Gíthio, Harbor

We had a problem finding the right road, but when we finally got to Gíthio we were pleasantly surprised to see one of the nicest little towns in all of Greece, a gorgeous fishing village built on the side of a hill.

We saw some campers on the dock in Gíthio, and joined them, thinking we had campsite company for the night. We soon found they were in line to catch the 11:00 PM ferryboat to the island of Crete! We then moved to the other end of the pier and spent the night.

The dock serves as a breakwater, and around the other side of the little bay, stores line the street, and houses fill the hillside above. The town square, perhaps 100 feet square, is filled with tables for outdoor cafes, and the street along the water is lined with one cafe after the other.

There is an awning over the tables, a unique design, found only in Greece. They have constructed a simple pipe frame, sloping two ways from the ridge. The awning is connected to a pipe at the top (ridge) with an awning descending down each side, like a roof. The awning is wrapped around the top pipe in such a way that when a crank is used to turn that pipe, the awning on both sides is wrapped around the top pipe, and pulled up from both sides. The bottom edge of awning on each side, is attached to a pipe to give it weight, and to hold the awning in place when the wind blows. We have seen thousands of sidewalk cafes in many countries, but this awning is unique to Greece, and we see it here, many, many times.