This little green island seven miles off the Coast of Corfu Island conquers its visitors from the first moment
they step ashore. The towering olive trees which cover almost all its surface,
its idyllic little coves and the huge rocks with their sea-caves all impress
themselves on the mind. All these features are to be found in an area of less
than 25 square kilometers.
The ground slopes gently up to the west, reaching an altitude of
only 250 meters - Ayios Isavros, the island's tallest 'mountain'. The inhabitants
of Paxi, who number about 2,500, are engaged principally in growing olives,
fishing and tourism. The olive oil which they produce is among the finest in Greece
Gaios, the
island's harbour, is also its capital. The name comes from St Gaius, who
brought Christianity to Paxi and who according to tradition also died here. His
memory is preserved in a tomb behind the altar in the church of the Holy
Apostles, which for many centuries now has been claimed as that of the apostle
Gaius. An old tradition says that earth from the tomb was used by the locals as
a cure for snake-bite. The church's feast day is on 5 November, which is the
saint's day. The most important festival on Paxi is the procession on 29 June,
in memory of Saints-Peter and Paul, when the church of the Holy Apostles and
the tomb of Saint Gaius are also revered.
The first
thing the visitor sees on entering Gaios harbour is the Panayia islet. On the
islet stand a lighthouse and a monastery. On 15 August, the feast of the
Dormition of the Virgin, there is a custom of offering pilgrims boiled meat.
The coasts of Albania and Corfu can be seen from the lighthouse. The islet of
Panayia has a rocky coastline with beaches which are very clean and good for
swimming.
The islet
of Ayios Nikolaos is almost a continuation of the Panayia islet. This islet
takes its name from the chapel of St Nicholas which stands on it, in the
foreground. There is also a ruined windmill on Ayios Nikolaos, and the islet is
topped with a castle. The walls of the castle are ruinous today, but there is a
very fine view of the harbour from it.
The
northern part of the harbour is called Manesko and this is where the larger
vessels dock. The southern part of the harbour is suitable only for
fishing-boats.
At the
entrance to Manesko is a ruined but magnificent mansion. Gaios harbour is
protected from all the winds, and since it is open at both ends the water is
constantly in motion; as a result, the harbour is always clean and the water is
cool.
Walking
south east from Gaios, we soon come to the first municipal beach, called
Yannas.
Further
along the road we can see the deeply indented and thickly wooded coastline, and
we eventually come to Mongonisi.
Mongonisi
is a tourist resort with a few range of facilities. Visitors may find
interesting folklore events here. To the south of Gaios, we travel through the
hinterland of the island and reach the village of Makratika
There are two interesting churches in the village, that of the
Pantokrator, built in 1739, and that of All Saints, built in 1700 and renovated
in 1885.
As we
leave the village -in a westerly direction- we pass the ruins of the old
Lessanitis windmill. Behind this is the spot known as Mousmoulis, which has a
superb view. This precipice has what is perhaps the island's finest view, out
across the broad ocean to Italy
in the west and Africa in the south.
Still
further south, the road leads down to a spot where the rocks form a natural
arch through which the water flows. This is the area known as Tripitos.
From Gaios, a surfaced road crosses the island on a north-south axis, passing
through a seemingly endless forest of olive trees. There are said to be 300,000
olive trees on the island.
Our route
into the hinterland of the island brings us through numerous small villages
which take their names from the families which live there: Bogdanatika from the
Bogdanos family, Vlachopoulatika from the Vlachopoulos family, and so on.
As we
leave Gaios to the west, just before the sharp bend by the football pitch,
there is a natural water tank in the rock which fills only from the channels
which lead to it.
From here,
the view of the olive forest which spreads out in front of the visitor is
superb. On clear days, Lefkada can be seen, with Ithaca
and Cephalonia in the background.
To the
right of the road after the sharp bend is the church of St Charalambos church
of St Isavros
We then
descend to the village
of Fountana
The huge
plane tree next to the church
of Our Lady
To the
north of Fountana is Longos. The port
of Longos
All these beaches are good
for bathing, wind-surfing and even camping. To the north west
An old
ruined mill is testimony to the history of Longos. The church of St. Nicholas
The
largest family in Longos is called Anemoyannis. The older inhabitants say that
the name derives from the fact that the founding father of the family was
brought by the wind ('anemos') to this place. Today, the Anemoyannis family is
one of the largest on Paxi.
Another
interesting structure in this village is the Tzilios water-tank, which bears an
inscription testifying to its date of building (1837) to the right and left of
the entrance. Since the tank was built by the British, the inscription is in
Greek and English. There is a large stone-flagged square, the middle of which
slopes slightly inwards. Next to the community water tank is the church of St Kyriaki
Approximately
half-way along the road from Gaios to Lakka is the village of Magazia
Almost in
the middle of the village is the church of the Archangels, which has a large
wall-painting of Our Lady above the altar.
On the
left as we enter Magazia is a track which leads to the western side of the
island. This road ends at the impressing Erimitis precipice, with its white
rocks. The precipice took its name ('of the hermit') from a monk who used to
live there, surviving on the roots of plants he picked on the rock-face.
We descend
past the church of the Holy Apostles to a fresh-water spring running into the
sea. The angle formed where the rocks end is called Pounta and the whole area
is known as Boikatika.
A tall
rock which emerges from the sea here, in a conical shape, is always surrounded
by the sea-gulls which have their nests there. In the summer, there are
swallows from Africa as well.
On the
left as we leave Magazia is a track leading north to another equally fine and
wild spot on the west coast of the island. This is called Kastanida, and it has
dizzy cliffs.
A track
leads down to the sea, where a little to the north we can see a rock in the
shape of a submarine. Behind it is sea-cave where the Greek submarines used to
hide during the Second World War.
Lakka
stands on the northernmost tip of the island. Before we come to the steep hill
down into the village, we can see an abandoned quarry on the hillside facing
us. At about this point is the new church
of St Nicholas
The road
now runs downhill and passed a community water-tank, another structure erected
by the British. Here there is a magical and magnificent view of Corfu and the
mountains and coastline of Albania
Lakka took
its name ('pit') from its natural position: the village is surrounded by hills,
and the houses stand at exactly sea level. The first building we come to as we
enter the village is the church
of St Andrew
The view
from the lighthouse at Lakka is superb. The first lighthouse, the ruins of
which can still be seen today, was built in 1832 and was accompanied by a
chapel to St. Nicholas, now abandoned. The view of the Ionian
Sea from the lighthouse on the western side of the bay and of the
precipice crowned with bushes is particularly impressive.
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