Part of my easter travel was in Lefkada. Lefkada , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge, as well as the island's capital city. The city of Lefkada, is at the north of the island, approximately 20 minutes by automobile away from Preveza Airport.

Lefkada Town ( population : ca. 10,000), has a pedestrianized main street, a marina, and bus access to Athens.

I love been close to the sea, smelling the smell of the salted water. I have refered many times in my blog that I have born in an island. I am an islander and I have inside me the genes of a sailor, my father's genes...

I could not live away of the water element and whatever I feel depressed or empty of energy I try to be close to the sea.

Manufactured in France and introduced to the Royal Hellenic Navy (as it was called back then) in 1927. It was named after Dimitrios Papanikolis, who sank a 74-gun flagship of the Ottoman Fleet on 27 May 1821. In the early days of the Greek-Italian war and between October '40 and January '41 it sunk 3 Italian cargo vessels in 2 occasions and evaded their escorts unharmed.

After Greece surrendered to the Germans in April '41 Y-2 and the remnants of the fleet, fled to Alexandria, Egypt to continue fighting under British command. Due to the fact that it was outdated but smaller and with a crew with very good knowledge of that part of the Med. it was mainly used for recon and special operations providing support to the resistance forces in Crete and the Aegean islands.

Notable events involving Papanikolis include:

22 Dec, 1940
Papanikolis (Lt.Cdr. Iatridis) sinks the Italian sailing vessel Antonietta by ramming about 30 nautical miles east of Brindisi, Puglia, Italy in position 40?40'N, 18?40'E.

24 Dec, 1940
Papanikolis (Lt.Cdr. Iatridis) torpedoes and sinks the Italian merchant Firenze (3952 BRT) in the Adriatic about 12 nautical miles west-north-west of Saseno Island in position 40?34'N, 19?02'E.

11 Jun, 1942
Papanikolis sinks a small sailing vessel with gunfire off Cape Malea , southern Greece .

12 Jun, 1942
Papanikolis sinks the Greek sailing vessels Catina and Aghia Aikaterini with gunfire off Cape Malea, southern Greece .

13 Jun, 1942
Papanikolis sinks a Greek sailing vessel with gunfire off Cape Malea, southern Greece.

14 Jun, 1942
Papanikolis sinks the Greek sailing vessel Evangelista with gunfire off Nafplia.

15 Jun, 1942
Papanikolis sinks two sailing vessels with gunfire off Scarpanto.

17 Jan, 1943
Papanikolis (Lt. Roussen) sinks the Greek sailing vessel Aghios Stefanos off Cape Malea, southern Greece.

18 Jan, 1943
Papanikolis (Lt. Roussen) sinks the Greek sailing vessel Aghios Paraskevi with gunfire north of Heraklion, Crete.

16 Mar, 1943
Papanikolis (Lt. Roussen) sinks the Greek sailing vessels Aghios Stefanos and Fiamenta with gunfire and ramming in the Dodecanese off Rhodos.

18 Mar, 1943
Papanikolis (Lt. Roussen) sinks the Greek sailing vessel Rina with gunfire and by ramming south-east of Cape Krio.

8 May, 1943
Papanikolis (Lt.Cdr. Roussen) sinks the Italian sailing vessels Vavara and Maria with gunfire north off Crete.

Logically it was de-commissioned between '51 and '58 when the Hellenic Navy used 'loaned' outdated W.W 2 submarines from the Royal British Navy. Of the original batch of 6 subs of this type only 2 survived, Y-2 was one of them.

Papanikolis Cave is the second largest sea cave of Greece. It is not a pure sea cave, but a karst cave, which is now partly flooded by the sea and which is widened by the erosive power of the sea. Located at the southern coast of the islet of Meganisi this cave consists of a big central chamber that forms a fully protected natural harbor. The cave has the size of a medium-sized indoor sports hall, covering a total area of some 3800 square meters, and was used as a refuge for ships endangered by the violent stormy weather of the area. It was large enough, even for sailing ships with their masts.

During the 2nd World War it was the lair of the renegade Hellenic navy submarine Papanikolis, after which it was named. The only way of visiting the cave is by means of a motor boat.

I have visited a place that is tight attached with a legend of the Greek history. This submarine moved at the Greek seas, around the Greek islands trying to reclaim the lost war.

During the World War II, Greeks never stopped to fight. My family as everybody that period continue the fighting for the freedom. I have heard many stories about my grandfather, Yiouras, the first taxi driver of Samos who took part at the war not only at the period that Greece fought bravely against our enemies but he continued the oppose of the enemy forces at the resistance.

I liked as a small girl to accompany my grandfather at the small cafe and taverns of Samos and listen the stories for the submarine Papanikolis. This submarine was a continuous visitor of the island at those black days. My grandfather, as also many other of the islanders run every time to offer supplies for the submarine's crew at the caves of Samos. The submarine Papanikolis did a perfect job not only fighting the enemy but also joining the Greek spirits of freedom.

I feel happy to add in the main body of this blog some additional information that one of my page friends, samian like me, wrote me as comment about the legend of submarine "Papanikolis" and its presence at the area of our island.

Manos wrote:

Have to add a legend for this submarine which I have heard from my father, have to deal with the Island of our origin,(SAMOS) and would like to share that legend.
At the front of Agios Konstantinos (Saint Constantine) village about 7 Nautical miles to the North there is a reef that we use to go fishing with our small boat. The first time when we were going there was told the following story.

" A summer afternoon at 1941 at the front of our village was visible a U boat on the surface. Within a little while she dived and an hour later 2 destroyers was searching the whole area throwing bottom.bombs.

That lasted till the next day, and then the destroyers departed to unknown destination. Late at the evening the U boat approached the village and with a small boat some members of the crew was trying to get as many info's was possible about the situation, and to get some supplies.

When they were asked what they do when the destroyers were searching for them, they told that was hiding at the bottom of the reef. By that way the destroyers were not able to find them and even the bottom bombs was not able to harm the U Boat."
That submarine was PAPANIKOLHS with Milton Iatridis as her captain.

What it has remained from this W.W 2 submarine is its tower, as an outdoor exhibit.

That was part of my cruise. I promise... I have more to show you and I hope you like what I present you. As you could understand this country has plenty of beauty and plenty of history and it is... yours to discover!