Paxos is an island on which to do nothing much. Somewhere between picking up fresh bread from the bakery, taking out a small boat to find an isolated cove for swimming and snorkelling or watching the magnificent sunsets before strolling down to dinner beside the sea, the island’s magic will weave its spell. Perhaps it is the dappled sunlight of the olive groves and the tumbledown ancient terraces, the dignified cypresses or the glimpses of sea from almost every vantage point that induces such relaxation from the moment you arrive.
The old harbour front of Gaios is a long curve of once fine Venetian houses now fading softly as the centuries pass. Here great yachts are moored next to the smallest of fishing boats. Harbour-side cafés and restaurants provide a vantage point from which to watch the activities on the water, and in the flagged lanes behind the market place, the day’s catch is still sold early in the morning.
At the other end of the island, Lakka is a natural horseshoe-shaped harbour, almost tropical in appearance; the sea here is clear and deep and there are invariably breezes to delight the sailor.
Loggos, in between the two, is the smallest of the three ports, where very little has changed in the last century. The terracotta statue of the goddess of the Olive harvest still stands in a ruined niche and it is so quiet by day that you can hear the crickets. In the evening, Loggos acquires a certain sophistication and there are some extremely good tavernas right on the harbour front.
What makes Paxos particularly special is another legacy of the Venetians. They planted the thousands of olive trees, which now give the island its character and where walkers will find scattered hamlets and villages. With just three main villages, four taxis and three policemen, Paxos is a complete world in miniature. Yet there are an astonishing sixty-three little churches on an island just five miles long and old olive presses and ruined cottages survive in inland glades, criss-crossed with donkey tracks and home to a variety of wildlife and birds, including orioles, skylarks and hawks. Apart from August, when Paxos is buzzing with visitors, it is nearly always possible to find a small cove by the sea and have it all to yourself. Numerous little paths can be followed down to the shore or more inaccessible bays can be reached by outboard motor boat; nearly all have natural shade and all offer wonderful swimming in seas of an unbelievable turquoise.
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