SETTING OFF FOR THE IONION

We arrive at night in Lefkada. Crowded, busy, traffic and cars, the difference from march is obvious. We are greeted by our good friend Aris Katsigiannis, from the furnished apartments “ALEXARIA”, in Fryni.

-Tonight you will not sleep on land, says Thanasis Angelis, but at the sea. The boat is moored at the marina and is waiting for you.

So from the first moment of our arrival we are already under the “orders” of the captain.

Tall, open-hearted and with an exuberant personality, our captain wins the sympathy of his crew from the very first moment (in the process he would also gain their full trust). Curator of the Nautical Club of Lefkada in the Sailing Department, Thanasis Angelis has, since his early childhood, a love and passionate relationship with the sea.

Later on he travelled with sea-going ships, like another Odysseus, “he knew many people’s homelessness and knowledge”, he had the rare luck to travel all over the world, to get to know the mentality of places and people, to fill his soul with unique experiences.

The captain’s gaze rewards us.

– On so many days, in a small space like the boat, the good “chemistry” of the passengers is a decisive factor in the achievement of the project. You seem to me to be a homogeneous group with a love of the sea.

Anna and our friend and colleague Kyriakos Papageorgiou from Volos with their cameras, my son Dimitris with the camera and me with my notes. All relatives and friends, each with a distinct and defined role, each with their own experiences from the sea. The sixth member is Ioulia Kriki, a trainee sailor and the captain’s right-hand woman, as it turned out later.

Nestled on the wider beach of the town, the marina of Lefkada is perfectly sheltered from the elements and can, when full, offer berthing to over 400 yachts. It has excellent facilities, providing all the necessary facilities for passengers and boats. When the road works, which create conditions of great disorder outside the marina, are completed, it will be one of the most beautiful marinas in the country.

The sailboat is a newer BAVARIA 44, 14.5 meters long, with 4 independent cabins, which can sleep 8 people. The layout and use of the spaces as well as their functionality are at top level, as is the case with any quality yacht, since the well-being of the passengers depends to a large extent on these parameters. They are also equipped with state-of-the-art navigation instruments. Before stepping on deck, we admire the magnificent yacht with its towering albury, as it sways imperceptibly in the calm waters.

We dine on the excellent cuisine of the “Burano” tavern, opposite the marina, with delicious bottled Lefkadian wine. Two hours after midnight we enter the bowels of the boat with the sweet anticipation of the next day’s sailing….

It should – in theory – be a wake-up call at dawn, as in the army or navy. On this particular vessel, however, the procedures are more democratic and the discipline is not reminiscent of a warship. It may be the wine and fatigue of the previous day, or perhaps the captain’s tolerance of his new crew and the land habits they have not had time to shed. As the sun rises towards the top of the album, heads emerge from the hatchway one by one. Coffee “karavisio” (that of a boat) on the deck, still wet from the humidity of the night. It’s more beautiful than the most luxurious hotel lounge, since all we have above our heads are the rigging of the boat and the blue sky.

We buy a few supplies from the marina’s SUPER MARKET, arrange the formalities for departure and, shortly after 10am, we untie the boats. Sailing in a S direction, we slowly sail through the 2.8-mile-long Lefkada channel, the first opening of which was made by the Corinthians in 640 BC and the last by the Italians during the occupation. Since then no further dredging has been carried out and the depth has been reduced to about 4 metres, which is not enough for large vessels.

– It would also be nice if some light signals were installed for safer sailing at night, Thanasis adds.

We leave to the E-NE the lagoon of Avlemonas, where there is also a large fish farm. Cormorants appear with their wings spectacularly opened like a fan. Tasos Kontogiorgis with his boat, a fisherman known to Thanasis, greets us and shows us a large gorilla he has caught. We bypass the mouth of the fish farm and a little further down another fisherman, George Skliros or “Birias”, is taking out a crayfish for bait. The images change constantly. There’s the Russian castle and across the street is Alexander’s Salt Ponds, which have been out of commission for years. To the E is the large Castle of Alexander, on a lush hill, built during the Turkish occupation and part of it blown up by the Germans. A little further down, the Castle of St. George. Between them is the village of Nea Plagia.

– Those in Plagia, as Akarnanians, are famous for their meat, says Thanasis, while just across the road, the Lefkadians of Lygia are famous for their fish. In recent years, Lygia has become a fishing village with significant tourist development and is, after Patras, the most important fish market in Western Greece.

We are already sailing in the waters of the bay of Drepano. In front of us in the SE, at the mouth of the bay, the cape of Gerakas is outlined and in the background the massive outline of Kalamos is faintly visible. To the west, on the verdant Lefkadian hillsides, the picturesque settlement of Katouna stands out.

– One of these valleys has been known to older people by the name “Valley of Eros” (Valley of Love), says Thanasis. Until the 1970s, music and dance events were held there, which left a lasting impression and were, of course, among other things, a starting point for meeting people.

We pass across the road from Nikiana with its beautiful little harbour. High up rises the impressive bulk of Skaros with the century-old oak trees, from the top of which we were enchanted two months ago by the panoramic view of the micro islands of Lefkada that we are going to get to know.

