The lighthouse in the harbour at Chania was built by the Venetians around 1570, and remodeled by the Egyptians when they occupied Crete between 1820 and 1841.
MyGreeceTravelBlog.com
Photos & memories from our trips to Athens, the Peloponnese, mainland Greece & Greek Islands — plus profiles of places we would love to visit
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Top 6 memories of my Mykonos holiday in 2012 #2: Exploring the streets of Mykonos Town
A hillside view overlooking Mykonos Town and its harbour area
Lots to see: Unlike a lot of visitors, I never get bored of Mykonos Town. Many people think they’ve seen all that’s worth seeing after they walk along the harbourside, visit Little Venice, and stroll some of the narrow, twisting streets.
But those people see only the highly commercial, touristy side of Mykonos Town — the lanes lined with jewellery stores, T-shirt shops and tavernas. They don’t wander far enough away from the main tourist zone to walk the quiet residential streets or climb to hillside lookout points that offer amazing views over the town, harbour and beyond.
Even after 7 separate visits to Mykonos, each of which has included a lot of walking around town, I still keep discovering streets and vantage points I’ve never seen in my favourite Greek Island town.
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Beach & coastal scenery on Ithaca, Kefalonia & Lefkada islands
Soaring cliffs provide a breathtaking backdrop to the brilliant blue sea and soft white sand beach at Porto Katsiki on Lefkada island. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Eyes on the Ionians: We haven’t yet travelled to the Ionian group of islands off the west coast of mainland Greece, but I’m hopeful we’ll finally get there during one of our holidays in the next several years.
There are 11 islands in the Ionian archipelago, with the largest being Zakynthos, Ithaca, Corfu, Kefalonia, Lefkada and Paxoi. As you’d expect from Greek islands, the Ionians boast spectacular scenery — verdant valleys, charming towns and traditional Greek fishing villages, enthralling coastal caves and grottoes, fascinating underground lakes, and beguiling white sand beaches along brilliant cerulean seas.
Franc Malečkar has captured some of that fabulous scenery in the travel photos which he has kindly permitted me to publish below.
The magnificent coastline near the Asos peninsula on Kefalonia. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Overlooking the Asos peninsula on Kefalonia. A picturesque traditional village, also named Asos, is nestled around a bay on the neck of the peninsula. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Another view of the Asos peninsula on Kefalonia’s northwest coast. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
The harbourside at Kioni village on Ithaca. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
A lush green valley near Valsamata on Kefalonia. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Tourist boats explore the Melissani underground lake on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Another view of tourist boats in the Melissani underground lake. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Sunset view from Kathisma beach at Ag. Nikitas on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Tree-covered mountainsides near Mikro Gialos on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Mikro Gialos is a very popular family beach on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
The coastline near Porto Katsiki beach on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Tour boat passengers enjoy a swim in the gorgeous warm turquoise water at Porto Katsiki beach on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
A swimmer at Porto Katsiki beach on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
The tranquil harbour at Vasiliki village on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Looking way down on Myrtos beach on Kefalonia. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
Pefkoulia beach on Lefkada. Photo by Franc Malečkar.
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Looking up … and looking down at Plaka village, the mountaintop capital of Milos island
This is how the village of Plaka, the charming mountaintop capital of Milos, appears when viewed from a sailboat in the Gulf of Milos …
… and this is how Plaka looks when viewed from the white Kastro church at the top of the mountain peak that towers above the village. Several mountains, including the 748-meter Profitis Ilias, rise across the Gulf on the west side of Milos.
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The Kolimbithres beaches and coves on Paros island
One of the sandy beach coves at Kolimbithres on Paros
Cozy coves: As things turned out, May 24 2012 was not a good day to hit the beach on Paros. Although it was sunny when I went for breakfast, a rainstorm gave Naoussa a brief but thorough soaking in late morning before strong winds blew the clouds out to sea. It turned sunny again, but the winds refused to let up. Because of the blustery conditions, it wasn’t a good day for cycling, either. But since it was my last full day on the island, I decided to rent a mountain bike from a cycle shop in Naoussa regardless, and rode off to see two beaches on the far side of the bay.
