LEFKAS			Nautical Info
Beaches
Mainland (Etoloakarnania)	Lefkas - Scorpios	Meganisi	Kalamos	Porto Katsiki - Agiofili	Ithaki

We are talking about 3 beaches in the east coast of the island.

We visited beach P+LEFKADA1 repeatedly. The sea was crystal clear, had no road access at all, but it was visited from daily cruise boats. In 2003 we met there the (Nidri based) cruise boat "Odysseus" which was designed as a replica of an ancient boat(!!!) and so we named the beach "Odyssey". The cruise included beach barbeque and of course the crew cleaned the beach before departure. The only problem of the beach was the great number of bees. Some visitors had a swatter along and that looked a very good idea to me...

Half a mile south of "Odyssey" there is another beach. We didn't visit it and I didn't mark it on the GPS either, but I saw several rental boats moored there.

Beaches P+LEFKADA2 and P+LEFKADA3 are located north of P+LEFKADA1. We didn't visited them either but they were deserted although they have road access through small roads. If you visit P+LEFKADA2, moor at it's southern part which looks better.

In general, if you cruise along the eastern coast of Lefkas (from Nidri to the cape of Poros bay), you will find more beaches. Some of them are so tiny that can accommodate only one boat. Such a beach I noticed during our daily cruise in the southeast part of the island, exactly on the cape of Poros bay. I didn't mark it on the GPS but I mark it on the map (point W1). There was a boat moored on this beach that day. I would like very much to be there....

Scorpios islet is a paradise on earth. It's a private islet and belonged to the famous Greek tycoon Aristotelis Onassis (now to his granddaughter Athena). This paradise is not natural. It was created in the 60's from 500 people that worked uninterrupted for 5 years !!! It has it's own electricity and water supplies and today work there about 30 people (10 for security and the rest as farmers, housekeepers etc).

You can't approach the island and you can't swim on it's beaches with the exception of 2 beaches were you can moor and swim. 

The other beach is located just 200-300 meters away from P+SCORP1. Due the small distance I haven't marked it in the GPS. We didn't visit it but the quality of the water is equivalent although it has less trees on the beach.

Scorpios - Onasis Villa

You can locate both beaches easily. As you sail from Nidri and as you enter the bay where the port of the island is located, opposite you on the top of the hill between two palm trees you can see Onasis Villa (now belonging to his granddaughter Athena). On your right hand, as you enter the bay, first you meet the second beach and just next the beach P+SCORP1.

The are though 3 downsides for the beaches:

• In beach P+SCORP1 moor daily cruise boats for swimming but they never stay more that 30' – 45'
• An afternoon, when we were leaving, I located sludge in the middle of the bay. I suppose that this was occasional because it happened only once 
• The beach abounds in ants which are very-very small but very-very disturbing (they really bite !!!)

Although the above downsides, I strongly suggest Scorpios beaches and would visit them again and again.

Some more details about the island and Onasis family:

• Onasis has two kids, Alexandros and Christina. Alexandros died in 1973 (he was then 24 years old) in an airplane accident. He was really crazy about planes and his father designated him as manager of (then Onasis and now Greek State owned) Olympic Airways. There are heavy rumors in Greece that Alexandros death wasn't really an accident and that it was planed from Onasis competitors or enemies in order to bring him on his knees. If it so, the objective was accomplished. Onasis died 2 years later.
• Christina died in the 80's. She was in her 30's, had three unhappy marriages and lived a rather unhappy life. She had a daughter, Athena, from her third marriage. 
• On the waterfront of the island port you can see 2 speedboats under a shelter. The first and older one (blue color) belonged to Alexandros, the second (newer, flesh colored, "Cigarette" type) belonged to Christina.
• Just above the second Scorpios beach (the first one you meet as you enter the bay) is the little church where Onasis married Jacky Kennedy. The entire Onasis family (Onasis, Alexandros, Christina and Onasis sister) are buried In the courtyard of the church.
• Scorpios island cannot be sold. There is a term in Onasis will that states that the island can only be bequeathed to a descendant of the family who must be named "Onasis". So, if his granddaughter Athena dies and has no kids or her kids aren't named "Onasis", the island will be attorned to the Greek State.
• Athena, granddaughter of Onasis, hasn't visited Greece or Scorpios for the past 9 years. No one can blame her, whenever she is in Greece, she is in 9 o'clock news and the paparatsis are running around her. I don't know if she feels like a Greek (she was only 3 when her mother Christina died) but the Greeks surely consider her as one of them because Onasis is a myth in the modern Greek history.

Creation : George /ComputerGuy/ Kontogiannis
2004
a4racergr@yahoo.gr