What «Le Figaro» wrote about Kythera

Here Aphrodite emerged from the waves of the sea

According to Hesiod, the genitals of Uranus, which he cut off and threw into the sea area of Kythira the son of Cronus, emerged the Venus. In contrast to the carnal version of the goddess we meet in Cyprus, Kytheria Aphrodite refers to pure love. She symbolizes in this way an idealized place of spiritual elevation, represented by the Antoine Watteau in «Pilgrimage to Kythera».

Kythera is located between Crete and the Peloponnese, at the crossroads of the Aegean and the Ionian Sea. Although the access is not the easiest, the island has always been the bridge between East and West, both for the Palms who introduced the worship of Aphrodite, as well as for the Venetians, under whose administration Kythera was under for six centuries.

Its strategic location and fertile land ensured that the island of Kythera enjoyed a short period of prosperity, followed by difficult years, with a large number of inhabitants emigrating - mainly to Australia and America - in search of a better life.

This search is bearing fruit today, as the island - albeit belatedly - has been put on the rails of tourist development, thanks to expatriates and foreign visitors.

The wait was worth it. Once it arrives, the landscape wins you over in an instant. Bare bare, with scattered, bald hills, and a steep coastline with beaches of exquisite beauty, such as Kaladi, Paleopolis with the tombs of the Minoans and Melidoni, with its picturesque creek.

Return to the land of birth

Among the repatriates, we find Pavlos, the baker from Karavas, with the famous rusk products that are famous all over Greece. Or even, Penny and Harry Tzortzopoulos, whose grandfather had gone to Australia as an immigrant at the age of 11, together with his 13-year-old brother. But the homeland never ceased to attract. Inviting. At 25, Harry put down roots here again, working in the organic olive cultivation. Penny, for her part, is the owner of the tourist accommodation, Astarti Hidden Retreats, which now allows her to spend more time on the island than in Singapore, where her main residence is. In Kythera, we do not find large hotels, but small, welcoming tourist resorts, which spring up here and there from people who are repatriating.

The Renaissance and the journey to the place of spiritual upliftment

A rural place, the island also attracts chefs, such as the Cretan Yannis Voulgarakis. Creator of the famous Athenian bar, «Six D.o.g.s», then, for years in the kitchen of an Italian restaurant in Mykonos, he finally took root in Kythera, where he created the «Familia», a refined restaurant, where gourmet flavors are perfectly combined with traditional Greek recipes. This is creative cuisine, intended for a clientele of special taste, in the special conditions of a landscape in the Fratsias which suggests Far West.

Next to the restaurant, we find the village school, a classic example of neoclassical architecture of the area. This is where they take place, dance lessons, under Vangelis Megalokonomos. On the day of our visit, a couple of foreign visitors learn the steps of a traditional dance, with the assistance of indigenous people. Here, everyone gets to know each other, which helps to build a relaxed and thoroughly enjoyable atmosphere.

In the conversation that follows, there is a pervasive sense of satisfaction with which the locals surround the local character that accompanies them. «What more do you think you will gain by going round the world?» exclaims the Despina, a Greek-Australian from Brisbane. «The whole world is in Kythera. You want Capri? We have Ablemona. Monte Carlo, Capsule, nothing changes. You miss New York? Take a walk on the river!» he says, and everyone laughs.

The wreck of the Parthenon Marbles

Kythera is indeed sparsely populated. Four thousand inhabitants (12 thousand in summer), scattered over 279 km 2. However, the number of villages is quite impressive: 64 in total, scattered all over the island. The majority of them are found in the interior, and this has to do with the fear of the pirates who once ploughed the entire Mediterranean basin.

The architecture is impressive. The north is dominated by stone buildings with tiles, while the south is reminiscent of the Cyclades. We found only 4 seaside villages. The first, the Diakofiti, the recently constructed harbour where our ship docked, with its deep blue waters.

The seaside resorts of Kythera are two. In the south, the Capsule, the port of Chora, capital of the island, and to the north, the Saint Pelagia, across the Peloponnese. The oldest port is of course Avlemonas, with its two charming bays and the Cycladic aura it emits.

The Venetians had fortified it, erecting a castle on one side and placing a watchtower on the other. In 1802, the British frigate Mentor, which was carrying the Parthenon marbles stolen by Lord Elgin, was wrecked in Ablemona. The Lord had to organize 3 expeditions, with the participation of even local spongers, and spend a fortune before he managed to recover the treasure sunk into the sea. And he may have sold the stolen goods in 1816 to the English state, but as fate would have it, he eventually died penniless and forgotten a few years later.

Between the Aegean and Venice

The Ablemon Sea has nothing to envy from Capri. Its charming, white houses, built amphitheatrically around the small harbour with its translucent waters, create a setting that refreshes you. Three tavernas and a cocktail bar invite you to explore them day and night.

