Slept well. The lodgings here are typical holiday apartments. Basic but clean and comfortable enough for our wants. The major bonus is a swimming pool. There are not many beaches within striking distance of the port. A small narrow section of beach extends either end of the harbour but not your typical Sandy paradise. We have had our fair share of beaches over the course of the past week so we’re not too bothered.
The port is pretty and sits in front of a small pedestrianised street. Full of your typical gyros shops, bars and tourist tat. A descent supermarket (in Greek terms) is close by our lodgings and is less expensive than the little independent stores which is handy for us. Otherwise Nydri is your typical Greek holiday destination. All of the accommodation offers rooms for the independent traveller but are mostly full of people on a package tour. There are a lot of Dutch and German tourists here. As there always are.
Crispy had decided that she wanted to find the waterfalls and what Crispy wants Crispy gets. We had our normal breakfast of yoghurt and fruit before setting off. It’s not a long way in the scheme of things to get to the base of the gorge in which the waterfalls reside. A pleasant stroll through the quiet area of the town and up to the main road. The original highway that winds down the eastern edge of Lefkada. Across the highway is a smaller road into the mountains. By degrees it gets narrower and passes through some very nice rural areas. Small holdings of olive groves and fruit trees with their populations of chicken and goat busily doing what chicken and goat do best.
The road terminates in a small car park before turning into a well defined trail that leads up the gorge to the falls. In winter the trail would follow a flowing river. It’s June and the river bed was at best Damp.
There were a few people climbing the trail but not enough to spoil the tranquility of the place.
The trail meanders up the gorge twisting and turning as it follows the water course. The higher we ascended the more water was present in the small river. The end of the trail finishes in a rocky ravine. A high force drops water 100 feet into a clear pool. A couple of people were swimming. We braved putting our legs in the icy waters but declined the prospect of a full body immersion experience. It was cold and neither Crispy or I are fans of cold water. After a few minutes our feet and legs were numb so we elegantly retreated to the path. We have friends at home who are dedicated fans of cold water swimming. Not us. We can’t see the point it’s cold and uncomfortable and we would rather have a nice hot bath.
I’m very fond of my “bits” as most men are. I don’t fancy bidding fair well to them for several days after leaping into some flooded quarry in Chorley, in November. To each their own I suppose.
After a very pleasant interlude at the falls we made our way back to our lodgings.
On the way back we stopped at a little taverna on the outskirts of the town. Pretty and covered in flowers. Whilst we were enjoying our well earned drinks a middle aged guy and his wife pulled up alongside. He beckoned the owner and said in a strong Yorkshire accent “Excuse me, I say excuse me. Were lost”. His wife was sat on the back of the scooter in a helmet three times too big holding a tourist map like a sail. I think it was upside down. The waiter gave him directions and he set off. He shouted to us “ I’m good at languages me, Adios” and set off down the road. His wife struggling to keep control of the flapping map.
It was hot so we got showered and had a few hours by the pool. Much more civilised. To Crispy’s surprise I even swam in the pool a couple of times. I consider a swimming pool a communal bath. I’m not a fan and don’t relish the thought of sharing my bath water with the great unwashed. I shall expound on my reasoning for this at a later date.
We strolled to the harbour before returning to the room for dinner. Tomorrow we catch the 11:30 ferry to Fiskardo in Kefalonia. It looks like it will be an amazing ride. Down the east of Lefkada before skirting Mesolonghi and crossing to Kefalonia. I’ve told Crispy it’s an all inclusive bout cruise around the Islands.
I’ll make sure I take a bottle of coke and a bag of crisps so she’s not disappointed. She’s usually happy with a bag of crisps and a bottle of coke
Bare and Crispy, Nidri, Lefkada
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