Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Paxos - Lakka Bay (paradise and fellow Canadians)

June 8 - June 18

We left Lefkada marina with the knowledge that the engine parts were on order.  Instead of waiting the week or so at a marina we were heading for an anchorage that Shaun had been wanting to visit for over a year on Paxos (Lakka Bay).

In order to leave we had to time the swing bridge. It opened at the top of every hour so we dropped anchor in the bay and prepped lunch. As it was getting close to noon we weighted anchor and headed towards the bridge along with several other boats. The bridge opened in Greek time (15 minutes after noon) and we all filed through.

heading through
the floating bridge with a fender just in case





Once through the bridge and safely out of range of other boats we turned and faced the wind to raise our main sail. We had a lovely sail up and only had to furl when the thunderheads were threatening.

We arrived into the bay at around 6:00 PM and could only find a suitable spot near the entrance as the bay was full. The following morning when boats started to depart we pulled our anchor and found a great spot closer to the beach. The bay was a slice o paradise with clear blue water and lovely scenery. The town was very close and quaint.



Our dinghy fuel was old so Shaun and Paige syphoned it out and we took empty containers over to the town. We had to find a taxi to take us to the nearest gas station and ATM as the one in Lakka was out of order. As Shaun was organising the taxi the girls and I went to the play park to wait. While we were at the park I met Carmen and her daughter Eleni from Slovenia. Eleni is the same age as Jordan and they hit it off. They had just arrived for a one month holiday.

our view of the beach

Paige had swam to the beach one morning and came back quite excited/anxious about seeing two octopi that swim at her. She also noticed their eggs (which disappeared in the coming days). Jordan and I decided that we would head over to take a look but were unable to spot them. We saw many flounders and saddled sea breams along the way.

swimming to the beach

On our second or third day we noticed another Canadian boat anchor. The following day they moved a bit closer. We finally met them and found out they are from Vancouver. We promptly invited them over for a beer or two.

our new Canadian friends leaving our boat
When we had taken the taxi to grab money and fuel the driver had suggested a lovely coffee shop for us to visit. We took the dinghy over to the Lakka and started our walk. What we didn't realise was how far the town actually was. It turned out to be a 4 km walk uphill. The walk was beautiful through the tree lined street. We finally made it and the cafe was beautiful and well worth the walk. We all decided to grab a taxi back to Lakka.

the café underneath a grapevine

In the following days we hung out on the boat swimming in the stunning clear waters and enjoying the slice of paradise. We were not alone in the bay as you can see below. At one point there were over 60 boats at anchor.






a shot of the water


We ran into Carmen and Eleni daily and finally invited them over to the boat for a "play date". It was wonderful. We swam drank wine and ate olives and the girls played on the trampoline.

swimming with new friends
Eleni on the starboard side
made to order plastic food



fast friends
playing Clues Jr. with our new friends

To pass the time Jordan loves playing in the dinghy and we took a couple pictures while she was chilling. I was able to catch up on some trashy reading in the shade as well.




reading in the shade
the beach right near our boat
Shaun and Jordan returning from land
closer up picture
Shaun had arranged with a restaurant that we frequented to receive our parts for us. We were so lucky that we were able to wait for boat parts in such a lovely place. It was hard to say goodbye.

The island of Paxos is a gem. We fell in love with its quite and quaint beauty and hope one day to return.

Follow our video adventures on our YouTube channel: Video adventures of s/v Element

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