M
ost people forget Fanari Bay. It’s
just a few miles south of Parga
on the Ionian and opposite the
northern tip of Paxos, both of which are
favoured by most people on a north/
south passage or those just cruising
the northern Ionian.
It’s worth a visit, though its downside is
that you’re most likely to get a rolling,
bouncy night. The bay is exposed to the
west. That said, it has good holding and
with a decent anchor and plenty of chain
is more uncomfortable than unpleasant,
depending on the conditions.
We stayed there en route from Lefkas to
Corfu in early September, and found just
two other boats in the bay for the night.
Phil Johnson is a
former BBC and
ITV producer and
reporter. He’s the
author of several
children’s books,
including The Little
Blue Boat and the
Marsh Man’s Gold! and tries to spend
three months of the year cruising
the Ionian with his wife Fi, in their
Hallberg-Rassy 34, Panacea.
The bay is fringed by a beach, with the
low-key and low-rise resort of Ammoudia
behind it. It’s popular with campervans.
Lots of them; German, Dutch, French and
some Brits. They park up for weeks on
end along the edge of the resort, by the
mouth of the River Acheron, which
empties out into Fanari Bay.
The Acheron is said to be the mythical
River Styx; the gateway to Hades, theunderworld. It’s quite green in places, with
large overhanging branches and foliage at
the water’s edge. It reminded me of our
local rivers at home. Further inland, the
water’s a chalky white colour, and if you
walk it closer to its source, you can see
white water pouring from crevices in steep
gorges; hence the belief it’s coming from
‘the underworld’.
The water that comes from the base ofForgotten Fanari
Phil Johnson discovers an Ionian bay full of surprises
- including a river-trip to the underworld!
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View across Fanari Bay from Ammoudia village