Bathed in a very special light, this divine villa stands perched beside a petite bay along the Ambracian Gulf. With a spot of luck, you’ll spy dolphins hunting and playing as you sit around the breakfast table, close enough to see with your naked eye. And when the high summer months gather, and the heat rises, you will be found reclining on the patio, shaded by olive trees just above the beach. Noontime reliably brings a pleasantly cool breeze wafting in from the sea. Subsiding again before evening, this wind provides welcome respite from the summer heat. In the evenings, you will set off for the village to visit Spiro and his family in their traditional tavern, where you can enjoy Garides fresh from the sea: king prawns from the Ambracian Gulf, a feted delicacy throughout Greece. But before that you can drop by to visit Spiro’s sons, Alexis or Georgios, in their tavern down by the beach at Koulouri, and share an ouzo beneath the imperious, 500-year-old olive trees.

It is unlikely you will often find another location possessed by a similar beauty. Then again, maybe you won’t go out. Perhaps you will prefer to stay at home and prepare a meal with the deep-red, aromatic tomatoes, crisp cucumbers and ripe peppers you harvested in Georgios’ organic garden, located on the expansive property, which you are welcome to use. And if you get talking, you can certainly anticipate a long and entertaining evening. You will find out at first-hand plenty of things about Greek lifestyle and mentality. And when each stay in Villa Levanda draws to an end, you, your family and all your friends will find yourself in a relaxed frame of mind, looking forward to your next sojourn in this untouched hide-away full of friendly locals.