AMONG THE ARCHIPELAGO

We sail openly from the luxurious hotel complexes “IONIAN BLUE” and “PORTO GALINI”, built above the sea with a wealth of amenities for their lucky residents and particularly popular with foreign visitors. Already on the N sea horizon there are scattered white triangles. These are the open sails of small and large sailing boats, which sail through the channels. The first islet of the “Archipelago of Lefkada” is in front of us. It is the long and verdant “Sparta”, owned by Onassis, which was never inhabited but remained a refuge for many and varied animals.

On the S-SE slopes of Skaros, the settlement of Perigiali stands out, with abundant cypress and olive trees. At the top of a hill, the RED TOWER complex dominates spectacularly with its vivid colours, and immediately after it the well-known restaurant of “Kolonelos”, right next to the sea.  We are located in the heart of the touristically developed Lefkada, with the most famous representative being the cosmopolitan and famous Nidri. We, however, unaffected by the world and the traffic, pass by the small island “Heloni”, which, with an area of only 4 acres, is surrounded by rocky shores and is overgrown with olive trees. Half a kilometre to the south, a much larger island appears. It is Madouri, with a similar rocky coastline and its territory covered with pine trees, cypresses and olive trees. Here, a few metres from the coast, the impressive neoclassical mansion of the poet Aristotle Valaoritis dominates with its presence.

We set sail for Scorpios. In front of it, Scorpidi looks tiny, while the islet of Tsokari is even tinier. The notorious Scorpios stretches out before us, one of the most famous islands in the Mediterranean, one that inextricably linked its name to the exuberant – and eccentric – presence of its famous owner, Aristotle Onassis. Whatever one writes about the journey through time of this legendary and, at the same time, tragic family will be trite.

A tour of the island reveals to our eyes its heavenly beauty, once a place of ephemeral happiness for countless international celebrities and today a tourist attraction for yachts. Wonderful small and secluded beaches, lush vegetation of native trees or trees brought from elsewhere, small vineyards, hiking trails, the hangars of the legendary yacht “CHRISTINA” and the seaplane and high above the spot where the helicopter used to land. We sail along the SE part of the island, which reveals a small and unpredictable part, connected to the main body by a narrow tongue of land.

– This section looks like a scorpion sting, Thanasis observes. That’s how the island got its name.

KALAMOS

We leave behind Scorpios with its once glorious past and head Ε towards Kalamos. Already Meganissi covers the entire S horizon and, fully justifying its name, it looks huge compared to the other islands and the tiny “Thileia”, which is next to it. Two more islands, which are only marked as spots on the map, are “Nissopoula” and “Alafonissi”. Immediately afterwards the cape “Fanari” with its lighthouse and the open sea as far as Kalamos are visible.

As we approach, the peaks of the Akarnanian Mountains are clearly outlined. The most impressive in volume and steep slopes is the “Bumistros”, which rises catalytically behind the holiday settlement of Mytikas. Characteristic is the saying of the Lefkadians, when someone hides the view of someone else with his body: “Get out of my way, why are you sitting like a Bumistros?”

Before the bulk of Kalamos hides the horizon from us, we discern to the S, at first the low outline of the islands with the strange name of “Formikoula” or “Fermekoulo”, which barely protrude from the surface of the sea. Farther back rises the heavy and distant bulk of Atokos, while far away in the distance, we can just guess the vague trace of a part of Ithaca.

With an area of 20.5 square kilometres, Kalamos is the second largest small island of Lefkada after Meganissi, whose area reaches 24 square kilometres. In “Geography Politics”, Antonis Miliarakis states that “the island of Kalamos, or Karnos of the Ancients, became historic during the Greek Revolution, becoming the refuge of the persecuted Greeks and of the gynecologists themselves. It is very close to Akarnania, and the northern end of the island is 1 mile from the town of Mytikas. Kalamos is a mountainous island consisting of a triangular ridge, the northern peak of which is 552 metres high, the meridian peak 497 and the highest peak in the middle 595 metres high. The other of the villages, Episkopi, lies to the north of the island.

As we sail along the N coast we notice little houses of Episkopi perched in their verdant surroundings and the little harbour low down. A little further north of the settlement, almost in the same straight line, the strong fortification of the Castle of Episkopi can be seen. Immediately afterwards begins an excellent pine forest. It consists of large, healthy pine trees, which cover the steep slopes and reach the sea. The deep green of the pine trees in combination with the clear waters create a magnificent sight.

We reach the easternmost point of the island, Cape Asprogyali, where the lantern of Episkopi is located. Immediately afterwards we continue the circumnavigation in a S direction. A little further down, at Agios Donatos, a picturesque chapel is unexpectedly revealed, just above the wave, with beautiful masonry but also quite dilapidated. It is the church of St. Constantine, which according to tradition was built by the Tzaviellans.

The coastline continues with variations that amaze us. Tiny sandy beaches just a few metres long, enclosed by pine trees or cliffs and inaccessible from the land. Rocky slopes with a variety of colours, ending vertically to the sea. Pine trees that, miraculously, have grown in narrow crevices between the rocks and balance like acrobats.

And always these exquisite waters, with so many different shades of blue and green. The circumnavigation of this E to SE part of the island is a sight in itself.

Kalamos appears – a picturesque settlement, combining the coastal plain with the amphitheatrical mainland. In the early afternoon we prepare to dock at the spacious harbour. At this hour no more than ten boats are moored.

– Soon, it will only be by luck that one can dock, says the captain.

