12th September - Paxos, Greece

We were back in Corfu, this time just the two of us, a different resort, but not that far from where we were staying in July.  Today we were on a trip to the island of Paxos, the smallest of the Ionian islands, situated about eight nautical miles to the south of Corfu.  Our boat was leaving from the port of Lefkimmi, a thirty minute drive from our resort.  It was an all day trip with an early start, but we had time for some breakfast and the chance to witness a wonderful sun rise.

We left Lefkimmi with a full boat and set off south in some calm water.  The hope was we might see some dolphins so I was on watch, but they had not read the script.

The trip to Paxos would take just over an hour and pretty soon we could see the island.

So now time for some Mythology to explain haw these islands were made:  Paxos owes its origin to Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. Wanting a secluded sanctuary to share with his lover the sea nymph Amphitrite, Poseidon struck the southern tip of Corfu with his trident, splitting off a piece of land to create a tranquil island hideaway.

Legend says Poseidon struck Corfu with such force that he dropped his trident in the process. The inhabitants of Paxos found the weapon and adopted it as their island emblem.

We sailed around the northern tip of the island and then down the west side of the island.  The island consists mainly of limestone and the west side of the island has been subjected to the brute force of the sea eroded the cliffs which has produced visible strata.

With the sun predominantly in the east the cliffs were striking as dark monoliths and the sparkling sea.

Sea erosion has not only exposed the rock on the cliffs, but weaknesses in the limestone has been exploited by the force of the sea to create caves and of course this has led to more mythology.

We sailed into a bay with high cliffs above us.

There are two large caves and these are also linked with Poseidon.  Myth holds that Poseidon built a majestic submerged palace inside these cavernous sea grottos. The stark white limestone cliffs on the west coast were said to be remnants of this divine underwater complex.

 The largest and most famous of the Paxos sea caves, measuring around 20 meters tall at its entrance is the Ypapanti Cave. Beyond its tie to Poseidon's realm, local legend claims a hidden tunnel once connected the back of the cave directly to the inland Ypapanti Church. During World War II, the Greek submarine Papanikolis famously used this massive cavern as a hiding spot from enemy forces.

We were able to a short way into the cave, but the high tide restricted us going too far.

Azure blue waters.

Further south there is another set of caves.  The Achai Caves are a network of connected caves where, on windy days, incoming waves create deep, booming acoustics that sailors traditionally likened to the voice or presence of Poseidon.

Off shore from the Achai Caves is a large monolith or sea stack, which is said to be the door that was in place on the Ortholithos caves.

We were now heading south to Antipaxos, a small island at the southern tip of Paxos

Much of the hilly landscape is covered in olive groves. These stretch from Lakka, the harbour community in the north, through Magazia to Gaios, the capital. Coastal communities of Gaios, Lakka and Longos on the east coast are the three main settlements, while the interior features numerous scattered hamlets. The west coast is dominated by steep white, chalky cliffs that are greatly eroded at sea level, and harbour many "blue caves". The highest point of the island is Agios Isavros at an elevation of 231 m. Several islets lie very close to the coast of Paxos: Agios Nikolaos and Panagia protect the harbour of Gaios, while Mongonisi and Kaltsonisi lie off the southeastern tip.  As we cruised towards Antipaxos you could see villas and farms on the island of Paxos with of course the windmills.

Antipaxos is located 3km south of Corfu and is the smallest of the Ionian Islands; a tiny place only 5km long with a small population of around 50 people.  We pulled into a bay where most of the boat went for a swim in the clear blue water

The mainland of Greece not too faraway

And plenty of fish in the sea.

From Antipaxos we cruised north to the capital of Paxos, Gaios.  The town is protected by an island that sits of shore and creates a quiet harbour.

We had a couple of hours to get some lunch and wander around the narrow lanes of the town.  We found a cafe on the waterfront with a lovely view out across the harbour.

But as our lunch arrived these two large ships arrived with exhaust and lots of people right in front of us!

This small church in the middle of the town.

Back on the boat for our return trip, the clouds were gathering away to the north west were looking quite spectacular, were storms coming?

We left Gaios going around the island and out the other entrance giving us the chance to see some more of the town.

Some of the older buildings on the waterfront.

The wind picked up as we headed back to Corfu sending spray from the front of the boat.  The crew were concerned that a storm was coming, but unfortunately it didn't hit us.  As we approached the southern tip of the island the shapes in the limestone cliffs looked like the sails of yachts on the water.

It was good to see some more of the regions and it was a lovely trip.  There will be further posts from Corfu, but these will be capturing some of the scenes of the island and a few of the insects found around the resort.