A Hair-Raising Journey to Sivota
We’ve been looking forward to this trip for some time. I’d set my sights in Sivota after seeing an aerial photograph of Sivota and its surrounding islands a few years ago. It takes a lot to drag me away from the islands but this is a trip that I’ve really got to do.
Originally I’d hoped to be away for my birthday in the 3rd week of September but it didn’t work out that way. Not to worry – we know we are fortunate to have a second holiday in Greece this year.
One advantage of travelling out of season is that we walked into an empty airport at Manchester and was able to check in and pass through security within 10 minutes – excellent! Let’s hope that the rest of the trip goes like this.
The flight is just over 3 hours in duration and non-eventful – just as I like it! We had one of those amazing captain’s that pointed out the landmarks below us. We are given amazing views of Venice with its instantly recognisable canal networks. Thomson airlines have gone all ‘no-frills’ so no more Aldo Zilli inflight meals or in-flight entertainment. What a shame – I used to look forward to the Aldo Zilli meals.
As we approach Preveza airport we fly over Lefkada where the long causeway joining this ‘island’ to the mainland is clearly visible.
We were out of the airport in no time. We had booked (very expensive) airport transfers with Suntransfers and a private taxi was waiting for us just outside the arrival doors.
The driver exchanged a single word ‘give’ as he took my suitcase. The journey started OK. At 7.30pm, nightfall was almost upon us. The road out of Preveza is a good single-lane tarmac road and an open license for fast driving. And fast driving it was! Luckily I couldn’t see the speedometer but Peter could and later told me in the safety of the hotel that at times he was driving at 156 kilometres per hour. According to Google this is the equivalent of 96.93 miles per hour. Surely that can’t be right! We have a 90 kilometre journey to our hotel. Our hotel is closer to Albania than it is to the airport and this driver doesn’t want to hang around!
If we’d been driving on a three-lane motorway, 96.93 miles an hour would have been pushing it. Here we are on a poorly lit single-lane road that I would describe as treacherous. We’re talking hairpin bends, sporadic road lighting (if any) and a whole array of wildlife that seems to think that the highway is a good place to congregate.
After passing through Parga the taxi begins to ascend the road towards Sivota. The driver’s full beam picks up a body in the middle of the road – later identified as a fox. ‘Fox!’ he shouts veering to the left without as much as a tiny bit of pressure on the brakes. The startled fox leapt into the hedgerow to the right just in time. Our driver breaks out into a large belly laugh. Peter and I laugh too though I think out of sheer relief and mild hysteria.
Within minutes of this, the car’s full beam hits a larger animal wandering along the side of the road. The young bull looks startled but this time our driver not willing to go head to head with the bull, hits the brakes and we lurch forward restrained only by our seatbelts. Yes swear words were said! Again he finds this hilarious and says ‘Fox – little problem. This – big problem!’ We also find it hilarious and hysteria sets in again!
As we begin to descend the mountain we see a cluster of lights over to our right. ‘Corfu’ our driver chirps up. It looks almost within touching distance.
Soon after we are off the main road and driving through a village of Sivota. We arrive at the Albatros Hotel and with a handshake and a thank you our driver is gone.
We were so shaken and exhausted with the trauma we simply threw our bags into the room and headed down to the bar for a mojito or two and a bite to eat at the bar.
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The hotel is small and spotlessly clean and the staff are super friendly. It has been newly refurbished. Our room has a large balcony with a pool view and a lovely modern bathroom.
After recovering from our trauma we take a walk into the village to explore a little. Not that you can do much exploring at this time of night but we’re itching to see what Sivota has to offer. The streets are completely empty and all we can hear is the chorus of cicadas in the distance.
Sivota town is small with a few supermarkets and a string of tavernas and bars line the main road. The marina is packed full of yachts and fishing boats.
One of the other reasons that I wanted to visit Sivota is because I thought it may be a good place to visit Meteora and Albania that have been on my travel list for a long time. We found a travel agency called Isabela that happened to still be open. The lady in the agency didn’t sound hopeful for our plans. At this time of year, many of the guided tours have finished. However, there may be some running from Parga that we could join. She asks us to come back in the morning.
Tomorrow we will see what options are available to us! Fingers crossed!
