Thanks to our friendly taxi driver we found ourselves settling into our room high up in the small hillside town of Parga. Several beaches mostly filled with English tourists. We find out later that the season has just ended and many tourists have gone back home. But to us, this is enough for the little town to cope with.
After being on the move for a day and a half we needed time to recover. (Ed note; now a few days later when we land in Corfu, we see our intended 'Europeanlink' sitting forlornly at dock. This is the boat we were supposed to catch from Italy but, as per the following, a rock got in the way, apparently!).
The way out of town was one of two ways; to find a boat that would take us the next day to Paxos or to get a taxi ride back to Igoumenstia and from there catch one of the regular ferries. We had no luck with the local boatmen so we contacted our new best friend and set the time for the next day. We were getting back on track.
We had a good night's sleep and our hosts could not have been any friendlier. We also enjoyed a Greek breakfast in one of the many cafes operating along the Parga waterfront. And at 1100 we were in our taxi and flashing down the road to Igoumestia.
And after a quick stop at the bus station to pick up a schedule (we will need this in a few days time) we were settling onto our ferry and on our way to, we hoped, Paxos. After just two hours sailing and then quite a long walk along the inlet we were in our villa on the edge of Paxos and in another world. It felt good to be back into our planned routine.
Paxos was great. Our room was right on the water and the lapping waves sent us off to sleep perfectly. We were one of only two guests and received special attention at our palatial palace.
We walked a few kilometres one day and found a great spot for lunch and a swim. We found out that the season is now over and things are already closing down and quite a few Greeks will shortly head back to Athens for the winter. The daily boats from the mainland are still coming and the numbers are there. But in just the couple of days we were in Paxos we could feel the numbers dropping off. Several quiet meals is great settings were enjoyed.
There were times when we had some places to ourselves or nearly so. A secluded and quiet beach, a bit of sun and amazingly clear waters. And then a short training walk back into Gaios town
and home.
And we met up with people running the Greek version of our impending Insel hupfen boat/sail tour in Turkey. After a chat we were shown over the boat with a view to doing the Greek version one day, which is reasonably flat. However we were told that bike riding on the Turkey trip is 'challenging'. Yvonne is pleased she took her bike option.
So now we are headed for Corfu and another, different, look at the Ionian islands. Weather holding up just fine.
1 comment:
Love the swimming shot Dad, looks sooo nice! x
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