Ithaca is Empty

Yacht Zubenel with Jan and I as crew sailed into Vathy, the capital of the island of Ithaca, Greece. Never have I ever been in such a lovey spot that is so underinhabited! We entered the Gulf of Molo with its lovely blue water and lush green mountains sloping into the sea and there was not a sign of human habitation anywhere. Finally we turned into the inner bay and the small town of Vathy was visible with several hundred houses. The bay is a natural deep harbor protected on all sides. In fact Vathy means deep in Greek. A few cannons on the hillside would have made the place impregnable, but in fact the town was not even established until 1700 when the Venetians cleared this area of pirates. We tied up stern to at the quay. It was late afternoon which is siesta time in Greece. Walking about the empty streets gave me a post Rapture feeling. By 8:30 the town was humming.

As many as 15,000 people lived on Ithaca during British dominion between 1800 and 1860. Only 3,000 people inhabit the island now. It was during this period that Lord Byron stopped at Ithaca on the way to his untimely death across the Inland Sea at Mesologgi in 1824. He said then "If I could own Ithaca, I would bury all my books and live here forever." It is easy to understand why he said it.

The island has lost population steadily since then. Earthquakes plague these islands which helps explain the lack of significant archeological site such as temples. A devastating earthquake in 1953 knocked down alost every building on Ithaca. Worse, it discouraged the population who left in droves and have not returned. Jan spoke to the waitress at the taverna. She was a Greek American who had come back to help out her sister at the restaurant. She was from Brooklyn. She said the summers were good, but when the tourists leave in the winter it was so lonely and boring that she was going back to NY.

It seems likely to me that more people lived here in Mycenean times 3000 years ago when Ulysses was king than live here today.

I will post more on how lovely this place is later and I promise to add pictures when we get back to the USA next week.