Taverna Bouloukos is the only taverna on this beach, it’s tucked behind sheltering amongst the olive trees. Between the beach and taverna there is a little coastal path that leads south along the coast, before ending amongst a number of flat rock outcrops right next to the sea.

Looking around colourful beach towels alone in the sun can be seen, its owners either snorkelling, swimming or exploring.

Diving into the water trailing bubbles as we descend. Sea urchins as big as your fist were seen nestling amongst the rocks.

If seclusion is what you are looking for and can handle the crescendo of cicadas all around then this place is the place to be. Its possible to get an all over tan in seclusion, whilst swimming and bathing without interruption for an hour or two. Before returning to Bouloukos Taverna for a sedate appellative on your way home.

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Akis bar tucked into the south-western edge of Lakka Bay is open all year round according to its owner, Akis. 17 years of continual service to the flotilla affords Akis (It seams) a comfortable if modest lifestyle. “There’s no pressure to make money in the summer before closing,” says Akis. “Were open all year round and our 17 years in business means were here to stay.” Looking around Akis bar is tastefully decorated in teak decking and green canvas, an extensive undertaking that’s not to be sniffed at. Partly tucked under the cliffs. Visitors to Akis bar are able to shelter from the harsh extremes’ of the sun. Choose your spot well and you can watch fresh water streaming out of the cliffs cooling the air around you. A natural water feature Charlie Dimmock would be prowed of. Seated at the waterfront you’ll be rewarded with one of the most idyllic spots on the island.
There’s no touristic Bouzouki here, Latin and salsa is the norm, hidden in the Olive trees speakers ooze serenity and calm. Akis bar could easily be located on a Pacific Island, wooden swing hammocks, and weathered chairs in mahogany and white canvas all ad to an established quality waterfront taverna by the sea.

With Internet access I ask Akis for his website, he smiles and says. “No! I don’t need one, my location does all the advertising I need.”

Tel 0030 26620 31665 / 31665
akisbar@ker.forthnet.gr

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© Myrisa Luke

Pistachios have a soft, yellow protective skin with a deep pink blush when freshly picked.  Inside, the nuts are soft and tender.  Walking in the September sunshine with a group of friends towards the Lions Square, in Heraklion (www.heraklion.gr/en), we stop at a fruit stall.  Also on display, here on market street, are fresh green walnuts, ripe peaches, prickly pears and different varieties of grapes.

© Myrisa Luke

Fresh, good quality local produce is the secret of delicious Cretan food.  Translucent amber honey drizzled over the thickest, creamiest yoghurt.  Pillar box red tomatoes, popping with colour and full of flavour.  With extensive fruit and vegetable cultivation and over 30 million olive trees, Crete is justly called the garden of Greece.  Olive oil, from towns like Kolymbari and Sitia, is famous.

For 40 centuries, olives, cereals, pulses, fruit and wild vegetables or horta have been the main foods eaten on the island, with small portions of lamb, milk, game and fish.  In Chania (www.chania.gr/en), Dr Kostas Oikonomakis, formerly at the National Agricultural Research Foundation, talks in depth about Cretan food, the ingenuity of its cooks and tells us, “We eat everything presented by the gods.”

In restaurants and tavernas, dishes of mezedes (appetisers) appear, toasted with raki and accompanied by Cretan wine.  Plates of dolmades, graviera cheese, and kalitsounia pasties filled with cheese or greens are followed by boureki, (courgette, cheese and potato pie), grilled lamb, pork and chicken, fish and shellfish, served with Cretan salads and greens like stamnagathi anointed with olive oil.

© Myrisa Luke

If elsewhere the words octopus and tender don’t often go together, they do at a seafood restaurant in lively Chania harbour, where we also have delicacies of stuffed courgette flowers and sea urchin eggs.  On the seafront, pork and chicken gyros kebabs are sampled appreciatively, with thick, soft-centred, crisp-skinned Cretan potato chips.

From the main building at the Aquila Rithymna Beach Hotel, near Rethymnon

( www.aquilahotels.com ), we look down at the beach where a Loggerhead Turtle’s nesting site is carefully protected.  As dhakos (cheese and tomatoes on crusty bread) is served during lunch in the restaurant, Giorgos Barelier explains that this is one of Crete’s contributions to Greek cuisine.

© Myrisa Luke

Preceded by the largest king prawn I have ever eaten, the main fish course is a whopper of a sea bream.  It’s grilled whole and brought to the table to be admired before being returned to the kitchen to be taken off the bone.
Crete evokes memories of many enjoyable meals.  According to legend, the god Zeus was born in the island’s Dikteon Cave; clearly, gods deserve the best of everything.

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Seeking shelter from the afternoon heat we chanced upon Voutoumi Taverna by accident only a sign in the distance indicated that anything was there. Its inviting shade was are motivation to explore.

