Saving pebbles
Take pictures, not pebbles, authorities on the Greek island Skiathos are telling tourists,
A CAMPAIGN on the Greek island of Skiathos is appealing to tourists not to steal marble stones from Lalaria Beach. Visitors are being asked to take a picture instead of a pebble as a holiday memento. The white, round pebbles were formed from the rocks surrounding Lalaria Beach and have been disappearing at an alarming rate.
ACTIVISTS on the Greek island of Skiathos have stepped up a campaign to prevent tourists stealing their marble stones, advising visitors to take a picture instead of a pebble as a holiday memento.
The white, round pebbles were formed from the rocks surrounding Lalaria Beach on the island, which lies east of the Greek mainland.
Scenes from the 2008 Hollywood film Mamma Mia! were shot on Skiathos, starring Meryl Streep and Colin Firth.
Lalaria Beach lies on the island’s north coast and is accessible by boat. Activists say it has been irreversibly damaged over the past decade and must be protected.
‘‘We have seen that most of these pebbles were taken away and that’s because the thousands of tourists . . . use to take the pebbles as souvenirs,’’ said Thodoris Tzoumas, of the local cultural association Skiathos which started the campaign.
‘‘We decided to take measures together with the board police of Skiathos.’’
Fines for those found pocketing rocks ranged from ¤400 ($NZ705) to ¤1000 depending on the number of pebbles removed, Tzoumas said, adding that inspections were also taking place at the island’s port.
Signs that say ‘‘take a picture not a pebble — save Lalaria Beach’’ have been placed in tourist boats carrying out daily excursions, while a sign hung on a rock at the beach states that removing stones is illegal.
The association recently installed a box at the airport’s security control area for those who might have regrets about their actions. The response was immediate, Tzoumas said.
Stones, ranging from small pebbles to bigger stones which would take a chunk out of a tourist’s baggage allowance, were promptly put in the transparent plastic box.
‘‘Very soon [the box] was full of pebbles,’’ Tzoumas said.