Olive oil
More then 4000 years ago, Olive oil was already used on Crete. It is also called the gift of the Gods.
It will pass no-one's attention how important the influence of the use of this extraordinary oil is in normal life. It is known that Crete has the lowest percentage of heart and coronary diseases of the world. The scientists give credit to this fact due to the influence of the olive oil and the way of living. The food of Crete is nowadays considered as an example of the Mediterranean culture. The good health of the Cretan people is supposed to be credited to the pattern of eating and drinking. Olive oil is the most important part of this pattern.
In most North-European countries like Holland and Germany, the average use of olive oil is 200 gram per year. The average use of the Cretan people is 35 liter per year! Olive oil is already used at breakfast and hardly any dish exists without olive oil.
Compared with other oils, olive oil has many other advantages:
Consuming olive oil decreases the bad LDL cholesterol in the blood and takes care of the maintenance of the good HDL cholesterol.
Next to this it is proven that by the consumption of olive oil, the triglycerine decreases in the blood. Triglycerine and the bad LDL cholesterol both cause the narrowing of our blood vessels.
In general one can say that the consumption of olive oil drastically decreases the danger of heart and coronary diseases.
Olive oil also takes care of a good blood pressure.
A balanced diet, together with olive oil reduces the chance of getting cancer by 75 %.
It can be helpful in bettering diabetes and it decreases the chance of getting rheumatologic diseases by 50 %, etc. etc.
Next to this, many myths exist about the olive tree and her fruits.
In short, all these interesting things as described above and many more, were the reason for us to organize this theme-tour.
In spite of the fact that the Cretan people are reluctant to reveal their secrets, our relation with them contributed to the fact that we are able to offer this tour.
Day 1
After breakfast from the hotel in Heraklion we will first go southwards to Vori, where we will visit the Museum of Cretan ethnology. This small, but interesting museum gives us a good impression of the gathering of the olives through the years.
After lunch we continue our trip along enormous olive fields to our hotel in Ierapetra, the southernmost town of Europe.
After this strenuous trip you will have the rest of the day at your own disposal.
Day 2
After breakfast we will go to an olive field, where you can experience how laborious the harvesting of the olives is. Our group will, under the guidance of an expert, pick a quantity of olives by ourselves.
After preparing and consuming our Cretan lunch, we will bring the olives that we picked ourselves, to an olive factory, where our olives will be pressed. It goes without saying that you can take this oil back home.
Back in our hotel in Ierapetra, we prepare ourselves for a walk through town. Here you will experience the influence of the olive oil as well as her unique almost African radiation.
Back in the hotel we make ourselves ready for a Cretan evening in one of the traditional taverns. Here you will enjoy the many local specialties. All dishes, of course prepared with olive oil, and the homemade wine are specially organized for this group.
Day 3
The theme of today are the myths around the olive tree and her fruits. We therefore visit the Aretiou Monastery in Lasithi. This beautiful monastery, situated in the middle of nowhere, with her century old history, can provide us with some knowledge of our theme.
After lunch we will make a tour via Elounda, Plaka and Sissi to the Monastery of Selinari.
We will then return to our hotel, where we will spend the evening together with dinner, followed by a lecture of a medical expert, who will give his vision of the relationship between our health and the use of olive oil.
Day 4
After breakfast we will do our shopping for the preparation of traditional Cretan food, where we will learn how to make good use of the olive oil.
First we will make our lunch and enjoy this afterwards. Then we will rest for a few hours in order to return to our kitchen to cook the traditional Cretan dinner, which we will eat together, accompanied by live music and dance.
Day 5
After breakfast we will bring you back to the hotel in Heraklion.
