During our weekend when we visited Ancient Corinth and The Acrocorinth, we also decided to drive out past Loutrakia (where we’d later eat at a taverna), and on to Lake Vouliagmenis before going further to the Heraion Archeological Site and Faros Lighthouse.
Now, when you search on Lake (Limni in Greek) Vouliagmenis, you might get a little confused as most of the search results may show a lake in the Athens (Attica) area. There are actually two lakes (at least) named Vouliagmenis, and while I’ve never been to the one that is close to Athens, I hear it is worth a visit. But the lake we went to is just off the coast of the Gulf of Corinth, and a relatively short but beautiful drive from Loutraki.
I still get confused with directions, and the relationships of places to each other in Greece, because although geographically for example, Corinth is pretty much west of Athens, you still have to drive north before you head west – and this messes up my sense of directions at times as it is a frequent type of occurrence in Greece. There are mountains, the sea, bays, inlets, and gulfs, and so there is no “grid like” road system in the country that travelers in North America might be used to.
So that you can understand the relationship of Lake Vouliagmenis to both Corinth and Athens, I’ve taken a screen shot that shows the lake on the left side, but above Corinth, across part of the Gulf:
Driving to the lake was a beautiful drive, through some curvy mountain roads, and when we arrived, although it was only March, it seemed quite a few people from Athens and Corinth had decided to take advantage of the nice day and drive to the beach at Lake Vouliagmenis. And indeed, the lake is set in a very picturesque location:
While we had come prepared to go for a swim, I wasn’t too excited about the idea once we arrived – although I did go in for a quick dip. Call me a wuss if you want, but the bottoms of my feet are very sensitive and the gravelly beach did not feel so great along with the big rocks that we had to step on or over which caused stubbed toes a few times.
The lake, which is actually more of a lagoon, is not fresh water as it is fed by the Gulf of Corinth through a small channel. One of the things we noticed were kids dissecting jelly fish – although not in abundance here, we did realize that when in the water, it would be a good idea to watch out for them! Many had been washed ashore, and you can see right through their almost transparent ‘bodies’:
We did not stay too long here as we wanted to get on to the Heraion Archeological Site with a stop also at the lighthouse, and we did not have many hours of light still available. It would be nice to return and check out some of the tavernas that are apparently quite good with fresh fish and explore the area a bit more. I also enjoy the architectural style of Greek Orthodox churches that I’ve come across, and thought that this church, across the lake, looked very nice:
Before we left, this stray dog seemed interested in becoming friends as well:
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