Greece family holidays: sailing away in search of Odysseus, Homer and Ithaca
All aboard: Ellie (left) and Loulou await the start of their voyage into Odysseus's worldWe'd make it real. Before having children, my wife and I had been Odyssean travellers, finding our way across the world, bumping into life's challenges and negotiating gods and monsters along the way. A Homeric holiday might bring out the hero in us all. We'd fly to Athens and make our way to Ithaca, home of Odysseus. It would be an epic voyage where we'd face our own challenges, see off our own cyclops, resist the sirens - and if any suitors came looking for my girls...Unlike Odysseus, who had ten years to get to Ithaca, we had only ten days, and so we set ourselves one challenge each. Ellie would have to conquer her fear of the sea after too many viewings of Jaws. Loulou, 11, would find the rite of passage that would transform her from primary school kid to a secondary school pupil in September.
More...
- More on Ithaca in our Greece section
- More teen-friendly holidays in our Family section
- A family classic in discreet Crete
Greek godliness: Ithaca - and the fishing village of Kioni - is one of the Ionian's quietest outpostsYou need a god or two on a trip like this, and we found ours in the most unlikely place. 'Would you like an upgrade?' asked the Avis person, obviously god of car hire. 'Take your pick - there's no extra cost.' I turned round to thank him, but he was already gone. If he was there at all.Our first port of call on Lefkas was Vassiliki Bay, home of Wildwind Sailing. At first glance, it's easy to mistake Wildwind for Neilsons or SunSail or one of the other sand, surf 'n' sail companies. While they've all got their plus points, Wildwind is a different beast.Smaller, it feels more personal and less structured. There are plenty of instructors - all blond gap-year boys with six-packs - and it's up to you what you do and when you do it. It all feels fantastically relaxed and laid-back.For the Wildwind folk, Vassiliki has another advantage. in the morning there's very little wind. The water in the bay is soft, the conditions ideal for serious sailors who want to perfect their craft, as well as urban fools who fancy hoisting the main sail and doing something or other with their jib. In the afternoon, around four, the crosswinds kick in, giving everyone a chance to give their sheets to the wind. It's so perfect it's almost as if someone had planned it.Vassiliki itself is lovely - a small bay, a row of waterfront restaurants and cafes, crystal water, beautiful scenery, and mouth-watering food.It's one of those places where it's impossible not to come over all Shirley Valentine and pledge to spend t! he rest of your days eating calamari and drinking Retsina.But the lure of Ithaca and its mythical welcome were just too much to keep us from moving on, and it was time to hand the ferryman his pieces of silver and set off.A hundred miles from the adrenaline of Wildwind, and a million miles from the popular idea of a Greek holiday island, Ithaca is as peaceful and serene as Homer painted it 3,000 years ago. And I have a sneaky feeling that he may have pitched his writing desk overlooking the bay at Levendi's Estate.Levendi's is somewhere you really shouldn't tell people about. Describing itself as 'an eco-chic farm', it's a retreat more than a hotel and looks like something you would find in a hip hotel or chic chateau guide - all beautiful white linen and infinity swimming pool.The difference here is that Levendi's hasn't had its heart and soul designed out of it. It's more earthy than glossy, deliberately rustic with its owners' organic ethos etched into the tiered hillside.There are six self-contained secluded houses with their own gardens set off a path down to the infinity pool which leads the eye over to the sapphire waters of the bay. Hidden behind olive trees is a massage tent with white muslin curtains to hide your modesty during a two-hour aromatherapy session.The morning yoga and Pilates by the pool are led by an expert, and the breakfast is organic; muesli with goji berries and maca root, or homemade Ithacan honey or plum jam piled on fresh waffles, all washed down by perfect espresso and a chat with Greek-Australian owners Mal and Spero. This must be the home of the gods. Even Frank the goat has gorgeous straight hair and beguiling David Bowie eyes.For Odysseus, this was the end of the journey, but we had one more adventure before we reached home. We took advice from Mal and Spero who will, if asked, plan their guests' entire trip across Greece with stops at some of the best finds in the country. They recommended Galaxidi, a small harbour bay where Athenians and Italians holiday.After the ferry from ! Ithaca a nd another four-hour drive, Galaxidi, with its lovely waterfront tavernas and bars, working fishing boats nestling next to big-buck yachts, men sitting drinking and old women dressed in black, was just the way it's supposed to be. This ticked the last box on our list - finding somewhere we'd never heard of.
Searching for home: A statue of Odysseus in the town of Stavros marks Ithaca as his 'home island'The drive back to Athens, high across the mountains with their hairpin bends and sheer precipices, was another challenge faced and conquered. And the kids? Watching Loulou sailing her one-man Pico dinghy and then entertaining everyone with her PhatGayKiD (don't ask) impressions ... she'll be fine.And Ellie? OK, so she didn't get beyond her fear of sharks to actually go snorkelling, but if a vision of taking a Flying Fish dinghy course and becoming a sailing instructor (if only to spend her gap-year and university summers with those six-packs) is conquering a fear of the sea, maybe she rose to her challenge too.
Comments