Greek hospitality

After spending a very relaxed Sunday at the campground, being subjected to a good clean, we moved down the coast a little bit to the small town of Parga.

Front row parking

Parga is home to about 2500 people, but the number of tourists goes up to a multitude of that every season, mainly due to in-country tourism by Greeks, though. 

This is a picture perfect little Greek town, built on a slope, topped by an old and dilapidated castle, criss-crossed by narrow cobbled alleys and steep staircases, fronted by a horseshoe bay with a beautiful sandy beach. Are you sold yet?

After strolling around the town, and maybe a little nap on the beach, we moved on to Glyki, which lies along the course of the Acheron River, a little ways inland.

The Acheron is 58km long and features prominently in Greek mythology. 

Here, the "river of woe" is one of the five streams leading into the underworld and the one all the others run into. 
Together with the river Styx, the Acheron is considered the river of the dead.

In Dante`s "Divine Comedy" and other publications of that time, Charon, the sinister ferryman, is said to ship the poor souls of the dead across the Acheron into the Hades.

Since we were not overly keen to join this merry ride, I stayed well back from the river`s edge and my human decided on a hike up above the water, along the side of the canyon flanking the stream.

Being cautious; a little room between me and the ferryman

These two will look after us

Can you see me?

Into Hades this way, please!

During summer you can also wade into the canyon quite a distance. With all the rain we had lately, unfortunately there was no way to get very far. Besides, the water is about 12 degrees.

Only a short ride away, we made a stop at the "Cafè Platanos", which, thanks to its owners, Nektaria and Niko, must be one of the friendliest places in the whole country.

We hadn`t fully come to a stop outside the café, when Nektaria was on the way across the street to welcome us into her home. Which is what this café is.

We were treated to some Greek mountain tea and a bench in the sun.
Shortly after us, a lovely Dutch couple arrived in their "Flower Monster", Wanda and Edwin.
Now Nektaria got out some of her homemade jams, served on fluffy bread, for us to taste. Lemon, kumquat, orange, apple and - banana! Have you ever tried banana jam? No? Neither had either of us. But you definitely should. At least Nektaria`s - delicious.

While she was running back and forth, finishing of her newest batch of orange jam, we sat in the garden with Niko to chew the fat.

Once the sun dropped behind the house, we moved inside and lit a fire.
Dinner was served rather late, for us Northern Europeans at least, but it was hearty fare and served in huge portions. 

After spending a quiet night right outside the cafè, we were back for more the next day and gorged ourselves on Greek coffee and scrumptious pancakes with an assortment of jams.

Needless to say, my human bagged a few jars for later consumption. So if you are very lucky, you might even get to try the banana jam! If the restraint is big enough, it`s a long time before we get home...

It is not too much to say that we were welcomed as long standing friends. By the time we left, we felt like it, too!

Stumbling from one lovely place right into the next, we stopped at a small beach-side restaurant hoping to spend the night there. Only to be welcomed with: "Stay as long as you like. Here are the toilets, showers and WIFI. Feel free to use the sun beds on the beach. Have a good time!"

And all that with a strong Australian accent. Menios had grown up in Melbourne to the age of 14.
Needless to say, my human felt right at home!

And because this was such a nice spot, we decided to hang out the next day and just chillax on the beach.

After a quiet day, we were off to Lefkada, the next island along the Ionian Coast.

The island is one of only a handful that are connected to the mainland by bridges, eliminating the need of a pricey ferry ride.

We based ourselves in Lefkada town and my human went for a stroll along the water and harbor.
Later on, she went for a little bike ride along the shoreline to the town of Nydri, some 20km and a hill away.

Art?

The island is known for its prime windsurfing conditions, some of the best in Europe, especially down south in Vassiliki.
But it was rather windy around the rest of the island, too, that day.

We spent the night alongside a pebble beach a few kilometers out of town, to get away from the weekend noise.

Are you sure about that?

After a quiet night, my human went for a run around the dike in Lefkada.

And because that wasn`t enough exercise for the day, she left me in Nydri to go for a cool hike to a waterfall and then onwards up into the hills for stunning views.

Fair enough

Those stairs don`t inspire confidence

Our home for the night was a lovely little campground in Desimi Bay. Again, we had a front row spot, right on the water. 

The weather has definitely turned in our favor and we are looking forward to many more sunny days.
As a friend said the other day: "I`m done complaining about the cold, I am ready to complain about the heat!"