Ioannina, Lefkada and Parga

After Meteora, we were initially planning to head straight into Albania, but decided instead to head to the west coast and visit some of the more expensive places that we can’t afford in July/August but can afford in May. We were originally going to stay of few nights in Ioannina, but decided to extend our stay in Trikala instead so we wouldn’t have to move again. This meant that we decided to stop in Ioannina for lunch instead on our way to Lefkada on the west coast.

Ioannina

This is a cute fortress town on a penninsula in a lake. The old fortress wall is still in good shape and completely surrounds the old town. The town had lots of nice cafes and restaurants and a great vibe.

Lefkada

We stayed in an olive grove in the town of Lygia with lots of cats, 2 horses, a donkey and some chickens. Lygia is near the main town of Lefkada on the island of Lefkada. Lefkada island is attached to the main land via a portable bridge and a causeway. There are fortress ruins guarding the causeways and barrier islands.

Lefkada city

The city had a variety of shops, cafes and restaurants and a very large marina. However, the main town seemed to really only have one main pedestrian shopping street and parts of the city feel a bit run down, which surprised me. One interesting thing that I’ve never seen before anywhere else is that the churches have a separate bell tower – but made of metal. Most of them were rusted and not looking that good, but there was one nice one which I captured below.

Sivota

We spent a day driving around the island and checking out some of the other towns and beaches. Sivota was our favourite town. There weren’t many (any?) hotels and only a couple of shops here, but it was a place for boats to moor and was full of cafes and restaurants. It also had the cheapest beer I’ve seen in Europe! I bet it goes off on Friday/Saturday night. The town had a great vibe and we could have easily stayed there all day. In the end we stayed for about 2 hours and enjoyed a coffee.

Around the Island

After Sivota, we were planning on stopping at a few places here and there and go for a few swims… BUT, all the beaches were overrun with tourists, almost no parking and the parking that did exist they wanted a flat rate of 10 euros! (which seemed a bit steep for a one hour swim!!). In the end, we found a pull over spot on the road which happened to have a spider-infested, overgrown path down to the water. We found a tree to sit under and K went for a swim.

Parga

After Lefkada, we drove to Albania. We decided to stop for lunch in the tourist town of Parga. This was another place on our list to stay, but it’s out of our price range – even in May!

We lucked out and managed to find a free parking space (the parking lot wanted a flat fee of 10 euros), and walked into town to check it out and eat lunch. It’s a really cute town and I can see why tourists flock here. It feels like a greek island (like Mikonos or Naxos) with windy allyways, nice water and beaches, and a great selection of shops, cafes and restaurants. I’d love to come back here again one day, but I have a feeling that everything would be closed outside of summertime (and we can’t afford the summer prices!)

Once we crossed into Albania (fastest and easiest border crossing ever!), our road changed and the highway was replaced by a small road and goats…