Cephalonia
Thankfully, after the hectic schedule of Messina, Salerno and Rome, we had a full day at sea to recover. Our legs were beginning to wonder if this was actually a holiday or some sort of endurance event. Leaving Rome behind, we once again sailed through the Strait of Messina, the narrow stretch of water separating Sicily from mainland Italy, before heading east towards Greece.
At 8am the following day we arrived in Kefalonia, the largest of the Ionian Islands and, according to Homer, the legendary home of Odysseus. After our previous few ports had involved a fair amount of walking, ancient ruins and trying to squeeze as much sightseeing as possible into a few hours, we decided that Odysseus could keep his ruins. We had a much better plan.
Today was all about the water.
We had booked a five-hour trip with Utopia Cruises, with Captain Spiros at the helm and Alex looking after things in the galley. And what a fabulous decision that turned out to be. The weather was, once again, ridiculously hot, but instead of complaining about it, we embraced it wholeheartedly. When the alternative is swimming in warm, crystal-clear Greek water, suddenly 35 degrees doesn't seem quite so terrible.
We spent the day cruising along the beautiful Kefalonian coastline, stopping at White Rock Beach and Xi Beach for swimming, snorkelling and the very important business of doing absolutely nothing. The water was an incredible shade of aqua, warm enough to stay in for ages and so clear that you could see the bottom as you floated around. It was exactly what we'd been hoping for when we imagined a Greek island holiday.
White Rock Beach gets its name from the striking white cliffs and rocks surrounding it, while Xi Beach is famous for its unusual
reddish-golden sand and pale clay cliffs. From the boat, both were spectacular, and there was something wonderfully relaxing about seeing the island from the water rather than charging around it in a bus trying to tick off another attraction.
And then came lunch.
Alex produced homemade Greek bruschetta — simple, fresh bread topped with juicy tomatoes, olive oil, oregano and proper Greek feta. It was one of those meals that proves you don't need anything complicated when the ingredients are this good. I have never eaten anything more delicious.
Although, in the interests of complete honesty, the fact that we were sitting on a boat, surrounded by sparkling blue water, with a cold Greek beer in hand may have had something to do with my rather enthusiastic assessment of the lunch. Everything tastes better when you're floating in the Mediterranean with a beer.
The five hours disappeared far too quickly. One minute we were settling into the day, and the next Captain Spiros was telling us it was time to head back. Eventually, he dropped us at the end of town, which meant we had to walk the length of the scenic little village to get back to the Mothership.
Normally, after five hours in the sun, that might have been a bit of a chore. But we were still wet from swimming, our hair was dripping, the sun was shining and, most importantly, there was more Greek beer available to keep us hydrated. We wandered along the waterfront, browsing the delightful little shops and enjoying the relaxed atmosphere of Kefalonia.
It was one of those days where absolutely nothing was rushed. No ancient monuments to conquer, no queues, no maps to decipher and no frantic checking of the watch to see how much time we had left before the bus departed.
Just sunshine, beautiful water, good food, cold beer and a very good boat crew.
After Messina, Salerno and Rome, we were more than ready for a day of doing absolutely nothing — and we discovered that we were actually very good at it.
