Paxos & Anti Paxos 7-11 Sept 2019

by admin · 11/09/2019

The last part of Jill and Stuarts stay was 4 nights on Paxos in three different anchorages; Mongonisi bay, Nassos, and Gaios all on the eastern side. If the forecasts had been better we would have tried for the west coast for some days. We also spent days exploring the coasts of Paxos and Antipaxos. This is more of a photoblog as there are so many but it was 4 days of many snorkelling trips and exploring caves, beautiful beaches and amazing cliffs. This is a reminder for those who were there my apologies if some of it may seem a bit repetitive for those are not such water babies!! While Hew drove the yacht, the RIB was also in use as an exploration vehicle especially if there were any tourist boats around.

Stuart, Mark, Chris, Jo and I had a fantastic time diving and exploring along the coast honing our freediving skills.

Some caves are shallow and others are very high and very deep.

Some caves are white or grey and others are beautiful colours,

The bigger caves are often called grottoes and invaded by the tourist boats – the bigger ones having no consideration at all for private boats or swimmers.

The many caves, arches, and underwater bridges around the eastern side of Antipaxos provided endless amusement and challenge for the swimmers. The on-water crew doing their own exploration in the above water caves.

A sample of views from the RIB. Some amazing rock formations and also black glass (obsidian) on the soft white rock in places. Lots of different strata in the cliffs.

There were some beautiful beaches but the tourist ferry was close behind us – dropping off and passing through so we didn’t go in close.

After a day of swimming, we anchored quayside in Mongonisi Bay – great spot. When Mark enquired if a 2* Metaxa Brandy was available the waitress offered him petrol from her motorbike as a viable alternative.

There is a tiny cove before Mongonisi bay that you can anchor in and is a favourite of day boats – the day we went through there was a wedding going on in the chapel. The island is separated by a very narrow channel from the main island but is fine for small boats.

Since Nassos harbour was full we anchored just down the coast and took the rib around. A tiny village with a narrow one-way road along the quay – at one stage traffic was held up by some street performers but no one seemed to mind.

Beautiful clear water for the morning swim. Jill possibly offering instruction to Stu on the paddleboard!!

Next day it was on to Gaios. forecast not great so the harbour was full and we anchored on the south side of the island. The wind got up in the night from the south – a change from the northerlies, so we shifted early round to the north of the island and anchored stern to the island. we are one of the easternmost yachts. Jill and Stuart left on the hydrofoil for Corfu and home.