Standing out from the crowd

We've been living on the Greek island of Kefalonia now for almost two years. The whole island is just gorgeous but certain places and things stand out for various reasons.

• Beach - Atheras beach.  

It's on the Paliki peninsula and very picturesque. You have to go through the village of Atheras and then down into the valley to get there. A lovely drive. The water is shades of turquoise blue and emerald green lapping up onto a fine sand in a lovely quiet bay. Say no more.

The valley leading down to the beach

Atheras beach - looking east

Atheras beach - looking west (Rocky loves a swim)


The little harbour complete with church


Quiet bay -shallow water

• Tiny, tiny beach - Aqua Alaties

This tiny beach is on the North West coast of Kefalonia. You can't get too many people on it but there's a taverna with a great name. Can't speak for it myself as it was closed when we went but it gets great write ups.

Rocky and Bobby can't wait to get in the blue sparkly water

The taverna

• Road - The east coast road from Karavomylos to Komitata. 

The road hugs the coastline from the end of Karavomylos to Agia Effimia. There are a few small coves along this stretch of coastline and the Bay of Sami just looks great from here. We have seen dolphins from this part of the road too. From Agia Effimia the road climbs fast and before long there's a steep drop down to the sea.  Don't worry though, there are crash barriers for most of the way! There is one point in the road above Agia Effimia where there is a sharp turn to the left. Part of the crash barrier, at a strategic point, seems to be missing here or was never ever there I'm not sure (perhaps someone went through it). Wouldn't like to drive it at night or take the road too fast! On the plus side there is a seat (you can see it in the photo) and somewhere to park the car, so you can take in the view of Agia Effimia and the Bay of Sami.

Google map photo showing the lack of crash barrier

The road continues and takes you past two villages, Neochori and Komitata which sit perched on hilltops overlooking the island of Ithaca. Idyllic. Just before Komitata there's the turn off for both Agia Sofia beach and Horgota beach. Now there's a long and winding road but with amazing views!

Takes a while to get down! 

At one point you can't see the road in front as it drops down, and all you can see is the gorgeous blue sparkly water and Ithaca! Not for the faint hearted.

Neochori

The long and winding road down to Agia Sofia and Horgota beaches. Great view of Ithaca.


The very winding road takes you to Horgota beach. Agia Sofia is further round the headland.


Horgota beach (used in the film Captain Corelli's Mandolin)


Agia Sofia beach

• Plant - Bougainvillea (all colours)

This photo was taken from under the covered pergola/seating area of Kokoras, a coffee bar in Sami looking towards Dimoulas our local supermarket. It's always a gorgeous display of bougainvillea and virginia creeper.

This is the white version growing over the wall in our garden, 

• Tree - Silk tree

Feathery pink flowers, and the leaves which close at night do actually feel soft and silky. 

Silk tree

• View - Sami Bay (This is my favourite view and favourite photo)

Looking out over Sami Bay. This photo was taken from Ancient Sami, up in the hills above Sami as it is now. Not many people get up here so it's quiet and the view is truly amazing. You can see Sami, Karavomylos and Agia Effimia from here aswell as the island of Ithaca and even Lefkada on a clear day. Great for a picnic.

• Greek Food - Kefalonian meat pie

There are variations to this recipe but basically a pie made with filo pastry consisting of goat/beef/pork meat with rice, onions and vegetables along with spices and herbs. Usually quite dry and dense but very tasty and filling - honestly (I didn't make that sound too good!). Unfortunately I don't have a photo for this as I've usually eaten it before I've had time to take it!

• Walk - Valley in Grizata

We live on the walking trail to this valley so it's great for the dogs. In the winter and spring, the river flows freely. You could easily go skinny dipping in it as there is no-one around. At a certain time in the spring too, there are literally millions of tadpoles to the point where the river looks almost black. Funny thing is - and a friend pointed this out to us - you never seen any frogs - and we haven't. Where do they go? Is there a Land of Frogs in the valley somewhere?
In the summer the river dries up so unfortunately visitors to the island don't get the chance to see it. There are lots of mill ruins and bridges down here too.

Valley through Grizata 

River in winter


Rocky waiting patiently for me to stop taking photos


The stone bridge

Another bridge


Rocky -"You go first Bobby" (They love swimming here)


The walk by the river is lovely in winter and spring

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•  Outdoor swimming pool - Karavomylos camp site

Karavomylos camp site swimming pool (which is actually in Sami). Beautiful swimming pool with stunning backdrop. Its immaculately kept and the food is good too. Anyone can use it - you don't have to camp there so we make good use of it. When we've had family and friends come over for the first time we say we'll take them to the campsite swimming pool and we always get a strange look! ALL of them have been taken aback by it and want to go again. The front area overlooks the Bay of Sami and the island of Ithaca. Perfect place to sit and watch the world go by and read a book with a cup of coffee.

Beautiful backdrop to the swimming pool

The Bay of Sami, looking towards Ithaca in the distance

• Weather - The sun and blue skies most definitely.

The blue is a gorgeous deep blue. There are obviously lots of blue sky days in the summer but there are also quite a few in winter too.

One of many birds of prey

Two firefighter planes surveying the area for fires in the summer

• Wood - Olive and Eucalyptus

I've taken a liking to wood. Be it olive, eucalyptus, walnut or pine. I really just want to make things with it (I haven't yet) or burn it of course! I can't pass a branch of eucalyptus which has fallen from a tree without picking it up. I love stacking the olive wood in the wood-store. Pine cones too - I collect them. They have to be perfectly shaped though and dry. In other words freshly dropped off the tree - no misshapen wet and rotten ones for me! They're mini fireballs in the wood burner. 

