Continuing the tale from last week where we had decided to undertake some island hopping and in advance research it suggested there would be daily ferries available heading from Zante to our next destination of Kefalonia. However, we subsequently discovered there was only transport every two days and that didn’t match up with our schedule. It is a nine-mile crossing, and we were beginning to embrace our inner Steve Redgrave or Michael Phelps before we thankfully discovered a Plan B.
This involved a 30-mile taxi to the other ferry port at the northern fishing village of Agios Nikolaos Skinari. The friendly taxi driver dropped us at his favourite bar, and we bedded in for a while as we had landed there 3-4 hours before our departure. We then shuffled down to the rather sparse ferry point before departing on the 7pm sunset crossing to Pessada.
The Sunset Ferry. Image Credit Jimmy Crossthwaite
Kefalonia is the largest of the Ionian batch of islands and was the location of the siege of Argostoli between the Italians and Germans in 1943 during World War II. After the German’s victory their brutal reprisals including the execution of five thousand Italian soldiers. The subsequent English author Louis de Bernieres book and film ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ is based on this event.
There is also an unproven synopsis that the island is the actual setting in Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’. Musically they have a long history with a Philharmonic Orchestra being in play since 1836. Additionally, Richard Wright who was the keyboard player in Pink Floyd for ten years was born there.
We were there for six days and stayed in Argostoli and hopped on the ferry over to the fishing harbour of Lixouri for day trip. Taking a route over a steep hill from the town centre brought you to the resort of Lassi, where one night we attended a restaurant with the owner having a striking resemblance to Ian Dury. Across the road we saw a chap called Gary performing in the Lassi Kefalos Restaurant and Bar.
Ian Dury. Image Credit listal.com
Our previous remaining visit to Greece was in 2010 to the small island of Skiathos which only has 27 miles of coastline but has 60 individual beaches. In the 19th century it had a profitable period where it was a shipbuilding hub which utilised the profusion of pine trees naturally at their disposal. The international airport is located very close to the lovely capital of Skiathos town and is a plane spotters paradise. There were some dangerous cakes and fabulous restaurants where you could dine on the Catch of the Day and imbibe the local ice cold dry white wine.
The core bus route runs regularly along the length of the island and has numbered bus stops, 1 being the capital and 26 being the last drop at Banana Beach, and during our stay, we travelled to every stop to fully view the island. One of the previous residents of Skiathos was the Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip who was born there in 1921. Additionally, the island and its neighbour Skopelos were utilised as locations for the Mamma Mia film.
We made our trip at the tail end of the season in September and the weather as a result was a tad erratic. On the Saturday we were endeavouring to head out to a local bar to watch the Burnley v PNE match and also grab some tea but outside there had developed the most cataclysmic electrical storm I have ever witnessed. The field opposite was completely swamped, so much so the water was threatening to enter our accommodation.
Finally, there was a marginal easing in the monsoon, so we grabbed the opportunity to scamper down the soggy track to the bar. Immediately after our windswept and sodden bodies bumbled through the door, a lady in the corner piped up with a ‘Deliverance’ style voice asking, ‘Are you the entertainment?’ to which I replied instantly ‘I can be if you want me to be’ which thankfully resulted in her craning her neck back in. It got worse before it got better as PNE proceeded to improbably throw away a 3-1 lead in the last 10 minutes and lose 4-3.
Deliverance Duelling Banjos scene. Image Credit americancinematheque.com
Thankfully the friendly accommodating bar owner fed and watered us superbly despite the constraints of the inclemency, which resulted in him scampering to the supermarket next door to top up his dwindling larder supplies.
Our next planned Greece trip was going to be to the picturesque location of Santorini with the bonus of grabbing a couple of days in the capital Athens before heading home. It was all booked but then the pandemic struck and everything was cancelled. We have never yet had the chance to rebook and slay that particular ghost, though I believe it is now hugely oversubscribed with tourism numbers.