Speeding through Greece
After leaving Zakynthos we continued north past Kefalonia towards Meganisi and Lefkada islands. We had a great sail on the way to Lefkada which always makes the captain happy and is more fun than hearing the motor droning all day.
We returned to Nydri and the large inland sheltered bay of Vlycho where we spent two nights having a bit of a break from the continual travel we have been doing.
Vlycho is almost like a lake and the water is an unattractive green colour which after the bluest waters on Zakynthos, is a bit hard to take. The water was still refreshing to swim in at a warm 27 degrees. Again, the captain was happy with the warmer water. After a very good meal at Hippocampus just a short dinghy ride from Phantomas we left the next morning.
We were heading north bound through the Lefkas canal this morning and were due to go through the canal at 10am. The Lefkas canal is a man-made canal and runs for about 3.5 km through low lying land between the mainland and Lefkada. The road from the mainland, passes over the canal at the northern end and the floating bridge opens on the hour to allow boats to pass through. We were in a holding pattern for 30 mins or so before 10am and as the time drew nearer, the waiting boats started towards the bridge trying to time the arrival just as the horn sounded to notify the opening of the bridge. There was a huge motorboat waiting on the southern side which dwarfed every boat waiting to head north. Once through the canal, we sailed on towards our chosen destination of Lakka Bay, on the northern end of Paxos. This was one of the first bays we had stayed in after leaving Corfu in 2023 and the memories were good and upon arrival, quite late in the day, we were rewarded. The reality was as good as the memories.
I think by now, a lot of you would have seen some photos of Lakka on FB from Tony as well as me. The water is just amazing, and the bay is very sheltered, and the boats keep on coming in or if there’s no more room they spill out of the end of the bay. We had managed to jag a great spot right off the beach club swimming area. The captain assumed his position of “Bay boat commentator” at the helm and watched as new boats came in and he passed comment on one thing or another. It didn’t stop there, he manned the paddleboard and did his rounds of the bay, seeing what boats had arrived and where they had anchored, tied up etc and duly reported back to me. You can imagine my delight, with each new instalment!!
The town is set on the edge of the bay and is just delightful. We had drinks one afternoon and then an early dinner/late lunch another night. We were sitting playing cards out the back and the water was like a millpond. The sound of the tenders heading to and from the boats to town for dinner was constant, the restaurants would have been pleased with the turnout.
As one charter catamaran went past us the day before, we heard “Are you from Perth?” “Hey, they’re from Freo”. The group were indeed mostly made up of people from Perth. We got a chance to have a quick chat with them and swap stories which is always fun.
We ended up staying two nights at Lakka Bay and we could have stayed another two, but Spain isn’t getting any closer so at 5.30pm on the 1st of July we set off for an overnight sail to Santa Maria di Leuca, Italy which should take around 16 hours.
