Papandi and Lakka
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Lo que dice el Arxiduc:
“Papandi (or Hypapanti) Church is located on a very picturesque slope, next to the torrent of very fresh water. In front of Papandi’s bell tower, a partially paved path with steps heads towards Lakka and meets up with a new path in Randatika. Another straight path runs to Agios Konstantin, passing by the houses in Grammatikeika. The olive trees are especially tall and abundant. We see some houses in ruins and old vines around olive trees and some cypresses.”
A stepped path rises up above Argiratika hill towards the nearby hill of Agios Georgios which is covered in olive trees and cypresses in terraces. The view down is beautiful, from the slope covered in young cypresses, towards Lakka Port with the southern Corfu strait towards Murto Point and then the beautiful Albanian mountain range with its snow-covered peaks. Towards the north, behind Lakka Point, we see the lighthouse, the heights of Ballarino, those of Kastanida, Papandi valley and all the hill of olive trees up to the very top of Agio Nisaphros. From the terrace with the windmill, the view this way, that is, to the west, is beautiful.
Passing through a small valley, a path heads towards the old mill ( Milos Paleos in Kueratika) after crowning some rocks. It then passes by some small houses in Kueratika, approximately a dozen of them. From the flat peak with the windmill there is a marvellous view. On one side is the open sea to the west, then the lighthouse on its pointy summit and the slightly curving valley to the heights of the Kastanida mill, Agios Georgios peak and the valley of olive trees below, the heights of Petratika and all the point to the mill with the tranquil port at our feet, then the white peaks, the last crowned by Agios Thomas Church and, in the background, marvellous Corfu with its Capo Bianco and the southern coast of the island, the point near Murto and the impressive coast of Albania in back.
When the English came to occupy Paxos, they arrived at Planus’ spiaggia (beach) under the lighthouse. The flat side of the mountain pass has been separated from the outside for many years by an opening that is going to fall apart one of these days. The view towards behind the lighthouse is especially pretty. From the top of the big peak, Rachy Tu Ballerino, covered only in aromatic herbs, we see a walled in group of olive trees.
The lighthouse on Lakka Point measures 36 meters and is 108 meters above sea level. One has a beautiful view of the southern Corfu strait and nearby Lakka, then the coast of Albania, the mountainous field of olive trees and towards the interior of the Mizaltika slope. We then see the peak of Agios Georgios to the left, in the middle Papandi valley, and the heights of Kastanida with the windmill. The view towards the sea up to Fano and the especially wild cliffs below crowned by mastics.”
The view of Lakka Port from the mouth, with the tower of Papandi Church in the background is impressive. It’s best to lay anchor to the left facing the dock where the water is deeper. The port is fairly well protected, but the winds can blow hard inside and, since the seabed doesn’t tend to be good – it tends to be sand; only towards the dock is it made of clay – you have to use strong ropes from land.”
Datos proyecto Nixe III:
We had the sense of entering another world around Papandí. There are practically no inhabitants here, and you don’t hear any man-made sounds. In other words, you have the feeling that the only thing you hear is nature, nothing else.
We took a shot of the church and bell tower but from lower down. A bit further on we took another image in which we did spot Lakka. A few days prior, a small tornado slammed through the area, and we could see numerous uprooted olive trees.
Once in Lakka, the northern part of the island, we headed to the west of the bay and climbed up the road leading to the lighthouse. From there we took a few pictures of the eastern side of the bay. Dry-stone walls used to be here, but now there are some houses amongst the vegetation.
The old Lakka lighthouse no longer exists. It toppled when the mountainside it was built on crumbled down. Today, from the new lighthouse built a few meters further to the north, we can perfectly make out the hole on the slope where the old lighthouse used to stand.
Upon nearing the port, we had a better view of the point closing off the port on the northwest side as well as the rest of the port to the east.
Lastly, on Lakka’s beach we could see the dock area where there used to be a few small houses belonging to fishermen and a church. Today, the area has been converted into an entertainment hotspot, with bars and restaurants completely hiding the church.
If Paxos is one of the best preserved places in the Mediterranean that we have visited, Lakka is the place on Paxos whose preservation isn’t as great, though it is still a very pretty spot.
Photos
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