Leaving Ourselves Behind

When you think of a Greek island, what images come to mind? Do you think of scenes like this?

Or this?

Or perhaps this? Stephen, testing out the water. I am not currently photographing in bathing attire.

We are not actually on a Greek island, we are staying in Parga, a gorgeous little town on the Ionian sea. Our host Foteini (Fo-tea-knee) refers to Parga as a “Greek island” and she is absolutely right – it has all the crystal water, olive groves, twisty alleyways and seawall cafes you could wish for.

We rented a bright and beautiful apartment set in olive groves and with a view of the hillsides from our balcony. The promised “10-minute walk” to town and the water is perhaps a bit ambitious, but the upside is the peace, quiet and starry nights.

These are our views. From the back:

Our view from our front balcony:

Foteini has been such a warm and hospitable host; welcoming us with a couple of beers in the fridge, bringing fresh figs from her garden and giving us loads of great advice about sights, beaches restaurants, etc. She lives downstairs and manages six apartments, but also sells insurance in Ioannina, where her husband and two teenage kids live. She goes back and forth and somehow keeps everything running smoothly. This is not an uncommon arrangement in Greece, it seems. Our host in Zagori had two grown kids in Crete, a husband working on the island of Ios, and she got together with her husband for the winter and her kids for holidays. If travel does nothing else, it reminds us constantly of how lucky and how spoiled we are.

So, back to our Greek island. Parga has a population of about 12,000, spread out over an amphitheatre between the slopes of a mountain. The town is luscious – a Venetian feast for the eyes, and spoiled for choice for beaches. Once again, we appear to be the only Canadians, have yet to meet an American, but the place is crawling with Greeks, Dutch, Germans and in huge numbers, British holidaymakers. Although we are in mid-September, Parga is still hopping and we’ve had chats with other tourists who have been here many times, stay in the same hotel, eat at the same restaurants, and swim at the same beaches.

It’s easy to see why. It’s foreign, but it’s easy. Everyone speaks English, food and accommodation are affordable, and you can get around without a car. Our delightful apartment costs $120 a night, lunches and dinners are about $30-$40, and a bottle of wine is between $8 and $15.

Beaches are very democratic. You can roll out your towel for free, or rent sunbeds and umbrellas for eight – ten euros. There are several beaches in the Parga area, but we mainly went to two of them.

Valtos Beach, which is 3 km. long, and lined with sunbeds, restaurants and water sport attractions, is reached by a strenuous walk through town, uphill and down again. This is your first view:

We stayed at a quieter end of the beach, but were treated to the nonstop action of paragliding, paddle boats outfitted with slides, jetskis, and motor boats hauling giant inflatable tubes filled with screaming participants. Closer to shore, everyone waded in, swam, paddled about with noodles and inflatable devices and enjoyed the crystal beauty of the water.

The water was a little cooler than I thought it would be, but so refreshing; floating on green-blue Greek water. Heaven.

The other beach we went to was Lichnos Beach – about 3 km. from Parga. We could have taken the water taxi from town, but we chose to drive out. We preferred this beach – a little smaller, a little quieter and a little cozier.

The main beach right in town, Krioneri Beach, is beautiful, but simply packed with people. You can rent sunbeds or grab a spare few feet to lay down a towel – no personal space here at all. If you rent sunbeds, the space between will soon be filled with towels – this was not our scene. Still, it was a beautiful beach – the water looked clean and clear and it was possible to swim from shore to the nearby Island of the Virgin Mary.

Parga’s architecture is heavily influenced by Venetian design; the “passegiata” (see and be seen), has a huge appeal. By day, tourists and locals stroll the waterfront for lunch, ice cream, shopping, or catching the little water taxis.

A popular restaurant area by day.

And by night.

Strolling along the waterfront and exploring the alleyways of Parga provide endless entertainment and eye candy.

Two gents fishing, with a couple of hopeful cats waiting nearby.

Is there anything more Greek than this scene?

Or this taverna? A taverna like this will offer fresh grilled sardines, marinated pork, briny olives and red wine that might be a bit on the mouth-puckery side.

You can count on colour.

Teeny little stone steps.

Early morning street cleaning.

A friendly wave.

A workout for the glutes.

Overlooking all of this beauty is the 14th century Venetian Castle, which was built as a command post to protect from pirates and the Ottomans, and has had many builds and rebuilds since then.
This is the view of the Venetian Castle as it looks out to sea, and overlooks Valtos Beach. To the right of this photo is the main town of Parga.

As we were about to enter the castle, we stopped to chat with a couple who were Greek-Australian. He was from Parga, went to Australia as a child and he and his partner were just winding up a two-month trip through Greece. Needless to say they were very sad to leave, but he gave us a few pointers for restaurants in town and then offered to take our photo.

There was no charge to wander through the castle, but it would have been nice to have had a few interpretive signs and more information. Mainly, there were signs warning us to stay away from the edges ( several hundred foot drops to the sea), and to avoid one wall (that could collapse at any moment). Duly warned, we wandered through the castle, which was more of a ruin really, but with incredible sightlines.

Gorgeous trees.

And now, our “Greek island” holiday is over. We will be going to a real island (Corfu) in a few days, but first, we’re off to Meteora – home to the otherworldly land of monasteries on clifftops. See you again soon.