Argophilia

Αργοφιλία: For the love of the journey.

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Fall and Winter Mean Olive Harvest on Crete Island

Mihaela Lica Butler

Crete’s rolling hills are adorned with silvery-green leaves of olive trees, which are integral to the island’s agricultural landscape. Someone counted them, and there are more than 30 million. This precious crop has shaped the lives and economy of the Cretan people for millennia. From November through January, the island buzzes with “Vendema,” the period […]

Crete Summer Ends: Time to Kiss “It” Goodbye

Phil Butler

Crete, one of the top 25 destinations in the world, is a continent all its own. The majestic beauty of the Island is one of many facets that make it so difficult to say goodbye. No matter what, though, sooner or later visitors must tell the mythical land to kiss their sunbaked asses goodbye. It’s […]

It’s Official: Heraklion International Airport Is Europe’s Worst

Mihaela Lica Butler

Heraklion International Airport “Nikos Kazantzakis” (IATA: HER, ICAO: LGIR) finds itself at the bottom of Europe’s airport rankings in a top compiled by Holidu based on Google Reviews. Burdened with an average Google Maps rating of 2.6 out of 5, as reflected in over 21,000 reviews, the airport has yet to impress travellers. This low […]

Tourism Draculas Descend on Greek Isles During Drought

Phil Butler

These days, the news is banged out on keyboards at media outlets and tourism company marketing departments, riddled with unholy irony and incongruity. Take the news from September, when tourism experts billed Naxos as an ideal sustainable tourism destination for the British market. Coincidentally, the biggest reservoir on the Greek island dried up in July.  […]

Dining in Crete: Dying Filoxenia Saved by the Few

Phil Butler

It’s disconcerting when things change overnight. This is especially true when you live on an island that is supposed to be all about tradition, consistency, hospitality, and a paradise experience. At least, this is how I’ve been describing Crete for over a decade. Then, a cold  €29 ribeye steak dish finally hit me like a […]

Shhh! Keep the Secret of Kea Island for Yourself

Phil Butler

Travel publicity about the marvellous Greek islands is in good supply these days. More people have been informed, and hundreds of thousands more travellers have discovered paradise this season. Crete, Mykonos, Ithaca, Rhodes, Kos, and a hundred other idyllic destinations flood the collective minds of vacationers worldwide. Still, there are more secret places, like the […]

Greece’s Blue Flag Beaches Get Wizz Treatment

Phil Butler

Budget airline Wizz Air has just announced an expected 15-20% increase in passengers for next year. Also in the news, the Island of Rhodes lost six Blue Flag beaches withdrawn from the 2024 national and international lists. Greece lost some 22 Blue Flag designations by the end of July 2024. In this report, I will […]

Thierry Teyssier’s Luxurious Regenerative Tourism Concept

Phil Butler

Thierry Teyssier, the visionary behind 700,000 Heures Impact, is trying to show the hospitality industry how travel must be done in the future. His vision of truly regenerative tourism is based on his belief that hospitality should breathe life into a place rather than taking everything away.  Teyssier, known for having the fabulous Dar Ahlam […]

Crete Region & Association of Hoteliers of Crete Agree to Agree Some More

Phil Butler

A recent press release from the Region of Crete offers a sneak peek at why the island is in such trouble where regenerative economics is concerned. The fact is, only a scant few people in Crete’s government even understand sustainability, let alone concepts like regenerative tourism or agriculture. However, no matter how hopeless the island’s […]