It’s an unnatural heat for the season, it’s definitely a harbinger of a storm. The clouds don’t take long to gather. Within minutes they cover most of the sky and blot out the sun. The first flashes of lightning and thunder find us on land, in the seaside tavern, sheltered by the shed. The grass grows stronger, bringing the first drops of rain. The Akarnanian mountains are lost in the dizziness, there the sky and the earth have merged indissolubly. And while we wait for the storm from moment to moment, the drops stop, the wind drops, the clouds deviate over the Kalamos sky and scatter. A pale sun comes out, the sea bursts, we are sadly deprived of nature’s outburst.

We sit comfortably at the tavern, in front of the harbour with its calm waters. With our afternoon coffee we enjoy the serenity of nature. The noise we hear does not disturb us, it is soft, rhythmic and very familiar, coming from the boats, one by one entering the harbour for their nightly sail. Their number is constantly increasing, as night falls they exceed 30.

– With coffee we’ll continue into the night, says the captain. The place has tsipouro.

No one objects, especially our Volian friend. Dinner ends with a freshly roasted palamidiki. We return late. All the boats are tied side by side, most of them touching. We are one big and multilingual European family. We are probably the only ones of Greek descent. In a few hours Europe will be quiet. The late-night Greeks lower their voices a little and stay up late.

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO KALAMOS

Several hours before dawn, half the crew has their first coffee of the day on deck. The rest of the boat and all of Europe, of course, are still asleep. Of the island, only a few fishermen have the same insomnia as us. So three fishing boats, one after the other, start their engines, cross the harbour and head out into the open sea. The lines and nets can’t wait. Shortly before 7 o’clock the sun wakes up behind the mountains of Karaiskaki on the Akarnanian shores. Kalamos suddenly comes to life. People of all ages descend from the neighborhoods of the settlement and take a seat on the boat on the line to the opposite coast of Mytikas. They will return at noon.

Right on time, Kostas is waiting for us in his van at the port. The party was arranged in the evening at the tavern. It is the only way to quickly cover the 15 kilometers round trip to the settlement of Episkopi.

– I did this distance on foot three years ago, murmurs the incurable hiker Kyriakos reproachfully.

– You were on holiday then and had all the time you wanted, I reply.

The old van wheezes up the steep and narrow concrete road, which can only accommodate one car. As we cross the – larger than it first appears – settlement, many fine stone-built houses are revealed, the large 1889 church of the Holy Trinity, plenty of flowers and old olive trees with giant trunks.

From Albania, our driver, nice and helpful, has been living and working in Greece for 15 years, speaks Greek very well and his child was born in Lefkada. Despite his insistence, due to the morning chill, for two seats inside the car, we all prefer the carriage, for direct contact with the natural environment of the place. The route is stunning. St. George’s Church with a rough dirt road and a top viewpoint, a continuous pine forest with huge pine trees, the coast with the chapel of St. Constantine among pine trees, cherry trees, arias and kumarias.

We first pass outside the castle without stopping. We spend some time in the harbour and the settlement of Episkopi, where several stone-built houses and some ruined ones are preserved. Returning to the castle, we find outside it the tiny church of St. Nicholas, built in 1854, as well as a ruined house, which retains its original ochre and lulacite coating.

The castle is impressive. Its masonry is preserved in a fairly good condition with the almost original wall height, which reaches 12-15 meters. It is of heavy construction with clay masonry, tiled friezes and large brackets at the corners. We can see several battlements, while the castle’s northward will is imposing and oversees the whole channel with the Akarnanian coast. In its grassy interior only scattered stones and some half-ruined buildings remain. According to A. G. Manzalis, “the castle of Episkopi, which Sylvia Benton refers to in 1932 as a ‘castle-monastery’, has an almost square plan, with strong circular and square towers at the corners. The interior is quite impressive with its successive arches protecting the battlements. It is a fortification of a purely military character, in which we can see the independence of the inner part of the wall, which bears the loads of the floors, and the outer wall – enclosure, which bears only its own weight. This system, with its arched relief gaps in the thickness of the structure, was very widespread in Byzantium, both in important fortifications, such as the walls of Constantinople, and in fortifications of lesser importance, as in Algeria, Tunisia, the walls of Nicopolis, the castle of Antiparos and elsewhere. Around the castle lies the homonymous settlement that developed between the 18th and 19th centuries”.

Upon returning to Kalamos, the captain and the rest of the crew are already ready to set sail. Unfortunately, we do not have time for a tour of the rest of the island, which according to A.G. Mantzalis’ data, is of great interest. We briefly mention that in the coastal settlement of Agrapidia, very close to W of Kalamos, there are serious indications of Neolithic habitation (about 3,000 years BC), according to various findings of Sylnia Benton. Today in Agrapidia there is a coarse pebble cove, many windmills and a small tavern by the sea. Also of interest is the settlement of ‘Kefali’, at the west end of the island, where a dirt road leads to. According to A. Miliarakis (late 19th century), the village of Kefali had 77 inhabitants, Kalamos 1033 and Episkopi 242.

KASTOS AND ATOKOS

We leave behind us the multi-cornered volume of Kalamos with its impressive relief and gaze ahead of us the new reality: the mild and low-lying contour of the Castle. Breathless and puffy, the surface of the sea shines, reminiscent of a youthful face without wrinkles. It is a real pleasure to have the breeze gently caressing our faces as we glide through the untarnished waters. This journey is unlike any on earth, beautiful as it is. Freedom and solitude, without traffic lights and turns, miserable competitions and overtaking, speed limits, cameras and hidden traffic wardens. Here, we are in the hands of Mother Nature.

