Live like
a Local
Experience the Heart of Gerani, Where Tradition Meets Everyday Life
Experience the Heart of Gerani — Where Tradition Meets Everyday Life
In Gerani, life flows to the rhythm of nature, family, and community. Here, traditions are not relics of the past — they are part of our everyday life.
Through Live Like a Local, we invite you to step into our world and experience authentic Cretan living, side by side with our family and neighbors.
Join us in our daily rituals — gathering olives beneath the autumn sun, harvesting grapes in the vineyards, or feeding our animals in the quiet of the countryside.
Feel the land, the warmth, and the connection that define life in Crete.
If you wish to take part in these local experiences, contact us — we’d love to welcome you into our home and share the simple beauty of life in Gerani.
Olive Harvesting Experience:
From Tree to Table — The Essence of Cretan Life!
Every autumn, our family — like many in Gerani — gathers beneath the olive trees to continue one of Crete’s most beloved traditions.
With care and devotion, we collect the olives by hand, then take them to the local olive mill, where they are transformed into pure, golden olive oil — the heart of every Cretan meal.
Every autumn, as the air fills with the scent of earth and olive leaves, families in Gerani — like ours — come together to continue one of Crete’s oldest and most cherished traditions: the olive harvest.
From late October to December, generations work side by side beneath the olive trees, gathering the precious fruit with care and devotion. It’s a time of hard work, laughter, and connection — a true celebration of nature and family.
The olives are collected in large sacks and taken to the local olive mill, where they are transformed into the golden treasure of Crete: pure, local olive oil. This oil, made with love and effort, becomes the heart of every Cretan dish, adding warmth and flavor to our daily lives.
We warmly invite you to join our family during the harvest season and experience this sacred local ritual firsthand. Feel the earth beneath your feet, shake the branches, and collect your very own olives — a memory you’ll carry forever.
At the end of the day, you can even take home your own olive oil, freshly produced from the fruit you helped gather — a bottle filled not only with flavor, but with stories, laughter, and a piece of Cretan soul.
Join us and discover what it truly means to live like a local — to connect with the land, the people, and the timeless rhythm of life in Crete.
Grape Harvest Experience:
From Vine to Glass — The Spirit of Cretan Tradition!
As summer gently fades into autumn, our family — like many in Gerani — gathers among the vineyards to continue a time-honored Cretan tradition: the grape harvest. Guided by our grandfather, the heart and wisdom of our family, we spend the days handpicking ripe grapes under the sun, surrounded by laughter, stories, and the scent of the earth.
Once the baskets are full, we head to the traditional “patitiri”, the old stone wine press where generations before us have worked. There, the freshly gathered grapes are gently pressed by foot, releasing the sweet juice — the moustos, the essence of the grape. This precious liquid will later be transformed into homemade wine or distilled into raki, the fiery spirit of Crete.
For us, this is not just a process — it’s a celebration of family, tradition, and connection to the land. Visitors are always welcome to join our family, to help us pick, press, and taste, and to truly experience what it means to live like a local.
By the end of the harvest, you’ll have the chance to take home a bottle of wine or raki made from the very grapes you helped gather and press — a true taste of Crete, filled with the warmth of our family and the soul of the island.
Feeding the Animals
A Daily Ritual of Care, Connection, and Pure Living
In Gerani, as in most villages across Crete, families have always shared their lives with animals. Our family is no exception — we raise local animals with love and respect, just as our parents and grandparents did before us.
Every afternoon, one of us heads to the small farm where our animals live — to feed them, care for them, and make sure they are healthy. It’s a peaceful moment that reminds us of the rhythm of nature and the joy of simple living.
From this bond, we produce natural, wholesome products: fresh milk, organic eggs, and local meat, all free from chemicals and made with care. These are not just ingredients — they’re part of our daily life, our table, and our connection to the land.
Visitors are always welcome to join us in this timeless routine — to feed the animals, collect fresh eggs, and experience what it means to live close to nature. Feel the calm of the countryside, the warmth of the animals, and the authenticity of real Cretan life.