Paxos

Sunset at Erimitis

Kipos Beach 

Lunch at Gaios

Anti Paxos

Loggos 

Blue forgotten seas

Loggos Harbourfront

Greece as it was in my Youth

Blue Caves

Greek islands are timeless and seem to conjure the most vivid and relaxed holidays. In the 1970's I spent 4 summers travelling around the Greek Islands, on a cheap flight to Athens and then selecting a ferry to one of the islands, usually in the Aegean or Dedocanese, and taking a room or sleep on beaches or occasionally in lemon groves.  The food was simple and good and even Retsina was better than the cheap wines that were obtainable in the UK at the time.  I bought a book: 'Greece on $10 a day', and I wondered why the Americans found it that expensive. The Greeks were always hospitable, the seas were aquamarine and the swimming totally invigorating.

We decided that a relaxing holiday would be to go to one of the Ionian islands which I had not visited and had been recommended by my sister. Paxos was too small to have been ruined by the giants of the travel industry and seemed to be run by mainly local family businesses. We could bolster the Greek economy without it being siphoned off to the multinationals. Its industries are olive oil and tourism and its clientele is Greek, Italian, German and British.

It was a good choice and arriving by hydrofoil from Corfu meant that a hire car was instantly available and we were at our accommodation within 30 minutes of arriving.  Paxos is in the Ionian Sea and looks across to the mainland. It is the hub of sailing for many Italians and had a fair share of Brits, including several Cayman Island registered gin palaces that make you ashamed for being British. They are a good reason to tighten up on offshore tax havens to reduce the deficit.  Far more sustainable were the flotillas of yachts for sailing holidays.

And relax we did, 2 weeks of reading, swimming, eating minimally but well and having the occasional trip to the various small villages, beaches and the adjacent island of Anti Paxos.  Food was simple and much the same as it had been in the 1970s: honey and yoghurt for breakfast; tomatoes, olives, feta cheese and bread for lunch and fish or chicken or lamb with rice or potatoes and salad for the evening.  It agreed with us perfectly.  But best of all was the accommodation for the second week, a new villa built of indigenous limestone by the owner of the local cement works with a view and an infinity pool that would let us dream through the autumn and winter months ahead.

Relax