– And in those of Father Captain, adds Thanasis from the cockpit, and he’s not wrong.

The only unpleasant thing is, this nice morning trip won’t last long, Kastos is close by. Smiles the captain.

– And who told you we’re going to Kastos? Now we’ll just make a pass through there. Good afternoon, we’ll dock. Our morning rendezvous is a long way off, in the catapult at Atokos.

Atokos! Island synonymous with the lonely, the remote and inaccessible, the inhospitable and uninhabited, the exposed to the elements and, therefore, dangerous. Lost in the gloom of the mid-ocean, outside the conventional routes and the usual destinations, and therefore unknown. But for all of this together, charming with the charm of the Sirens, fiercely desired as “forbidden fruit” and – not coincidentally – of the female gender. Atokos! At present she is unseen, hidden by Kastos. Before its N cape we are greeted by the islet “Provati”, with a rocky coast, low altitude and olive trees. We pass the narrow channel that separates it from Kastos. Fish jump in the calm waters. The captain leaves the trolling gear off the stern, just in case.

We enter the territorial waters of Kastos from the northeast and follow the coastline. The island unfolds in its full length, its gentle ridges covered with olive trees reaching out to sea. The pine forests of Kalamos are unknown here.

A rocky coast with a great variety, a cove of a few tens of metres, further down mild sandy beaches, a rocky mass with a chapel at its top, sea caves and clear waters, rocks of many colours and liliputian beaches, a constant change of images absolutely fascinating. It is not by chance that so many foreigners with pleasure craft are landed or moored at ‘arodo’ and, far from their obscure countries, derive from this paradise the greatest pleasure. We envy for a moment their leisure and carelessness, the leisure time they had available. The remembrance of Atokos brings us back to duty.

Another islet is before us, Prasonisi, very close to the main body of the island. We pass through the narrow channel, glimpse the small settlement of Kastos and set sail for the southernmost end, the rocky and low cape “Pothoni”. With no land obstacles ahead, Atokos looms far to the SW. A heavy and solid volume, like a cone in the sea. Much further back, in the depths of the sea, the voluminous outline of Ithaca can be seen. Just to the west the much lower “Arkoudi” and, close to the northwest, the strange Formikoula, in the same straight line with “Kithro” and Meganissi.

As we ride the cape, the sea loses its morning innocence, it is littered by the westerly.

– It started early, the captain remarks, it will get stronger at noon.

For the moment, however, it is very pleasant, and its cool breaths offset the heat from the sun. We are getting closer and closer. The initial wrinkle has given way to ripples, at the tops of which the first foams are whitening.

– The sea is “a little” choppy and soon it will get more so, says the captain.

About 45 minutes after we leave the Kastos cape, we enter behind the Atokos’s protective bulwark, which exerts its powerful influence on the westerly and in an instant transforms the sea into a swimming pool. The cool air ceases, the shaking stops, the temperature rises.

In his Geography, Miliarakis wrote about Atokos, among other things: “It has a perimeter of 5.5 miles and an area of 3.5 square kilometers. It is made up of an orbicular dyad, whose highest peak (334 m.) lies towards Mesimbria. It also has a small cove towards the E beach’. The island is owned by Ethanese landowners, who keep small animals and shepherds. The water springing in the island is brackish, for which the tenant shepherds are watered from cisterns in which they collect the rainwater’.

At low speed we start to sail along the E part of the island. Neither Kalamos nor Kastos, neither pine forests nor olive trees. The only thing that dominates here are the holm oaks, hardy and resistant to the steep slopes. The only ground surface, which they have allowed to remain uncovered, is the shoreline, which is covered with light-coloured limestone and completely hostile. Immediately beyond, 3 to 4 metres above the sea, the holly trees grow thickly and impenetrably. No other kind of vegetation dares to penetrate between them except the stubborn phloem, which appear in the greenery like reddish highlights.

Beside the shore the abysmal depths of the water begin. As Miliarakis puts it, ‘the sea around this island is deep despite these shores’.

Woe to him who would seek refuge in such a place.

A peak rises vertically before us. It is a solid rock of immense dimensions. Standing on deck, we watch in awe at these first images of the island. Atokos can hardly be considered a place for a family holiday.

– Is the whole island this wild?, Anna asks Thanasis.

– In general, yes, he answers. There are, however, some places that are different, that we haven’t seen yet.

We don’t have to wait long to understand what he means. The coast gradually begins to change, the monotony of the white-grey limestone recedes, stunning rocks rise up in vivid colours, forming cracks and hollows between them, small and large sea caves with incredible water, in all possible shades of green, dark blue and blue.

Atokos wears for our sake one by one the expensive veils that the nature of the Ionian Sea has given her and we express our admiration by constantly photographing her.

At some point the landscape becomes sunny. In front of us stretches the only araxovoli of the island, a small beach in the continuous wildness of the rocks. What makes the image of the creek even more peaceful is the presence of a small house and an outhouse, very close to each other, a few meters from the sea.

– This is “the coast of one house”, Kyriakos comments.

Immediately afterwards, the inaccessible coast begins again with new spectacular images.

– We’re not done yet, says the captain.

