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17-11-2023, 23:40
Visit the Paul Bailey's Beer Blog site (https://baileysbeerblog.blogspot.com/2023/11/next-stop-kefalonia-or-is-it-cephalonia.html)
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Well, it's back to cruising, for a short while at least, andperhaps not quite for the last time this year. We pick up on where Mrs PBT'sand I left you, which was us leaving our mooring, in the spectacular setting ofthe Santorini caldera, and heading off into the open waters of the Ionian Sea. Aleisurely day at sea than followed, before reaching the last of the Greekisland destinations on the cruise, but one which happened to be by far and awaythe best.
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I'm talking here about Kefalonia – also known as Cephalonia which,for us, seemed perfect in every way. The sun was just rising as we docked atthe moorings in the island's capital of Argostoli, and an array of redlights, lit up the jetty, highlighting where we would soon be walking, once theQueen Victoria finally tied up. We'd ordered breakfast in our room that morning,in preparation for an early start on our, pre-booked “Leisurely Kefalonia”excursion.
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After “swiping out” as we left the ship, we headed along thequayside towards the waiting coaches, lined up ready for those embarking on ashore excursion. Disappointingly, there was an unseemly scrum, as fired upcruise passengers jostled for places, even though there was plenty of room foreveryone. The tours were, after all, pre booked. Needless to say, we got a seat,and by being patient were directed onto an “over spill” where there was amplespace.
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This pushing, shoving and general lack of manners by themainly elderly passengers on the ship, seemed a real feature of this particularcruise, and it was so bad at times that I gave up on the buffet for breakfast, preferringinstead either the Britannia Restaurant, at the stern of the ship with its sedateand unhurried waiter service or alternatively keeping my good lady wife company,enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the comfort of our cabin.
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Eileen described this behaviour as FOMO - "Fear Of MissingOut", but the fact was no one did miss out, all that was needed was a littlepatience and some good manners. We couldn't put our finger on it, but wehaven't witnessed this type of behaviour on any of the previous cruises we'dbeen on, and that included the voyage from Hamburg up to the Norwegian fjords witha boatload of boisterous, but good-natured Germans.
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Safely on board the comfortable coach, our leisurelyexcursion of Kefaloniatook us through attractivestreets of Argostoli,before climbing up into the hills. On the way our guide explained about theearthquake of August 1953 that devastated large parts of Kefalonia. Consequently,most the island’s buildings either date from after that time or have beenextensively restored after the earthquake. This applied to the church, at ourfirst stop, which forms part of a former monastery.
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Dedicated to St Andrew, the church contained a ratherbizarre relic in a form of a rather grizzly-looking, and shrunken, mummified foot, said to belong to the apostlehimself. There were some impressive wall paintings, and the setting among thehills of Kefalonia added to attraction, but of more interest to me was theimposing castle of St George, high on the hill overlooking the surroundingcountryside. Built by the Venetians who occupied the island for severalcenturies it still looked reasonably well preserved and had obviously survivedthe earthquake.
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I'm not sure quite how accessible it was by coach as I wouldlike to have seen it, but instead we continued along some narrow and, at times,quite hair-raising mountain roads complete with hairpin bends, as we climbed rightup into the interior of the island. Mrs PBT’s take was not to look out thewindow at those moments, particularly when the back of the coach appeared tohang over the abyss, but I couldn’t resist a quick peep, having everyconfidence in our unflappable driver.
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On the way our guide told us how, due to its strategicposition on trade routes between Europe and the Middle East, the Venetians, theTurks, and forces from several other countries had occupied Kefalonia. Britain also had a presence in the IonianSea for a short while, towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, but the saddeststory was the one concerning the Italian troops who'd occupied the island duringWorld War II. Following the collapse in 1943 of Italy’s fascist government, and thesubsequent armistice which heralded the country’s exit from the war, Nazitroops arrived on the island, to take their place. A tragic chain ofevents, then led to the massacre of several thousand Italian soldiers, heldprisoner by their former comrades in arms, after being regarded as traitors. Atthe end of hostilities most of those responsible for this horrific war crime werenever brought to account, with just a handful standing trial at Nuremberg. Setagainst the background of the initial occupation, was the fictional story ofCaptain Corelli’s Mandolin which, in 2001 was made into a film, staringNicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz. Our guide was less than complimentary aboutthe film, although to be fair it must have boosted visitor numbers to Kefalonia.
