Photos

Gramvousa Peninsula and Balos Lagoon in northwestern Crete.

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REPOSTED PICTURE

---> I'm reposting this picture after correcting
the too obvious deformation of the horizon
line caused by the lens. In addition I repro-
cessed the RAW file in contrasts, blackpoint
sharpness and luminance to lessen the effect
of the haze.
All corrections done with RawTherapee v2.4.1
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Finally, a dream come true!?
I had wanted so much to be here and see this incredible place with my very own eyes...!

I prepared and planed this shot for several weeks before travelling to Kissamos.

I started quite early in the morning, knowing temperatures would rise up to 38°C and more.
After a hard, steep, two hour mountainbikeride from Kissamos (west of Hania) up the dustroad, along the eastern slope of the Gramvousa peninsula - with several water bottles and photo equipment on my back :-P - I reached my destination.

The ride itself tested my endurance and stamina AND offered dreamlike views of Gramvousa.

Of course, I could have taken a tourist boat from the port of Kissamos, but I wanted to spot locations aswell.

On arriving, I walked towards the south and climbed the western slope of the mountain. I'm offering you a south to north view of the location.

To the left of the Balos lagoon with its warm and shalow, turquoise waters, you can see the Isle of Tigani (saucepan). Behind it is Imeri Gramvousa (the tame) - there's an old venetian fort on it - and on the horizon you see Agria Gramvousa (the wild). To the right you can see the western slopes of the peninsula, which stretches itself several kilometers up north still. The tiny white points on the lagoon are boats, which might give you an idea of the dimensions!

This part of the province of Kissamos is still quite wild and natural and there is, as far as I know, and apart from a couple of fences built by shepherds, no private property. We can only hope that this paradise won't be privatised...

One the downside, on the beaches and low cliffs north of the lagoon, I found loads of plastic, bear cans, bottles and materials of all kinds, including hundreds of cigarette filters and firelighters.

This is a dreadful reality, which affects all oceans and coasts around the globe. Furthermore, illegal washing of oil tanker ships, brings disgusting lots of tar and oil that spoil several parts of the awesome and beautiful western coast of Crete and endangers all habitats.

So now, how can you visit such a heaven on earth and scatter your f...ing waste around the place???
Nowadays EVERYBODY is informed about what we humans are doing to our one and only home: mother earth.

Nevertheless, I saw several tourists behaving this way. So it's not only the sea currents washing the human dirt ashore! It's so simple to take your dirt to the litter can...
Respect, awe and love for the wonders of nature don't seem to be all that popular.


DNG@ISO200
18.00 mm
Redeveloped with Rawtherapee v2.4.1

Thanks, René