A cave is forming in front of us, which, as we get closer, reveals more and more of its huge dimensions. We begin to photograph it, but suddenly the focus of our interest shifts completely. Something round emerges from the calm waters. Yes, we’re not fooling ourselves. It’s the ever so cute little head of a seal. Exactly two weeks ago, in the Lichadon Islands of Evia, we were lucky enough to catch our first glimpse of the beautiful mammal. Today, on the other side of Greece, we have the good fortune to see it again. The joy on board is indescribable. For half of them, this is their first encounter with a seal. The joy grows even more when, after a while, two more are added. Dimitris’ camera, Kyriakos’ and Anna’s telephoto lenses are on fire. The most beautiful live presence in the most beautiful part of Atokos. This coexistence of trust lasts a long time.

The seals don’t seem particularly frightened, but they always make sure to keep a safe distance. When they feel that this is being violated, they dive and move away. For a few minutes they disappear completely and when they reappear, they’re long gone.

– And now a final image from Atokos, says the captain.

After the magnificent cave the inaccessible coast continues, but soon a stunning cove is revealed. Fishermen lifting their longline, continuous sea caves with rare rock formations and turquoise waters, a landscape of incredible beauty. It is the last visual bliss that the island offers us, just below its highest peak. Immediately afterwards, as we ride the southernmost cape, we become at the mercy of the pundee, which unleashes its gusts with an intensity of more than 5 Beaufort. Ithaca is now clearly visible to the southwest, while Kefalonia with its heavy mountainous mass rises further back.

The return journey is fascinating on the varied surface of the sea. With the captain’s instructions, Ioulia Krini releases the sails, the “genoa” and mainsail (the “megastron”), which inflate with a bang in the force of the wind. The engine is switched off and only the natural sound of sails and waves can be heard. More than a few times we opt for “sideways sailing”, for more exciting participation of the wind in the sails. Then, with the safety boat half-submerged on one side, we enjoy the thrills of sailing to the fullest, at speeds sometimes exceeding 8 miles.

In the afternoon we ride the jetty in the small harbour of Kastos, much smaller than that of Kalamos. The low neck of land above the harbour does not completely protect it from the strong puna, so many drifts are created, making our manoeuvres difficult. We end up hanging out in the minimal space between two boats.

After the harbour we go up a concrete alley and in two minutes we are at the tavern “Anemomylos”, with a top view of the Akarnanian coast and the complex of the Echinaean islands. The restaurant is very tidy and Christos Trilivas is polite and personable. In addition his fine cooked food is extremely well priced, as are his two rooms to let.

The main harbour leads to a smaller harbour, immune from any wind, which serves as a fishing shelter. A small square with recent paving, an elongated old building where, among other things, the offices of the Community are housed and, just beyond, the large, Ionian-style basilica of Agios Ioannis. It is covered with a light yellow plaster, which does not allow us to see the masonry. Nor does any inscription indicate the date of construction of the church. Two centuries-old olive trees stand outside the enclosure, while the courtyard is paved with many rectangular slabs. Near Agios Ioannis, Elias Andreou reports that he found shells from late Hellenistic vases and finds of Roman and late Byzantine times. According to A.G. Manzalis, ‘of particular interest are two arched graves of the early Christian period, which the locals call “cemeteries”. The first was found in the centre of the basement of the church and the second ten metres to the south. The existence of these tombs and the large semicircular arch of Agios Ioannis lead us to believe that it was built on the site of an older, probably early Christian church.

The interior is dominated by the imposing iconostasis, decorated with gold leaf and exquisite portable icons. Particularly impressive is the hagiography covering the ‘urania’ (roof) and the front side of the balcony of the women’s balcony. It was created by Spyros Gazis, with such a strong influence from the Western style that it reminds us of paintings by Renaissance painters. According to information provided by the Lefkadite archaeologist Sophia Doukata-Demertzi, Spyros Gazis (1835-1920) was one of the most important painters of Ionian art, deeply influenced by Western art. His works can be found in many places in the wider area of the Ionian Islands, while the specific hagiographies of Agios Ioannis of Kastos are considered to be among the most representative and were painted in 1886. The other surfaces of the interior of the church are not painted and are absolutely plain.

Heading northwest from the square, we walk uphill through the settlement, which began to take shape in the 19th century, while the old settlement was located above the chapel of St. Emilianos, at an altitude of 165 metres, the highest point of the island. According to A. Miliarakis, ‘the islands of Kalamos and Kastos were deserted and uncultivated until the end of the 17th century, when they were not ceded in 1705 by the Venetians to the Deladetzima family from Kefallinia, due to their services in war and sacrifices, which they offered for the Venetian cause. Since then, the cultivation of the islands and the settlement of villages has begun by people invited from Ithaca and from elsewhere’.

According to A.G. Mantzalis, ‘the Kalamisians and the Kastians were farmers, breeders, vine-growers, fishermen, sailors, craftsmen and merchants. They were famous in the Ionian Islands for the production of wheat, a fact that is confirmed by the 8 windmills that are preserved in Kalamos and 2 in Kastos. In conclusion, we can say that despite the occasional population fluctuations, the Ionian islands of Kalamos and Kastos were never deserted and have been continuously inhabited from the late Neolithic period to the present day.

