Gavdos, Greece

GAVDOS EXPLORATORY: from our Gavdos Team

Our intrepid team of inaugural trip participants successfully circumnavigated the remote Greek island of Gavdos last week. Wild weather threatened a delay, but fortunately Aeolus and the other Greek gods (and goddesses) in charge of the winds provided just-calm-enough seas at the last minute to allow for our ferry voyage across the 26 miles of open sea. Calypso's island welcomed us and we explored every inch of the beautiful coast before returning to the "Big Island" of Crete. It was fascinating to see Crete from the perspective of Gavdos. Gavdos was a Minoan colony in ancient times, and then served as a pirate refuge and finally as a place of exile for Greek dissidents. It's wild and raw. While a power plant was provided to the island several years ago, it functions unreliably and our rooms were provided with oil lamps and a few hours of generator power each night. The nighttime sky was filled with stars and we could clearly see satellites passing overhead. A brief thunderstorm one night showed us why this island stays so green compared to Crete and the Cyclades. We dined like Odysseus on fresh seafood and local lamb. On our final day, we paddled to Tripiti, a dramatic point of land formed of three archways. Some of us climbed up the razor-sharp rocks to reach the Southern Most Point of Europe, which is whimsically marked with a giant chair nine feet tall. Thus enthroned, we said our farewells to Gavdos but we are already looking to return to this magical island.