Wednesday 5 October 2017

Island of Cephalonia, Greece

Excursion: "The Best of Cephalonia"

Forecast: Clear skies,

Max 26°

This morning once again we quietly "motored" into port and were ready for disembarking at 8:30am.

Our information package provided by Cunard when we booked our cruise, contained details of "optional tours" we could take in each port. For this tour it states "Cephalonia's beauty is legendary. Enjoy a scenic drive through lush countryside, passing vineyards and caress glades".

And so it was. On board our coach, we were greeted by our Greek guide, who came to Greece from Germany some thirty years ago, her name Heinde.

The port town and capital Argostoli is so beautiful, the town was originally built in Venetian style however many buildings were destroyed in 1953 earthquake. As they rebuilt, in their effort to house displaced people who for many months were living in tents, the housing was more typical of Greece, square buildings with flat roofs. This meant at least people could have roof over their heads more quickly.

However as the years passed, the locals yearned for the Venetian style to "pretty" their homes and so they passed a law that new buildings must return to have pitched roofs and tiles. So today you can see a mixture of "venetian" style and more traditional Greek style homes and businesses. It is a "pretty" seaside town, quite large.

As we journey up Ainos Mountain, one of the highest mountains in Greece, and now a National Park we could see thick fir trees covered the mountain. In times past, when under British protectorship, it was Governor Charles Napier who saved the deforestation of this unique fir tree. It only grows on this mountain, nowhere else in the world. Due to it's dark green foliage, the locals refer to it is "black mountain".

The locals think very kindly, some say, even love Governor Napier. He did good things for the people and the place during his time on this island. Under his rule a bridge was built across the lake, which made transport to/fro to the capital Argostoli faster. This bridge has sunk significantly over the years and now has been reinforced but is now only a pedestrian bridge. Still the locals use it daily.

We passed the ancient city of Sami, Cephalonia's busiest port and the location where "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" was filmed.

On our drive up the very winding, narrow roads we were very impressed at the skill of our coach driver. Semi-wild goats were encountered, seemingly knowing or assuming their right of passage and they were very reluctant to clear the road. I say semi-wild, apparently they are owned but let out each morning to graze the very steep hillsides, namely "mountain-goats". At night they make their own way back to their owner/farm and are penned.

Next stop, was the seaside village of Fiskardo where pastel-coloured houses surround the waterfront lined with coffee shops, tavernas and souvenir shops. This was a delightful village where we spent 2.5hours, enjoyed a wonderful Greek lunch of meze, and I ordered a plate of "hot potato chips". This was because I saw the episode on television at home "Rick Stein visits Europe" started in Venice and ended in Instanbul, and he stated that the best potato chips he had ever had were in Greece. They were really good. He thought it was not only the cutting of the potatoes but the olive oil they were cooked in. The local coffee was great too.

Oh, by the way, we have found a use for the dreaded "instant coffee". Here along this water front, for some unknown reason, they are plagued with "wasps", like our nuisance flies, here it is wasps. So what they do is bring little metal bowl to each table and in it is "instant coffee", they light it. The smoke rising is not to the liking of wasps! It really works. I thought I might try it at home against our mosquito and see if it has the same effect!! Worth a try don't you think and gives good use for International Roast!!

This delightful village was the only place on the whole island that was not affected by the disastrous 1953 earthquake.

The highlight was a visit to Melissani Lake, the most spectacular cave lake on the island. We entered the cool cavern through a man-made tunnel, which emerges to the shore of the open lake. Boarding a small boat, we made a short exploration of the lake and its eccentric stalactites. When the sun is directly overhead, light pours in, striking the ultramarine waters and creating a myriad of colours. The water is crystal clear ranging from a depth of one metre to 39 metres.

Finally, on the way back, a stop was made at a vantage point, high above Myrtos Bay, enabling the perfect photograph of the most stunning beach on the island.

We were back on board by 3:30pm. The ship did not leave port until 9:30pm, enabling those who wished to meander this lovely sea port longer than usual.

Tomorrow will be a "day at sea" as we make our way to our next stop, Souda Bay, northwest coast of Crete.

Interesting local news: Heinde told us olives are produced here, both green and black variety. Although the oil is not processed here. Every year, after harvest, their olives are collected (bought) by Italians and taken back to Italy and, according to Heinde, processed and bottled under labels "made in Italy".

This was later corrected by our guide in Souda Bay who said their Greek grapes were blended with Italian grapes to produce a finer flavour, and yes, labelled and sold as "Produce of Italy". Sound familiar????