The adventure continues.
This morning we rose at 5:15am, hoping to get a 6:00am start in hopes of walking into St. George a bit after noon instead of the 2:00pm arrival of yesterday. After noon it just gets hot in the sun, even if the temperatures are only in the mid 70s. Our the door and onto the street. Lefkimmi was deathly quiet.
We walked down the middle of the main street for about a mile with only an occasional car to avoid. Our path led us through Lefkimmi, then WNW toward the western coast and the town of Gardenos. Just before entering it we we turned north and walked parallel to the west coast north for 5 miles until we reached the town of St. George, or Agios Georgios. Mercifully, the sun was blocked by high clouds nearly the entire day. This helped make the walk more comfortable.
About 7:00am we crossed the main N-S highway where we found a gas station just opening. We didn’t need their services or their goods, but did make use of a nice roadside curb to stop for Sally’s 1st Pepsi of the day, which I was carrying.
Water along the route can only be obtained in bottles. None of the tap water on the island is drinkable. The first day I carried 6 liters, not knowing our consumption rate. We only used 3. That is the number I carry today, along with two 300mL cans of Pepsi. With the sun obscured by the clouds it should be more than enough. The guide book lists the town to be passed through each day. The more towns we traverse, the less fluids I have to carry because we can restock en route.
Once out of Lefkimmi we walked down the wide Gardenos River valley for about 3 miles past Olive orchards, small farms and fields.
When we came to a T in the road, left to Gardenos, we noticed a taverna on the left, but it was closed. On the right was a travel shop in the bottom story of a house. Outside were a table with four chairs. They looked inviting, so we took a seat and rested for 5-10 minutes. There was activity in the house, but no one came out to see if we needed anything.
Once back on the road toward the sea and Gardenos a scooter pulled up along side us. The rider, a man in his mid 40s asked if we needed help. It was his tables and he thought maybe we needed help arranging a ride, or a boat tour or a flight. Nope, just resting in your inviting chairs for a bit. He was very kind. After 10 minutes of island life discussion, we took his brochure promising to contact him if we needed anything (travel related or not) and we were on our way again. He passed us about 5 minutes later, slowing down to yell out he was off to see his mama in Gardenos.
The road rose a bit over the shoreline ridge and began to fall into this very small seaside hamlet. We however, took a sharp right up the ridge, headed north. For the next two miles we were in a world of Olive trees and butterflies.
The road climbed steadily up along the ascending ridge. The sun stayed hidden for the most part affording us cooling shade. A good breeze was blowing off the Ionian Sea adding to our cooling effect.
Still, it was a warm ascent. We stopped for a quick early lunch under an olive tree and within a mile had reached the high point of the ridge. Now we followed it for a mile, undulating up and down through the trees with a water view off to the left. During this time the butterflies flitted around us.
I kept trying to take pictures of them for Robby as he loves them, but most refused to land, and if they did they folded their wings together vertically so you could not see their beautiful colors. I settled on taking pictures of them in flight, then using the “Live Photo” feature on the iPhone to edit the frames taken until I found one where the wings were spread and displaying their vibrant colors. Of course, I had to also enlarge them quite a bit, so the detail and clarity is not what one would hope for, but still it helps to see them.
Eventually, we started our descent to the beach just south of the hamlet of Santa Barbara. Besides a few residences, there is a string of maybe half a dozen beach side taverns and cafes with some beach periphenalia shops thrown in. We trudged up the beach in the fine, soft sand, trying to walk where the surf was wetting it as this was the hardest sand. Problem was, that sand was tilted 20 degrees to the water and made for uncomfortable walking. We reached Maria’s place on the beachside road and sat down for a soda. Sally expressed concern at walking the additional 2.5 miles up the beach to our hotel. We looked for beachside roads on the map we could walk but there were none paralleling the beach. The road was about a mile inland. The waitress serving our Cokes agreed-no road. Must walk the beach. Sally devised a plan.
She would carry her walking shoes and walk in the surf in her sandals. She could get wet and walk on harder, flatter ground. She tied her shoes on her pack and we went back to the beach and down to the surf. It worked wonderfully for her. She really enjoyed the walk. I found that after 0.75 miles there was a beach side road up above on the bluff and there was a trail from beach to road to attain it. Where the trail met the beach Sally switched back to her shoes and up we went. Now, just a mile and a half of walking along first a dirt, then a paved road among beach houses and restaurants and we reached the Ananias Hotel.
When looking for a place to stay for two nights in Agios Georgios a month ago, we were trying to find a place close to the beach. All the places we found were on the other side of the road from the beach. At one point I launched Google Earth and flew up the coast, looking for a seaside place. I spotted a pool out on a peninsula of land. I dropped onto the street in Street View and saw the name Ananias Hotel. We tried to get reservations via Expedia and Booking.com, but they weren’t listed. After a bunch of messing around Sally found them on Facebook. We messaged them about obtaining a room. No reply. Then a day later they said yes we could. $25 a night for a studio, $40 a night for an apartment. No need to reserve, just show up. Huh? The location was so desirable we cancelled our reservation for our planned two night rest day and trusted our texts would be the ticket.
We walked into the hotels outdoor restaurant space and found 4 people there. They all worked there. We explained the texts of a month ago. They said the person who was in charge of booking was in Corfu City today getting her first COVID vaccine shot. They looked a little confused at our story. The man called someone and was discussing in Greek. We showed them the text. Were they full and no room for us? Were they open?
As has become standard proceed with us, we were their first guests of the season, since last October. There was no one else in the hotel. They had solid booking from the middle of April until the end of October but everyone had cancelled all spring long because Greece was closed. We couldn’t get a reservation a month ago because everything was booked, but they told us to come because they knew most everyone would cancel. EVERYONE cancelled. Just us, four workers/owners and a gorgeous, large pool with deck chairs and the sea right there. We had the pick of the room we wanted. We picked a two bedroom with a large balcony facing the pool and the sea. $40 a night? This is the first time in my life I thought a room was too cheap. Later, I went down to the restaurant and said I thought it was too cheap and we wanted to pay more. Me! I said that!! And meant it!! The kind woman brushed me aside and said it was kind, but no need.
We put on our swimsuits and headed to the pool. All to ourselves. We swam for an hour, would have sunbathed but the sun was still behind clouds and laid on the lounge chairs by the pool for a while, then went upstairs, dressed and walked down to Spiro’s seaside restaurant, one we had noticed on our way into town. Sally had mussel spaghetti for dinner, I had chicken kabobs. We were the only ones in the restaurant. Dining during an apocalypse. Back to our room. Only ones at the hotel. Traveling during an apocalypse. Strange, sad and wonderful times. We are so fortunate
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