GREEK CITIES
AND GREEK ISLANDS
ABOUT LEFKADA
Lefkada is the fourth largest of the Ionian
Islands, known as the 'Eptanisia' in Greek,
which lie in the Ionian Sea. The island is less
than 100 metres from the mainland coast of
Greece, to which it is linked by a floating
bridge.
The Prefecture of Lefkada consists of Lefkada
and the surrounding small islands of Meganisi,
Kalamos, Kastos, Skorpios, Skorpidi, Madouri,
Sparti, Thilia and Kythros.
70% of the island of Lefkada's terrain is
mountainous, the tallest peak being in the
centre at Stavrota (1182 m.). The western side
of the island is precipitous with many long,
sandy beaches. It also has narrow plateaus,
fertile valleys and ravines with rich
vegetation. Olive trees are spread over the
whole island whilst cypress trees grow here and
there, creating a distinct landscape. The
island's exceptional flora includes many pine
forests and some forests with a special variety
of oak tree. Another variety of tall and thick
pine tree which grows on the edge of the sea is
to be found on the island of Kalamos. Lefkada
has plenty of waters, mainly springs but also
streams which flow from high above, creating
small waterfalls. In the north of the island is
a lagoon which provides an important wetland
environment for many species of birds.
The landscape is complimented by the traces of
human habitation, old and new. Agricultural
buildings, such as the dozens of watermills, the
olive presses, threshing floors, the simple
stone-built houses and the unique domed stone
dens are evidence of the importance of farming
on the island. The salt-pans and fish farms
indicate another side of life on Lefkada. The
churches and the monasteries provided support to
the Greek and Christian culture of the island
during the difficult years of the Tourkokratia
(Turkish rule), providing an artistic escape
through the Byzantine tradition and western
influences. The icons and wall-paintings are
unique works of art. The town of Lefkada itself,
with its historic centre, town houses and narrow
lanes and the Kastro of Ayia Mavra (Santa Maura)
- these are the unique features which go to make
up the cultural heritage of the island. They tie
together the precious memories of the past and
lead us to the Lefkada of today.
Lefkada Island possesses some of the most
beautiful and cleanest beaches in Greece. We
advise you to visit Gyra Beach, opposite the
castle at the town of Lefkada and the amazing
beaches around the settlement of Nydri. The
long, sandy beaches of Agios Nikitas, Pefkoulia
and Kathisma are
also extremely beautiful. Vassiliki Beach is a favourite of windsurfing
aficionados, from which you can hire a tour boat
to go to the sandy beaches of Agiofylli and
Alektori. Other stunning beaches are Egremnous
Bay Beach, Porto Katsiki Beach with clear azure
waters, sandy Dessimi Beach and the beaches of
Lygia, Poros and Nikiana. Lastly, there are many
pristine beaches on the isles surrounding
Lefkada.
To reach Lefkada Island, you can travel by
airplane that departs from the Athens
International Airport to Preveza Airport, from
where intercity buses leave for the island. From
the Athens Intercity Bus Depot (KTEL), you can
also travel by bus directly to Lefkada. From the
island of Lefkada you can also visit Agrinio,
Kefalonia, Ithaca, Skorpios, Sparti and the
surrounding isles.
Kathisma Beach
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 jum
ping 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 3EU ( 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 tunne
l 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
3EU 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 t
his 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.
