In August we were alerted by volunteers from Archelon to the fact that tourists visiting Gerakas had suddenly started attacking the cliffs to the west of the beach in a bid to dig out clay for seaside 'spa treatments'.  

At least 200 people everyday were standing at the cliff face with rocks, sticks or knives and cutting out huge chunks of clay, often so large that they could only be carried on their shoulders or heads.  People were seen carrying these home with them, only to find they would have to throw the clay away before packing their suitcases to travel home.

Digging got so bad that it caused at least 3 documented rock falls, with chunks of clay and rock the size of cars falling onto the beach endangering the very people causing the damage.  Other people carved graffiti inot the cliff face.

Earth Sea & Sky took immediate action, first assessing the damage and taking photographic evidence.  We then roped off the end of the beach and put up notices to keep people away, but tourists kept coming.

The prevailing attitude was a selfish 'everyone else is doing it, so why can't we?' when questioned.  In the end, Archelon volunteers were put on patrol as a stop-gap measure by the President of the NMPZ, but this didn't really work, as they had no legal authority and no one listened to them.  The Marine Park Authority was informed, and said it would cordon off the area, but took time to respond.  In the meantime, ESS started its own patrols, forcibly taking clay from people and physically blocking access to the cliffs, being very firm.  The NMPZ then put up a floating rope barrier with buoys to stop access via the sea and signs in 2 languages informing people of the danger from rock falls.  Immediately tourists were
stopped from causing further damage, but the main destruction had already been done.

Gerakas Beach depends on the peninsula cliffs to keep the sand on the beach, without them it will be washed away and turtles will not be able to nest.  The cliffs are naturally eroded by the weather, causing a 'sharkbite' effect.  The cliffs will collapse in 500-600 years, without the necessary geological survey and  NMPZ intervention (whose responsibility it actually is) to keep people away and slow the extra erosion.  Tourists, by the end of August, sped up natural erosion by decades, and at the end of the season, when we returned to assess the damage, it was clear that it was very severe, and would be further exacerbated by winter storms.  Summer 2006 will see the cliffs being roped off from April onwards to prevent damage from early on, and we will be keeping a close eye on things, giving anyone seen ignoring the signs and barriers a stiff telling off!