27 February 2025 – North Lefkada

Miles driven today = 37

Total Miles to date = 1,391

As Brixton blues maestro Errol Linton once sang; “You’ve got to have rain in your life to appreciate the sunshine”.  We’ve been rather lulled into a false sense of security these last few days by the benign weather but it’s rather come back to bite us on the backside today.  The rain pounded on the roof overnight and made our pack down and departure a little soggy, then just a short way into our journey our phones gave off a klaxon alert which was really quite alarming when amplified through the van’s Bluetooth system.  We feared something terminal but it turned out to be a general severe weather warning for the Ionian coast.

We skipped past a couple of places which might otherwise have piqued our interest on a dryer day.  There are the Roman ruins of the “Victory City” of Nikopolis and also the picturesque nearby town of Preveza but we didn’t feel either were worth getting a soaking for so, stopping only to top up on diesel at €1.55 a litre, we drove on through Greece’s only submarine tunnel which dives below the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf.

Before we left home a friend asked me which islands we would be visiting on this trip and the truth of the matter is we don’t currently intend to visit any which involve catching another ferry.  There is more than enough to fill our time here on the mainland and I’ve read that large motorhomes don’t tend to be particularly welcome on a lot of islands.  But we’ve made an exception with Lefkada because we can drive here via a series of causeways and bridges.  We spotted a couple of flocks of flamingo wadiing in the lagoons as we drove across.

In times of yore the land access to the island was guarded by a series of fortresses, the largest of which is the castle of Santa Maura, so as we were driving right past we parked up next to the walls popped in for a quick look around.

Construction of the Castle began in the very early 14^th Century.  It was mainly built by a combination of Venetians and Ottomans who occupied it at various times.  Once again the French and the British also took up residency at various points.

Behind this door is a long vaulted room which provided a dwelling for Franciscan monks when their previous base within the castle was destroyed by an earthquake in 1704.

This building was erected by the Venetians in 1719 as a barracks but was then converted into a hospital.  It was badly damaged by an explosion in 1810 and another earthquake in 1825.  If the castle came under attack the windows could be used as cannon portals.

There is a small museum which mainly comprises of information boards about the history of the castle.

There are a few artifacts including this shackle for securing prisoners to a wall.

Also this plaque showing the winged lion of Venice which used to adorn one of the castle entrances.

These prison cells were built by the British to restrain rebellious Lefkadians.

A lighthouse was added to one of the Castle bastions in 1861.

We continued along the final section of Causeway which brought us into Lefkada town at the extreme northern tip of the island.  Vehicles over 5 tonnes are banned due to the narrowness of the streets which are made even more of an obstacle course by some rather thoughtless parking by the locals.  We pondered having a look around but it was still raining so we drove on and climbed into the hills.

We did make a quick stop at the Faneromeni Monastery.

These places are always so dark inside.

There were a couple of ladies in here at the same time, lighting candles and kissing icons, which all seemed dreadfully unhygienic.

The rest of the complex looked quite modern

This was probably the most interesting artefact. During the time of nazi occupation bell ringing was forbidden.  So the locals used to substitute them by hitting an ox yoke with a hammer.

Despite the murk we had a great view over the town.  You can make out the causeways to the top left of the picture with Saint Maura Castle obscured by a tree.

We moved on to our chosen stopover for tonight at Kathisma Beach on the West Coast of the island.

There are a few politely spaced vans along the seafront but the place appears to be otherwise deserted.

After lunch we took ourselves off for a walk along the beach

We clambered over a small rocky outcrop.

Although we are sheltered from the worst of the winds there is quite a swell.

Lisa gets her foraging head on and finds some wild thyme for the pot.

You can continue following the beach for a couple of miles down the coast but the weather was starting to close in again and we were rather bedraggled by the time we got back to the van.

It didn’t stop raining for another 4 hours solid so we’ve had to content ourselves by sitting in the van and watching the waves. But we do finally have bright skies on the horizon now and the forecast for the next few days is set fair.  I can certainly think of worse places to ride out a storm.

28 February 2025 - Western Lefkada