Beach Days

Next we went to Elefonysis Beach. Elefonysis is a series of islets that becomes an isthmus at low tide, with beaches on both sides and a shallow lagune with crystal-clear waters. We rented beach seats under an umbrella, passed out in the shade, went swimming and hiked around the islet a bit (I’d read about ancient ruins and was determined to find them, but they stayed hidden).

A few days later, we went to Gramvousa. The Gramvousa Islands are a series of islets on the northwestern end of the island, accessible only by boat. We took a cruise there that was full of tourists. Like Elefonysis, Gramvousa’s beach was a stunning sweep of sand sticking out into the ocean, with a beautiful lagoon and beaches on both sides. Before we got there, we got to go visit an enormous Venetian fort built on one of the islands. The fort was built in 1579 by the Venetians to defend against the Ottoman Turks, a war which they eventually lost.







You can still see a shipwreck on the beach below the fort. It’s not from the Venetian period, though; it’s a tanker from the 60’s that ran aground in the area carrying about 400 tons of cement.



The best part was that when the boat anchored by the beach, the crew let the emergency slide down. For the few hours we were at the beach, passengers could use it as a waterslide. This is perfect for all those people who sort of wish their plane would veer into a random body of water so they could go down the slide they show in the safety videos: