In Paxos
To Paxos then. A reasonable trip on a Germania plane, a small but reassuringly German airline. The familiar sensation of stepping from the plane into the Greek sun, walking across the concrete of Corfu airport like walking into an oven.
Then a short coach ride to Benitses harbour where we were put aboard the Vicky B, a small charter ferry. Sat on the top deck drinking a can or two of cold mythos beer as we travelled south down the channel between Corfu and the mountainous Greek mainland. The islands and headlands like watercolour washes of blue. Eventually we neared Paxos, looking mysterious in its heat haze.
August is of course the time of year when Italians also take their break, and Corfu being a short sail from Southern Italy. When we arrived at Gaios Harbour in Paxos, a huge Italian motor yacht was harboured where the ferry was to moor. The Captain of the ferry employed his loudspeaker and addressed the Italian as malaka (wanker). The affronted Italian (an arrogant cazzo of the worst kind) refused to budge and there was a stand off with the Italians refusing to move and the Greek captain revving the ferry towards him. Both crews deploying a fine array of Mediterranean gestures. After about half an hour the malaka moved, after the intervention of the harbour master to ironic cheers from the British passengers. We were later told that the incident had been filmed on people's phones and appeared on Greek TV news.
Like Corfu, Paxos is very lush and green for Greece, covered in tiers of ancient olive groves and other more natural woodland that we drove through on a short bus trip to Loggos. As we dropped off at our villa, a small boy shouted at us that our air conditioning didn't work. After several days this was fixed, but the first night was particularly hot, and being plunged into the Greek heat meant I lay in pools of sweat and barely slept, although Lorraine seemed to cope better. After several days it was fixed, although it never worked well.
The charms of Greece soon put this into perspective. Our rooms were fine, and we had a large patio with an absolutely stunning view down into the glassy waters of the harbour and across to the green hills. We spent lots of time there sipping cold drinks, reading, sewing and writing poetry (according to our personal tastes) or simply taking in the view. At night we sat outside looking at the stars, picking out a few constellations using the app on Lorraine's phone, and seeing Mars and Jupiter close together in Libra. Able to see the vast swathe of the milky way and occasional shooting stars and satellites.
Cicadas were everywhere as a resonant background during the day, and crickets took up the music at night. Also there were several roosters around town, so there was proper morning cockadoodledoos to contend with, as well as the cooing of collared doves. There were lizards in the courtyard too, and a day or so before we left we startled one outside our gate, we watched it skitter under a nearby water tank, to apparent safety, only for it to run into the jaws of a snake and endure a bout of twisty writhing before it died.
Loggos turned out to be the best place to stay on the island. It is a little village harbour, with a disused and roofless soap factory on the waterline, and a handful of tavernas and restaurants plus a couple of bars. There was a bakery, where you could buy good bread, pies and so on, and two food stores. A couple of times we cooked at home.
Nearby were two small pebbly beaches, with gorgeous, warm and transparent water. Lorraine and I spent hours snorkelling around. At times it was like swimming in an aquarium. Many species of fish, including garfish (called 'longnose' in Guernsey and was like meeting an old friend). Lorraine and I saw one suddenly strike down at something below it like the miniature swordfish it is. We also saw colourful spider crabs, fireworms like flamboyant ragworms with red and white legs, Lorraine spotted an octopus which peered out at us from under a stone with its barred eyes. And at one point snorkelling out from the harbour, I came across the head and half the body of a European eel floating vertically dangling down from the surface of the water. It looked freshly bitten in half and its aft end eaten. It gave me a Jaws like moment, wondering what kind of predator was out there.
Best of all on the morning of our return on the ferry back to Corfu we were accompanied by a dolphin, muscular and sleek just under the surface, and popping up for the briefest of breaths. I didn't realise at the time, but this made Lorraine cry with joy behind her sunglasses.
Annoyingly, however after several days of snorkelling my left ear became completely blocked, and I have been deaf in it ever since.
We had a couple of meals and lots of ouzo with Sean and Fiona, a cheerful and friendly couple we kept bumping into. On the return journey sat about drinking coffee with them in a shaded taverna near the harbour for an hour or so before our coach arrived, and we swapped emails at the airport.
Lorraine and I took one boat trip completely around Paxos and it visited Voutoumi bay on Antipaxos, which had white sand and the most transparent water imaginable. It was however crammed with people, and lots of little yachts in the bay, but we had a snack in a Taverna, and swam about happily.
My favourite part of the journey was the breathtaking east coast of Paxos where there were caves that we, along with the others on the boat jumped off the boat and snorkelled into. We also passed, in the morning, Exolitharo, some prominent rocks which in the words of the boat leaflet is "a ship-shaped rock that according to mythology is considered to be Odysseus ship it was stoned because of a curse".
We also took the island bus to Lakka, which we found very busy, and decided not to spend too much time there. But bcause we caught the island bus at the wrong time we had a nice 3km walk down a road with hairpin turns surrounded by trees and olive groves back to Loggos. On another day we took the little paths out of town and followed some thorny goat track down to a shelving rocky beach, and then up through a butterfly haunted village. Feeling very adventurous made our way home again by a different route, down flights of stairs to the harbour. Also noticed strange spiders that collected their prey in bead like strings hanging down from the centre of their webs.
All in all a lovely holiday, which we both really enjoyed. Best of all was spending lots of time with my adorable wife.
Home then, after a gorgeous cloudless morning on a boat on the Ionian accompanied by the dolphin, and arriving at Gatwick, which was raining, wet, cold and grey. To the Shahi as there was nothing in the house to eat, and we needed a cheering. The diet, of dire necessity, starts again tomorrow.
Below Lorraine and my selfie on our patio, and a few snaps in Loggos.
Then a short coach ride to Benitses harbour where we were put aboard the Vicky B, a small charter ferry. Sat on the top deck drinking a can or two of cold mythos beer as we travelled south down the channel between Corfu and the mountainous Greek mainland. The islands and headlands like watercolour washes of blue. Eventually we neared Paxos, looking mysterious in its heat haze.
August is of course the time of year when Italians also take their break, and Corfu being a short sail from Southern Italy. When we arrived at Gaios Harbour in Paxos, a huge Italian motor yacht was harboured where the ferry was to moor. The Captain of the ferry employed his loudspeaker and addressed the Italian as malaka (wanker). The affronted Italian (an arrogant cazzo of the worst kind) refused to budge and there was a stand off with the Italians refusing to move and the Greek captain revving the ferry towards him. Both crews deploying a fine array of Mediterranean gestures. After about half an hour the malaka moved, after the intervention of the harbour master to ironic cheers from the British passengers. We were later told that the incident had been filmed on people's phones and appeared on Greek TV news.
Like Corfu, Paxos is very lush and green for Greece, covered in tiers of ancient olive groves and other more natural woodland that we drove through on a short bus trip to Loggos. As we dropped off at our villa, a small boy shouted at us that our air conditioning didn't work. After several days this was fixed, but the first night was particularly hot, and being plunged into the Greek heat meant I lay in pools of sweat and barely slept, although Lorraine seemed to cope better. After several days it was fixed, although it never worked well.
The charms of Greece soon put this into perspective. Our rooms were fine, and we had a large patio with an absolutely stunning view down into the glassy waters of the harbour and across to the green hills. We spent lots of time there sipping cold drinks, reading, sewing and writing poetry (according to our personal tastes) or simply taking in the view. At night we sat outside looking at the stars, picking out a few constellations using the app on Lorraine's phone, and seeing Mars and Jupiter close together in Libra. Able to see the vast swathe of the milky way and occasional shooting stars and satellites.
Cicadas were everywhere as a resonant background during the day, and crickets took up the music at night. Also there were several roosters around town, so there was proper morning cockadoodledoos to contend with, as well as the cooing of collared doves. There were lizards in the courtyard too, and a day or so before we left we startled one outside our gate, we watched it skitter under a nearby water tank, to apparent safety, only for it to run into the jaws of a snake and endure a bout of twisty writhing before it died.
Loggos turned out to be the best place to stay on the island. It is a little village harbour, with a disused and roofless soap factory on the waterline, and a handful of tavernas and restaurants plus a couple of bars. There was a bakery, where you could buy good bread, pies and so on, and two food stores. A couple of times we cooked at home.
Nearby were two small pebbly beaches, with gorgeous, warm and transparent water. Lorraine and I spent hours snorkelling around. At times it was like swimming in an aquarium. Many species of fish, including garfish (called 'longnose' in Guernsey and was like meeting an old friend). Lorraine and I saw one suddenly strike down at something below it like the miniature swordfish it is. We also saw colourful spider crabs, fireworms like flamboyant ragworms with red and white legs, Lorraine spotted an octopus which peered out at us from under a stone with its barred eyes. And at one point snorkelling out from the harbour, I came across the head and half the body of a European eel floating vertically dangling down from the surface of the water. It looked freshly bitten in half and its aft end eaten. It gave me a Jaws like moment, wondering what kind of predator was out there.
Best of all on the morning of our return on the ferry back to Corfu we were accompanied by a dolphin, muscular and sleek just under the surface, and popping up for the briefest of breaths. I didn't realise at the time, but this made Lorraine cry with joy behind her sunglasses.
Annoyingly, however after several days of snorkelling my left ear became completely blocked, and I have been deaf in it ever since.
We had a couple of meals and lots of ouzo with Sean and Fiona, a cheerful and friendly couple we kept bumping into. On the return journey sat about drinking coffee with them in a shaded taverna near the harbour for an hour or so before our coach arrived, and we swapped emails at the airport.
Lorraine and I took one boat trip completely around Paxos and it visited Voutoumi bay on Antipaxos, which had white sand and the most transparent water imaginable. It was however crammed with people, and lots of little yachts in the bay, but we had a snack in a Taverna, and swam about happily.
My favourite part of the journey was the breathtaking east coast of Paxos where there were caves that we, along with the others on the boat jumped off the boat and snorkelled into. We also passed, in the morning, Exolitharo, some prominent rocks which in the words of the boat leaflet is "a ship-shaped rock that according to mythology is considered to be Odysseus ship it was stoned because of a curse".
We also took the island bus to Lakka, which we found very busy, and decided not to spend too much time there. But bcause we caught the island bus at the wrong time we had a nice 3km walk down a road with hairpin turns surrounded by trees and olive groves back to Loggos. On another day we took the little paths out of town and followed some thorny goat track down to a shelving rocky beach, and then up through a butterfly haunted village. Feeling very adventurous made our way home again by a different route, down flights of stairs to the harbour. Also noticed strange spiders that collected their prey in bead like strings hanging down from the centre of their webs.
All in all a lovely holiday, which we both really enjoyed. Best of all was spending lots of time with my adorable wife.
Home then, after a gorgeous cloudless morning on a boat on the Ionian accompanied by the dolphin, and arriving at Gatwick, which was raining, wet, cold and grey. To the Shahi as there was nothing in the house to eat, and we needed a cheering. The diet, of dire necessity, starts again tomorrow.
Below Lorraine and my selfie on our patio, and a few snaps in Loggos.
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