Greek Isles Cruise: Argostoli, Kefalonia

It was Thanksgiving day, Thursday, November 22, 2018, and Bob and I would celebrate it by discovering the unexpected beauty of one more Greek island.  We anchored at the port of Argostoli, in the capital city of Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian Islands.  Bob and I had absolutely no plans for the day, and we were thrilled to meet up with Scott and Emily who were also searching for ideas.  We walked into town with the intent of finding an advertised jeep mountain tour of the island, but to no avail.  Most tourist activities were not running during the off season.  So, we found a place to rent a tiny standard shift car for the day and set out to explore the dramatic topography of the island on our own.  It ended up being the best day imaginable.

  With Bob at the wheel, Scott navigating, and Emily and I telling them what we wanted to do and see, we had a blast. (Except maybe Bob, whom I coerced to do some challenging driving.)  We headed north to the 1,600 year old castle of St. George.  It is a free European Heritage site and amazingly, we were the only visitors there!

We left the castle and drove east across the island toward the other main tourist site, which was a cave with a subterranean lake in the middle of it.  But when we arrived, there was such a long wait to get in, that we decided to move on and see other parts of the island.  Kefalonia touts a rugged landscape, but with refined elegance due to it's vineyards and quaint little towns.  I would imagine this is a busy place during the summer, but off season, it was very quiet and subdued.  In fact, we were unable a place to eat some lunch.

The drive gave us a good chance to visit about religion and our views on several issues.  It is heartwarming to know there are so many genuinely good and thoughtful people in the world, who are accepting of differences in others and want to unify instead of divide.  We consider Scott and Emily to be family!  Indeed, we felt like we were travelling with our our children and were glad they were willing to hang out with us for much of the cruise!  We traversed back to the west side of the island and came upon the stunning Myrtos beach.

 

Just beyond the beach was a gorgeous coastline with that amazing blue water.  We had to wait for some lazy goats to clear the road.

Just north of the stunning Myrtos beach lays the tiny and secluded village of Assos, which is one of the most beautiful and picturesque villages of the island.

On the left side of Assos is the ruins of a 16th century Venetian castle.  We debated whether or not the narrow winding path up the mountain was designed for foot or for a car - and my conclusion is what made Bob a little nervous!

We drove back toward Argostoli anxious to find a nice restaurant where we could sample some good Greek entrees. 

As a child, I loved Greek mythology, and one of my favorite movies was "Jason and the Argonauts".  I don't know if there is any connection between the Argonauts and Argostoli; or the ship, Argo on which Jason and the Argonauts sailed to retrieve the Golden Fleece, but my memento from this island will certainly make the connection in my mind, and remind me of the magical place that this island is.

Don't worry, our day did not end without an American style Thanksgiving feast at the WindJammer cafe on board ship.  We enjoyed the production, "Piano Man" inthe Broadway Melodies before heading to our room where we were greeted by a flying bat. The moon was full that night, as were our hearts - grateful for the tremendous blessings that Bob and I and our family has been blessed with!

Friday would be a relaxing day a sea and a welcome repose before spending time in Venice.