The mainly downhill bike ride to from Naoussa to Kolimbithres took only 15 minutes, and I arrived to find the area completely deserted. I shouldn’t have been surprised — it was just too damned windy near the water! In fact, when I stopped riding and hopped off my bike, I nearly got blown over by a fierce gust of wind that sprayed me with a light mist of salt water. Since I had come all that way, though, I thought I would tough it out for awhile and see if I could at least take some photos and videos of what people have told me is one of their favourite beaches in the Greek Islands. I could see why they liked it so much.
Smooth brown sand and crystal-clear turquoise water
Kolimbithres “beach” actually is several cozy coves nestled between grey and brown coastal rock formations that have been buffed smooth by centuries of wind and waves. From certain angles, the smooth-sided stones on one of the long rock outcroppings looked organic, resembling the body of a giant beast like a rhinoceros or a dinosaur that had collapsed face-first into the water. Each cove has a beach of hard-packed soft brown sand (with some pebbles in places) leading into the crystal-clear shallow waters of the bay, with excellent views of Naoussa, farms and hillsides.
If it had not been so windy, Kolimbithres probably would have been packed with people that day. The beach and the gorgeous greenish-blue water looked so inviting, I was tempted to take a dip, but I knew better than to challenge the fast-moving waves. As it was, my ears were throbbing from the relentless blasts of wind, and it actually felt cool standing near the water’s edge. I had to pull on my windbreaker to keep from getting a chill, and the steady gusts of wind made it difficult to hold my camera steady to take photos. It took several attempts to take short videoclips, which I have published in the post below this one.
Only three other people showed up — and promptly left
At one point a man and woman arrived at the beach on a scooter, and started climbing the rocks near the coast. But they hopped back on the bike and disappeared only five minutes later. A woman arrived next, and waved at me as she claimed one of the empty lounge chairs close to the seaside. But she didn’t look comfortable as she lay in the sun, fully clothed in sweatpants, running shoes and a hoodie. She gave up and left soon after, too. I found shelter from the wind in a few nooks and crannies in the rocks and boulders beside the beach, but those weren’t comfortable places to sit in the sun, either.
After about half an hour, I left the beach to continue my bike ride down the coast. I considered myself lucky to have seen Kolimbithres while there was some sunshine and only a few clouds. Just 20 minutes after I rode away, heading to Agios Ioannis beach, dark-grey stormclouds started streaming over the island, and the wind grew even stronger — and cooler. I cut short my bike ride and raced back to Naoussa, reaching the shelter of a café terrace mere minutes before a massive thunderstorm pounded Paros with heavy rain, thunder and lightning for over an hour and a half.
Kolimbithres truly is a beautiful beach area. Be sure to check it out if you’re ever on Paros. Just don’t go there on a windy day!
Below are several photos of Kolimbithres. You can view an online album containing dozens more pictures on the mygreecetravelblog.com Facebook page — even if you don’t have a Facebook account. To access the pics, just click on ths link: Paros 2012: Kolimbithres beach.
Waves of turquoise water wash against the soft brown sand in one of the coves
No problem finding a vacant sunbed on this extremely windy day!
Lounge chairs and umbrellas are inexpensive to rent
A view of one of the beach coves from a rock formation that juts into the bay
I thought this particular rock formation looked like giant beast that had collapsed on the sand, its face and head plunged into the water
A dilapidated beach taverna building on one of the coves. There are several tavernas nearby, including one on the hill leading down to the beach, and more along the main road.
The view across the bay from one of the sandy coves
A boat bobs in the waves between two of the beach coves
The soft sand and shallow waters make Kolimbithres a perfect beach for families with young children to spend a day
Another view of the rocks that resemble a giant dinosaur body
Crystal-clear water in a bay off to the right side of the beach coves. Another sandy beach is visible in the background. The bay is popular for waterskiing and other water sports activities.
Sunbeds with a great view across the bay
The view from one of the beach coves
Half an hour after I snapped this photo, the blue sky completely clouded over with dark clouds as a thunderstorm moved across the island
Wind- and wave-smoothed rocks along the coast at Kolimbithres
