Kefalonia Part 5.......

Just a short bus ride away from Melissini Lake is The Drogorati Cave in the area of Haliotata.

Situated 120m above sea level, the cave descends to a depth of 95 metres, reached be approximately 170 steps - yes I counted them but was so out of breath on the way up that I may have miscounted! The temperature is a steady 18 degrees Celsius, it is regarded as one of the finest in Greece, the only one with such a large chamber 65m x 45m and about 20m in height and has served as the venue for concerts because the superb acoustics . The cave is a rare geological phenomenon with fantastic examples of huge stalactites and stalgmites, which scientists say grow 1cm every 100 years, giving you some idea of just how old the cave is.

You are allowed to take photos in the cave but without the use of flash, so we had to use the night setting and consequently the photos are a bit shaky.

.

You can see from these two photos

the size of the stalacmites and

stalagtites compared to

MWM and I

standing next to them.














You cannot imagine the size and magnificence of Drogorati Cave just by seeing photographs of it, it is truly awe inspiring and obviously a 'must see' if you visit Kefalonia.

I do hope you've enjoyed hearing/seeing where we spent our holiday.

Just one more thing....


When coming into land at Manchester Airport we had almost touched down when the pilot took off again! You can imagine the look on everyone's faces. Once he'd levelled out he explained that Air Traffic Control had given permission for him to land at the same time another plane was taking off, on the same runway, so he'd had to climb again. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence in ATC especially when, just five days later, two planes 'bumped' into each other as they were taxiing on the same runway! Maybe we should fly from somewhere else next year, what do you say?


Now then, where to next year? That's the burning question!

Kefalonia Part 4....

Continuing the bus tour we left Fiskardo and travelled south to the district of Sami to visit Melissani Lake.

Melissani Lake or 'Cave of the Nymphs' is located at Karavomlos, just 2km from the town of Sami. It is a unique cave structure, with a lake whose waters reach a depth of 39 meteres. To reach the cave one has to descend a sloping ramp down to the boats waiting on the lake. The cave is 160m long and 40m wide. Its stalactites date back 16,000 to 20,000 years in age. In the centre of the lake, where the covered section begins, there is a small island 30m in length on the surface of which are two small elevatioins, 8m and 9m in height.

A narrow channel between this little island and the walls of the lake leads to the rest of the cave. We were expertely ferried through the channel, 12 to a rowing boat, by one of the four boatmen who work at the lake.

Melissani has been the site of several excavations which have brought to light a number of finds, most of them from the 3rd and 4th centrues BC, and attesting to a cult of the god Pan. A number of female figures have also been found the famous Nymphs. The visitor can tour the lake on a boat and admire the wonderful colours to be seen in the water constantly changing as the sunlight falls on it ghrough the apeture in the roof above.

The lake is fed from the sea but by the time the water reaches the lake it has lost 90% of its salinity, this almost clear water is fed back into the sea. It was cool on the lake but not cold, though one could certainly feel the change in temperature ascending to the exit.

Melissini Lake is a beautiful natural phenomenon, well worth a visit if you ever find yourself in Kefalonia.

Tune in for Kefalonia Part 5 and our visit to Drogorati Cave.

Kefalonia Part 3......

We got a day's rest after the boat trip and had to be in bed early on the Saturday because we were being picked up at 7.30 a.m. ( I know, we're gluttons for punishment)on the middle Sunday for a coach tour of the island (Kefalonia).

Still half asleep we climbed aboard the coach with Julie and Dave, a couple who were staying at our hotel with whom we had struck up a friendship. We drove NorthWest past the capital Argostoli stopping to view the most photographed beach on Kefalonia, Myrtos Bay. (see slide show). Although beautiful it is not safe to swim in the bay because of the currents, but you can sunbathe on the beach, however the extremely steep, winding road down to the beach is not for the faint hearted and certainly not designed for coaches so we could only take photographs.

