On the way from Gythio to Monemvassia we stopped on a cliff to admire the view and discovered this picturesque shipwreck on Valtakiou beach. Apparently, it has been lying and rusting there since 1981 and has a slightly shady past. When it was still in use, the Dimitros was sold by the Danish owners to a Greek trader in 1965 who sold it again in 1979. Under its last owners, is was apparently used to smuggle cigarettes in between Turkey and Greece. History has it, that it was moored in Gythio in December 1981 when the captain had fallen ill. The captain never returned and in June, the port authorities tried to get the owners to tow the ship to a wharf, without success. During a storm the following November the anchor chain came loose and the ship drifted towards Valtakiou Beach, where it remains to this day.The owners have long since disappeared and no-one wanted to invest the money in order to dismantle the ship or tow it away.
Nowadays, there is a Camper Stop on the beach as well as a taverna and tourists use the striking image of the ship as a motive for their holiday snaps. Some people even swim near the wreck, although this does not seem very safe...
It is not the only shipwreck in Greek waters: off the coast of the island of Kythira, south of Peloponnes lies the wreck of the Nordland, which was built in Northern Germany and then sailed under the Russian flag. In the year 2000 it stranded at Dragonares near Diakofti on Kythira, apparently, because the crew was drunk. Nowadays, one can book a diving tour to the wreck...
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