The Honeymoon!!
After the wedding we spent a few more days in the Astros area.
The “Cave” beach is just a 2 min drive from Paralio Astros. We were lucky enough to have the cave all to ourselves. A little snorkeling, rock climbing, and disc. Then the best was 5 on 5 ultimate in the water. The boundaries were Turkey to the east and you had to stay in water deeper then your knees to the west. About half of us already knew how to play and you can imagine that Demetri’s cousins, who rounded out the teams, are all naturally athletic.
Saturday July 21 we celebrated Saint Louis (Elias) day up in Stolos. This is a typical village party “Panayiri” with roast lamb, and lots of dancing. It was another chance to spend time with family.
Monday July 23 we head off to Athens to file some wedding paper work and start the HoneyMoon!
While in Athens we sneak a visit to the Acropolis where many ancient philosophers debated. Since Demetri is studying a doctorate of Philosophy he was entitled to free admission and received a “thousand apologies” from the ticket man who first questioned his status. We did not stay long since it was noon, already 40° C and climbing.
Off to Delphi with a drive through some very twisty, busy roads and through the ski resort of Arahova which was suffering from the fires.
Delphi http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delphi was considered by some to be the center of the earth. This site is famous for the Oracle who was consulted in ancient Greek times by world leaders among others. Her predictions were in the form of riddles and left open to interpretation. Today we enjoyed the museum, were memorized by how the bricks are locked together and by the text written and re-written on the stone over the ages. The most impressive was the Stadium hidden at the top of the site. This was the site of the second most important games and retains the seating for over 6000 spectators. Since it was extremely hot, even at 7:30 in the evening, we did like the ancient athletes and splashed ourselves in the Castalian springs located at the base of the site. Demetri has seen many Greek ruins and was very impresed with this site.
We drove out of Delphi and through the largest Olive Grove in Greece. On to the small town of Galaxidi for the night. The town itself was not that great and a little fishy smelly but we stayed in a great little hotel the Ganimede Hotel. The next day we had the BEST breakfast with fresh OJ, eggs as you like, a bread basket with lemon cake, hazle nut bread, baguette, and about 4 other kinds. To top that were chutneys, olive tapenade and at least four different jams. WOW!
Our goal today is to drive to Lefkada. On the way was a stop in the port town of Nafpaktos with a fortified harbor. Next some pictures of the new Rio bridge that now links the western Pelopenese to the mainland. The AC in our car is working hard as the temperature climbs again today 42.5°C. A stop at the beach is in order but the water is like tea until you swim out a little and then there is a weird sensation as currents of hot and cold water dance around your body. Later we arrive in Lefkada as planed with just enough time to see the sunset.
Lefkada… July 24 to 28. The first day was spent driving around the island to orient ourselves. The island is small enough that you can use Lefkada town as a base and go back and fourth to the beach each day. First stop was waterfalls 3 km from Nydri. After about a 45 min walk along a trickle of a stream you will reach the waterfalls. In the summer don’t expect much and you will be pleasantly surprised. The small pools along the way were not clean enough to swim in but were home to hundreds of tadpoles and frogs. The night before we had asked a local where the best beach was. So next we found Egremni located on the south west coast. This was a spectacular beach and worth the 3 € parking and the 300 steps that you needed to climb down. The water was clear, the beach had small white pebbles, and the surrounding cliffs were spectacular. We walked around to a slightly smaller beach where swimsuits were optional and stayed here until the sunset. Lefkada town has lots of action in the evenings yet does not feel too touristy. We spent 4 nights in a hotel right in the main courtyard. (our koubaros) also joined us for a couple of days. We all went to Porto Katsiki beach which was even more breathtaking then Egremni and with only 100 steps. One final day in Lefkada and another day on the beach. This time on the North West where the beach was not as spectacular but Demetri and had more room to throw the disc.