Travelling North to the beautiful little fishing village of Assos a small and charming village 36 kilometres from the capital of Kefalonia. It has about a hundred inhabitants and is one of the most picturesque and beautiful villages of the island. Dominated by the ruins of a 16th century Venetian castle, the village of Assos was built on a small peninsula that has the same name. Its traditional and charming atmosphere is created by the hospitality of its inhabitants, the traditional architecture, the narrow alleys and the excellent little taverns perched on the quayside that overlook the bay. This unspoilt village is a must for photographers, with its pretty white washed and pastel houses surrounded by a picturesque stone-terraced hilly terrain. Assos sits on the west coast of the peninsular on Kefalonia, sadly damaged by the 1953 earthquake, but beautifully restored with the help of a donation from Paris,which is why the square is officially known as Paris Square with a marble inscription acknowledging the assistance received from France in rebuilding the village. There are remnants of houses from the earthquake for sale at 100,00Euros, if you buy one you have to restore it in keeping with the architecture keeping the original as it stands. Everyone on the bus agreed that if they won the Lottery they would be returning to Assos, purchasing a ruin to restore and retiring there it was so beautiful.


Continuing our journey we skirted the northern tip of the island then took the road south to the harbour town of Fiskardo - the Marbella of Kefalonia. The rich and famous moor up there and consequently the restaurants and cafes think that everyone who visits is rich. Fiskardo was not affected by the earthquake so consequently most of the original buildings have survived. We had lunch at the Cafe Tselenti which has been owned by the Tselentis family since 1893 . We were given the picture below with our bill and the text on it reads:

In 1900 all of the inhabitants of Fiskardo assembled in front of the

building which has been owned by the Tselentis family since 1893 for what we presume was a celebration for a Greek National Holiday.

Fiskardo 1900

Apparently at the end of the holiday season there are only 100 inhabitants in Fiskardo.

Tune in for Kefalonia Part 4 and the rest of the Bus Tour, visiting Melissani Lake.

Kefalonia Part 2.......

Apart from sunbathing, reading, sleeping, eating and drinking, we didn't do a lot on the first week of our holiday. However we booked a boat trip round the neighbouring island of Ithaca for the second Friday we were there.

We were picked up by coach at 8 a.m. and taken to the little harbour at Agia Efimia, where much of Captain Corelli's Mandolin was filmed. In fact there's a taverna called Captain Correlli's there though we didn't have time to call in for refreshments.

We boarded the boat, The Ithaca Princess, and set sail towards the narrow strait between Kefalonia and Ithaca, which for the most part is between 3 and 5 kilometres wide. Approaching the strait storm clouds were gathering, the water became rather choppy and it began to rain - not a good start to a boat trip! Thankfully we hadn't opted to sit on the sundeck because all the people up there were asked to come down to the lower decks until we got through the strait. The captain promised the sun would reappear then. Do you remember the scene in 'Jason and the Argonauts' where they were sailing through the 'clashing rocks' well it was a bit like that! (See the 'storm clouds' picture on the slide show). Anyway the captain was right, once through the strait we left the storm behind and emerged into bright sunshine.

Neolithic finds in the north of Ithaca date it's earliest inhabitation back to at least 3000 BC. According to it's infamous mythology, the island was named after either Ithacus , son of the sea-god 'Poseidon' or Ithacis, the son of a Kephalonia king who settled there. It is said to be the home of Odysseus and reached it's peak around 1000 BC, which seems to correspond with Homer's writing of the much disputed Odyssey . Archaeological finds from this period have been used to support the reading of this epic as a literal description of historic events and can be seen in Vathi's Archaeological Museum.

Our first stop was in one of the beautiful bays for a short swim-stop. MWM doesn't swim and I seemed to have got something in my eye, which was watering mercilesly, so I gave swimming a miss and just enjoyed the scenery. (see 'swimstop' on the slideshow)

We set sail again to the village of Kioni where we docked for about forty-five minutes, giving us enough time to walk round the village, have an ice-cream and take some photographs. On the 20th of July, the inhabitants of the lovely village of Kioni, reach the small church of Agios Elias (built on the rocks by the sea) with their little fishing boats to attend the holy service and celebrate the feast of the saint with a huge feast back in Kioni, full of live traditional music, dances, tasty food and excellent wine. (see 'Sailor's Chapel' Kioni on the slideshow). Of course we missed it!

