Holiday time, like life, is precious and all too often you return to somewhere you have lovely memories of to find things have changed for the worse, so we very rarely ever return to the same area let alone the exact same place. Yet here we are again, admittedly three years later due to the intervention of Covid, back in exactly the same spot although a different month, in Geni with another Drascombe Lugger Ellie, courtesy of Phil.
Yes there were changes, no Phil to greet us at the airport, but there was a taxi waiting for us. We were dropped off at Gialos Taverna and there was Phil having organised a lovely lunch before he took us off in the boat to Geni Gardens.
Being ‘old hands’ and previous Lugger owners we knew what to do and where we wanted to go so weren’t dashing here, there and everywhere but taking things in a more leisurely way. We took Ellie (or did she take us?) to little bays where we swam in wonderfully clear warm water amongst fish, and dried off on the beach or even back on board. One morning Nick suggested we walk to Desimi rather than sail, a bit further than we anticipated but really interesting; for future reference do take swimming costumes with you! Somehow we came back on a different route which afforded us a refreshment stop at a quaint little cafe, and at one turn on the road could see both Desimi and Vhilo bay, such stunning views.
We were shown a little place near the Iris hotel across the bay from Geni Gardens to tie up the boat and walk into Nydri. Well worth exploring with some beautiful bars and restaurants. There is a smart new well-lit pavement all the way to the centre. One long trip took us to Port Atheni on Meganisi where we had a delicious lunch at a beachside taverna before I swam back to to Ellie. The return home was interesting as the weather turned a little more windy than expected – I think we were possibly the only small boat out on the water – but it was great fun and I felt quite safe.
Were our memories safe? Totally, so much so that we intend bringing our family here next year to help celebrate a milestone birthday. We discovered different places, were more adventurous and more relaxed, the only downside was that we couldn’t fit in two weeks.
Thanks Phil, you gave us the means for another wonderful holiday with great memories and we look forward to making more memories with our children and grandchildren next year.
