When we arrived at our hotel on our first day we were told about another hotel called Ionian Blue just down the road which visitors could use free of charge.
We were so busy and had so much we could do that we
completely forgot about Ionian Blue until 2 days before we came home and our
lovely friends Lucy and Chris reminded us that it was there, we latched onto
them and decided to go the next day.
It is on the same road as the secret beach and took us
about 10 minutes to walk to from our hotel. We liked walking down the hill from
our hotel for this reason…
The German Shepherd was nicknamed Barky Dog because he liked
to let visitors know he was watching however, there were too many kitties for
us to name! And these were only a few of the four legged friends we made while
we were away, shout out to Fluffy Back, Ginger Puss, Short Tail Big Balls, and
Scruffy Dog.
Just before you reach Ionian Blue there is a side path leading
down to the sea, walk all the way down that path (even when you think you’re
going the wrong way!) And you will be greeted by this.
As much as I love the beach, it was so refreshing to be on
some lovely clean decking. Ionian Blue allow you to use the decking area and a
sunbed with no charge as long as you buy a drink or 2 from their beach bar.
Bargain!
Can I just take a
moment to talk about my amazing Batoko swimming costume? Batoko were recommended
to me by my sisters and it is honestly one of my favourite things I’ve ever
worn (just remember to buy a lined costume, unlined ones are completely see-through).
When I first saw it online I remember Dan persuaded me not to buy it because I ‘would
look like a 5 year old’… well jokes on you pal because everyone loved it!
He even admitted that he was coming around to it.
Once we had settled down on our loungers, mine in the shade
and Dan’s in the sun, we decided that the water was too inviting to resist
anymore.
The water was the perfect temperature and crystal clear,
just as we had become accustomed (Bournemouth is just not going to cut it anymore).
The fish here were absolutely huge! Which brings us to our next activity of the
day…
SNORKELLING!
We pottered around for quite a while in the warm waters and
saw so much life! Big fish, little fish (no cardboard boxes) eels, crabs, and
starfish. But the best creatures we saw that day were not through our goggles.
As we were laying back on our sunbeds after our snorkelling
Dan suddenly announced he saw some dolphins, to which everyone replied that
they didn’t believe him, although we all opened our eyes just in case. Lo and
behold around 30 yards out to sea were a school of 6 dark grey dolphins all
cutting through the water in pairs. Up we all scrambled to get a better view
and maybe even snap a picture or 2 (which we did not manage) and stood for
around 10 minutes in silence watching the peaceful beauties go about their day,
amazing.
All this excitement made us hungry so we clambered up to the
beach bar for club sandwiches and berrgers.
The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, tanning (not me
obvs) and drinking delicious Mythos. Although we didn’t do much it was one of
the best days on our holidays just because we got to completely relax with
absolutely nobody else around us and enjoy the sea for a whole day without impaling
ourselves on sharp little pebbles.
If you ever go to Lefkada I thoroughly recommend this lovely
hotel for a day. It completely recharged us to return home.
