#travel to #lefkada #greece - paradise vs. economic crisis

#LEFKADA… Ionian catharsis vs. economic crisis

‘Infinite blue’ is a song I first got to listen to when I was a child - it gave me an indescribable feeling of tranquility and hope, of “huzur” as the Ottoman used to call this Oriental kind of bliss…

This is exactly what I experienced when I first caught a glimpse of the Ionian Sea in Lefkada, so very different from the Italian side of the Ionian: rocky cliffs covered in sapphire green, bright turquoise waters... a dream of the clearest, most enchanting blue - this is the paradise of the Ionian islands.

Superlative in all ways are especially the Lefkadian beaches of Porto Katsiki and Kathisma, pretty well hidden from the mortals in search of mammoth-size hotels and all-inclusive travel offers.

The beach Agios Ioannis or the diminutive village Agios Nikitas are no less impressive… the heights complete the scenery in the most natural of ways.

I fell in love with the view I woke up with every morning - the splendor of the healing sun, the boats in the Lefkada port, the almighty sea… the heat the entire island was bathing in, the perfume of algae…

The towns on or around the island Lefkada felt incredibly familiar: the narrow alleys with the typical architecture, people greeting me with their eyes, discreet gestures or words either in Greek or English. Sweet omnipresent hospitality!… (the extremely friendly people I met during my stay totally confirmed the fact!)

Undoubtedly, it had been divine inspiration that tempted me to go for that flight I'd come across accidentally!

The historical town of Préveza was my first stop on this Ionian voyage: my curiosity was aroused by the triumph of the Ottomans in the famous battle of 1538. its Venetian past (still visible only thanks to the clock tower the church St. Charalambos).

In particular one part of the old town takes me back to the Ottoman period - it's the small maze populated by welcoming shops, cafes and bakeries, a place that bears the name bequeathed by the Ottomans: Şeytan Pazarı.

However, the island Lefkada with its biggest town, Lefkas, is a different world… from the Venetian fortress, where the town originated, the road crosses the straights and rewards the traveler with an unforgettable view - the marina to the left and to the right: the lagoon, the waterfront, the lovely terasses… at a closer look: people everywhere, laughs, life, the scent of Greek coffee and food, colored buildings and red flowers hanging on the low walls… beautiful!

Entangled alleys leading to the main street tempted me to go deeper into the labyrinth and discover some veritable Orthodox works of art a few centuries old.

I walked the lively high street as if caught up in a dream. Only the Square (Plateia) brought me to a halt - the lure of the culinary promises is inescapable to the connoisseur…

Of course, gastronomic wonders are no rarity in Greece. However, the Ionian does have its secret weapons; just to name one: the traditional dishes in some restaurants in Lefkas and the alluring fish taverns in the small town of Ligia, only a few km away - sheer Ionian heaven...

One more discovery: the resort called Nidri, on the eastern coast of Lefkada - the place to find a cruise boat ready to comply with the challenging task of opening new paths for any traveler hungry for beauty.

Naturally, I too embarked on such a journey: first to the idyllic Porto Katsiki and the neighbouring island of Kefalonia, where the port of call was Fiscardo, a graceful little town wonderfully completing the maritime landscape… There, from the lighthouse to the glowing low buildings, the hills shaping the horizon or the Roman cemetery, everything seemed handpicked and placed in order to create a perfect view, only temporarily tampered with by the yachts floating by.

Ithaka, Ulysses’ mythical island, was the next stop, followed by the surprising Papanikolis Cave on the Meganissi island, with its Second World War story of the Greek troops.

On the way back to Lefkada, several other islands revealed themselves on the horizon - Skorpio, one of the former Onassis islands, would be only the most famous one…

The entire region comes alive when spring starts and travelers in search of summer adventure arrive.

Officially, the peak tourist season starts on the 1st of June and lasts until the end of September.

However, Lefkada manages to restrain the inexorable flow and keep mass-tourism within acceptable limits… after all, Greece needs the benefits of tourism...  the towns adapted to the crisis and survive any way they can; just as their inhabitants - working 2 jobs and more than 12 hours a day in summer, while resting or working a different job (sometimes in a different city or even country) in winter…

It seems, life in a worldly paradise does come with a price...