Setting sail once more for the capital of Ithaca, Vathi, we marvelled at how green yet mountainous the island is and enjoyed the running commentary given by the three guides on the boat. They gave us lots of historical information about Ithaca, none of which I can remember, but it was all very interesting if you want to read up on it here.

Sailing into Vathi we saw the seaplane taking off for one of its twice daily flights to Argostoli (Kefalonia's capital). Vathi is very picturesque and we had two hours there, enough time to have a delicious Greek salad, local bread and a beer for lunch in one of the harbour tavernas (see lunch in Vathi on the slideshow) before exploring the pretty cobbled streets.

Leaving Vathi we sailed round to yet another bay for a swim-stop, I chickened out again opting to bag one of the seats on the sundeck to catch some rays whilst it's occupants were swimming. The sail back to Agia Efimia was a lot smoother than the sail out. By the time we got back to the hotel it was 7 p.m. - a long day but a very enjoyable one, time to get showered and changed and out to dinner.

Tune in for Kefalonia part 3 soon.

Kefalonia Part 1 ......

Ok y'all it's time to bore you with the holiday photos!

First of all the above picture is actually a photograph MWM took late at night of the moon on the sea on the beach road just near out hotel - isn't it beautiful!

We had a really early start to our holiday being picked up by taxi at 3.30 a.m. on Thursday 17th July for a 6 a.m. flight out of Manchester. We'd had about an hour's sleep but were raring to go. I'd packed everything except the kitchen sink and an umbrella but we weighed the luggage to make sure we wouldn't have to pay excess baggage, (the airports are really strict on luggage now), and off we went.

Our flight didn't actually take off until 6.25 a.m. but made up the half hour delay so we landed in Kefalonia spot on time. We were off the plane and on the bus on our way to the resort of Skala within 30 mins which is excellent for a Greek airport I can tell you.

The ride across the mountains and through the little windy streets of the villages in a huge coach is quite an hairaising one I can tell you, the coach drivers deserve a medal! The scenery was spectacular though so we didn't dwell too much on the sheer drops at the side of the mountain roads. The journey took about one and half hours with the drop offs at varioius hotels but it meant that we got to see the other hotels and were happy with our choice once we got there.

We stayed at the Aeolos Beach Hotel in Skala which is set up quite a steep hill about a twenty minute walk from the centre of Skala itself. You'll see from the slide show the magnificent views we had from the balcony and the pool area and it was really peaceful compared to the busling resort during the day.

The rooms are huge, with a power shower, comfortable beds, very clean and well maintained. The pool and it's surroundings are beautiful, with wonderful views and there are more than enough sunbeds and umbrellas even when the hotel is full. The staff at the hotel are friendly helpful - Angela is a charming and helpful manager, she is helped by Lisa, who always has a cheery good morning/afternoon and a lovely smile. Kat organises breakfast and cooks at lunchtime - her BLT's are to die for! Evo (the handyman) apparently was an Olympic weight lifter, which is believable when you see him lift two 20kg suitcases and run up and down stairs with them as though they were two bags of sugar! Michael, the barman, is friendly and mixes great drinks, we asked for our favourite - Ouzo, topped up with sprite and a dash of Grenadine - he said Ouzo Specials will now but put on the cocktail menu!

The hotel is about a 20 minute walk into the centre of Skala but we enjoyed it - a nice way to work up an appetite and walk off your evening meal. The hill up to the hotel is a bit of a killer though - not for the infirm, though saying that I didn't have a problem even though I had a knee replacement 16 months ago, I managed it with no problem apart from getting out of breath! We suggested they install an oxygen station half way up the hill. If you don't mind a walk it's the ideal location, if you turn left at the bottom of the hill instead of right into Skala centre, there are some great restaurants that way too - that would be a long walk if you staying in the centre though so we were ideally situated for a variety of restaurants. All the restaurants are good and we got 10% discount when dining at the Hotel's Restaurant, Aeolos, on the beach road. There was a Chinese and Italian restaurant which were a nice change from Greek food.

If you hover your cursor over the slides below it will show the description of the photo.

Hope you enjoyed your introduction to Skala, more soon.