1. The Other Greek Isles
Overlooked, and less crowded than the Cycladic islands are the Eptanissia, the "seven islands"
of the Ionian Sea.
When I tell friends, co-workers, and even my pedicurist that I'm off for my annual trip to Greece, they invariably
nod authoritatively and say, "Oh, Athens is so crowded, but the islands . . . Santorini is just beautiful."
Given their dramatic appearance, it's easy to see why Mykonos, Santorini, and the other Cycladic islands have
captured the American imagination. More overlooked, and less crowded, however, are the Eptanissia, the "seven
islands" of the Ionian Sea, which my Greek friends and I favor in summer.
Every bit as lovely as the Cyclades, the Eptanissia are lush and green instead of stark and whitewashed, and have
a distinctive culture that developed under 400 years of Norman, Venetian, French, and British rule.
I've been visiting family on Corfu, the best-known of the Eptanissia, since I was a child. On my most recent trip, I
decided to get to know the six less celebrated islands. I discovered that they're like well-bred sisters: each
alluring in her way. Finding your ideal match is simply a matter of taste.
LEFKADA
Lefkada's most renowned celebrity is the poet Sappho, who is said to have leaped to her death from the barren
cliffs of Cape Lefkadas. But in the mountaintop village of Karya the local celebrity is Brenda Sherry, a Brit who
came on vacation and decided to stay. Now the co-owner of the Café-Bar Pierros, she is famous for her
"toasties," or grilled sandwiches. Sitting under the plane tree in the main square, I asked Brenda if she earned
enough to survive. "I had a great computer programming job in England, but I chucked it all to come here," she
responded, watching an old lady in traditional dress hobble by. "I'm much happier making toasties."
Brenda extolled the clean air and slow pace of village life, but I suspect that what drew her to Karya is its Twin
Peaks mood. This is a town whose favorite daughter is Maria Koutsohera (a.k.a. Hollowhand), a one-armed
woman who created the decorative Karsanika stitch in the early 1900's, turning Karya into a hub of the
embroidery industry. Her school is now the Folklore Museum, where the owner, Theodoros, praises the woman
who taught his mother to sew. "She was short, ugly, and handicapped," he exclaimed to me. "And look what she
did with the gifts God gave her!"
The rest of Lefkada is just as idiosyncratic, except for the touristy windsurfing destination of Vassiliki, and Nydri,
the starting point for boat trips to 10 tiny satellite islands. After wandering the pedestrian lanes of the town of
Lefkada, which are lined with a jumble of chapels, tavernas, and cottages, I found my ideal spot in Agios Nikitas, a
vertical village rolling into a small beach that offers few diversions besides watching kids splash and fishermen
cast their lines off the rocks. Lefkada connects to the mainland by a causeway, so it's popular with vacationing
Greeks. As I sat at a beachfront café, eavesdropping on chain-smoking matrons reciting a litany of scandals,
Lefkada suddenly switched from Twin Peaks to Peyton Place.