The Day I Hiked Crete’s Samaria Gorge in 6-Inch Wedges:

One of Europe’s Longest Trails.

In the 2000s, I was all about beauty, fashion, and hopping between Paris, London, and Athens during the Euro summer - chasing the aesthetic highs that Europe had to offer. I wasn’t soulfully there yet. Life was about looking good, not feeling grounded.

One summer on the beautiful island of Crete, my “tick-everything-off-the-map” sister suggested a “walk” through the Samaria Gorge. I said yes - no questions asked. She didn’t elaborate. If she had, I probably would’ve absolutely backed out.

I got dressed to the nines: 6-inch wedges, a hipster mini skirt, and a bikini underneath. You always encounter the most beautiful beaches on the islands.

My exact dress code for the hike, and those infamous 6-inch wedges.

When we arrived, the guide looked me up and down.

“Έχεις άλλα παπούτσια?” she asked. “Do you have any other shoes?”

I said no.

She did the sign of the Greek Orthodox cross. I thought that was a bit dramatic.

But soon, I realized: everyone else had hiking sticks, boots, backpacks. Some women stared at my shoes and gave me looks. I thought they were just checking out my cute pink wedges.

Fifteen minutes in, it hit me: this wasn’t a walk. It was a vertical, rocky challenge - a real life game version of Donkey Kong.

Credit: https://national-parks.org/greece/samaria

An hour in, my feet were burning. I turned to the guide. “I want to go back.”

She replied, “The only way out now is by helicopter.”

I froze. We were 4,100 feet high, with 14km (8.7miles) to go and 4 hours left.

I had two choices: break down or boss up.

So I bossed up - ripped off the mini skirt (thank God I was super fit back then), revealed my bikini, turned my wedges into makeshift sliders, and skated down the terrain like Wonder Woman.

At one point, a Cretan man with a goat stood on a cliff, staring. I wanted to scream, “Help me! Give me your shoes! Your goat! Anything!” He just kept watching, probably wondering what kind of person ends up in the mountains dressed like me.

credit: https://national-parks.org/greece/samaria

Honestly, I don’t remember much of the trail. My focus was survival - to get through this extremely challenging terrain unscathed and with no broken ankles.

And somehow, I made it.

I emerged at the light at the end of the gorge. I felt like a disheveled Aphrodite. But there it was: civilization. The sea. The beach. The stunning coastal village of Agia Roumeli. And just me - blistered, humbled, and proud. I did it.

Nature humbled me. The gratitude I had. The serenity. The unexpected challenges life can throw at you. No glam moment. Just me and a pair of broken wedges.

That day taught me something huge:

Sometimes ignorance is bliss - it lets you leap forward before fear talks you out of it.

If I’d known what lay ahead, I never would’ve gone.

Overthinking, overplanning - it kills the moment.

Years later, I still carry that truth. It’s how we moved from London to LA with a 3-year-old and a baby on the way. No plan B - just trust, grit, and a dash of delusion.

Turns out, mind over matter works. Even in wedges.

Because when there’s no turning back, the only way out is forward - and that’s where you discover exactly what you’re made of!