Thursday June 21 – Kefalonia Day 1 - Getting Acquainted
There is something pleasurable about waking up, opening your eyes, seeing the azure blue sky, staggering out
of bed, putting a bathing suit on, and rolling into the swimming pool. The
beginning of a relaxed day. After breakfast….or brunch….we walked the 2 k down the
switchback lane to the Koroni Beach. The ocean was safe, warm, and inviting.
It’s been a long time since
I lay on the beach; I think it was last in 2013 at River No. 2 in Sierra Leone.
The men left ahead of us, and then Fiona and I made our way slowly up the steep
hill back to the house.
We relaxed in the afternoon, went in for a swim, took a shower, and readied ourselves to head out for dinner…..about a third of the way back down the steep hill. The location of the restaurant, "Sesto Koronia Hill Bar," was stunning, nestled into the side of the hill overlooking the ocean. And, the food was as all food in Greece has been, terrific!!! Greece is truly a romantic and beautiful place!
Friday June 22 – Kefalonia Day 2 – Living in Greece
Today was shopping day in
Argostoli! We had a lovely drive along the side of the mountains with steep
plunges to the azure ocean on one side and ascents up to mountain sides to the
sky on the other. The views just can’t get any better. Argostoli is the main
town on Kefalonia, and we had a walk around, through the pedestrian streets
and the markets, through the main square which is huge, and past all the cafes
with their awnings and coffee tables set out waiting for the onslaught of
guests later in the day. We stopped for coffee and managed to consume the best
chocolate pie ever!!!
We watched the
fishers selling their fish and saw the turtles in the water just waiting for
the throwaways!! We went to Lidl’s, the German owned supermarket chain, and
then on to another supermarket, the butcher’s, and the patisserie! It was
siesta time when we returned. Dusty is cooking, I am doing my blog, and I am
not sure where Fiona and Ray are.
Kefalonia offers the best
living! Beautiful ocean, stunning views over the sea and the mountains,
attractive architecture, fun windy roads, friendly people, great climate! I love it all!! I know that Fiona and Dusty do
too! The Island, one of the largest in the Ionian Sea, manages to maintain a
“laid-back” atmosphere even although the “season” is starting to hot up. We
have already met one English couple, friends of Dusty and Fiona, who have moved
here permanently!
Dusty cooked up a smashing
dinner, and we settled in for the evening under the dark sky sparkling with
stars and planets and watched over by the International Space Station…according
to Sky View!!
Saturday June 23 – Kefalonia Day 3 – At the Beach
Saturday is beach day and
we were off to the beach at Lassi, a mid sized sandy beach with a nicely
protected bay, and safe swimming with just enough wave to be fun! No jelly
fish, no rip tides, and no sharks! The beach was serviced by a restaurant which
offered up beach chairs and umbrellas for rent, and free washrooms, and
change-rooms. Dusty also pointed out a new addition - a mobile burger stand….or
maybe a coffee wagon…not open yet, but waiting for the season to begin in July.
He had been told that the stand paid 50,000 EUR/annum for the concession to the
local government. It will have to sell an awful lot of something to recoup that
amount in 2 months!!
Fiona introduced me to the “mud face mask”. There were some grey rocks that she gingerly navigated to over a pebble beach towards; she broke off two handfuls of the rock, and cautiously walked back to the ocean’s edge. She handed one of the handfuls to me and took the other and dipped it in the sea and then smeared the mud all over her body. I copied her. We stood and chatted and played in the rocks, and then washed the mud off in a rock pool. Our skin felt soft and beautiful!! The minerals from the mud took the years away. This started a trend. As we walked back to join the guys, a young woman came up to us and asked us where to get the mud!! We told her!! Her partner rolled his eyes!!!
We swam, walked, and lay on the beach for about two hours and headed back home for some lunch.
Later in the afternoon, after a shower and
freshening up, we set off for the village of Skala. By this time it was around
6:00 p.m. and the restaurants and bars were beginning to liven up. The guys
went off to “Loco Bar” to watch the England vs South Africa rugby game on the
big screen TV. Fiona and I browsed the shops in town, and ended up at a bar on
the water front! The beach in Skala was long and sandy, but a coarse sand, so
not nearly as nice as the morning’s beach for lying on.
