Finding Peace in Paxos, Greece

#OneHellOfANiteTourEuropeFinding Peace in Paxos, Greece

Kalimera!! Good morning in Greek, this was my favorite way to start each and every day for the 2 weeks I was in Greece in June. Well, that along with an iced cappuccino and a giant bowl of Greek yogurt topped with fruit and honey. So flippin' tasty! Hot off the boat from traveling from Brindisi, Italy to Corfu, Greece, I knew I needed to schedule in some alone time away from large groups of people, preferably on a secluded beautiful beach before starting up another hectic month and a half of Euro travels. Not to mention I was glow-in-the-dark pale. My poor skin needed some sunshine! Trying to pick the perfect island in Greece to visit is like looking for a needle in a haystack. With 1,400 to chose from, I could only start researching for about 5 minutes before my ADD kicked in and my head wanted to explode. Lucky for me, Lonely Planet still publishes photos in their print guide books, and once I saw this photo of Paxos, I knew that was the island for me.

Waving goodbye to Corfu, I boarded a tiny ferry boat, dropped my bags and climbed out in the front of the boat to sit in the sunshine for the hour-ish journey to Paxos. Slightly sunburned but content to finally have arrived where I wanted to be, I met Ioanna at the little port, who was giving me a ride to where I was staying. Throwing my backpack in her car, we were off to her family-owned Olympia Paxos Villas & Apartments, a ways up from Gaios, the main 'town' in Paxos. Considering the entire population of Paxos is 2,500 and the island is only 10km long, I use the term 'town,' loosely; Gaios is approximately the same size as any Walmart Supercenter in America. Just what I was looking for. A small town, that is. Not Walmart.

The villa apartments are set up high on the island, tucked away from the 'hustle and bustle' of the port town off a narrow winding 'road' enclosed by crumbling old stonework fences, reminiscent of a bygone age. Again, I use the terms “hustle and bustle” and “road” loosely here. Paxos is rustic charm at its finest. It is exactly what you would imagine old world Greece to be like.

By the time I settled into my apartment and downed a reviving espresso, I could see the sun starting to dip over the tops of the olive trees turning the walls of the whitewashed apartment gold and pink. Settled in nicely at the bar by the pool, I started chatting with Ioanna's mom and dad, asking for some tips on the best place to watch the sun set on the island. With many a hand gesture and pointing willy-nilly, I was off with my camera down a goat path towards what promised to be a spectacular cliff lookout point over the sea on the west side of the island. Or maybe I was going to be eaten by goats. There was plenty of room for misinterpretation.

We hope you enjoyed receiving this email. Should you no longer wish to receive emails from us, visit this link to unsubscribe. 105 E Main St, Winnett, MT 59087, USA