Ferry Aghhh!! We arrive at the ferry 1.5 hours before it was supposed to leave and realize everyone else has reservations and we were put 10th on a waiting list. Then the ferry was 1.5 hours late. After waiting 3 hours they called stand by numbers 5,6,7 … 8 & 9. OK 2 more yes 10 and 11. We just sneak on and are on our way to Kefalonia. Now when we called the ferry earlier that day they said just show up 1 hour before departure and made no mention of a reservation. NOTE make a reservation, especially on a Saturday.
Kefalonia July 28-30. Kefalonia is a larger island and we know that we are going to have to zig-zag our way down in order to see it. Upon arriving we drive down from the port town of Fiskardo to the little village of Assos. This is a very quaint little town that straddles the isthmus of a peninsula. Guide books warned that it fills up fast yet we had no trouble finding a room, Saturday night, at the recommended Lindaros (Demetri even bargained the price as usual). Our room was quite nice with an ocean view. We went for a late snorkel but since the bay was already in the shadow of the fortress we did not see much The beach hunters are off for another day and Myrtos is next on our list. This beach was beautiful from afar but the water was disappointingly dirty close up. It is rated as one of Greece’s most breathtaking beaches but the beaches of Lefkada undoubtedly surpass it. The only advantage was that you can drive straight down to the beach. We drive across the island to the bay of Sami.
Just before the town are the Melissani caves. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melissani_Cave In Greek mythology these are known as the cave of the nymphs. The entrance to the caves is a little man made tunnel which open up to beautiful cave lake illuminated by the sun. Here we took a little row boat tour of the grotto. The roads in Sami are a little crazy and I almost navigated the car down a flight of stairs, good thing Demetri is actually driving. 4 km north east of Sami is the Antisamos beach. This is a large stony beach. The water was very calm and clear and probably the best beach for kids we saw all trip. Beware of the 3€ parking sign as there is a free public lot 50 yards further. Now we are on the hunt for a hotel in the southern end as we plan to catch the ferry to Zakynthos tomorrow. We were unimpressed with the capital and found the selection near Gialos beach over priced. We found a studio on Lourdata beach where we tried to snorkel but it was too stirred up. The next day we drove to Pesada to double check the ferry schedule. There is no ferry until 5:00 so we have the day to explore. Unfortunately the Kastro was closed since it was a Monday but we drove over the hills towards the Gerasimou monastery. The church looks quite new and was probably built after the 1953 earthquake. The carvings inside were very elaborate as white marble replaces the wood usually seen around the alter. Just behind the church is a co-op for Kefalonian wine. We snuck in for some tasting just before the tour bus arrived. The Kefalonian Robola is an award wining white wine but we took home a sweet red liquor wine similar to port. After, we found out from relatives near Demetri’s village that the some Greeks do not like the Robola (too bland) and that when they try a wine they do not like they jokingly refer to it as a Robola. OK enough sips of wine for Demetri and we are heading for the ferry. This time the ferry ride was uneventful and in the non smoking section (yeah first time I saw a non smoking section in Greece) we met a nice Greek/Canadian couple. Nick is from Edmonton with family in Zakynthos and his girlfriend Jamie is from Ottawa.
Zakynthos July 30- Aug 2 We arrive on Zakynthos with enough time to drive to the look out point of the ship wreck and watch another sunset. In addition to the official look out point we follow a path to get a better view. The path looked well trod and even though we knew the cliffs dropped over a hundred feet we inched our way to the edge for a post card view. After we drive in search of dinner and a hotel… In the town of Anafonitria there are two empty restaurants to choose from. We pick Anastasia’s restaurant which seats 300 in case of a tour bus crowd but was empty that night. The waitress/chef/owner Anastasia starts chatting with us and asks which hotel we are staying at. We tell her we haven’t found one yet and she invites us to spend the night at her house. We hesitate a bit but after dinner at 11:30 when she asks a second time we have no hesitations. She lives just above the restaurant and has a nice guest room with 2 double beds and a bathroom. The next morning she also serves us breakfast and will not accept our money. We thank her and promise to come back for another dinner before we leave the island. Off for a boat trip to swim on ship wreck beach. We take a small boat from Porto Vromi with some British tourists visiting with all inclusive tours. This beach is great aside from the hoards of people and boats.
