After three years Izabela is out of the boat yard and back on the water, sailing the Ionian Islands once more. We loved our time sailing these islands in 2019 and so decided we’d do it all again – checking out some of the places we missed and revisiting those we loved most. It’s hard to believe that we are finally back in Greece after three years and all feel very fortunate to be sailing on Izabela exploring these beautiful Ionian islands once more.

We arrived at the boat yard in Preveza, Greece via London. Strangely, you can fly to Preveza directly from London but not from Athens. Go figure! Three solid days of cleaning and maintenance had our boat looking ship shape and ready to be lifted into the marina, where we stayed while waiting for the rest of our crew to arrive. The callistemon trees throughout the marina were a beautiful reminder of home.

From the marina we motored over to the Preveza town quay for a few nights where we stocked the boat with food and other supplies and explored the town. We also needed to pick up our transit log from the Customs Office, pay our sailing tax and check in and out of Preveza with the port police – requirements for sailing around Greece. We were happy to see that not much had changed in Preveza since our last visit and enjoyed our first meal at our favourite taverna among the grapevines.

From Preveza we took a six-hour journey to the island of Paxos. Although we couldn’t get the sails up because the wind was blowing ‘on the nose’, it was still wonderful to be back on the water. Paxos is the smallest island group within the Ionians and is covered with olive groves and therefore very green. Olive oil, soap and fishing were once its main industries but now tourism is the primary source of income for the island.

We arrived at the fishing village of Loggos late afternoon and found a spot on the very small pier. Loggos is my favourite town in all of the Ionian Islands, and I was delighted to be back. Some of you may remember the famous seafood lasagne from our last trip that was so delicious we had to return to the town for more. We optimistically hoped it would still be on the menu but unfortunately not.  It was hard to be disappointed though as our meals were delicious and we were happy just to be back taking in the view of the small harbour and the town’s activities as we ate.

We spent the day in Loggos walking around the town and resting on the boat. On the second evening we walked up to a small historic stone building on top of a nearby hill to take in the sunset view of the town and harbour below. When we returned to the town, we noticed the road was wet from the waves crashing over the town wall – a sign that we were in for a rocky night on the boat. Thankfully we were well tied up to the pier and so very safe and sound.

From Loggos we took a short journey north to beautiful Lakka Bay where we dropped anchor among the many other boats already there.  Lakka Bay is a circular harbour flanked by two headlands that provide good shelter and is a very popular destination for yachts. It has clear turquoise water, white pebbled beaches and a picturesque village. Our dinghy has sprung a leak and is out of action, so we spent the first day on the boat kayaking, swimming and reading. On the second morning we spotted an empty place on the town quay so moved the boat there so that we could stock up on food, get our laundry done and wander. The town is quiet during the day but comes to life in the evening when all of restaurants fill with diners and the shops open for business.

Today we are back on anchor in the bay, swimming and kayaking one last time as tomorrow we set sail for Corfu.