Crossing the settlement of Kastos, we find old olive trees, almond trees, oak trees, stone-built houses and a tavern with a nice view. Then we head left and pass near the second windmill, which is in very good condition. We descend on a concrete road and, after a total leisurely 25-minute walk from the island square, we end up at its W-NW end, at Sarakiniko Bay, exposed only to the N winds. Small concrete pier for a few boats, rocky shoreline, small island in the centre of the bay, slopes all around overgrown with olive trees. The entire northern horizon is almost blocked by the mountainous mass of Kalamos. Moments of absolute peace and solitude. As we climb uphill for the return, the sun finds a passage through the clouds and appears over the channel of the two islands. It’s an unexpectedly beautiful sunset that holds us against it until the day is gone. Later we all have lunch on the cool and stunningly beautiful balcony of the taverna of Yannis and Maria Keramidas, which we had met on the way up to Sarakiniko.

-Finally, here is a company that speaks Greek, exclaims Yannis happily.

Flavors are excellent, from the varied appetizers to the fresh local fish, grilled meats and Greek cuisine, service is top-notch and professionalism of the highest level. It is no accident that all this is so. Since 1999, Yannis Keramidas has invested in his work, in addition to capital and thirty years of hard work experience in America. After 6 years on the island he is deeply disappointed by the general indifference of the State (small and inadequate port, poor communication with the island). When, late at night, we ask for the bill, Yannis smiles: ‘You came from so far away to promote our place. Can’t we buy you a glass of wine?”

ON THE WAY TO MEGANISSI

This morning’s coffee is not the morning coffee from the dawn but a nice and effortless cappuccino at the very well-kept cafe-bar “IL PORTO”, owned by Panagiotis Giannoutsos.

Here we meet the President of the Community Petros Giannoutsos (Kastos was a Community for mainly geographical reasons), the Secretary George Trilivas, who supplies us with valuable literature, and other remarkable Kastian people, among them captain Thodoris Giannoutsos.

– Last winter I came to the island for 4 days, says Thodoris at one point. The only money I spent was on tickets.

– How did that happen, Theodoris?

– There was nothing open on the island for me to spend my money.

The President is lending us a community van, which has been converted into a fire truck. We drive north through the settlement and come across a dirt road that leads us inland. Kastos is an extremely long island, like a spear floating in the sea, “a bushy island, long and narrow, 7,500 metres long, 900 metres wide and 8.4 square kilometres in area”, according to Miliarakis.

The recently opened and in some places rough dirt road crosses continuous olive groves with old olive trees, some of which are true monuments of nature. After about 6 km we reach the northernmost end of the island, opposite the settlement of Kalamos (half a mile distance according to Miliarakis) and above the islet of Provati. The road, now asphalted, returns crossing the northeastern coast of the island, revealing to us from the interior all the spectacular bays and coasts we had admired from our sea route.

With calm seas, we bid farewell to Kastos at 11 am, heading northwest towards Meganissi. The first land we meet in between is Formikoula (which is actually two islands, since there is a small one). The surface of the small islands is flat, overgrown with rocks and protrudes just a few meters above sea level. Rocky shores, tiny sandy coves in between, some rocky caves. The part of the island to the south-southwest and west is very steep and the dark colour of the rocks is reminiscent of volcanic origin. There is a white iconostasis on these coasts and a small lighthouse on the NW part of the island. Many seagulls overfly the shores and seem to be disturbed by our presence because of the chicks.

We are already heading towards the channel between Meganissi and Kithro. The peculiarity of the desert island, compared to the rest of the islands, is the almost non-existent vegetation on its territory. A massive islet, 6th in size compared to the others, has only 8-10 trees on the entire SE side, while on a small part of the NE coast, reddish phloem trees and a few dozen pine trees grow above the sea. Just across the road is the perfect contrast. At a distance of less than 700 metres, the imposing coast of Meganissi, with its spectacular cliffs and dense vegetation, rises up. We’re already in the channel. Just 15 metres from the coast of Meganissi, the depth varies between 40 and 60 metres. The water is turquoise, the rocks are smooth slices with yellowish and pink hues that end vertically in a cove, a stunning sight against the humble and impersonal Kithro. At the top, among the wild olive trees, the islet’s jambs and grates, you can hear the darting of unseen goats, which roam freely on the island and “are particularly tasty, since we only drink from the sea,” the captain adds.

Completing the circumnavigation of the island, we notice that the S coast is completely barren, with few windswept pebbles, while the W is, from a geological point of view, the most spectacular and interesting.

We are already sailing along the long and so narrow W-SW coast of Meganissi, which in shape and length resembles Kastos and projects so strangely from the trunk of the rest of the island. A steep coast, rocky and inhospitable, overgrown with grills and purines, with small caves and trenches that create hidden coves between them, waters ‘hanging’, with a depth of several tens of metres next to the land. A cape with impressive reddish rocks, which from a height of 40 m. penetrate vertically into the sea, continuous sea caves with wild pigeons and among them the well-known cave known as that of “Papanikoli”, then the smaller but beautiful and more easily accessible cave of “Jovani”, rocks and water of various colours. The fascinating images are never ending.

– You can’t see these pictures from land, says the captain. Only from the sea do you get a realistic view of the morphology of a coastline.

