LEFKAS
LEFKAS |
Nautical Info |
|
|
||
| Beaches | |||||
| Mainland (Etoloakarnania) | Lefkas - Scorpios | Meganisi | Kalamos | Porto Katsiki - Agiofili | Ithaki |
| Meganisi Island | |
| Waypoints : P+MEGANISI1 to 4 |
|
|
Meganisi island is very interesting. Papanikolis cave is located there, it has nice beaches and spectacular green fiords in its east - northeast part. |
Papanikolis was a famous greek U-boat that accomplished several serious damages to the Italian fleet during Wordl War II. It is said that Papanicolis Cave (waypoint N+CAV-MEGA) in Meganisi was one of it's hideouts. Another hideout of Papanikolis U-boat is located in another cave in the west coast of Paxos island. In front of the cave in Paxos stands a tall and slim rock that hides the cave's entry. That's why the place is called "Ortholithos" ("Standing Rock").
Papanicolis cave is located in the west coast of Meganisi and is big enough to allow all tourist and cruise boats, no matter how big they are, to enter in it. Waters are crystal clear and it has a tiny beach in it. I regret that we didn't swim there and I recommend it strongly. If you decide to moor and swim there, avoid mooring in front of the caves entry because the cruise boats visit the place all the time (though they don't stay there more than 5-10 minutes). You can moor near the tiny beach that is located in the south part of the cave.
South of Papancolis cave, in the west coast of Meganisi you can find the beach P+MEGANIS1. It is located in the middle of nowhere, in the bottom of steep rocks and has absolutely no road access. It's only problem are the high waves due the west winds that blow in Lefkas channel during the noon. I suggest you to visit this beach during the morning when the sea is calm.
More south, near to the most south part of Meganisi, there is another beach, similar to P+MEGANIS1. We didn't swim there and unfortunately I didn't mark it on the GPS. It is located in point W2 marked on the map. The beach has southern orientation and I suppose that is not affected from the west noon winds of Lefkas channel.
|
|
Beach P+MEGANIS2 is located on a mini cape in the northern part of the west coast of Meganisi, just opposite the (private) islet Thilia. It has road access through a bumpy road. Prefer to swim in the northern part of the cape that is protected from the south winds that blow in Meganisi channel (between Meganisi and Lefkas) during the noon and keep your swatter in hand because the bees are in great numbers here. |
The depth of the beach is worth mentioning. In the first 10 to 20 meters the depth is increasing normally, allowing the kids to play and swim. In the subsequence meters though, the depth increases rapidly. That allows the cruise boats that return to Nidri in the afternoon (between 17:30 – 19:00) to pass very close to the beach, creating high waves. Keep that in mind when you moor your boat and place your thinks on the beach.
The (private) islet Thilia, located just opposite P+MEGANIS2 has nothing interesting to show. In its tiny bay (which can be clearly seen when you are standing in P+MEGANIS2) there is a beach that I do not recommend because of it's misty sea bed. This was a conclusion of mine because as I approached the beach I noticed the mud that was raising from the propeller of my outboard. In the south side of the islet there is a tiny beach with clear waters, but it gets affected from the noon south winds which raise some low waves.
I don't recall much for the beach P+MEGANIS3. I was passing through in 2003 and, if my memory serves me right, the waters were blue and clear but the beach was nothing special.
|
|
P+MEGANIS4 is (together with Scorpios beaches) our favorite. It is the preferred beach of the Meganisi island residents and it has road access. The number of visitors of the beach stays in an acceptable range and there is a beach bar. We loved it's waters because they were always crystal clear and deadly calm (the bay is well protected from waves and winds). The depth of the sea is the same as in P+MEGANIS2 (increases normally in the first 10-20 meters and then very rapidly) making P+MEGANIS4 an ideal choice for families with kids. |
Notice two important thinks about this beach :
|
|
The first is that you can't moor in front of it because there are people swimming and the beach is delimited with floating marks. You have to moor in the east side of the beach, in front of the beach bar (the same way I moored my boat in the picture). To do that you have "violate" the floating marks but nobody swims in this part of the beach because it's full of rocks and stones. The only downside is that you have to carry your belongings for 60-70 meters where the "good" part of the beach starts. |
The second and most important note has to do with some reefs that you will find in your way from Nidri to P+MEGANIS4. As you circumnavigate Meganisi in order to reach the beach and when you have about half a mile left, you will notice two tiny islets that stand very near (about 200-300 meters) to Meganisi. There are reefs in both of the water channels that divide the islets from Meganisi. In both occasions the reefs are close to the islets, so when you are crossing the channels keep your course near to Meganisi and away from the islets. Be very careful during the afternoon hours when you are (probably) returning to Nidri because the sun will be in your face blinding you and it will be more difficult to locate the reefs.
Note here that I'm not so sure if the reefs are a real danger for small speedboats (sailboats on the other hand have to be very careful). This year (2004) we cruised over the reefs of the second channel (I saw it very late, when our boat was already over them) and nothing happened, but you have to be careful anyway.
Creation : George /ComputerGuy/ Kontogiannis
2004
a4racergr@yahoo.gr
