At the area “Borinos”, in the small harbor of Faliraki, you can see a small rocky islet, standing
proud through the ages, called “Katergo”. It can be easily spotted from the beach and it has its
own, unique history. The legend is that some time during the early 19 th century, on the afternoon
of June 14 th , the day of celebration for the monastery of Prophet Ammos, as the villagers were
enjoying themselves at the monastery feast, they spotted a ship coming close to the shore.
Terrified, they realized it was a pirate ship, aiming to kill, steal and plunder their village. As the
pirates begun lighting fires and taking on their weapons, the villagers turned to the only weapon
they had on this sacred day: prayer. They prayed to the prophet to stop the pirates and save
them. All of a sudden, the fires disappeared from the pirate ship and all shouting ceased. The
villagers threw their hands up in relief and continued the feast till the morning. When the first light
of dawn appeared over the horizon, they remained silent at the miracle: where the ship had been
the precious night, was now a rock in the shape of a ship. The prophet had turned it to stone and
made it an eternal prison for the plundering pirates. The villagers named the rock “Katergo”,
meaning old ship turned to prison. Indeed, the rock resembles a stone ship. The strange thing is
that a resident of Faliraki, Tokouzis Georgios, found an old cannon there, which can still be seen
today. Katergo rock is ideal for swimming to or around it and diving in its interesting bottom. A
nice story that takes us back in time as it is told by the elders of the area.