We turn S, the closest point to Lefkada. The verdant little island of Thelia looms in front of us. The coast gradually loses its wild character. At last, here is a gentle cove, with fine pebbles, turquoise waters and olive trees reaching the sea. Calm shoreline, friendly waters, a boat that drops off strangers for a swim. It is the sandy beach of St. John, with the homonymous chapel, where the road from Spartochori ends. We sail through the narrow channel between Meganissi and Thileia. The vegetation of the two islands is dense and identical, olive trees, holly trees, holly trees, pines and cypresses. Many sailing boats are attracted by the mildness of the place. After so many hours on the open deck under the sun, we return to the shade and coolness of the stern. Here we have yacht service, the captain is waiting for us with cold beers.

– Our suffering on the inhospitable shores is over, he says cheerfully. We return to civilization.

We bypass the cove “Spilia” with the impressive Spartochori hanging over it and continue to “Vathi”. In the afternoon we hang out in a safe cove, a few hundred meters southwest of Vathi, on the small wooden quay of the tavern “Karnagio”. George Tsolakis is waiting for us there.

MEGANISSI

The name “Karnagio” of Tsolakis’s tavern is not accidental. In the cove, called “Tarsanas”, once operated a shipyard, where fishing boats and other boats were manufactured. From the – now hard to find – book “MEGANESIOTIKA”, which was kindly given to us by its author Kostas Palmos, we extract some brief information about the island.

Meganissi is a part of Lefkada and its inhabitants are Lefkadians. Geologically it is a continuation of the island and historically a child of it, walking together for thousands of years on the same road. The largest mountain complex is “Raches” with an altitude of 301m., while E is the complex of Skiza with an altitude of 174m. The long coastline extends to the south-east and ends at Cape Kefali, while to the north-north-east there is a large partition of the coastline with five bays: Spilia, Vathi, Balos, Ambelaki and Atherinos.

The original name of the island was “Tafos” and it was given by its first settler and king, Tafios.

In his book, Kostas Palmos mentions many unknown aspects about the life and action of the chieftain of the Revolution of 1821, Dimos Ferentinos or Dimos Tselios from Spartochori (1785-1854). From 1821 to 1829, he took part in 12 campaigns, 12 sieges, 39 battles and was wounded 3 times, while in 1825 the Provisional Administration of Greece promoted him to General. His remains are placed in the Garden of Heroes in Messolongi, where there is a marble column with his name.

After our brief mention of the past, our tour of Meganissi begins with George Tsolakis as our guide. And first to the neighbouring settlement of Vathi with its homonymous harbour, which owes its name mainly to the fact that the bay penetrates deep into the land.

The imposing church of St. Vissarion, dated 1910 on the marble lintel, picturesque ouzeri and taverns by the sea, traditional café “AKROGIALI”. We notice some houses with a balcony door on the front but without a balcony! Among them there is a nice stone-built house from 1930. Vathi is a comfortable and nice settlement, the centre of the island’s entertainment. At the end of the beach is moored the speedboat ambulance boat of the Municipality of Meganissi for emergency patient transfers. Immediately afterwards it starts to the S with a coastal route with picturesque coves with calm waters and lush vegetation reaching the sea. Everywhere yachts moored and holiday homes of foreigners who have bought large areas. The circular route brings us back to Vathi. Traditional houses with plenty of flowers, huge olive trees, ornate dry stone walls that delineate properties, in a prominent position the Municipal Library that operates daily and was founded in 1957 on the initiative of the teacher Apostolis Katopodis in a place donated by Antonis Kavvadas. A society that, apart from tourism, does not forget culture.

A short path leads us over the bay of Ambelaki. Absolute tranquility, two little tavernas next to the coast, a wall made entirely of pebbles from the sea. Across the street is Katomeri with its tiled roofs. Immediately after the bay of Atherinos, a perfectly sheltered natural harbour with a large capacity of boats. “And with very good fishermen”, adds George, who are currently preparing their lines. Among the piles of yellow nets stands out a brown pile, for skate, as George explains. All around are plenty of myrtle with its lance-shaped leaf, mixed with schooners, differing only in the oval shape of their leaves and the different structure, more delicate and pleasant of the myrtle, more tangy of the schooner. Among them, abacinias and hollyhocks coexist in harmony.

We leave the lovely bay with the most beautiful impressions, and continue towards the edge, where the site of “Fanari”, a superb beach with fine pebbles and sand. A narrow, pebbled road leads us after 500 m to the cape with the lighthouse. Here the weather changes, we are immediately cooled by the grass. The coast is stony and inhospitable. Across to the east is the Bishopric of Kalamos and Mytikas. High up is the conical peak of Bumistros.

We return to Atherinos and head for Katomeri. We pass by the cemetery church of Agios Konstantinos and Eleni. Commissioner Stefanos Palmos opens the church for us with his key. The old paved floor and stone temple is simple but entirely painted with hagiographies in place of the usual portable icons. In one part of the iconostasis, an illegible inscription informs us that it was renovated in 1840.The only frescoes that survive in the church are those of St. Gerasimos, part of St. George with the horse and the Platytera in the niche of the sanctuary.

We arrive at Katomeri, with the beautiful windmill of “Bakkola”. Narrow cobbled streets, Town Hall where the Mayor Vassilis Sakkas welcomes us, beautiful stone houses with flowers and wreaths in their courtyards. With a narrow concrete road we descend from the Town Hall to Porto Elia, a creek with fine pebbles and a few rooms to let. Nature is exquisite, the myrtle trees form a wall.

