Summer holiday, day 5
Index
| Date | Peak/Place | Height | PF | Location |
| 08.07.22 | Kastro | 533m | 373m | Lefkada, Greece |
Friday: Anne wanted to spend the day in Nydri (Lefkada, Greece) and at the beach, and I was … left to my own devices.
I quickly decided to give Kastro a try. None of the maps suggested that this was a hike I should attempt, but satellite pictures showed a whole lot of rocky terrain. The more rock, the less bush. Maybe it was doable?
I drove to the village Poros and parked just before the village center. I followed the main road through the village and past a church before entering a gravel road that was leading to a viewpoint on the southeast corner of Lefkada island.
After 2,1km the road was about to turn over to the other side of the island and I started looking for a place to ascend the ridge. I found a place with blue paint and hoped that this was the recommended place to start. For those crazy enough to hike here…
The paint had to be for something else, because any place on the ridge was just as cumbersome as anywhere else.
Eventually I made it up the first hill and got the high ridge in view. I noticed some bush in front of me but thought I would pass through it quickly. It took me 15 minutes to pass and there was NO WAY I would go back the same route. The bush was just horrifying!
Once on the high ridge, I had the summit in clear view. At least I thought I did. There was still bush ahead, but also enough rock to allow for bypass when needed.
The bush was problem #1, and heat was problem #2. I had still more than 1km to go and I was running out of water. I had only brought 0,5L and that’s just enough for a hike in this temperature (35-36 deg. C.) and in this type of terrain. Should have thought I’d got the picture by now, but it’s hard to teach an old horse new tricks. I gave Anne a call, just so that she knew where I was and that I would turn around if I started to feel overheated.
What I thought was the summit, wasn’t the summit. Fortunately, the real summit was just 100m further north, but in terrain, 100m is a lot!
But eventually, I found the summit marker and was one happy dude, although I made a foobar of the selfie!
On top, I strongly considered heading straight down to the southeast. I was only 0,6km away from the road I had followed. And I thought I saw a route that would be possible to follow. But the main problem was the fences I remembered while following the road. And the dogs, either behind the fences or outside. Hard to say. In the end, I decided to retrace my steps. At least I knew what I was in for.
But first, I took some time to enjoy the views…
Then I headed back the same way I came. The rock was super-sharp, and any fall here would not be kind to the skin. I’m not usually falling when I’m hiking, at least when I tell myself not to, but it was useful to maintain a strong focus.
When I got back to the 15-minute bush part, I stayed below it and took a short scramble on sharp rock once past it. Why didn’t I see this option during my ascent?
I was quite relieved when I put my feet back on the gravel road and could enjoy the 2,1km back to the car.
All in all, fun!
Trip statistics: 8,4km, 560 vertical meters, 1h:52m
Pictures (Canon EOS RP) from the visit:
Continued on day 6…
