Τρίτη 29 Νοεμβρίου 2016

The village of Mavrata and HMS PERSEUS submarine.





The village Mavrata is located in the southwestern Kefalonia. It is a typical Ionian Island;s village with charming little houses, gardens full of roses and churches of exceptional architecture. The locals are engaged mainly in agriculture, some with marine related accopations and many nowadays depend on tourism. 

The village is close to Skala, which is one of the first and bussiest tourist resorts in Kefalonia, along with Lassi. The coast line bellow and close to Mavrata comprises a long sandy beach open to the Ionian Sea. It is a protected area as it hosts the loggerhead turtles' nests every year (see more at http://www.kateliosgroup.org/kefturtles.htm and https://wildlifesense.com/en/)

This village is linked with a strange WWII story, of the of the most extraordinary stories of escape from a sunken submarine. On the night of 6th December 1941  the English submarine Perseus hit an Italian mine between Kefalonia and Zakynthos and sank, with one and only survivor, John Capes, who was found by locals on the coast. For 18 months it is said that he was living in the village moving from house to house untill he managed to escape to Africa.The submarine is still lying between Kefalonia and Zakynthos :) (utube video: https://youtu.be/e8A-yOyLO6w)