Above Porto Elia a sign points to the beach “Babarezou” and “Loutrolimni”. A road under future asphalting leads us after 2 km to the nice pebbled beach and next to it to a mud lake, with dimensions of about 80 x 40 m. The mud has a sulphur smell and is considered thermal. From Katomeri, we again head towards Limonari beach. A good asphalt road leads after 1.2 km to an incredibly beautiful and secluded creek, with countless smooth pebbles and an opening of no more than 60 meters. It is surrounded by spectacular rocks with smooth surfaces, which in combination with the clear waters, create a picture of unique beauty. It is impossible to resist the call of this embracing sea.

From Katomeri, we continue to Spartochori. It is picturesque too, built on an impressive balcony with a top view of the sea. Here too, narrow streets, some beautiful stone-built houses, taverns and cafes picturesquely placed in unexpected corners. A little further down, the little square with the bust of the late port guard Marinos Zambatis, a place of remembrance with an unparalleled view of the bay of Spilia. Below, in the depths of the huge rock, the “Cave of the Cyclops”, from which the bay takes its name.

We descend for a while with closed difficult turns and end up on the beach. Three taverns with tables by the sea, fishing boats and dozens of yachts. This is where the ferry boat from Nydri first moors, to continue to Vathi. A small tavern with tables literally penetrates into the sea.

After our long tour with so many varied images we end up late in the evening at our boat house, next to the “Karnagio” of Tsolakis. Trees, grass, nice facilities, tables over the sea. George’s two Meganissian cooks, Mitsos and Dinos, with previous experience at the sea and in various restaurants, fill our table with their tasty creations, various appetizers, fresh fish and the famous “burdeto” or “bourgetto”. It is the spilled cacava of the Ionian Islands, which, with various variations, is always based on any fresh boiled fish, oil and some vegetables. The white Lefkadian wine flows abundantly, the fun is undiminished until late and we all drink to the Mayor, who offers us the table.

FROM MEGANISSI TO SIVOTA

Sunshine and calm weather. In the morning hours we complete our tour and, among other things, visit the Catholic Church of the old monastery of St. John, once famous for its estate. It is located on the homonymous W beach of the island. Our guide is the master carpenter and sculptor Babis Makris, who is finishing the imposing stone temple made of Cretan porous stone, “compatible in colour and texture with the windows and mouldings of the church’s exterior”, as he explains. The church was restored in 1877, “after 400 years”, according to the reference to the marble lintel. Remnants of the old stonework survive in the S and N exterior of the church, as well as cell remains in the E of the chancel, lost in the slates. 500m. after the church is the homonymous pond, separated by a narrow tongue of land from the magnificent coast.

Before we depart, George Tsolakis offers us a last ouzo in the coolness. We bid farewell to the hospitable “Karnagio” and the hospitable Meganissi, with its 800 permanent residents and 3000 summer residents, who together with visitors exceed 6,000. Its at least 30 small and large harbours are filled every year by at least 15,000 (!) yachts.

We head W for Thileia, this nice little island, which is not more than 30m high, surrounded by a rocky coastline and covered with dense vegetation that reaches the sea. We take a S course towards “Arkoudi”, the last remaining islet. With a maximum altitude of 134 m, Arkoudi is a massive island with an area of 4.6 square kilometres and a perimeter of 4.5 miles. Like Atokos, it belongs to Ithaca. It is covered with dense bushy vegetation, while its north-eastern part is covered with large pine and cypress trees. At the SE end of the island a small peninsula is formed, which from a distance looks like an island, but in reality it is connected to the main body by narrow land flora. Except for a cove sheltered by the púnende, the island is generally salt marsh, with rocky or even steep shores, a few sea caves and grey limestone or steep reddish rocks. A place altogether inhospitable and inaccessible.

We take a N course to Sivota, that great bay, enclosed on all sides, the mouth of which is unseen even from the mouth. The strong maestro wind which has hitherto deafened us, is suddenly captured by the bulk of the mountains and completely subsides.

In Sivota the effects of the development are immediately visible. At least 40 sailing boats are densely moored on the large circular quay, while several remain unmoored. Fish taverns, cafes, ouzo bars, shops, several houses. Some are already built on the facing overgrown slopes with a controversial effect on the future aesthetics of the Sivota landscape.

We are welcomed on the waterfront by Mrs. Spyridoula, in front of her tavern, well-known since 1970. The restaurant is wonderful, with a top view of the bay, with tables over the water and a second floor full of climbing and bougainvillea. We’re about to order, but it stops us.

– I’ll take care of it. Marinated anchovies, a variety of appetizers, cool Lefkadian wine and then all the goodness of the local sea, mullet, beetles, zorgos, sea bream and shrimp.

– Next time I will have lobster pasta for you, says Mrs. Spyridoula, born in the mountains of Chortata but who for the last 40 years lives by the sea.

Afternoon coffee and evening drinks at the wonderful cafe “Liotrivi”, a top spot at the SE end of the beach. Boats of various nationalities constantly pass in front of us. For some the holiday is just beginning and for others it is probably ending. Like ours.

EPILOGUE

The most exciting journey was saved by the captain for last.

– Get ready for the circumnavigation of Lefkada, he tells us the next morning. What can one say about this experience? By noon all the famous shores of the island pass before our eyes. One day you will experience them with us.