Matala has remained famous for its hippy past and for having hosted during its glory years, celebrities such as Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens and Joni Mitchell. Location, climate and its famous caves, were perfect for those who wanted to live in freedom. Today, more than 40 years later, you can still see around some original flower child and the atmosphere has kept something special and positive.
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I think Matala is one of those places that you either love or hate. It gathers a particular kind of tourism, nostalgics and curious about the period of hippies. With a motorhome there are not many possibilities to stay overnight for free in a decent way. Also the camping, just below the caves, is managed by the town council and in rather poor condition. But for those who, like me, shares at least some of the ideas of the movement of the flower children, Matala is a bit as the Mecca for Muslims, one must visit it at least once in his life to figure out how lucky were the ones who had the opportunity to live here at the right moment.
Just walking down the main street of the country you will realize that it is not the usual tourist resort, even the souvenirs here are for the most part different from the usual chinoiserie found in all other places.
Bars, restaurants and cafes all have a wonderful view of the beach and the caves. Nightlife is obviously very active. For this reason it is not recommended to stay in the big parking lot in front of the beach, which would be otherwise very convenient with its 2 € per day (double that for long vehicles if it takes up two pitches). Same thing on the main road, where the up and down of cars and motorcycles will not stop until dawn.
If you want to spend the night in Matala and not move to the nearby Komos beach (next post) the only solutions are the camp site or where we stopped [34.99406,24.75510], away from the noise, but with not much of a view.
The camp site [34.99404,24.75106] is in a perfect location, it costs almost as a camper stop, but it is not very suitable for campervans: few flat spots, danger of getting stuck in the sand and unsatisfactory services.
Next to the parking lot on the beach there is a supermarket open until 11pm. The beach is small and always crowded, but with a couple of spots in the shade. For those wishing to visit the caves, which were formerly Roman tombs, where hippies have lived for years, you’ll have to pay an absurd 3 € entrance fee… but still they have a charm of their own 🙂 For the record, Joni Mitchell, one of the famous troglodytes, mentions Matala in one of her 1971 songs: Carey.
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