Day 7: August 26

Matala Beach has umbrellas and sun loungers. The beach is surrounded by cliffs to the south and north. The southern cliffs have been built up with houses - all for tourists. On the northern side there are artificial caves; as far as I understand, scientists still cannot agree on why they were made and how they were used - whether as dwellings or for burials. There is an entrance fee for the caves, 4 euros per person, but we didn’t go :)

How good it was that we came here at 9 a.m.; I think if we had ended up here in the afternoon, I would have fled from here in no time. We are swimming under the northern cliff. There is an amazingly beautiful underwater world here, pieces of rock are scattered across the seabed, the water is crystal clear. So many little fish, swimming in schools, clustering around the rocks. I freeze, watching the sunbeams dance on the bottom; I have always been fascinated by this — thin gilded threads stretching across the seabed.

By 10 a.m. it becomes noticeably crowded, most of the loungers are already taken. And people keep coming and coming. We make a run for it. We walk through the village center, where there are restaurants and cafés. At home I had planned that we would have breakfast in one of the cafés, but there are such crowds here, almost all the tables are occupied — so we leave.

On the way, we stop by a supermarket and buy two watermelons — one small, round one, and a second one, large and long. Volchiy cuts the small watermelon into wedges and puts it in the freezer. About 15 minutes later, we have a magnificent chilled watermelon for breakfast!

During the day we rest. I sit on the terrace (under the sheltering awning!) and write in my diary.

For lunch we make coffee with milk. While the coffee is being prepared, Volchy drinks cold milk, saying, “How delicious! I haven’t had milk in a hundred years!” With the coffee we have delicious bread with butter, Greek Anthotyros cheese, and apricot jam. I think about how delicious simple food can be — bread, butter, cheese… what else do you need…

At around 5 p.m. we head to Agiofaraggo Bay. Just like yesterday, we first wind along serpentine roads, trying to pass oncoming cars on narrow lanes. We drive through villages that look exactly alike — a couple of houses, a square, and a taverna where men sit at tables drinking coffee. We come across a flock of sheep traveling along the road.

Then 6 km along a dirt road and we’re there. We head through the canyon again. In the rocks, water has washed out huge caves. Volchy climbs into one of them. I realize just how enormous this cave really is compared to Volchy’s size. I stand below and we call back and forth to each other; it’s amazing how clearly we can hear one another despite the distance.

At the end of the canyon there are many tents in the shade of the trees (I thought all the hippies had fled from Matala here :). And the bay itself is almost deserted. The sun has already completely disappeared behind the rocks.

We swim without masks. The sea is calm, warm, and clean. I feel as if I’m suspended in the water.. It’s so pleasant to feel the sea, the depth, the freedom, the lightness… To move my legs and arms, to feel how the water supports me..