This has to be one of my favourite places on Lefkas. The tiny church of Ayios Ioannis Antzousis sits at the end of Milos beach.. an incredibly peaceful spot, with tuquiose blue seas to the north and olive trees and pines surrounding it. Inside, its very plain: just simple whitewashed walls, and a few icons.
The church itself is the oldest church on Lefkas; founded in the 14th century by the short-lived french invaders from Anjou, and built into the side of the hill, nestling under a large olive tree. Its on an older site.. reputedly where Apostle Paul preached when visiting Lefkas on his tour of the Med spreading the word about Christianity. Whether you're religious or not, its worth a visit to feel the very calm and peaceful.. nay, dare I say spiritual, presence. Clearly a view shared with other people.
Its good to cycle or walk to here. One of our good marina pursuits is to cycle round the salt lagoons to the north of Lefkada town, enjoying the views back to the town and over to the mainland, in winter often seeing snow capped mountains to the north east over crystal blue seas.
Keep a watchful look for what's around.. pelicans, flamingos, greater and little egrets, coots, various sorts of ducks, kingfishers.. and many other occasional or regular visitors. Then turn down the Milos beach road, and either cut through to make a circuit up through olive groves to the south of the town, or continue down to end of the beach road to visit the church. Or maybe walk to here, and follow the track above the church back through the olive groves, observing the progress of vegetable plots and grape vines, and marvelling at the wide range of spring flowers.
Being back in the marina has given me a chance to revist these walks and visit the church again.. today after putting more white stones on Ollie and Skye's graves. A spot of quiet meditation, and some candles to honour their short lives.
