Once you are on the island of Corfu, it is fairly easy to do a day trip to the Greek mainland by ferry. But if you are in a hurry and intend to visit both Paxos and Parga on the same day, then things might get a little bit more complicated, as the ferry connections from Corfu only takes you either to Igoumenitsa on the mainland, or to the island of Paxos south of Corfu, but not to both at the same time. In other words, there are no direct ferry links between Paxos and Parga, and the only way to visit both places on the same day is to join a pre-arranged boat excursion organized by one of the local tour operators.
As it turned out, in 2011 such a Parga+Paxos tour runs only once a week, on Sunday. Since I was on the island of Corfu for one week only, I immediately booked an excursion to both places on the coming Sunday. If you book the tour at any travel agency in one of the island's tourist resorts or from the tour rep, the price of the boat excursion would include a complimentary shuttle service from an appointed pick-up place near your hotel to the harbour and back.
On the day of the excursion, I arrived ten minutes ahead of the schedued shuttle pick-up time afraid of missing out on this highly anticipated trip. The shuttle bus arrived at the pick-up place at the scheduled time, stopped at another two places en route to pick up more fellow passengers, before turning up in front of the boat at Corfu Town's domestic harbour for disembarkation. The boat is brand new double-deck conventional ferry with a capacity of about 150 passengers. On that particular excursion, the boat was almost full, as a result of which I ended up sitting on a couch in the Captain's Deck. The captain of the ferryboat, a Greek man born in Corfu of about fourty something, had worked on commercial cargo ships for more than 15 years before returning to his hometown in the last few years; he was positively surprised to see someone from Taiwan on his boat - Corfu is certainly not a very well-known destination to visitors from Asia - as he had been to Taiwan on several occasions in the previous decades, and still has fond memories of the port city of Kaohsiung and the people he encountered there. That was not the first time in Greece I encountered former merchant seamen who had been to Taiwan before on one of their sailings; on several Greek islands I came across retired seamen or active captains who know very well where Kaohsiung is, and how people in Taiwan behave. Compared to many western Europeans, who still manage to confuse Taiwan with Thailand, the seafaring Greeks are much better informed in this aspect.
As the ferryboat sailed out of Corfu's picturesque harbour, one gets a marvellous panoramic view of Corfu's Old Town, the impressive fortress castle, and the beautiful Italianate style buildings that lined the promenade and the cliffs overlooking the harbour.
The first port of call was Parga, the birthplace of the skillful Ottoman diplomat and Grand Vizier Pargali Ibrahim Pasha, the trusted right-hand man of Suleiman the Magnificent. Nowadays, the place has become a upmarket holiday resort popular with affluent holidaymakers from Europe. The journey from Corfu to Parga took about 2 hours. On that particular day, the Ionion Sea was calm and one gets a good view of the coastlines of mainland Greece from the ferry deck as the boat sailed southwards towards Parga. It is advisable to take a jacket or a scarf and lots of sun screens to protect you from the sea breeze and the sun though, as after two hours on the sea, my head was feeling slightly heady from all the wind and the sun.
As the ferryboat slowed down upon approaching the mooring place inside Parga's harbour, the ruins of the Parga Castle, built by the Venetians in late 18th century to defend the town of Parga from the Ottomans, greeted us from atop a steep cliff at the left-hand side of the harbour's entrance. Nowadays parts of the ruins had been converted into a restaurant-pub serving local food and fancy alcoholic drinks. It was a short climb from the harbour promenade up to the entrance of the castle, where one gets a great view of the entire harbour and the little white church located on a small island off the harbour of Parga.
There is no doubt this is a beautiful seaside village with a serene flaire, but at the very first sight I was not very impressed by Parga. Perhaps that was because I had already seen so many other beautiful Greek harbours in the last few years, and I already have a solid idea which Greek islands are on the top of my rankings. As a result, I was beginning to experience some kind of 'beauty fatigue' when it comes to scenic little coastal villages in Greece. Unless a place could strike me emotionally within the very first few seconds, chances like I would be able to survive without visiting it again.
That being said, it does not mean that Parga is not a beautiful place. As the saying goes, 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder'; what I found amazing and unforgettable is not necessarily someone else's favourite. Judging by the number of visitors enjoying the beautiful sunshine and gentle sea breeze on the busy waterfront promenade along Parga's harbour, there sure are plenty of people who are fan of this little scenic village.
The myriad narrow lanes and tiny winding streets of Parga are by all means worth a visit. Take your time to stroll around the harbour, enjoy a cup of coffee or some Italian ice-cream at one of the chic cafes along the waterfront, shop at the various boutiques and souvenir shops selling local honey, olive soaps and other related products, take photos of the pretty terrace gardens full of flowers of local houses, try out some authentic Greek seafoods at one of the many local taverns which offer splendid views of the harbour and the bay which encircled the other side of this little village.
For those who love swimming or simply tanning themselves in the hot Ionian sun, head towards the other side of Parga by walking up all the way to the top of the village, where a cliffside road and flights of stairs would lead you to a beautiful sandy bay suitable for both adults and children. The beach is equipped with standard amenities,several seaside taverns and fish restaurants, and rows of sun chairs. There are more cafes and taverns along the flight of stairs descending from the village down to the beach, offering spectacular views of this side of Parga.
The problem with visiting Parga+Paxos on a day trip basis is, the tour only allows for a two-hour stop in Parga, which means I was in a constant hurry to keep watch over time as not to miss the ferry to Paxos. Which is really a pity, because Parga certainly merits more than just a few hours. There are many small hotels, pensions, self-catering units and rental-rooms etc. inside the village of Parga available for rental to tourists.
Finally, on a more solemn note: serene and transquil as this peaceful village may seem, this part of northern Greece, known as Epirus, witnessed some of the worst atrocities committed by both the Nationalist army and the Communist guerrillas during the notorious Greek Civil War (1946-1949), which claimed the lives of more than 150,000 innocent civilians. The rugged, mountainous terrains of the Epirus and the region's proximity to Albania (then under communist control and a sponsor of the Communist Party of Greece and its military wing, the Democratic Army of Greece, in the Greek Civil War) turned this part of northern Greece into a battleground between the forces of the Greek national army and Greek communist guerrillas. As most villages in the mountains of Epirus were occupied by communist forces during the civil war years, large numbers of civilian children were forcibly removed from their famiy by communists to other Eastern bloc countries for indoctrination. The issue of the forcible removal of children by both sides of the belligerent parties during the Civil War remain a highly emotional and contentious topic within the post-civil war Greek society. The story of one such removal of young children from their parents in communist-controlled Epirus was depicted in the semi-autographical novel 'Eleni' by Greek-American journalist Nicholas Gage, who was born in the region of Epirus in 1939.
Copyrights@2012. All text and photos by YC Cheng. All Rights Reserved.
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