Galaxidi

 

Galaxidi is stunningly beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 The town's public life is played out on the waterfront.

 

 

 



 

A narrow bay,





with the houses, tavernas and bars on the left





and a pine forest on the right

which is beautifully lit at night






and small islands and more of the mainland ahead,

so that the bay has the feel of a lake.

The architecture is traditional - most of the houses are listed and many are at least 200 years old

 

and mountains all around

with the odd snow-capped mountain peak in the distance.

 

The boats in the harbour are modest and that adds to the charm of the place.

The majority of the houses are lovingly restored

but not all.

These two geese are the mascots of the seafront. They untied Ken's shoelaces

when he tried to feed them.

A duckhouse

and a feeder for the three ducks. The town used to have 22 ducks but they got eaten by the stray dogs. The extremely friendly owner of the taverna that became our regular, told us that they have a real problem with stray dogs: at the end of every summer, some holiday makers abandon their dogs and the town people don't know what to do with them. Some get adopted but the rest roam the streets as there are no facilities to cope with so many stray dogs. The English saying of 'a dog should be for life, not just for Christmas', came to mind.

The town has three squares

and palm trees abound.

 

Lots of quaint little alleyways

 

 

 



some of which are beautifully lit at night

 

and some with steps.

 

 



 

 

This gorgeous house was on the way to our hotel

 

 

 

 



 

stone is the most common building material

 



 

but some houses favour a combination of stone and plaster

  

 

while others have elaborate plaster decorations

 



This is too cute for words

 

and the plaque by the door reads 'the little house'.

 

 

 



 

Everything is well cared for

 

 



 

including the drains.

 

 

This gorgeous building

 

 

 



has a plaque at the front that reads 'Virgins' Institute'. It must have been a school for girls, and what to make of the idea that all girls must necessarily be virgins?