Week 5 - Kefalonia

Monday 8 July (Day 76)

Antisamos

Tuesday 9 July (Day 77)

Antisamos

Wednesday 10 July (Day 78)

We had heard that Thursday was Aghia Efimia Day and there was to be celebrations in the evening so we decided to change ‘trip out Thursday’ to ‘trip out Wednesday’.  The Kefalonian peninsula was somewhere we hadn’t really been to before so we headed off to the sticky out bit on the western side of the island.  For some reason being on the peninsula is like being on another island.

After a good drive around we ended up at Xi beach.  Xi beach has lovely red sand (that got everywhere) and lots of shallow water to cool off in.  We then headed back up the peninsula to the town of Lixiouri (Kefalonia’s second largest) where we appeared to be the only people there, as this is fast approaching the busiest time of year it must be quite worrying for the islanders.

Thursday 11 July (Day 79)

After yet another day at Antisamos beach we went back to the cottage for something to eat before going back out again for Aghia Efimia Day.  We were treated to Greek dancing on the moll followed by bouzouki playing and fireworks.

Friday 12 July (Day 80)

Antisamos

Saturday 13 July (Day 81)

As we are coming home soon we thought we’d better smarten ourselves up and have haircuts.

Sunday 14 July (Day 82)

At Antisamos beach today we were befriended by a young lad (Andrea) who was fascinated by our Kindles.  After the beach we went straight to Familia in Sami for our evening meal.

Monday 15 July (Day 83)

Spent our last day at Antisamos beach before going to Pedrangelo’s for our last meal.  Spent a very pleasant evening chatting to Kevin and Joyce and then Russell and Amanda.  We said fond farewells to Pedrangelo, Leda and Paniotis.

Tuesday 16 July (Day 83)

Flying home and then waiting a few hours at Gatwick in order to get a cheaper train home.

Xi Beach

 Xi Beach

 Aghia Efimia Day

Week 4 - Kefalonia

The weather has been great this week so we have been spending lots of time on the beach, reading and swimming.

Monday 1 July (Day 69)

The couple who were staying in Polyanthi last week recommended we try Zola beach which is located on the peninsula that is home to Lixouri.  We have never really explored this area before as it is quite flat and has always been a bit of a trek for us when we have stayed at Trapezaki in the past.  We eventually found the beach at the end of a very bumpy gravel road and were pleased to see that not many other people had found it either.  Not as nice as Antisamos but does have the same lovely blue water of Myrtos so was well worth a visit.

Tuesday 2 July (Day 70)

Antisamos beach today

Wednesday 3 July (Day 71)

Antisamos beach again today.  Definitely getting busier as each week goes by.

Thursday 4 July (Day 72)

Today was ‘Trip Out Thursday’ and we had planned to go up to Fiscardo in the north of the island.  Dave and Marion had told us about a new road that goes over the mountain from Divivarta to Karia so we thought we would do that on the way.  The good news was that this section of road paid for by this municipality was beautifully smooth and contained a fantastic viewing area where we could see the topography of the whole valley.  The bad news was that once we left this municipality and entered the next the road petered out and became a gravel track but we could hear Dave’s voice in our heads saying ‘just keep going’ so we did and eventually we returned to civilisation in Karia.  We then continued our journey up to Fiscardo stopping at Dafnoudi beach for a swim.  The beach is beautiful but was quite a long way down through a forested path which meant that the effects of a cooling swim were negated by the climb back up to the car.  Fiscardo was as beautiful as ever and much busier than when we were there last October.   We stopped for a coffee and an ice cream (well it was a day out!) before making our way back down the coast road to the cottage.

Friday 5 July (Day 73)

After the exertions of yesterday we had a slow start today before heading down to Agia Efimia to do our weekend shop.  We spent the afternoon at Myrtos beach and went to Petrangelo’s for supper and a nice chat with Dave and Marion.

Saturday 6 July (Day 74)

Another beautiful day so naturally we set off for Antisamos beach.  On our back up the hill at the end of the day we spotted a young couple thumbing a lift so stopped to ask where they were going.  They were staying in Sami so we offered them a lift back up the very steep hill from the beach.  They were a young French couple who had come to Kefalonia via Lefkas and Ithaca and were just started a 2 week holiday here.  They spoke very good English and so we were able to have a nice chat with them before dropping them off at their studios and continuing our journey back to the cottage.

