The Gulf of Mirabello: what the name covers
Mirabello is the largest gulf in Crete, and the name is Venetian: « beautiful to look at ». It opens to the north-east, between Cape Agios Ioannis to the west and the Sitia peninsula to the east, with Agios Nikolaos at its head. It is a geographical entity, not a municipality: you do not visit Mirabello, you visit what sits on it.
Its shape explains almost everything. The gulf is deep, largely sheltered from the prevailing northerlies by the bulk of the land, and rimmed by hills that drop straight into the water. Hence a calm, translucent sea where the exposed north coast is often choppy — and hence, too, beaches that come as a succession of coves rather than long ribbons of sand.
Three shores, three uses. To the west, Elounda and Plaka face Spinalonga: this is the shore of hotels and boats. At the head, Agios Nikolaos concentrates the harbour, the shops and the evening. To the east, the Istron coast and then Mochlos stretch out in coves that grow quieter the further you go from town. A day in the gulf is built by choosing one shore, not by trying to do all three.
