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Published: July 13th 2023
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After our enjoyable stay in Agios Nikolaos we needed to start moving again. The first day was a short hop as we definitely wanted to go to Elounda Bay to visit Spinolonga. If any of you recognize that name, it may be because you read the book, “The Island” by Victoria Hislop about the time when the island was used as a leper colony. I had read the book years ago (and definitely now want to read it again), but knowing that Spinolonga was so close we decided to visit for ourselves. We had a pleasant sail enjoying the rugged coastline of Sicily which took us less than 2 ½ hours – our shortest move yet. Fortunately, Paul and Carole provided us with suggestions about anchoring in the bay as well as visiting Spinolonga. We decided to anchor first down near the town of Elounda as we had the rest of the day, we could spend it exploring the town. We found a safe place to leave the dinghy and spent part of the day wandering through the town, then back to the boat to get in a swim off the back of the boat. We could definitely see it is
a tourist town with a visit to the island of Spinolonga being the primary draw for the crowds. We could see numerous tour boats going back and forth to the island with loads of people – even a few fishing boats were converted to boats to transfer people back and forth.
It was suggested that we move our boat up closer to Spinolonga and take our dinghy over to visit, however, we changed our mind and decided to stay where we were as we had a great hook and join the crowds on one of the boats. That way we don’t have to figure out a place to tie up the dinghy and “fight” with all of the tour boats coming and going. We knew it would be more expensive that way, but we decided it wasn’t worth what we thought might be a hassle not knowing the area for tying up. It worked out fine as we took an early boat out and we had quite a few hours to wander around before the boat was heading back. It was not a boat that gave you any information – it truly was just transportation. We definitely don’t like
going with huge groups of people but we can see with the popularity of the place it wasn’t going to be easy to avoid. Luckily when we got there and paid our entrance there were numerous directions to go and when we saw everyone going straight ahead, we turned right and headed up and got away from the crowds. We were able to continue to use this tactic throughout most of the time there so that worked out fine.
As I mentioned earlier, this island was used as a leper colony from 1903-1957. Needless to say when you look at the photos, the island had many different uses over the centuries. The majority of the buildings that are still standing are not from the time of the leper colony as they were torn down in the 1970’s as many felt they did not fit in aesthetically with the history of the island. Thankfully, they did have quite a few billboards of information and photos from that time period. The buildings that have stood the longest are from the time when the Turks controlled the island from 1715-1898. In fact, the first lepers that arrived on the island were housed
in those buildings until a few years later more appropriate housing was built for them.
Historically it is believed that it was not an island, but that the Venetians destroyed part of the peninsula to create an island which could then be fortified to safeguard the port of Olous. This port gained commercial value due to the salt pans. The fortification was critical due to numerous pirate raids as well as threats from the Turks. Interestingly, the island remained under Venetian control even after the Turks occupied Crete in 1715, but they did eventually capture the island as well. The Turks were in control until 1903 when the island of Crete became part of Greece.
Unfortunately, leprosy which is a long-term bacterial infection that affects the nerves, respiratory tract, skin and eyes also cause deformities. It is not deadly itself, but people die from secondary conditions from the original diagnosis of leprosy. It was proven to be infectious and as a result isolation was considered critical. When the leprosy colony was started, people were sent to the island and did not receive any medical care and there weren’t any infrastructures in place resulting in people being sent there
to die. Fortunately, in 1936 a 3
rd year law student was sent to the island by the name of Epamnondes Remountakis founded the “Brotherhood of the Sick of Spinalonga” to help improve the living conditions for the leper colony. With this organization many improvements were made and it became a viable community with people marrying, having children and developing gardens for fresh vegetables. A hospital was opened, a disinfecting area was added to the island and new buildings were built for residences. The last leper to leave the island was in 1957 and it was left vacant for many years, but definitely is now a large tourist attraction which has picked up considerably since the book, “The Island” came out.
The town of Elounda is definitely one that caters to tourists with its numerous restaurants, souvenir shops, beaches and what seemed like hundreds (but we know that isn’t quite true”) of tour buses coming in and out of town regularly. Luckily, it is small enough that it was still pleasant strolling through town, checking out the interior of a church, picking up some fresh fruit and vegetables and in general stretching our legs.
We know that once we
leave here, we will be moving along daily as long as the weather cooperates so enjoyed our stop here for a couple of nights on anchor in a lovely bay watching the sunsets from the stern of our boat. Definitely glad that we took the time to stop to enjoy anchoring in a pleasant bay and having time to visit Spinolonga - now the move will be on so enjoyed the ability to get to land and stretch our legs and learn as well.
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