Ionian Sea. Lefkas Island. NIDRI
December 5, 2007
NIDRI village is one of the most popular holiday spots on Lefkas island. Nidri was the home of the German archaeologist Dorpfeld, who maintained that Lefkada was none other than Homer’s Ithaca. The Nidri quay self provides water, fuel etc. The villa on Madouri Island belongs to the family of Aristotelis Valaoritis, one of Greece’s national poets. Anchor in front of the baroque building.
Ionian Sea. Lefkas Island
December 5, 2007
LEFKAS is a mountainous island, covered with dense vegetation to the east and south. Its eastern coast slopes gently down to the sea, which is sheltered with thickly wooded islets. The most famous of these are Scorpios, Madouri and Sparti. Lefkas is separated from the Greek Mainland by a narrow channel via a pontoon bridge. The capital of the island, Lefkas town, was the result of the establishment of salt-pans during the Middle Ages.
Lefkas canal enables the sailors to pass along the east side of the island, which has the 90% of the good anchorages. From the north the entrance of the canal can be found by locating the Santa Maura Fort, founded in 1300 by John Orsini, a Frankish Knight who held Lefkada as a fief. The canal starts after Lefkas Town and is marked by red and green poles and by red and green buoys when it turns south. The ancient submerged breakwater is located opposite the St George Fort. Go stern-to or bows-to the town quay on the NE or S side. The muddy bottom is generally good holding.
Ionian Sea. Paxi
December 5, 2007
PAXI is the smallest of the six main Ionian Islands. When you step ashore at GAIOS, the islands little port, you will find an exquisite miniature world just waiting to be discovered. Its charming 19th century houses, threaded by narrow lanes, lie at the end of a closed “fjiord” surrounded by trees and shrubs. You can moor right in the middle of the busy scenery of this charming place.
At the entrance of this picturesque harbor you can make out the islets of Panagia and Agios Nikolaos with its Venetian Castle and windmill.
LAKKA is a little seaside settlement with a tiny harbor, built on a sheltered bay whose coasts are covered with olives and pines. Its low houses are particularly distinctive, painted in interesting shades of brown and indigo. The turquoise waters invite you for a unique swim overboard.
Ionian Sea. Parga
December 5, 2007
Parga is a small picturesque town situated North - West from Preveza, where you can have the most wonderful swims along with the most exciting day and night life. The town was created by Constantinople refugees who sought shelter here. They founded a settlement and built a castle in "Petzvolio". Today the locals call the ruins "Kasteli". Old Parga is mentioned from the 12th century as one of the most important Epitoric towns.
On the 21st of March 1401, the Pargiotes signed a treaty with the Royal Democracy of Venice, which had established itself in Parga, so that they could prevent the Turks from conquering the town. The castle was probably built during this time, only to be demolished in 1537 by the pirate Harentine Barbarossa. The Venetians rebuilt it in 1567. The second time it was destroyed, was by the Turks in 1571.
The Venetians rebuilt it again after the Naval Battle of Nafpaktos. It remained impregnable until the Pargiotes were forced to abandon it because the British government sold it to Ali Pasha.
On the 22nd of May 1930 the people of Parga were liberated after 100 years of enslavement .
Parga is a town with ancient roots, deeply influenced by the Western civilization and culture. It existed for many years as a natural boundary between east and west. This coexistence of these two civilizations here in this small edge of the epirotic peninsula, has graced it with a unique charm.
When you first visit Parga you will be impressed with its lush vegetation, its surrounding mountains and its hundred years old olive groves. It’s beautiful beaches and isolated bays hide behind huge rocks that protect them as if they were valuable treasures.
Ionian Sea. Corfu
December 5, 2007
Corfu (Kerkyra) is the most important and most northerly of the Ionian islands and is situated only 1 nm off the coast of Albania and the Greek region of Epirus. It offers gentle green uplands in the south and rugged limestone hills in the north, rising to 906 m in the double peak of Pantokrator.
Ionian Sea. Preveza
December 5, 2007
The Preveza port of entry lies on the Greek mainland guarding the gulf of Amvrakia. Leading lights will guide your way into the 
gulf. On the left side of the channel a dense forest and the Fort St. George can be seen. The channel is not likely to live up to the “official” depth of 8 meters - due to silting 6 meters and a strong cross-current is mentioned.
The city is famous for:
Nikopolis – Ancient Nikopolis is located on the peninsula of Preveza, in SW Epirus and covers an area of 900 hectares. It was founded by Octavianus, after the naval battle of Actium, in 31 B.C. The inhabitants of the neighbouring cities of Epirus, Leucas, and Acarnania were then forced to settle in this area. The city enjoyed special political and financial privileges, had its own mint and every four years celebrated the Actia, festivals including athletic, musical and racing contests. Many intellectuals of the period, such as Epictetus (A.D. 89) gathered in Nikopolis. The city continued to be inhabited during the Byzantine period. Some of the Roman monuments of the site (dated to 1st-4th centuries A.D.) have been restored: the Odeum (in 1969-1972), the north thermae (in 1973-1974), the Nymphaeum (in 1975), the large theatre, the Roman wall and the villa of Manius Antoninus which contained remarkable mosaic floors (in 1978-1984).
Greek Islands. ZAKYNTHOS (Zante)
December 4, 2007
Zakynthos is the southernmost and third largest in both size and population of the Ionian Islands. It is situated 8,5 nautical miles south of Kefalonia, 9,5 nautical miles west of the Peloponese and approximately 300 kilometres west of the capital of Greece, Athens.
An island full of contrasts, Zakynthos consists of mainly woodland, with an abundance of pine tree covered mountains and fertile plains.
In the north, east and south numerous picturesque beaches can be found, whereas in the west the imposing, rocky landscape has a number of sea caves such as the famous Blue Caves on the north-west of the island.
The climate in Zakynthos is mild Mediterranean with both heavy rainfall during the winter months and brilliant sunshine in the summer. The rich vegetation is probably due to this, and has resulted in the nicknames of Fior di Levante (Flower of the East) and Iliessa (full of woods) by the Venetians and Omiros respectively.
It is productive island agriculturally, supported mainly by the cultivation of olives, raisins, citrus fruits. Apart from this, the main source of local income is from the recently developed business of tourism. The island has a wealth of history as for many centuries it was the crossroads for numerous nations and cultures.