When Manolis Frangakis and Sabine Ruijters first met in the summer of 1995, he was tending bar in Bali, near Rethymnon, and she was a diving instructor.

"I used to bring my tourist-students to his bar after the dive, and, well, we started dating," Sabine reflected. "And things just sort of went on from there."

"We had a lot in common," Manoli joined in. "I knew I wouldn't be tending bar forever, and Sabine wasn't about to stay in the tourism business."

The fact is, they had similar dreams.

"I always had a thing for nature, and I knew early on that I would someday find a career working with the land," Manolis, 44, a native of Iraklion, said.

"And, I always owned a horse and I loved riding, and deep down I guess I knew wanted to work with them eventually," Sabine added. "However, at university I studied economics."

Actually, Sabine, 35, whose last name means "rider" in her native language, didn't just own a horse. She was a championship rider in Holland, the proud recipient of two national titles.

In 1997, she packed up her horse, Bagors, which she still rides, and moved to Crete, and the following year the dreams of Manoli and Sabine – nature and riding – started to come together.

"We found a good piece of land in Avdou and opened the Odysseia Riding Stables," Manoli said. "But, before that, we travelled all over Greece looking for good riding horses . . . Sabine was the expert, but I had a lot to learn."

They drove throughout Greece looking for warmbloods and sport horses, which are considered the best riding horses.

"Also, we needed horses with endurance because we would be doing treks up to 160 kilometres, so the horses must be able to go the distance without fatigue," he explained. "When we opened the barn door to the public we had 12 excellent mounts – which was maybe too many for the beginning, but we managed well."

At the time they opened Odyssey, Manoli was not only helping Sabine with the activities of the stables, but he was a basketball coach and ran a restaurant in Hersonissos. But after the first two years the new business became so successful that he had to devote his efforts full time to its growing needs.

Then, in 2002 the reality of their dreams entered the second phase.

"We found this ideal location high up on the mountain, populated with acorn trees, and we decided to open a hotel, taverna and riding stables all in one," he said.

"It was a major undertaking, but with the help of some friends – and the bank – we were able to do it, and that's how Velani started," Sabine added.

Although it actually started on a smaller scale, the present sprawling but still very rustic Velani Country Equestrian and Sport  Hotel complex measures 35,000 square meters in the area of Avdou called Ntomatho, which is also known as Aghia Fotini, after the cave. It boasts of 18 horses, 12 rooms, a swimming pool, a breathtaking view with the Dikti mountain range to one side and the sea, about18 kilometres away, on the other, and a taverna with a wood-burning stone oven.

"We do six day trail rides on mountain to Lasithi Plateau and south to Keratokambos, and panorama rides which are daily trips," Sabine said.  "We also do hourly rides and riding lessons, and we have two ponies for kids.  

While Manoli helps in the logistics in setting up six-day trail rides, and, of course, with the numerous daily chores of running the hotel, it's with the stone oven and kitchen that he really likes to perform.

"With all the experience of running a restaurant for someone else over the years, I'm now able to incorporate my own gastronomic ideas into our menu," he said. "But the main ingredient in cooking is "love," and I truly love this place."

Every Sunday, Manoli does pork, lamb and chicken in the stone oven, and he always tries to add special little touches to the daily fare.

"For example, we do things like dakos with milkcheese, smoked cheese saganaki, smoked pancetta, our incredibly delicious Velani salad, and kotsi with aubergines, zucchini and carrots and served in clay little pot with a knife dramatically placed on top. We also do creative twists on traditional foods, like rooster in wine with chestnuts and raisins."

To get to Velani, which is open all year, visitors must take a two kilometre, mostly dirt road, off the main road to Lasithi. It's slow going, but worth it – and there are no plans to pave it.

"I don’t think we want too many paved roads, because we don’t want to live next to a highway," Manoli explained. "These dirt roads are part of the whole experience as you become one with nature."

On that subject, Manoli closed with saying: "There are two types of people, nature lovers and nature eaters, and most Greeks are the latter, as they like to drive to the country to have a meal.  And we strive to please both types!"