Staying in a Greek paradise

The view from our back window

We were sitting with friends having dinner at a restaurant in Loggos on the small Greek island of Paxos. Our table was about four feet from the water’s edge, we’d just been to a fabulous concert which was part of the annual Paxos Music Festival and it was at that moment that I realised why so many Brits are still wanting to move abroad. I’ve written about overseas property and travel for many years but never before have I felt so reluctant to return to the UK.

My wife and have both travelled quite a bit over the years but this time we were spending 10 days on Paxos. The house we stayed in was perched on the jetty. The property faces out to sea at the back and in towards the harbour at the front. It was a bit like being on a ship on the one day when we had a thunderstorm. Lightning cracked and banged around the small town, thunder rumbled and crashed and the rain was torrential and we loved it.

I’ve never seen the sky become so dark at about 10am and yet, an hour later, the whole lot had moved out to sea, the sky had become that wonderful blue of a faded denim shirt, the streets dried quickly and the town came back to life. Seats were placed outside the bars once more, boats started heading out to sea and everything returned to normal.

Crusty bread

At the end of the jetty where it joined the land stood the bakery. At about 8.10am, two men would struggle along the harbour carrying an enormous basket of freshly baked bread. Another man would balance large trays of pastries on each shoulder as he hurried into the shop.

The view from our front window

Leave it more than three quarters of an hour and the chances were that there wouldn’t be much bread left but what a pleasure it was to stroll along, join the queue a few minutes after its arrival, inhale the aroma of freshly baked, crusty bread and then to hurry home clutching a really hot country loaf.

My Greek is almost non-existent but I struggled through a few words wherever we went and as long as I was prepared to make a fool of myself, there’d be mutual laughter and smiles all round.

What made me realise why so many Britons want to leave the UK and start again abroad was the sense of community you find in places around the Mediterranean. It’s something we seem to have forgotten in this country. After a few days, the lady who cleaned the streets in Loggos began to smile at us when we said, “Kalimera – good morning.” “Yassou, hello,” she’d call back as she went on her way.

Breakfast arriving at the bakery

If we passed Ana, who worked in the bar where we went each evening after dinner for a late night Metaxa, in the street in the morning she’d grin and ask if we wanted a drink that early in the day.

A local aperitif

Three days running we took the ferry with friends to Anti Paxos, the small island to the south of Paxos. As we went ashore at Vrika beach, the first tree shaded taverna we came to was run by Sotiris. You could argue that as the owner of a restaurant, it was good business to recognise regular customers, but on the other hand, he didn’t have to spoil us with a free carafe of wine, ice cream and a local aperitif because we’d have gone there anyway.

In other words, we’d begun to be recognised as individuals after such a short time. Where we live in south-west London, I’ve passed shops and restaurants hundreds of times over the years and it would amaze me if anybody greeted me (or even remembered me) in the same way.

It was being made to feel quietly welcome on Paxos that I enjoyed so much and I have to admit that I felt like a badly behaved child being forced to go back to school.

Sotiris, Anti Paxos taverna owner

Getting there

If you are interested in finding out more about Paxos, the best way is to go there and see for yourself. I’d suggest contacting Chris Griffiths of www.travelalacarte.co.uk whose offices are located on the port at Loggos. Of course, you’ll have to pass the restaurant where we had dinner and you may drop in to the bar run by Ana and have a Metaxa. You may even find yourself regretting the fact that you booked a return ticket.

© Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog, 2009. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Stewart Andersen and Stewart Andersen’s Property Blog with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.