I visited Kerkini Lake during my stay in Salonica last month.

This beautiful lake with the sparkling still waters is artificial – made in 1932 when a dam was constructed on Strymon River.

Situated in the prefecture of Serres, the lake is near the famous Fort Roupel, and the border to Bulgaria.

It is 17km long, 5km wide, and quite shallow – about 35m deep.

The lake is under the protection of Natura 2000. This beautiful natural habitat is the home of wolves, wild boars, wild cats, jackals, ferrets, and other feral creatures. The lake is graced by many Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus Onocrotalus), Dalmatian Pelicans (Pelecanus Crispus) and a few thousand flamingos too!

Water buffaloes are farmed in the area, making Kerkini a famous location for sampling high quality buffalo meat products.

We got the first glimpse of the lake from the coach about 1 hour after leaving Salonica. Once we drove past the dam, we began to travel along a country road beside the lake to get to the boats our guide had booked for us beforehand.

As we cruised beside the lake, our guide informed us about the water buffaloes being farmed there. A few moments later, a lady on the coach suddenly exclaimed: ‘There they are! I can see them!’ which was followed quickly by the guide saying, as tactfully as she could, ‘Erm… no, actually, these are cows!’

The whole coach erupted in loud guffaws, which set us off perfectly on this wonderful fun adventure on the lake in the company of magnificent winged creatures…

They look serene enough but try and feed them…

We had a lot of fun on the boat as the captain had brought a bag of fish to throw to the pelicans. The ploy worked. They rushed towards the boat and followed us throughout our ride. Two of the passengers were a little boy and a little girl, and they had a go throwing the fish to the pelicans too. Their squeals of joy and their excited faces only enhanced the fun experience.

Natually, the pelicans were fighting for every fish, watching intently, it seemed, as each fish drew an invisible arc in the air before landing in their midst. Most of the time, they would scrap amongst them. Sometimes, they nipped at each other or even chased the pelican that got the fish into their mouth.

I have posted a couple videos on Facebook, all of them short, to share with you the fun we had feeding the pelicans, but most of all to show you their smooth gliding, and the even more mesmerising smooth landings they performed on the water. True poetry in motion!

Do take a look: Video1 Video2 Video3

It was all very entertaining, and the pelicans were evidently very accustomed to the company of people. I was amazed by how daring they seemed to be, floating peacefully, so close to us. At some point, one of the pelicans was floating right behind the side of the boat where I sat – just a sheet of wood between us, and it hit me how amazing it was that I should be so close, gazing into the face of such a majestic winged creature. I perceived it as a great honor and these moments will forever hold a dear place in my heart.

I often see cormorans in my town of Nea Peramos in Attica, seeing that the Natura 2000 area of Vourkari (a marshland) is close to it. The cormorans that live there often fly over to town. I’ve seen them perched on top of the fishing boats in our marina many times, and they sometimes swim close to me in the sea in the summer. But I’d never seen a non-domesticated bird so close to me before. As I said, it was an exhilarating first experience for me.

I wish I could say the same for the flamingos, but no such luck…

According to the local boat captain, who was amazing and really informative, there were a few thousand flamingos in the lake, but they were very timid. Indeed, we tried several times to move closer to them to take a better look and every time they moved further away.

In the end, we gave up and just killed the engine to gaze longingly at them from a distance.

It was fun, mind you, watching them flee. They seemed to be running on water on their spindly legs, something that set the little kids squealing, and all the passengers, in general, marvelling at the sight.

More new experiences awaited us at the restaurant nearby…

The restaurant, Elodia, was decked in beautiful wood and stone and the whole setting with the big property around it made it feel like a ranch-type-of-place, which was enchanting. The property featured a body of water and an enclosure where they kept deer too.

In the above picture, please don’t get fooled! This is not a real water buffalo. Not a cow either haha 🙂

Still, there are living creatures in the water. I’ll get back to that in a minute…

I wanted first to report on the buffalo meat, which both my husband and I tried for the first time.

I had buffalo meatballs in tomato sauce with linguini pasta and Andy went for buffalo bifteki with rice and fries. And he was glad he chose that because he originally wanted a steak, but the waiter warned us buffalo meat is a little harder than pork or beef. Andy was glad he didn’t go for the steak as he found the bifteki a little too chewy for his liking as it was.

I found my meat soft enough, since it was cooked in tomato sauce, and even though I can appreciate it was tasty, I wasn’t too enamoured with it. It had too rich a taste for my liking, just like the deer meat I tried many years ago. In a way, I am glad, as if I’d loved it I’d have had a hard time finding it at the bucher’s in Nea Peramos 🙂

Apparently, buffalo meat is a lot richer in iron and protein than beef. It is also very healthy as it is low in calories and fat. So, if you haven’t tried it, it’s well worth a go.

Back to the creature dwelling in the water outside the restaurant…

It wasn’t just the pelicans, it seemed, that were accustomed to humans in Kerkini. As soon as we approached the water buffalo sculpture, we saw two heads bobbing in the water. One of the creatures rushed to come out and go behind the fence where a family had just arrived.

I didn’t even know the area of Kerkini had otters! It was a delightful surprise.

I left that place feeling absolutely chuffed and well connected to nature.

Our coffee stop in Serres offered one last surprise encounter…

On our way back to Salonica we made a little detour for a stop in the city of Serres for a coffee.

We were taken to a beautiful festive square that was decorated beautifully (it was the holiday season).

Andy and I found the last vacant table at a seemingly popular cafe on the square as it was brimming with locals.

We had a little time to kill before we had to get back on the coach so we walked around the large square taking in the decorations. Suddenly, to our surprise, we saw a squad of soldiers marching towards us in formation!

As it turned out, it was time to lower the Greek flag and to put it away for the night. A local military camp, it seemed, had taken it upon themselves to raise and lower the flag daily.

It was moving to stand near the squad and listen to the soldiers sing the national anthem.

I must say, I returned to Salonica that evening with a mind of beautiful images, along with some extra patriotic pride in my chest LOL! All the more exciting for me as the last bit wasn’t even remotely expected!

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