Paxos / Lakka Yassas, Hey I love this place, great for a travvelling rat, loads to poke around in. I'll hand you over to the big folk for a while here... ...Hi Another nice if slightly overcast day, we nip to the little 'super' market for provisions. They have a dog which sleeps in the doorway and growls at anyone trying to get in ("Hey Yiannis, business is a little slack this year..Whats going on...Elenis place is ALWAYS busy") We go to Elenis market to avoid a scrap with this ever-miserable beast. A German yacht moors outside our apartment and puts on a Johnny Cash CD....Bloody hell!... Mark has two fears in life... Snakes and Country & Western music, so time for a day for the car we think and head out to look at some of the islands sights. We stop at the old Olive press, now a museum. Although its closed we look around the outside then a lady with a dog (Sophoros) turns up and gets the owner, Renya who lives next door to open up for us. We have a personal guided tour (Her father ran the press until he was in his 90's) and are told we are the first visitors this year and will bring her luck! We explore the back roads of this enchanting island, even though our little hire car isn't really up to our explorations, Surprisingly the 900cc Hyundai doesn't like being launched up 45 degree slopes of rock & rubble which would deeply trouble our trusty chunky Shogun back home. The little car struggles up and down hills, peers over sheer drops and gets beached on its sump when the ruts get deeper than its little wheels. We still need to sort out our hydrofoil ticket for next Monday as the new timetables have come out and don't feature Monday on them! Back at the apartment we watch a procession of the Icon go through the village led by a carpet of ferns and flowers, the last gasps of the Easter festivities.. ..Later that evening we notice that the rather funky taverna at the opposite end of the bay has lights on, we figure its probably just a few of their friends settling the place in for opening next week, but are naturally nosey and decide to wander round. 'La Bocca' is open and although all inside tables are full (all three of them) we sit outside and enjoy a beer or four in this lovely atmosphere, sitting under olive and vine, the only building at this end of the harbour and with its own little beach. It's run by Kate, an artist who originally hails from Stalham! Although she's been in Paxos for 20 years and in Italy for years before that. She lived in this tiny taverna as a house & studio before venturing into obscure catering. She has an excellent chef, Walter who is a Buddhist and looks like he spent a good few years on the club scene, and a waiter who is a gay mime (I kid you not). The place is decorated with Kate's and friends surreal art and a fibreglass fat bloke with a bulls head guards the door. The whole place has a good vibe and we soon chat, then it starts to rain so we move under an olive tree and talk to Tony (Now these two are only the 6th & 7th Brits we've spoken to since leaving home, and four of them are from Norfolk)... Tony too is from Costessy and has just bought a house in Lakka, a lovely old stone place he's renovating and comes here once a month. He's recently sold his healthcare business and is as he described an accidental millionaire. It turns out the Tony & Marks paths have crossed innumerable times in the boating / sailing world and they have various mutual acquaintances. We discuss the Lowestoft Boatshow and agree to meet up back in the UK to investigate the possibilities of taking this on as an event project, he also wants to get a new regatta going on Paxos and he is involved in the development of a jet boat for commercial use which is also in Marks field. We have a lot to chat about and eventually slide out at around 2am having booked a table for the next night. The next day sees the weather being petulant, after 4 weeks of unbroken sunshine this is a shock to the system, and a shame in such a paradise. After a late start we drive down to Gaios to sort out the tickets and realise that Monday is a public holiday (May Day) and the ferry times are in disarray, (they always are anyway!). When all is sorted we head back to Lakka and hear a commotion of car horns & go to investigate. There is a Greek wedding in the village and everyone is crammed into an outside taverna. It's great fun with live music and dancing in the streets, quite a spectacle. That evening the sun makes reappearance (hurrah) and we take a walk round the headland before venturing off to eat. We watch a beautiful sunset and see 2 dolphins playing in the water below us.. We then head to La Bocca and enjoy a truly wonderful meal of roast beef, but nothing like you'd ever see in good old England. This is ultra rare, sliced so thinly and served in an oils sauce, another Walter invention brought over from Italy. Tony joins us and we all chat into the early hours. Kate arrives late admitting she got drunk in the afternoon and overslept. (Ordering was fun, relaying our choices from viewing the wares in the kitchen via the gay mime on to Walter who only speaks Italian.) Kate has fallen asleep again and we are still discussing the possibilities of the Paxos regatta. We pour out into the early morning and stagger back, with our drunken way lit by fireflies. Sunday is sadly a grim day where it rains all day, which makes it a long day, but we head out for a few ouzos as a 'livener' at Romantica then into La Rosa Paxos for another amazing meal. Lorraine has roast lamb - again unlike anything else tasted and Mark takes an unusual option of steak instead of fish, this is the tenderest meat ever and will be remembered for years. The restaurant is using its few inside tables so is full and has a great atmosphere. Most of the diners are from visiting yachts.. This is sadly our last night on Paxos and tomorrow we must get the hydrofoil on to Corfu. Ok gotta go, so sorry to leave here, a well-heeled rat could live here forever!