Facing the north coast of Kalamos, and 10 miles south of Paleros, the little town of Mitika seems relatively unknown to cruisers. It sits in an enviable position in the north Ionian, just half a day's sail from the popular stopping places at Nidri, Meganissi, Sivota, and Kefalonia further south. An Internet search revealed hardly any information about this place, apart from a couple of areas with the same name in other parts of Greece. From the sea, the stretch of houses bordering the L-shaped seafront at Mitika with its dramatic mountain backdrop can be seen from some distance away, and many charter yachts and flotillas must have sailed past it on their way to Kastos or Kalamos, but very few call in.

Mitika is quite unlike most other Ionian towns. We describe it as very "Greek" - as well as the picturesque waterfront, the rest of the town behind was rather scruffy in parts, an unfinished harbour, sprawling back streets with half built houses and open areas with abandoned cars. There are no tourist shops here, the small hotels and apartments attract mostly the locals, and the hustle and bustle of the popular yacht harbours has been left behind. But it has a charm which is infectious. The attractive narrow main street heads north, lined with many local eating and drinking establishments, many of which back on to the sea, making a wonderful place to stop for a drink or a bite to eat and admire the glorious sunset over Lefkas Island. There are a few local shops including a bakery, mini market and two pharmacies. We walked past one tiny open doorway which we thought was someone's home, with a small table and chairs outside. When we looked more closely, it was actually a tiny shop run by a tiny old woman - her front room had been turned into an emporium of delights where the wall shelves were decorated with coloured paper holding bottles and jars of all sorts, and on the floor were piles of fruit boxes and some ancient weighing scales.

Rod Heikell's Ionian pilot book (6th edition) and the Navionics iPad app both suggest that there are two harbours at Mitika, but in fact the smaller one to the SW does not exist! There are the remains of, or maybe the beginnings of, some underwater blocks forming the shape of a harbour, but they are just under the water and dangerous to approach. Several orange lights indicate their presence at night, but this area is unusable. The existing slightly larger harbour is well used by local small boats, but there is a reasonable space for 6-10 yachts to go stern to on the south west wall, with a depth of up to 3m. Do not obstruct the yellow striped markings on the quay which is the area reserved for the barges and foot passenger ferries which go to the nearby islands. If the harbour is full, you can anchor off the west side of the village in light winds.

We enjoyed our two-day stay in Mitika - we must have sailed past it about a dozen times in previous years on our way to and from other harbours and anchorages, but we had missed a little gem.