The Last Lefkada Supper

The view from one of Adonis’ Thea Resort villas on Lefkada island on the Ionian Sea in Northwestern Greece

I stay an extra night in Lefkada. I want to ride the island one more time. Take comfort and revel in awe at these beautiful beaches. I also share a sunset and meal with Adonis, the owner of the villa, Thea Resort, my brother Jonathan and his friends rented a few years ago.

Full of energy, spirit, and spunk, Adonis—who is also known as Antonio—is an architect but chooses not to practice anymore, except for close friends. He tired of the handholding and challenges of client service. Instead, he built two hillside villas with panoramic views overlooking the sea and other islands around Lefkada.

Adonis aka Antonio of Lefkada’s Thea Resort Villas

Sharing a fun moment with a fellow world traveler, Renee from Boston. Follow her on Instagram

He prefers to service his guests who travel from all over the world who also wish to revel in awe at the beaches and hospitality of Lefkada. He shows me the villas as he tends to a group of young Bulgarians, then later introduces me to a family from Great Britain as they lounge by the infinity pool. They all great him not as someone they leased a property, but rather as a host and friend.

Adonis takes me a western beach where we enjoy a sunset over a meal of local cuisine, dining alfresco at his favorite restaurant. The fava puree with onions is fresh and gives a new appreciation of the flavors of fava, and the octopus, cooked the traditional way with olive oil, lemon and cooked in the oven is tender and delicious. Zucchini lightly breaded and flash fried joins the several other accompaniments or meze of our meal.

After, at a cafe in downtown Lefkada we meet Renee, a woman from Boston who is traveling the world, but taking refuge for some time in Lefkada and living and working on a sailboat to enjoy more Greek sunshine while saving money for further travels. She is a beekeeper and a photographer who has been traveling for several months. I tell her about the beekeeper I met near Athani while Adonis sets her up with accommodations near there for this weekends Festival of Bees and Honey.

Sadly, I will not make it to the festival. It would be easy to stick around and settle into the Lefkada chilled lifestyle, and the lifestyle of a perpetual traveler. It’s been many years since I traveled for “years at a time” — this trip I’m on a mission, though always leaving time for spontaneity. Yet I have a deadline, I think.

For now, the road calls and while I will leave Lefkada, I wonder if I can leave Greece behind.