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Leaning over the edge of the boat, I sink my hands below the surface. The midday sun is reflecting on the crests of the waves, and I can hear the hypnotic lapping of the sea meeting the cliffs. Otherwise, all is quiet.
Leaning over the edge of the boat, I sink my hands below the surface. The midday sun is reflecting on the crests of the waves, and I can hear the hypnotic lapping of the sea meeting the cliffs. Otherwise, all is quiet.
It’s not surprising to hear that on Paxos, a seven-mile by two-and-a-half mile island off the south coast of Corfu, boats, just like the one George Lychnos remembers, were once used for everything from furniture removal to emergency services. While the road network has improved over recent decades — you can now drive the length of Paxos in just 20 minutes — the steep, winding route of the asphalt still reduces even the most laissez-faire drivers to sweat.
But boating around Paxos is as much about fun as it is practicality. Summer days on this Ionian island are mostly spent dropping anchor at whichever cove of clear water takes your fancy, stretching out beneath the sun on the deck and diving in to cool off. Renting boats like this, whether solo or with a skipper, is something you can do on smaller stretches of some other Greek islands, but the size of Paxos means you can circle it at a leisurely pace in three hours. The abundance of beaches (“over 50, below 100,” says George) also gives you the chance to beach-hop between many of Greece’s most beautiful coves in a day.
We leave the 100-year-old San Sebastian in the distance, speeding around the island alongside hillsides covered in a green patchwork of towering pines and low, wide trees, their branches heavy with olives. “Paxos is covered in olive trees,” says George over the roar of the motor. “There are around 500,000 of them. But in summer, they’re too hard to pick — just look at those hills! We can’t be bothered.”
Tavernas on the island serve souvlaki, skewers of grilled meat, often accompanied by pita bread, tzatziki and sometimes fries.
Photograph by John Warburton-Lee, AWL Images
George is the owner of Villa Kiki near the capital Gaios, on the southeast coast, where tavernas serve souvlaki in Venetian buildings with peeling shutters. The next day, George takes me on a tour of the island, again by boat.
Skimming across the water clockwise along the island’s east coast, we pass modest cottages with sea views and modern homes worthy of Grand Designs — glassy structures that blend in with the surrounding forest. Soon, we’re coasting beside the holiday home of the Agnelli family, owners of Juventus football club. A lone man plucks clams from the rocks beside it.
Close to here, in the harbour of Mongonissi village on the island’s southern tip, we speed past sailing boats and superyachts, and a jack russell bounding into the shallows to fetch his ball. A short while later, we stop at Erimitis beach, where the neon-blue sea meets creamy pebbles, and the cliffs slowly shift to rose-gold with the sunset.
The next day, I hop in my hire car to explore the northern tip of the island and another harbour town, Lakka, where I arrive to find the yachties heading in from their sailboats. It’s here that I meet 25-year-old Kostas Pappas, who, with his floppy hair and gentle manner, has become one of the most sought-after sea captains on the island.
I join him on one of his rigid inflatable boats. Handing me a glass of chilled rosé, he heads for some of his favourite swimming spots — each one empty but for us. At Avlaki 2 beach, which is barely wide enough for a couple of towels, I dive in and float on my back. Nothing beats entering the water from a boat: it’s exhilarating at first, then serene. At Lakkos beach, in the north, the pebbled shore is lined with olive and cypress trees, no other boats in sight.
Back at Villa Kiki that evening, I ask George what he plans to do over winter, when the travellers have left and the boats are empty. “Maybe then we’ll pick our olives,” he says, with a smile. “Picking olives on Paxos is like going to the therapist for a session. It makes you feel good.” He may be right. But I’d say any time here on Paxos is good for me.
Published in the April 2024 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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