When the game was over the guys joined us, and we headed off to the “Elios Restaurant” not too far from the house for a delicious dinner including Greek salad, roasted aubergines, onion rings, tzatziki, and pork souvlaki.
Then home to bed.
Sunday June 24 – Kefalonia Day 4 – Day of Rest
Sunday is a day of rest
here on the Island of Kefalonia, and so it was for us! That is, as if we
haven’t been “resting” already! Two definitions: my mind has been resting: open,
receptive, absorbing the beauty of the ocean, the beach, the little villages,
the stunning scenery, and most importantly, the company of our friends. The number of
parallels in our lives are very interesting. I went to West Africa when I was 4
i.e. 1952; Fiona went to West Africa when she was 1, i.e. 1954; we were both
there at a very similar time….and there are many other similarities we have
come across too!
And, today we rested our
bodies: we lounged in the morning, then Fiona, Ray and I drove along the rocky,
narrow, windy road lined with flowering bushes such as bougainvillea and
morning glory, through colourful little Greek villages to Katerios. We saw a
sign for Panem Tours and thought we might do an Island Tour; sadly, they are
only available on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. No go!! We dodged in and out
of the little shops as we strolled down to the beach front; stopped in a café
for a coffee; and made our way slowly back to the car and back to the house.
This area seemed to be a holiday village for the British, and others, and so
the pace was a little more “touristy” than what we have seen so far.
I had time to work on my blog, Dusty made another scrumptious dinner, and then it was once again time to sleep.
Monday June 25 – Kefalonia Day 5 – Walk About
The skies were threatening
rain when we woke, but soon the sun peeped through and dark clouds made room
for white whispy clouds. I jumped in for a swim. Through the water I heard
thunder in the distance, but ignored it. I finished my swim, had a refreshing shower,
and ate breakfast.
Ray and I went on an
investigative walk around the area Dusty and Fiona live in. The paths are very
rocky, quite steep, sheathed in colourful flowers; luxury villas dot the sides
of the cliffs; we came across a little family church with a few graves dating
from 1978 but the headstones showed the people were born in the 1880s. Half way
up the rocky mountain, we came upon a sign that read: “LOOTERS AND TRESPASSERS
– BEWARE OF FLYING OBJECTS.” We looked all around us; there was no-one, and
nothing. Just stony mountains!! Curious!!!
The fun began in the
evening. The dark clouds rolled down the mountain tops, the horizon over the
ocean moved in, thunder booms filled the air, and streaks of light shot across
the sky. We were headed to the St. George castle, at the top of the mountain,
for dinner! It started raining just as we got out of the car to head into the
Il Borgo Restaurant. Needless to say, we didn’t see much of the stunning view;
the storm made up for it!
The food was delicious, a
mixture of Greek food and Greek style English food. By the time we finished,
the rain had stopped, the stars tried to peep out, and we had a brilliant view
over Argostoli below.
The life style in Greece
appears to be as follows: up early (for working people); siesta time 2 p.m. to
5 p.m.; lunch around 3 p.m.; dinner around 10 or 11 p.m.; late to bed – even
the kids. So by the time we get dinner over these nights (we usually eat 8:30
to 9:30) it is bed time. Night, night!!
Tuesday June 26 – Kefalonia Day 6
It was a wild night; we pulled up the bedclothes and went back to sleep…or tried to!! And the day continued to be so: winds howling
their vengeance rattled the vegetation and slammed into the windows of the villa;
streaks of white light bolted across the sky; rain sounding like small stones hitting
the rocks pounded through the atmosphere into the house and garden. We thought
it was all over, then another round. During a lull we sneaked out to Katerios to buy a few items. Huge ponds of water scattered across the narrow dirt roads like lilies in a pond. By the evening, it had settled down.
Dusty cooked our last meal in Kefalonia, and we spent our last evening ruminating over good times, and looking forward to the next time we are together.
