Flatland part 2 and visit to Nafpaktos

Arriving at Flatland felt like coming home. The difference was that we didn’t park on the left on the peninsula, but drove to the right behind the bar, straight towards our friends. We were expecting three cars, but there was actually a small Czech village, which together with us counted six cars, 11 adults and 11 children :-). Everyone enjoyed the wind and water as much as possible.

Great wind and the river

And what was even better, it was blowing beautifully on Monday afternoon and we could immediately go to the water (they say we brought the wind). We arrived at half past six and greeted everyone, and by seven we were already enjoying the wind, waves, flat water, and a great ride.

The wind was excellent the next day as well when we had the opportunity to ride in a group even on the river. Yes, I’ve been to Flatland several times over the past five years, but it wasn’t until this year that I reached this milestone. And it was a great experience for me. The Acheloós river is really wide, about 100 meters, the wind was a bit gusty, but nothing terrible. And huge reeds grow around the river. In any case, if you get to Tsimari and the wind is good, get a buddy (preferably someone who knows the way out of the lagoon) and ride there. It is possible to enter the river directly from the lagoon, but you have to go far back behind Jorgos’s tavern and a gap will appear between the reeds, through which you can pass without any problems. Alternatively, ask local kiters how to get there.

Czech band on Flatland

This time, the wind on Flatland came more in the later afternoon, so we had made other activities during the day. Things were happening in the smaller lagoon between the right side of the peninsula and the driveway. When there was no wind, people were on paddleboards.

The biggest show was performed by my friend Rado. The children were swimming in the lagoon and he would jump over them or splash water on them. His top act was kiting in sneakers on a skateboard (unfortunately we didn’t get to record it).

When it was possible to swim, it was also an experience. Watching 11 children, three of them non-swimmers, in the waves was not an easy task. Just like when six women and 11 children occupied Jorgos’s tavern.

Unfortunately, on Thursday morning the whole gang disappeared and we were left alone again.

New trick and a record

Great conditions all around. A lot of people left the Flatland because the forecast called for big storms Friday and the following night, and the wind was supposed to turn completely for the weekend. Because of this forecast, the weekend’s sixth annual Kite Festival was also canceled. Fortunately, the reality was different.

On Thursday, it was luxuriously windy. It was late, but there were a minimum of kites on the flat. At nine o’clock in the evening, the last one disappeared and Veronika drove all by herself until ten thirty.

Friday was much the same, but the wind was stronger. Veronika continued practicing jumps and I started giving a new trick, the backroll kiteloop.

I was afraid of it for a while, but in the end, if everything is debugged and done sensibly, it’s not that difficult. Of course, starting a loop when one’s back is facing the water also required a significant amount of risk appetite from me. Last year I took a pretty bad crash with this trick and it hurt all over my body and head. And on top of that, I got into the top 15 in big air through the Woo app with 7.4m. Last 15th place but still on the leaderboard :-).

Despite the forecast, it was still windy at the weekend. Although weak, finally after three weeks I screwed up the foil board and tried to follow up on what I learned last year.

Even on Sunday, despite all the forecasts, we were kitesurfing. It was windy again until the evening, but the moon was slowly going full so that the kiting could be possible even a long time after sunset.

Anyway, after another week on the Flatland, we decided it was finally time to head out on our crucial part of the trip. This year we decided to go around the entire Peloponnese and discover more, hopefully great, spots. The first stop was not yet in the Peloponnese, but it was already in sight.

Missolonghi salt lagoons

On Monday, as usual, after breakfast at 11 o’clock, we packed our things and left. We stopped a short distance from Missolonghi at a special bathing place, the Missolonghi salt lagoons. Between the lagoons, there is a path to a small church, and right at the beginning of this path, you can swim in one of the lagoons.

The water here is really incredibly salty and thick. We had to postpone the bath because of time, because Max broke his knee at the church and we also didn’t want to continue to Nafpaktos for shopping covered in salt. But if you drive by, we recommend stopping by. We even saw a shower (we don’t know if it works) and a changing room at the exit to the main road.

The trip with Missolonghi went by quickly and we were already excited for the next spot. Then came the first hitch. The fallen bridge at Kokori across the river Evinos. Fortunately, a detour route was created here across the original river bed.

The second unpleasant surprise awaited us right behind the hill. When we passed the local landmark, the Rio Antirio bridge, the water surface was like a mirror and there was not a single kite in the air at Drepano.

Nafpaktos Castle

Around six o’clock we arrived in the town of Nafpaktos. After a week on Flatland, we replenished our supplies of food and water. And since it wasn’t blowing, we decided to visit the castle.

The Venetian Castle of Nafpaktos is one of the most beautiful castles in Greece. It proudly keeps watch on the city and the bay of Patras and its picturesque ramparts go down to enclose the little harbor.

Nafpaktos Kitesurfing Spot

We knew that the forecast was not good at all, but we had an obligation to at least look at the local spot in Nafpaktos. We arrived at the beach before sunset and decided to spend the night here.

From the spot, you can see Drepano on the other side of the bay. You need a westerly wind to have a good ride, which unfortunately didn’t show up in the bay on Monday. The beach is not very nice, there are stones, sticks and mess washed up by the river everywhere. At first, we thought that even entering the water was catastrophic, because there were unpleasant large pebbles on the bottom. But the next day we had a good walk along the beach and on the east side of the spot there is quite a nice entrance to the water, the bottom is sand, the water is only knee deep and you could definitely ride here if the conditions were right. The European Foil Championship is to be held here in September and we can imagine that racing on the water with a view of the Rio Antirio Bridge will be exceptional. The organizers will just have to clean up the beach, which currently looks disastrous.

After visiting the spot, we finally set off towards the Peloponnese.

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Author: Karel

I simply love kitesurfing :-).