LEFKADA.

Where we found our muse. Island no.3.

To get to these islands by public transport is difficult, very little online booking and we just hope that the next bus catches up with the next bus to the island. I asked the girls at the hotel last night but no one spoke English. The owner came in as I was trying to find out how to pay for the buses and he said he would come in early and organise it for us. I went down at nine and of course, no one was there. We would just hope that we could buy the tickets there. A lot of hit and miss but we ordered a taxi that finally fitted our bags in and was able to close the boot and we were delivered to the next bus.

This bus hit the road at full speed. We had a ten minute leeway for the bus to the island - so far so good. But so many people hailed the bus down in the middle-of-nowhere places. And Greek phones have such weird and loud ringtones! They were going throughout our trip and people shouting into their phones, people getting on with their groceries and sitting on the steps talking to the bus driver as he increased his speed after each pick up. Whether it was because I had asked him if we would make the next bus or not, I don't know. Beside him were framed photos of saints and every now and then, we saw him making the sign of the cross! We got there just on time, even asking the next bus driver if he’d wait whilst we went to the toilet as again, there was no toilet stop on our four hour journey.

We arrived in Lefkada and found our house we were staying in. We were so excited as we had a room each! Luxury! It was lovely, old and full of character. I had read that people had complained about the noise from the Cuban bar across from us, going late into the night during the summer. We worried how our sleep would be affected.

We headed into town for our first meal of Horta and various dishes. The food was good, the town, sadly slightly derelict. I discovered upon reading that most of the town was destroyed in an earthquake in the 1950’s and what was left was rebuilt upon the stone base with the second floor of corrugated iron which evidently was stronger in case of another quake.

After dinner we thought we’d check out the Cuban bar and there we discovered our muse - an Athenian woman modelled on Frida Kahlo with a lot of charm, personality plus and charisma. She smoked a cigar, drifted about with long dresses and strings of jewellery around her throat. We all fell in love. Her partner was a musician and as the night went on, she took us in hand. She taught us how to smoke a cigar and do the salsa. Who cared that the music went on into the wee hours! That the drinks were a long time coming because she was the only one working. We were there every night afterwards.

The town itself looked slightly Cuban, the colours, the streets, the interesting cafes. I had the best eggplant rolls filled with goat’s cheese at a cute cafe filled with vintage tins and signs. The colours were bright and cheerful.

The coffee good!

And then, the next day, the piece di resistance! The Odysseia boat tour that I booked. We had to get a taxi to the other side of the island to get on board but what a trip it was! The boat is amazing, like an old pirate ship but Greek style. The crew was friendly, the Captain dressed for action on the high seas. The day is perfect. The boat is amazing. Downstairs there’s even a shower. Upstairs there’s Greek paintings of Minoan dolphins and acrobats.

We stop first at the Meganisi cave to swim in the azure, turquoise waters. And then a stop at Spartochorion, to walk up the mountain to a church and then another swim and then we’re off again.

On the way to the next location, our Captain pours us all an ouzo whilst singing a Greek song. The theatrics are welcomed by his passengers,

And then we dock on Ellomenos beach for a BBQ lunch. Someone has been dropped off earlier and he’s cooking the meat kebabs. Salads are made, wine in old fashioned bottles are cooled by the waves. The kebabs are amazing, the Captain serves, picking up the kebabs and dipping them in oil flavoured with crushed garlic and oregano, then a big spoonful of tzatziki and ruby red tomatoes and thick slices of crisp cucumber and a slab of fetta. The best lunch. And then for another swim amongst so many fish! Honestly, this trip is the best boat tour ever.

Then we’re on the way again for a last swim at the island of Skorpios, where Jackie Onassis holidayed when she wedded Aristotle Onassis and then we’re off again. The Captain is up the front, looking out with his binoculars, scarf wrapped around his head, checking to see if the wind is right to be able to hoist the sail and so it is. A few guests help raise the sail and there is the eye of Odysseus on the big red sail as we drift towards home, borne on the breeze, being served big hunks of rose coloured, sweet watermelon. What an amazing day!

Finishing the night with an eggplant stew topped with feta and baked in a clay pot.

After that we head back home via the Cuban bar to smoke some more of the huge cigar the muse Frida gifted us and tried to teach us to smoke it. The girls get it, I struggle and splutter but try to look sophisticated. It is chocolatey and fragrant but after a few puffs, we’re all done with cigar smoking.

Next morning, we have a six hour wait for the ferry to Ithaca and we have to be out of the room by 11 am. The ferry leaves from another part of the island so we see quite a bit of island on our way there. We have an amazing lunch at a Taverna on the port, feeding the fish with the basket of bread they always bring and which we hardly ever eat and which we watched being delivered from a big box on the back of a motorbike.We ate roast chicken with lemony potatoes and I suspect a sprinkle of turmeric, horta and our vegetarian friend had her favourite butter beans or gigan beans as they say on all the menus.

And then we head to a bar that has a pool so we can hang out for the rest of the day. I order an amazing cocktail - watermelon, amaretto and Southern comfort which sounds terrible and so I had to try it but it was good. And then suddenly I felt as if I was coming down with a cold and it hit me like a truck. Luckily there was a beach chair and I went into a daze (and no, not from the cocktail). It was such a weird feeling but finally the ferry arrived and we were transported to yet another Ionian island. The fabled island of Ithaca.