Archive for June 18, 2009
Day Two – Loutro to Chora Sfakia
We started the day on the ferry crossing from Chora Sfakion to loutro (co-ordinate E-024.13562 N-35.19959). On the journey we saw scree slopes, clast on the cliffs, caves and Dave’s favourite word, gullies. At Loutro Emma saw the men unloading supplies, mainly for the tourist influx to the area, this included nectarines, tomatoes and coca-cola. Also along with the internet cafe it is evidnece of globalisation and shows that they are not completley cut off from the rest of world, they are only secluded by the transport as the only link is by ferry.
men unloading supplies E-024.08328 N-35.19906
Before the walk we stopped for a drink at a cafe (co-ordinates are E- 024.07948 N- 35.20027). Here we took a group photo (17 ) before setting offon our challenging journey back to Chora Sfakion. next we walked up some steep steps and saw a sign for kayaking, which was in English, showing that this was aimed to tourists.
Between here and sweetwater we encountered the gullies and scree slopes that were viewed form the boat. The vegetation was very diverse and included cacti, olive groves, heather and a vegetation that is to be confirmed later with use of photos. The fauna included lizards, bees and butterflies and many others. We met a tourist walking, from New Zealand and she was very friendly. On the coast we spotted some rubbish, a sewage outlet and are unsure how it got there, due to the difficulty to reach the shoreline. The path in places had a man-made edge to them to mark it where it was passing scree and gullies and is likely to be washed away every storm. In some places there were red soils – indicative of iron oxides. At 2.14 we stopped for a break in the first shade we found in half an hour of walking.
Sweetwater is located at E-024.10634 N-35.19893. It was a well sorted stony beach with fresh water springs and nudists. After a paddle we went to the taverna and got a drink. This is the most popular and largest beach in the are with boat taxis going to and from. On the far end there were very active large scree slopes with large boulders on the shoreline. The vegetation here was sparsely distributed with only small shrubs. we left at 3.40pm.
The next leg of the trip was to Chora Sfakion. This area had a very narrow windy path where the swallows “whooshed” past. On the GPS it is called “Crazy” (co-ordinates of E-024.11468 N-35.20167). Near the end of the E4 coastal path we were filmed by Ken which put pressure on trying to avoid falling over and embarass ourselves. At the end of the path the landscape from here to Chora sfakion is highly influenced by man made surfaces e.g crash barriers, roads, storm drains, concrete sides and re-constructed much of the landscape to suit modern needs (the road from Chora Sfakion to Anoplois).
Quote of the day
1.Everyone – Yamas!
Emma – “Mussel toes” (apparently cheers in Russian?)
2. Emma – “this wines like Ribena” (she was a wee bit drunk from Raki)
Highlight – Conquering the E4 coastal path.
Lowlight – Sunburn for the grils and scary nudists.
Day One – Illingas Gorge
The temperature is 28 degree Celsius on the Illingas gorge beach at E 024.12465 and N35.20218. This stone beach has tiny waves which are therefore constructive. Most of the beach is man-made in order to protect the area from future gorge floods after the December 2000 devastating flood. The pebbles are consistent sizes which is not in keeping with natural beaches so this is evidence for the beach being man-made. This beach is a 20minute walk from our base in Chora Sfakia on a long road. We then walked up the beach and 3.3km up the gorge.
E024.12904 N35.21328 – this is the reference for our first measurement site 3.3km up the Illingas Gorge. Here there is evidence of the December 2000 flooding in the form of a rock stuck half way up a tree. A picture of this can be found on our flickr link titled picture three -
E024.12907 N35.21224 – this is site two. Here we measured two flows, a main flow and a peak flow. The problem with this site was that it had a smaller channel to the side which would of added to the main and peak flow that we did not measure.
At site three we were unable to get a GPS signal due to the narrow gorge affecting our ability to receive satellite signal. There was little vegetation at this site as the narrow gorge would have funnelled the water and washed away all the vegetation. Due to the narrow channel flow, it was only 3.7m wide, the water would have been concentrated into a smaller space and would have fasted flow speeds compared to the rest of the gorge. Due to this it is likely that there was a higher erosion rate at this site.
Further on down from site three we encountered a wind tunnel effect. The humidity was reduce to 18.5%. Then, when we got to site four our GPS was still not working so we don’t have a reference for this site. The erosion from the flood was evident here in the form of the bark being stripped from the tree, there are photos of this on our flickr link. This part of the gorge was really wide, this would mean that the flood energy would have been dissipated around the whole area causing less damage to the vegetation present.
At site five we were blessed with satellite signal E024.125 and N35.207. This site was interesting as it had well defined banks. These had been eroded as a result of the December 2000 flood. There was dense vegetation above the peak flow which showed where the flood came up to. Next Site six was the man-made road bridge which also acts as a flood relief to channel the waters towards the sea so that the road is not destroyed again. It is made from concrete and reinforced with steal.
Our quote of the day comes from Laura “if you sit down you get stones in your knickers”. The highlight of the day was Emma panicking at a butterfly landing on our, the lowlight would be our clinometer breaking half way down.