• Ruins - The house at Digaleto 

There are lots of ruins all over the island but this one is one of my favourites. As you travel south on the Sami to Poros road, where the pre-earthquake village of Digaleto (I love the sound of that name) used to be, there is a ruin of a large house which stands alone overlooking the valley. You can only imagine how it must have looked in its prime before the Ionian earthquake of 1953. As you can see from the plaque in the fourth photo, the house was built in 1932 so was only 21 years old when disaster struck.

  

• Taverna - Familia 

There are lots of good tavernas all over the island but Familia in Sami is my local favourite. The food is good here, but what makes it really special is the view.

Taverna Familia

and across the road.......views of Sami Bay and the island of Ithaca on the right.

The yacht 'Venus' (made for Steve Jobs of Apple) moored in the Bay of Sami in the summer of 2017. 

• Horse riding stable - Bavarian Horse Riding Stables

The Bavarian Horse Riding Stables are situated just outside of Sami between Zervata and Koulourata, and are in a beautiful location. Very sturdy and not frightened easily, the Haflinger horses are great for beginners like me or for people who have never been horse riding before and just want to go for a trek either up into the mountains or to the beach.

Bavarian Horse Riding Stables - great view of the valley from the paddock.

Me with my trusted steed


Stable area


Great location


Cooling down in Sami Bay


Being photobombed by a Haflinger! 

• Bird - Kingfisher

We regularly see kingfishers flying along the coastline, just skimming the water, between Sami and Karavomylos. They have a distinctive call so we know they are there even if we don't happen see them. They're quite small but have a characteristic profile with that long pointed bill, which means that even when in silhouette you can tell it's a kingfisher. When in flight you can see flashes of an iridescent blue. We've often seen them dive into the water at some speed and then come up with a fish. They have a membrane - a third eyelid - that covers their eyes so as to protect them when they hit the water.
There's one in the photo below perched on top of the pole on the first boat. They scare easily as they have excellent vision, so it's hard to get a decent photo.

A great perch for the kingfisher!


Surveying the sea for lunch. (Outside the Sami Beach Hotel)

Great profile!

• Beach cafe/bar - Antisamos beach bar

I like this one mainly because of the location as it's set in a beautiful backdrop of mountains. They tend to play background reggae music which to me fits in with the setting. The area was used for the Italian encampment in the film Captain Corelli's Mandolin. You won't find any beach front hotels here!

 

Out of season Antisamos - no peeps around!


Antisamos Beach Bar

• Sign - No dog pooping!

At Sami harbour front - I'm not sure that Rocky and Bobby have read it though!

Dogs are not allowed to poop here!

• Donkeys - Dixie

All of the donkeys at Donkey Trekking Kefalonia in Grizata (and there are 4 of them) are my favourites really, but I'm choosing Dixie as she is the newest addition and arrived in June 2016 - a couple of months after we arrived to live here. She has a rich chocolate brown shiny coat with hints of ginger! That almost sounds like a dessert!

Me on a trek with Dixie

• Colourful village - Fiskardo

Fiskardo is a port on the very north of Kefalonia, the only town left standing after the earthquake of 1953 and so retaining the original architecture. I love Fiskardo for the colours - there are a multitude of shops, tavernas, and cafe bars all in different colours and decorated beautifully. When I look at the colours of the walls, shutters and architraving of the buildings, I sometimes think I would never put those colours together but it seems to work! Bougainvillea abound.
Yes, it's busy in season with all the yachts coming in, but it's lovely to walk through the village and around the harbour. So many places to eat it's hard to choose, but choose you must and watch the world go by!

Fiskardo

Theodora's snack bar - love the staircase! Note the bright pink building with a green door behind.

Irida's coffee bar - lovely bougainvillea -bright pink, pale pink and gold

Porto Panormas - Clothing shop

Blue shutters on a coffee coloured wall -Alibaba and the bougainvillea

The Fishbone bar - pink, grey and white? but it works.

• Picturesque village - Assos

There are lots of picturesque villages on Kefalonia, but I've chosen Assos as it's out there on it's own - literally! On the northwest coast, Assos is at sea level and the main west coast road is high up. The road down is a long and winding one but great fun to drive.
The village follows the curve of Kyriaki Bay where the water is a lovely turquoise colour and it connects to a peninsula via a narrow isthmus where a venetian castle stands on top of a rocky hill protected by a wall.
Assos is a bit of a ghost town out of season, but in the summer it springs into life. In amongst the newer dwellings can be found a few ruins left from the 1953 earthquake. The ruins are now home to trees and shrubs with the odd bougainvillea trailing down from windows.
If you take a walk up to the castle in the summer, a bottle of water is a must, but the views are worth it.

The long and winding road down to Assos

Out of season Assos! No-one around.

Street of ruins

House of plants

Church on the way to the castle

Path taking you up to the wall and castle.

The view of Assos from the castle - you can see the main road higher up.

• The capital - Argostoli.

To see the Caretta Caretta turtles

We don't often get to the capital but when we do it's not really for shopping but to see the Loggerhead turtles (Caretta Caretta) which can be spotted in their feeding grounds of the Koutavos lagoon in Argostoli Bay. We also enjoy the walk over the recently refurbished De Bosset bridge which links Argostoli to the other side of the lagoon and Drapano. You get a great panoramic view of Argostoli from here.

View from the De Bosset bridge

Me on a rare visit to the capital - the De Bosset bridge

Looking towards Argostoli


Looking towards Drapano


De Bosset bridge


The walk around the lagoon is lovely

Koutavos lagoon - looking towards the De Bosset bridge in the distance

Koutavos lagoon - looking towards the head of the Bay of Argostoli


Loggerhead turtles

Spring is in the air - time to explore again!