BRIEF GUIDE TO THE KORINTHIA

  LOUTRAKI:

        As mentioned above, Loutraki is a major tourist attraction.  It is enormously crowded in July and August, full of Athenians (young and old), Scandinavians, and British.  Aside from the beach, Loutraki is worth a visit in the evening.  Walk along the waterfront at sunset and have a drink in one of the fancy establishments.  Be prepared for a crowd, however.  One of the nicest parts of Loutraki is at the far end (north) of the waterfront, where the beach comes to an end.  There is an enormous artificial waterfall in an expensive and pretentious cafe, but the views of the boats, the lights of the town and the boats is worth the walk.

THE CANAL:

          The Korinth Canal is perhaps the most common symbol of the Korinthia.  Planned by rulers from the earliest times, it was actually begun by the emperor Nero, who used a golden shovel and Jewish slaves to initiate the work.  The task was abandoned, however, when it was feared that the water levels in the two Gulfs were different and the canal would lead to a flood--and when Nero was overthrown.  The task was finally accomplished by a French company, beginning work in 1883 and completing it  ten years later; the canal was formally opened in July 1893.  The task was an enormous one, as can be appreciated when looking down at the cutting from the bridge on the National Highway.  The canal can also be seen from either end, within walking distance of the Diolkos, on one side, and Isthmia, on the other.  At the end of their occupation of Greece, the Nazis destroyed the bridge and dumped railroad cars into the canal.  It is pleasant to spend some time at either end of the canal, watching the "sunken bridges" as they go down to let ships pass (obviously one at a time!), and then rise up again.  The rising bridge often brings with it fish, which the bridge keeper normally rushes out to claim for his own!