Three Beaches and Three Swims

July 14, 2012

It finally has arrived, my last day in Greece, tomorrow we catch our plane for Pisa then back to Florence for a couple of days (with a packed schedule of seeing friends, dinner parties, seeing sites and of course eating Italian food). It was a day of three swims at three different beaches. I started the day with a swim the moment I woke up. There was only one person on the beach and the water was perfect. The Libyan Sea here is very clear and warm. I can actually see my shadow on the bottom when I am swimming. As soon as I was finished with my swim, we packed up and drove off.  When we stopped at a very high point to take photos of the sea, I swear I could see Libya! We stopped in Sellia for breakfast. It is a small village up on the mountainside. We had omelets and Greek coffee, plus I had watermelon and Dada had a dish of yogurt topped with local honey. It looked like an ice cream Sunday. The owner, who spoke very little English, sat with us and insisted on toasting us with a Raki, even though I said no…but I did. It is strong and clear and you are supposed to drink it in one shot. It burns going down, but everyone here seems to drink it. Then he sat with us and we chatted for a while…it is amazing what conversations you can have, even though you don’t speak the same language. We then drove for another 30 minutes on narrow winding mountain roads to our final stop, Frannokastello. It is another beach town, but far less developed, but has another Venetian Fort. We drove up and got a room at this remote and nearly deserted beach. The second swim was here at our hotel. It is rocky and the water is clear and greener than the first beach. Next on my agenda was sitting on our terrace looking out at the Libyan Sea and thinking about my travels coming to an end.  And remembering all the great things I have done, seen and ate! Next was a nap, and then off to the Venetian Fort, which is more like a small castle for a swim at that beach. This was my third and final swim for the day. It was white sand and the water was like a swimming pool. Even when it is very deep, I can see the bottom and fish on a background of white sand.

Getting rooms has been easy and we never paid more than 40 Euros. This last room is only 30 Euros. Despite the upbeat attitude of the people here, I can see from the closed shops, half built buildings and empty restaurants, that the economy is suffering. The tax used to be 9%, but now it is 23%.  It used to be affordable for people to come to Greece, but now it is not so cheap. So fewer people come.