its fighting spirit and age-old traditions that continue to persevere. Here, in this mountain village, we'll taste authentic Greek foods, peruse markets with hand-crafts from local artisans and lear of the village's long-tradition of shepherding that is still very much a part of their culture.

We'll say our goodbyes to the beautiful island of Crete as we take a short flight from Heraklion back to Athens.

From here, you may either book a late afternoon or evening flight home, choose to stay an extra night in Athens, OR continue your travels elsewhere.