Standing at its entrance, Voutoumi Taverna has numerous terraced levels protected from the sun by a timber-framed roof covered in bamboo leaves etc’. This makes Voutoumi Taverna well camouflaged and deceptively large.

It’s here that we met the owners Sophocles and his business partner. Their typical Greek welcome to new faces was reassuring and very soon found ourselves at their table eating and talking as if we’d known each other for ages.

Island life Greek style is a lifestyle most of us hope to achieve at some time, yet sitting at their table I never thought we’d be able to achieve such a vivid vision of what Island life is actually like. Until we got talking to Sophocles here in Emerald Bay.

Over the next two hours we touch on all types of Island life issues, from the number of houses on the Island of Anti Paxos to the growing and harvesting of Wines and Olive Oil. Anti Paxos has no Olive trees, according to Sophocles Anti Paxos only grows grapes for white, red and rose‘ wines. The number of litres produced is too small for export so its essentially home-brew for their own needs only. Any excess is given away to family and friends that visit.

“There are 120 houses on the Island but nobody stays on the Island all year round,” says Sophocles. “They are summer houses owned by people from Paxos, we use them when we are working the grapes.” Sophocles was only too happy to explain Island life to us and what goes on during the winter and spring. Cristina was particularly taken by his voice his soft melody accent she found alluring.

Audio Interview — Sophocles owner of Voutoumi Taverna, Emerald Bay, Anti Paxos

I could go in talking forever about our time spent there, but for posterity I chose to record an interview with Sophocles instead. So here is a 6 min recording of Island life for all to hear…

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Looking around Carnayo’s waterfront location is ideal for the visitor afloat and for those that fancy an evening walk of 2 miles down the coast road from Gaios. (Local Taxis available) Its rustic driftwood appearance perched on the waterfront set amongst the numerous Olive trees of Paxos. Carnayo Gold makes no attempt at expensive splendour, narrow wine barrels turned on their ends are used as mini round tables with stools. To one side is the open lounge area well covered from the sun, large wicker settees with copious amounts of cushions turns this corner of Carnayo into a Turkish style lounge area. The low-lying tables are reclaimed ends of even larger wooden olive barrel with their original carved labels clearly visible.

There’s no touristic Bouzouki here. Sitting watching the sun go down over Paxos, Al Green mix and mingles in the cool breeze, his music interspersed with Zero 7 and a rock song. Who’s name I still can’t remember… Yeh! Are you thinking of me?.. Yeh! Yeh! I’m thinking of you!…

The wind has picked up out at sea, as yachts are beginning to seek shelter in the harbour. Gusts of wind set them dancing around their anchors in slow motion. Behind us the wind ripples through the Olive trees creating a Mexican style wave of shimmering silver/green.

For us, this lounge bar is one of our favourites, the evening sun would shine directly into the bar where we sat. It would light up the whole wooden interior creating visual effects that continued to draw the eye. Sitting outside with this perfect music in a perfect setting, we’d happily watch the sunset as it disappeared below the Island amongst the trees.

http://www.carnayopaxos.gr/

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His warehouse is an unassuming building that looks more like a traditional Greek Cottage, its white walls and round traditional tiles look a little out of place next to the other waterfront properties.

Babis comes from a long line of Olive Oil producers here in the Island of Paxos. “Our olives are the best in Greece and this is not an empty boast,” he says. “We in Paxos never spray our trees with preservatives,” he informs us with obvious pride. “Everywhere else in Greece… they do this be we do not.”

Inside his warehouse barrels surround the inner walls, with smaller labelled containers stored on top, in one corner of his office receipt books are piled high that have not moved in ages, judging by the dust. This warehouse is defiantly a no frills storage facility for locally made Olive Oil production.

There are approximately 250,000 Olive trees on the Island, most of his olives comes from his farms but he does take olives from other farmers on the Island.

Talking to Babis was quite an eye opening experience. His method of extracting the Olive Oil has remained unchanged for 5000 years. He uses a pair of grinding stones rolling on a flatbed stone to turn the Olives into a paste. The stones ensure the Olives are well ground and aids in the aroma that the enzymes in the oil produces. This traditional method is more labour intensive ‘he says’ but the quality of the oil is much better. This grinding process takes about 30 40 mins for each batch of Olives.

After grinding, the Olive paste is spread out onto round discs, (He now uses metal disks as aposed to fibre discs as its a cleaner process) which are stacked on top of each other, then placed under a press. It’s this first press of the first batch of ripe Olives that he sells on the quayside in Gaios. Apparently this first press does not produce the kind of quantity he needs for his buyer in Athens so he sells this in smaller containers direct to his visitors.

The remaining olive oil is then produced in bulk for shipment to Athens. “I’m happy with this arrangement,” he says. “I’m not interested in exporting directly, my customers come to me.” We’re told with a satisfying grin.

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