A straw umbrella marks the path crossing the barren landscape towards Balos lagoon in Crete

The photograph portrays the arid and wild landscape that characterizes the Gramvousa peninsula, in the extreme northwest of Crete. A solitary straw umbrella, bent by the wind, stands along the dirt path leading to Balos lagoon. Vegetation is reduced to low Mediterranean scrub bushes dotting the rocky terrain in ochre and brown tones. The intense blue sky dominates the scene, cloudless. This almost desert landscape, beaten by sun and wind, prepares the visitor for the spectacle of the lagoon that will open at the end of the path. The umbrella seems an unlikely shelter in this hostile environment, testimony to the intense heat that characterizes the Cretan summer.

Balos, path, Gramvousa, Crete, arid landscape, trekking, umbrella