Fodele Village is between Heraklion and Rethymnon, about 27 km west of Heraklion or 50 km east of Rethymnon. It is close to Agia Pelagia, the popular tourist resort on the north coast of Heraklion prefecture.We take the highway from Heraklion, we drive past the signs to Agia Pelagia and soon after that we see the (sandy)beach of Fodele with a big hotel built on the side of the hills. We leave the highway and follow the signs to the village of Fodele . Fodele village is well worth seeing. Fodele is built in an area of orange groves and, according to historians, this was the site of the ancient town of Astali, which was the port of ancient Axos. Now, the people of Fodele may have overdone things with too many craft shops selling the same products, and many cheery tavernas squeezed together, but it remains a central destination for visitors to the area, for two main reasons: First, Fodele is very green. A very pretty park across  to the main square of Fodele offers shade and a picnic site. Even in the beginning of summer there is water running through it, reminding us why this location is so lush and verdant. We park our car past the huge platan tree at the central square and we enter the park. We follow the shady path and we start climbing to the older section of Fodele. The route is short and easy and it offers wonderful views next the valley. Unfortunately the views down to the lower newer part of Fodele is not equally charming. For once more we become witnesses of the damage these concrete boxes have done to the landscape of Crete. The houses in the older part of Fodele are old, beautifully decorated with colourful flowers, simple and fitting to their environment. There are more  also a few new houses here and some of them are most beautiful to look at, giving us hope for the future.