Sunday 7 Juy (Day 75)

Sunday has become clean the cottage day so after breakfast we set to with mop, bucket and broom and finished the job in no time at all albeit a little hot and sticky.  We had decided to try to watch the Wimbledon final in a bar in Agia Efimia so showered early and set off for somewhere with a television and beer on the menu.  There were several places showing the match but we settled on Dodoni’s café/bar and joined a group of like-minded individuals who just happened to be mostly Scottish.  The atmosphere was great (and the beer was only 1.50 euro a pint) but by the end of the third set our nerves were in tatters much to the amusement of the locals who were clearly baffled by our cries of joy and pain as the games unfolded.  Finally, it was all over and there was much to celebrate.  We will definitely remember where we were when Andy Murray became Wimbledon Champion!

Zola Beach

Dafnoudi Beach

 Dafnoudi Beach

Dafnoudi Beach

 Aghia Efimia

Week 3 - Kefalonia

Monday 24 June (Day 62)

We were really lazy today only managing to mooch around the cottage and make a quick trip to the supermarket for supplies.  We think this will be the last of the really hot weather that has been stifling Kefalonia for the last few days.  We have got quite friendly with the guy to owns the supermarket so much so that he shared the sad story of his relationship breakup with us today.  We sympathised with him and told him that the right girl will come along soon which seemed to cheer him up and he presented us with a large tub of ice cream in return!

Tuesday 25 June (Day 63)

As we did so little yesterday we decided that today would be exercise Tuesday.  The plan was to walk down into Aghia Efimia along the walking track to have a swim and lunch on the beach before walking back up the hill to the cottage later in the afternoon when it was a bit cooler. 

Just before we left the cottage we had a power cut which are quite common here so we thought nothing of it and set off for the beach as planned.  Sometime later  when we emerged from the beach and were about to walk back to the cottage we spotted Amanda sitting in café/bar Carena and went over to say hello.  It would appear that there had been a small fire in one of the electricity sub-stations and that they had given up waiting for the power to come back on after 2 hours and had retreated to Carena for a drink.  We joined them for coffee and enjoyed our first freddo cappuccinos (apparently frappe is so yesterday!) before politely refusing a lift back to the village completing our walk as intended.  Thankfully the power had been restored by the time we got back so no need to mop up puddles of ice cream from the fridge.

Wednesday 26 June (Day 64)

Today we decided to head to the beach at Anti Samos but it soon became very evident that the wind coming off the sea was quite brisk so although it was very comfortable sitting on the beach using an umbrella was out of the question.   Tracey was the hero of the hour, rescuing a little boy’s hat that had blown into the sea. 

Thursday 27 June (Day 65)

Thursdays have become ‘Trip Out Thursdays’ and today was no exception.  

On our first visit to Kefalonia 20 years ago we tried to drive up to the highest point on the island, Mount Aenos, but at that time you could only get about a third of the way up before the road ran out and was replaced by a very bumpy track which was definitely not suitable for hire cars.  We had heard that a new road had now been completed all the way up to the top so decided to have another go and we are so glad we did. 

The new road is amazing and takes you right to the top with stunning views over the whole island.  The mountain is a designated national park area and covered in dense pine forest.  It reminded us of some of the Canadian roads we have travelled in recent years and even had snow poles on the side to show where the road is in the winter.  Along the way up are stopping areas with benches to enable visitors to enjoy the views and we spent some time pinpointing locations and trying to spot the villas we have stayed in at Trapezaki on previous visits.  The benches are positioned right on the edge of the mountainside to maximise the views (Tracey’s mum would have loved it) and provided the perfect lunch spot.

Unfortunately it is still not possible to go over the top and down the other side unless you have a 4x4 but who knows in years to come…..

Friday 28 June (Day 66)

Another mooching day today with a trip down to Aghia Efimia in the afternoon for a swim and to do our weekend shopping.  This normally involves a visit to the butchers for a chicken as Saturday would not be complete without roast lemon chicken and potatoes with lemons from the garden.

Petrangelo had kontosouvli (marinated pork chunks) on the spit tonight which was delicious and we spent a very nice evening chatting to the local English residents and a lovely couple from Norfolk who are staying in Polyanthi Villa this week.

Saturday 29 June (Day 67)

Back to Antisamos beach today where the fish were amazing.  We took some bread into the water and were immediately surrounded by lots of different types of fish.  The bread did not last long but we spent a very happy few minutes standing in the water with the fish.

Sunday 30 June (Day 68) – Tracey’s ½ Birthday!

We spent the morning cleaning the cottage and then spent a very lazy afternoon reading in the garden under the olive tree.  We went down to Aghia Efimia for supper tonight and finished it off with cocktails and coffee as it was happy hour!

St Gerasimos (from Mt Aenos)

 Views from Mt Aenos

Our adopted cat 'Tikey'