What is the Donkey Island

The Island of Chrisi (which means gold in the Greek language) is also known as the Donkey Island. Situated at the Libyan sea at the east end of the Island of Crete it is maybe the most amazing place I have ever been to. What is so special about the island? Well, for me that would be the feeling of being so close to civilization, and yet so far. You see, the island is a tiny one – 5km long. You can walk around it and it will take less than an hour. There is no other way to get there other than a small boat that goes there twice a day.  And last and most important, modern life has barely reached the island. So, no hotels, no electricity, no mobile network and no means to leave the island! Spooky right?

I visited the island in August 2010 with some friends. We took the boat and left Crete for a while. When we reached Chrisi we had to walk carrying all our stuff under the burning sun and set up our camping stuff. Once finished we run to the beach. That was love at first sight. The golden sand gave the water a golden look as well. Entering the sea was a bit traumatizing for our feet because of the fossils/rocks. The volcanic rocks that have been found in the area are very rare and date up to 70.000 years – even before when Chrisi was an island. I spend long hours with my water goggles looking at the bottom of the sea. I clearly recall the deep but narrow deepening at the bottom as if someone had dug an underwater maze. Still I haven’t found any explanation for that underwater mystery.  Other than that the island is covered with beautiful tall trees that provide shade to the campers.

After the last boat leaves the island, around 6, it is when the magic starts. The population of the island is largely minimized. Random campers, that have become friends after spending days or weeks at the island, get together to enjoy the quietness. Tourists have left and the place is ours and just ours! I had cold beer at the beach bar – which even though added a sense of modern didn’t annoy anyone. I played rackets, read my book and fell asleep on the sand. We mingled with other “residents” of the island, drank more beer and played beach volley. When the sun went down we all stopped to enjoy the colors and the uniqueness of the moment.

We soon decided to leave and go grab something to eat at the other end of the island (yeah, that’s like 10 minutes’ walk). We much enjoyed our time there. We chatted, ate nice food and drank wine. We then left and dragged ourselves to the sunbeds again. From that side of the island we could see Crete. Bright lights glittered from somewhere far away and we knew there were people there. But if these people looked at our side they would never see anything else apart from deep darkness. There is no light. The feeling of being so close to something that ignores your tiny existence is unique. And as if that wasn’t enough, that night there was a big meteor shower. Meteors were falling all the time and we could even think of new wishes to make (*tradition says that when you see a falling star and make a wish, it will come true).  We had a lovely time then. We laughed a lot and I realised how you need nothing more than good company to have an amazing time. We didn’t care about music, drinks, lights or comfortable pillows. But we soon got cold and went to sleep. Often I cherish that night that I spend with my friends, just us in the end of nowhere. I promised myself I will return to the Donkey Island and I will do it. Anybody wants to join?