Lefkada, a dream

(Distance from home 846 km). Lefkada. Just the name can evoke something fabulous and splendid that over time we have learned to love even more in our memories. Firm in the decision to spend the summer holidays in Greece, only one small detail remained: which of the countless and beautiful islands? Decidedly, snobbishly, we would not have opted for the usual islands. The choice was almost random but turned out to be extremely spot on: an almost unknown island with wonderful beauties where you can still savour Greek flavours and traditions.

We relied on an agency that deals only with the island of Lefkada, with the result that it was simply magnificent in guiding our 10 days: they provided us with a mini-guide to visit the island at its best, also containing all those necessary pieces of information that make the difference (like go to this beach with drinks because there's no way to buy them....). We spent ten enchanting days: when it was time to leave we could not hold back our tears. Lefkada is an island short of a few metres: in fact only a swing bridge of about 40 m separates it from the mainland. We set off from Bari and reached Igoumenitsa and there, waiting for us, we found a taxi that at dawn took us to the island which was just waking up. Our first need was to sleep on a comfortable bed after the bad night spent on the ground on the ship.

Second need, on waking, was to find a means of transport for getting around in the following days: we rented a scooter for ten days for the modest sum of €80, something that in Italy would not have been enough for 2 days! Once scooter-addicted we gave free rein to our desire to tour the island: impossible to make a "ranking" based on the beauty of the places but impossible not to start from Porto Katsiki beach, which a few years earlier was the poster for Greek tourism advertising. I think the photos speak for themselves. Aghiofili beach, reachable only by a boat that carries tourists to the spot at one-hour intervals: you never want to leave this beautiful place. Another remarkable beach is that of the village of Agios Nikitas, called the little Capri, like that of Vassiliki and Kathisma.

Remarkable is the offer of boat excursions: not to be missed is the one on the Odyssey which, on board an old "Viking" ship, takes you to exclusive places and whose likeable owners organise lunch on a beautiful beach based on fabulous meat skewers and other Greek delicacies. Another beautiful excursion is the one that took us to visit Cephalonia, Ithaca and to approach the island that Onassis bought. Finding the words to describe the sea is truly impossible; the only way to give an idea is to see the images that leave me breathless and melancholic every time I look at them again. I remember perfectly the evening atmosphere in the streets, the magnificent scent of the bakeries, the moussaka, the magnificent food and the friendliness and cheerfulness of the Greeks. Surely an island out of the ordinary from every point of view!