Crete (Kriti) is the largest Greek island. It is the border between the Aegean and the Libyan seas and between Europe and Africa. The climate is considered one ot the mildest and healthiest in Europe. The island is very mountainous. Deep gorges split its huge mountains (Lefka Ori, Psiloritis, Dikti) leading to fertile valleys, creating a landscape full of surprises, which changes minute by minute, here bare and wild, there green and peaceful. More than 3,000 large and small caves, several of them with impressive stalactites and stalagmites and of special interest, honeycomb the mountains. Untrodden rocky coasts, vast sandy beaches, and pebbled shors define the seaside. Dry-stone farm buildings, villages perching on high plateaus, monasteries, isolated castles and chapels dot the countryside. Villages drowning in green, olive green, vine green, citrus green, and vegetable green, add living colour to the sometimes harsh views. Villages in which life's traditional Cretan rhythms have not changed in centuries: coffee under the shade of old trees, traditional dances, sousta and pentozali to the sound of the Cretan lyre and the sweetness of Cretan wine.