The famous cape, the terror of sailors

The cape of Kafireas or Cavo d’ Oro, is at the easternmost point of Evia. On the promontory, the small church of Aghios Gregorios stands in solitude, as if gazing over the sea to grant faith and hope to storm-tossed sailors in their hours of need.

Opposite lies the island of Arapis. Cavo d’ Oro is one of the most legendary place names in Greece, associated with a great many shipwrecks from antiquity to the present. The cape is said to have acquired its name, “Cape of Gold”, from the gold coins and other flotsam the sea cast up from shipwrecks. The Greek fleet, returning from the sack of Troy, was wrecked on Kafireas, a victim of the trickery of Nauplius who was the king of South Karystia. Seeking revenge for the murder of his son, Palamedes, he lit fires on the rocks in order to trick the Greeks into thinking that they were approaching safe harbour.

Sea Currents are a source of life

The seas around Cape Kafireas are some of the most productive marine environments in the Aegean.

The powerful sea currents bring to the surface nutrients that sustain a vast number of fish and a rich marine life. Subsequently, this marine life attracts thousands of seabirds. In spring and summer one can observe hundreds of Levantine Shearwaters (Puffinus yelkouan), a species of small albatross that reproduces only in the southern Mediterranean.

 Dozens of herring gulls and, sometimes, Mediterranean shags nest regularly on Arapis. The Mediterranean shearwater, a relative of the Levantine shearwater, is also common. The rarest gull of the Aegean, Audouin’s gull, may also be found amongst the flocks of seabirds. The area is a sanctuary for the Mediterranean seal, which lives on remote desolate beaches. Its breeding grounds are located in the sea caves that exist in the broader Cavo d’Oro area.

 In spring, the cape becomes a varicoloured sampler of thorny bushes that include rare and extraordinary plant varieties. A characteristic species is Centaurea spinosa, which forms thickets. Certain extremely rare endemic species, such as Armesia johnsenii, grow and flower mostly from the end of April to the beginning of June. That is the best time to visit the cape.