Othrys is the end of the mountain range to the south of Pherae; Lake Boibeïs was just across the narrow end of the plain to the north-east, beyond it came Mt. Pelion and the steep harbourless coast.

The Atlantic coast, being the most dangerous to shipping, is guarded by more than 175 stations; the Great Lakes require fifty or more to care for the survivors of the vessels that are yearly wrecked on their harbourless shores.

A man might toil along the harbourless beaches for days with naught for company but the sea-gulls and the thunder of the surf; while inland,save for a few birds,the rush of streams and pattering of mountain-showers on the leaves were all that broke the silence of lifeless forests.