Aegean Sea: From Corinth to Rhodes

I crossed the Corinth Canal and entered the Aegean Sea—the “prince of all seas”. Here lies the boundary area, natural and cultural, between the Western world I came from and the Orient. Sailing the Aegean under the muscular push of the Meltemi wind was an opportunity for natural discoveries, but also a journey across time. I first reached Gyaros, an uninhabited island in the heart of the Cyclades, where a marine protected area was recently established to safeguard the rich and endangered fauna it hosts, including monk seals. I then made a stop in Delos—the revered birthplace of Apollon and Artemis, imbibed with history but also with personal memories—my last stepping stone in the Cyclades before being projected eastwards by the force of the elements. I thus reached Ikaria first, and then Pythagoras’ birthplace in Samos. From there, I descended to the south along the Dodecanese, keeping the coast of Asia Minor in constant view on my port side. I was cheered up by the visit of a lively school of common dolphins, just as the sight of the sacred island of Patmos was streaming by to starboard. But I found it saddening to note the sea bottom scraped bare, where the decline of native marine biodiversity, with a significant drop in the variety of species of algae, invertebrates, and native fishes, stood in stark contrast with the unwelcome presence of invading fishes from the Red Sea. The journey across the Aegean Sea ended when I reached the harbour of Rhodes.