The Kissamos Province is the Western-most province of the Greek island of Crete. Some of the most spectacular beaches on the island reside here and are well worth getting lost, driving in circles, and navigating dangerously close to cliffs while dodging goat sheep to get to. As with the majority of Crete, Kissamos is overrun with a unique goat/sheep hybrid, scientifically classified as a "Geep". The Geep think they are better than you and try to prove it by staring you down...or standing on your car while laughing at you in their annoying Geepish voice. It is worth putting up with them however, since they produce the best Feta Cheese I have ever eaten.
During the three months I spent on Crete, I only visited this province twice, once resulting in getting hopelessly lost and frustrated as the dirt road I was on became more and more narrow, and the second resulting in success. Although this post says Kissamos Province, it is mainly about the Balos Lagoon.
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Balos is by far the most scenic and breathtaking beach I found on Crete, and easily the most confusing and difficult to get to. After passing the city of Kissamos, the road begins to narrow and curve as it winds through tiny Greek villages. It eventually becomes unpaved and begins to ascend up a rocky incline where you soon realize how high above the water you are and how narrow the road has become. Exciting.
The view from a cliff overlooking the lagoon. It is approximately a half mile hike from the parking lot to the beach. The island in the top right of the picture is known as Gramvousa and contains an old Venetian fort. It is also a very popular tourist attraction that I didn't want to pay for.
Here's a better picture of Gramvousa and the rest of the lagoon. The tiny specks in the picture are people and gives you an idea of the enormity of this place.
The water in the lagoon is probably no more than three feet deep and decently warm for April when this picture was taken. The people in the background were almost completely naked...except for one person wearing a shirt. They got scared when they thought I was taking pictures of them.
The view facing South. For some reason this reminded me of Africa, a place I have never been...except to fly over.
Some extremely sharp rocks that would hurt to fall on
And because I really have nothing else to say, here are numerous pictures of Balos
Okay I lied, I have one thing else to say. This well-known rock in front of me is known as Cap Tigani and translates to "Frying Pan" in English.