The Grocery, vibrating to the musical choices of Stavros, the bearded DJ, who is a fervent follower of saxophonist John Coltrane, whose frame adorns the interior of the bar in the form of a hagiography.

Chora exudes an Aegean aura, with Venetian touches. Perched on a rock, in the south of the island, it wakes up from its winter slumber and comes to life in the summer dusk, when it is best to walk around it, strolling through the narrow streets and visiting the boutiques in the old mansions.

At the highest point, the Venetian castle dominates, from where the view of the bay of Kapsali is unique. Going down to the sea, we discover a second Monaco - in miniature - stretched on a double handle, ending in a charming hilly hinterland.

Here, one will not find a casino, but a cluster of traditional tavernas and an interesting gallery, which attracts the island's art world. Among them, the Manolis Charos. Born in 1960 in Kythera, he studied at the School of Fine Arts in Paris and today enjoys an international reputation as an accomplished painter. His most recent exhibition at the Benaki Museum in Athens was entitled «Treasure Island».

In the South, the Cycladic style dominates

The small, but new, Museum of the Country, hosts archaeological samples of the history of a place that spans 7 millennia. Standing out are dozens of votive statues of the Minoan Age, while the paintings of Vato and Botticelli and the poems of Hugo (Cerigo) and Baudelaire (Journey to Kythera) parade from the interactive screen. And while Vaughtau celebrates the psychic euphoria of love, in the Blossoms of Evil (Baudelaire) and the Contemplation (Hugo) we find erotic disappointment as the dominant motif.

Unforgettable experiences

In the north, the village stands out River, with the special energy. In the summers, the atmosphere is festive, especially on Friday evenings, where live music with an orchestra takes place in the square, which serves as a dance floor, around which the 4 taverns of the village are located. We encounter a variety of dances, from traditional Greek, to fox trot and waltz, in honor of the English who occupied Kythera from 1809 to 1864. Concerts, of course, are scheduled on a regular basis throughout the year by the Astikon, the artsy café-bar of the square with its unique aura.

On Sundays, the village is the meeting point of the whole island, which arrives for the traditional bazaar. The producers spread their wares in an atmosphere full of colour and energy: fruit, vegetables, thyme honey, wine, olive oil, capers, tarts, homemade sweets, but also the famous Elychrysos, the plant with the golden flower (Sempreviva). Once we finish with the supplies, we make an appointment for the café «Potamos», for a rice pudding and traditional delicacies.

There we will meet the Frank van Weerde, an iconic figure. In 2003, he left Amsterdam, where he was working at the Anne-Frank museum, to immerse himself in a life more in line with his expectations. Owner of the Pyrgos House, a small hotel unit with a strong local colour, Frank acts as an artist: with perseverance and patience, with passion and passion, he reveals the authentic face of Kythera to the whole world. In collaboration with «Kythera Trails», it upgrades nature trails and gives them value and accessibility. During the summers, he is active as a guide on the island for small groups. He is a man with incredible knowledge of the flora, fauna, history and traditions of the area. He will tell you everything about Milopotamos and Paleochora, the old capital, destroyed by the pirate Barbarossa in 1537. An anthropologist at heart, he searches for the roots of people, the smell of the land.

With this and this, we are at her house Chrysoulas, Frank's neighbour, who prepares a typical Greek meal for us. Next, the Yannis Protohpsaltis takes us on a tour of his beehives and shares with us the distillation of wisdom he has gathered from his coexistence with bees.

One of the most unforgettable experiences we had was the trip to the sea, alongside two nice fishermen, the George and Dimitris Sklavos, always with a smile on his lips. A pleasure to go fishing with them, in the waters of Avlemonas! We cast the nets, dive into the sea and then enjoy the catch of the day in a village tavern.

This is Kythera, a talisman, so well preserved by its people, who are always fighting to protect it. As in the case of the wind farms, which public opinion strongly opposes. The plans to extend the airport runway are causing similar reactions. «What can we do with the big charters, since the infrastructure for the short two-month tourist season covers us as it is at the moment?» asks Frank.

Visit Paradise

With a network of organized paths stretching over 100 kilometers, Kythera is a true hiking paradise, especially in the spring season, when nature is in bloom, while in autumn the sea still retains the warmth of summer.

But there are also the cases of those people who are looking for an off season destination in Kythera. Such as the Céline Debayle, who discovered the island three years ago. The Parisian writer (she has a book about Greece and a novel to her credit), confesses her love: «Kythera reminded me of the Greece of my youth. Landscape, austere, harsh, a landscape fragmented, surrendered to the winds that cut it off from the outside world.». Céline lives here, 8 months a year, in a fishermen's house in Capsali. She is seduced by this «marriage between the wildness of the place and the loveliness of the people».

By Maud Vidal-Naquet - Translation, Nikos Antonakis