Gavdos Island, Greece, pictures and information, beaches, nature

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GAVDOS ISLAND

The most southerly part of Europe, Gavdos is worth a visit if only for curiosity value. The 40 inhabitants of the island live isolated, the villages are abondoned. The former population once exceeded 8,000. This was during the first Byzantine period, when the island even had an archbishop. During the Venetian rule the island was abandoned, as pirates sought refuge on Gavdos (Barbarosa used it as a hide away in 1539). Some Roman and some Byzantine traces can still be found in the north and the north west of the island. Despite its tiny population Gavdos capitol Kastri has a post office, a doctor and even a policeman :).... I wonder what his job is: arrest a goat for speeding every now and than??? The island has quiet beaches at Korfos (at the mouth of a small fertile valley), at Sarakiniko (if you walk a bit farther you get a glimpse of Gavdopoula island), Agios Ioannis, Potamos, Lavraka and the southern headland Tripiti which present a beautiful composition of arcades diving into the sea. A few rooms are for rent in the harbour Karave, in Sarakiniko and in Kastri. On Korfos beach there is also a taverna renting out rooms. There are not many sights on Gavdos, besides the nature. There are sand dunes with cedar trees, pine trees and shrubs (it looked a bit like the Dutch coastline to be honest...), steep rocks along the coastline, flowers on the beach, the occasional goat, birds.... What makes it so attractive is the air of wild abandon, and the fact that it's easy to walk around the island. But...the islanders are slowly but surely making an end to all this peace and quietnes, because there is building going on at several parts of the island (Karave, Sarakiniko). It's not going to last forever. In Sarakiniko there is now also a supermarket, and so who knows when the first giftshop will arrive... The island of Gavdos is 45 kilometers south of Chora Sfakion and can be reached by a small ferry boat (with a very, very noisy engine) from Chora Sfakion, or from Paleochora. Bring earplugs :), haha!!

Hans Huisman 2007