One of the beautiful islands of the Ionian sea, Lefkada has
the added advantage of being easily accessible through a small draw bridge. Lefkada belongs
to the province of Eptanisa (or Heptanese = seven islands)
in western Greece.
Despite its small size, I was surprised to find out that the island
landscape is
laced with much variety which made our visit a delight. The small town
of Lefkada appeared soon after we crossed the drawbridge, and we drove
easily through it on our way to a beach named Kathisma. Within minutes
we found ourselves climbing a winding narrow road that took us on top of
a hill
overlooking
the whole valley and the town below. The scenery from there is spectacular
and I took the opportunity to shoot some good photographs.
We
continued our drive on the narrow island road through small towns, olive
groves, and endless hills until we reached Kathisma beach which we
had read was among the best beaches in Greece. It took much longer
to get there than what the map seemed to imply and our little girls were
anxious to hit
the beach. Parking right on the beach road was no problem, and within
minutes we were splashing in the cool Ionian waters. Kathisma beach is
a very nice beach full of life. It is well organized with ample parking,
restaurants and kiosks within easy reach. It is also full of youthful
beach activities like volleyball and tennis courts, and parasailing and
hand gliding from the steep hill above. It is also a large beach that
did not feel overcrowded despite
the multitude of people who were there. My sister Vivi and her husband
George had joined us for the trip, and their young son with our little
girls got to play in the sand all day, as we relaxed
under the hot sun and watched the people and the paragliders who flew over
the beach.
The town of Lefkada
Our
drive back towards Preveza took us through the town of Lefkada again,
and we stopped to have dinner. It is a small town with Italian architectural
character and a lively street life. As the sun dipped bellow the horizon,
people of all ages and ethnicity came out for a slow stroll through
the narrow streets and to have a quiet dinner with friends. The town
square where we sat for dinner became the center of life with a
magical flare as small street vendors setup shop and demonstrated
their goods for all who passed by. Balloons, windmills, jewelry, plastic
jumping spiders, cotton candy, young and old tourists, children on bicycles
and on running feet, tourists and locals, all assembled there in the
little square to paint a picture of life and happiness. It was the perfect
end to a nice day at the island.
Getting to the Lefkada Island
Our
trip from Arta to Lefkada island had also a visit to Porto-Katsiki
beach scheduled but we found it impossible to fit both beaches in
the same one-day trip. Mostly due to the fact that in order to get to Lefkada going
south from anywhere in Epirus, you must cross from Preveza to Aktion by ferry.
Although ferries run at a regular pace of every 45 minutes or so, it
is a major bottleneck and we found ourselves waiting in the scolding
sun for over an hour before we boarded the ferry for the 20 minute trip
across. By summer 2002, the undersea tunnel will be ready, and it should
make the trip much easier and faster. The ferry cost us 1100 drachma,
or about 3€ (Currency
Converter) for a car and its passengers.
UPDATE: In the summer of 2002 we visited Lefkada once
again, but this time we were spared the ferry trip because
the undersea tunnel is ready. We followed the signs to the
tunnel and soon after we passed the town of Preveza, we slid
under the sea for the short drive (5-10 minutes) across to
Aktio. Our little girls were very disappointed to find that
the tunnel had no windows to watch the underwater life, something
that we hope future underwater tunnel designers will fit
into their plans. We happily paid the 3€ toll upon our
exit from the tunnel.
Porto-Katsiki | Our trip to the beach
We
did return within a week to the island of Lefkada though, this time
determined to reach Porto-Katsiki beach that was voted as
one of the best in Greece (it was number two behind Myrtos Beach
in Kefalonia). Once again we took the same road from the town of Lefkada
going south through many hills, and we passed the Kathisma beach following
the map towards the southern end of the island. We found ourselves on
a very narrow road that continued on a steep incline for what seemed
to be an eternity. In fact I began wandering if we would ever find the
other side of the tall mountain we were climbing, and whether or not
we would ever reach Porto-Katsiki within the day! The southern
end of the island is more sparsely populated than the north, and since
I was running low on gas I really began worrying about getting stuck
in this high altitude. In fact, there is not a single gas station in
west side of the island after Kathisma until one reaches Vasiliki, and
to reach Vasiliki from Porto-Katsiki one must drive back north to Komili!
The
trip was becoming an adventure that I had not planned for, and things
got even worst as we passed Athanio because my gas gage seemed
to dip well below the red "E" and the road became narrower to
the point where it barely fit our little car by itself in many places,
and it often seemed to disappear into a steep cliff. Even though I fancy
myself a skilled driver my palms were sweating every time I found my car
precariously squeezing between the road gaps which were swallowed by a
100 meter cliff below and the oncoming traffic on the other side, all
within a space that seemed barely enough for one car. We did manage to
reach Porto-Katsiki on fumes and I was very surprised to see what seemed
like a million cars parked on hastily plowed parking lots.
Porto-Katsiki
The
scenery at Porto-Katsiki is truly spectacular. The beach is carved
out of the soft limestone mountain, and it is framed by huge vertical
cliffs that seem to hang ominously above the fragile white beach and
the turquoise water. The only way to reach the sand is through the very
steep and narrow concrete steps that the locals have cast upon the cliff.
We could not help but marvel at the beauty of the scenery as we sat
under the shade on one of the restaurants to have lunch. The descent
to the beach through the narrow steps was rough with our little girls
(aged 5 and 2) and all our beach gear, and we had a hard time finding
a place to set our umbrellas in the narrow strip of white sand that
was literally packed with bathers.
We
had a nice day at the beach, but we learned a few things from our visit:
Porto-Katsiki is still a wild place and one of the best looking beaches
in Greece, but it has been discovered by too many people. It is not the
best place to be with small children (since there are no bathrooms anywhere
in the area, and the densely populated beach does not allow for free
play,) and it is definitely not a good beach to visit during the month
of August when the entire country of Greece is on vacation. We loved
Porto-Katsiki for its raw beauty and we will return to it, but next time
we will make sure that we visit during an "off" month (like
May, June, or September.) Next time we will have a full tank of gas, and
we will make sure that everyone has been fed and visited a restroom before
we reach the beach. Porto Katsiki is justly included among the best beaches
of Greece.
The East Coast
of Lefkada
The east coast of lefkada is much more developed than the rest of the
island. The efects of packaged tourism have transformed Nydri to a busy
port that has lost all its character when it transformed itself to the
generic tourist town it is today. Nydri is the base for many small boats
that offer daily cruises around the island.
Amazingly enough there are no good beaches to swim near Nidri. Asking
around we found Desimi and Mikros Gialos a few kilometers south, but these
beaches are nothing to write home about compared with the beaches of western
Lefkas.
The road on the east coast
is much better than the west coast, so if you are heading south this
is the fastest route to take.
The
scenery at Porto-Katsiki is truly spectacular. The beach is carved
out of the soft limestone mountain, and it is framed by huge vertical
cliffs that seem to hang ominously above the fragile white beach and
the turquoise water. The only way to reach the sand is through the very
steep and narrow concrete steps that the locals have cast upon the cliff.
We could not help but marvel at the beauty of the scenery as we sat
under the shade on one of the restaurants to have lunch. The descent
to the beach through the narrow steps was rough with our little girls
(aged 5 and 2) and all our beach gear, and we had a hard time finding
a place to set our umbrellas in the narrow strip of white sand that
was literally packed with bathers. 