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Eventually we arrived at our next destination, a largevineyard and wine-making complex right in the heart of the island. Several othercoaches already were already there, and yet again it was an unsightly free forall, this time just for a few small glasses of wine. If people could just waitrather than pushing and shoving, there would have been plenty for all but, aswitnessed earlier in the day, the behaviour exhibited by some of those n the excursionwas shameful.
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In the end I managed to get some water for Eileen plus acouple of glasses of wine for myself, but not exactly being a great wineconnoisseur, I didn't feel as though I’d missed much. Instead, I just enjoyed thebeauty of the surrounding countryside, with views of the grapevines, climbing upthe slopes of the surrounding hills in every direction.
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After leaving the vineyard, the coach took us on a differentroute back down into Argostoli, following a series of steep winding roads, beforecrossing the end of the lagoon on a man-made causeway. We then drove along the waterfront with its various shops, bars, and restaurants before arriving back at theship. By this time the sun was blazing down on the town, and the mercury hadclimbed into the low 30’s, so I left Mrs PBT's to make her way back onboard theboat and set off to explore Argostoli, on my own.
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As I walked along the road, past the row of shops andrestaurants, keeping in the shade as much as possible, I bumped into a fellowpassenger from the ship who we'd got to know. Andrew was full of enthusiasmabout a bakery a bit further along the esplanade which was selling homemadepies. Being a huge pie fan, I had to go and try one, but by the time I foundthe place the only pies left were cheese and mushroom. It's unfortunate thatI'd missed the meat ones, but a nice puff pastry pie, plus a decent cup ofcoffee for six euros, was a real bargain.Afterwards it was time for a beer, and where better to enjoyone that in the cool shady interior, of the attractive Dash Coffee Baroverlooking the waterfront. Seated atthe bar, enjoying a cool and refreshing half litre of Mythos beer, whilstwatching the world go by outside saw me in proper, wind-down holiday mode, andwas the perfect way to round off my time ashore in Kefalonia. Before leavingthe bar, I had a chat with another fellow passenger from the boat, an intrepidfellow in his 80s, holidaying without his wife, who was back home in Somerset, andthoroughly enjoying himself. (And Mrs PBT's complains if I abandon her for justa couple of days!).
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https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERfPiRoQN3-22z4QG3J55iZtfLQ4mupKFXZ4sGAE3dAhUfgawQM0w3GDvYEiR eXX83-dyotiRp8_4g8sSfunzSRhTD_kW5ul1KH1HCKrRWLpL5SUHpOtX hBnu1VEKVj1mwEzPwBMFDyu-m-kLYu8pp8kfd56yAJwUgrWWWCevufstXt3_wjZX6nMNKIs/w400-h224/Santorini%20cliffs.jpg (https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjERfPiRoQN3-22z4QG3J55iZtfLQ4mupKFXZ4sGAE3dAhUfgawQM0w3GDvYEiR eXX83-dyotiRp8_4g8sSfunzSRhTD_kW5ul1KH1HCKrRWLpL5SUHpOtX hBnu1VEKVj1mwEzPwBMFDyu-m-kLYu8pp8kfd56yAJwUgrWWWCevufstXt3_wjZX6nMNKIs/s4000/Santorini%20cliffs.jpg)
Well, it's back to cruising, for a short while at least, andperhaps not quite for the last time this year. We pick up on where Mrs PBT'sand I left you, which was us leaving our mooring, in the spectacular setting ofthe Santorini caldera, and heading off into the open waters of the Ionian Sea. Aleisurely day at sea than followed, before reaching the last of the Greekisland destinations on the cruise, but one which happened to be by far and awaythe best.
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I'm talking here about Kefalonia – also known as Cephalonia which,for us, seemed perfect in every way. The sun was just rising as we docked atthe moorings in the island's capital of Argostoli, and an array of redlights, lit up the jetty, highlighting where we would soon be walking, once theQueen Victoria finally tied up. We'd ordered breakfast in our room that morning,in preparation for an early start on our, pre-booked “Leisurely Kefalonia”excursion.
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After “swiping out” as we left the ship, we headed along thequayside towards the waiting coaches, lined up ready for those embarking on ashore excursion. Disappointingly, there was an unseemly scrum, as fired upcruise passengers jostled for places, even though there was plenty of room foreveryone. The tours were, after all, pre booked. Needless to say, we got a seat,and by being patient were directed onto an “over spill” where there was amplespace.
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This pushing, shoving and general lack of manners by themainly elderly passengers on the ship, seemed a real feature of this particularcruise, and it was so bad at times that I gave up on the buffet for breakfast, preferringinstead either the Britannia Restaurant, at the stern of the ship with its sedateand unhurried waiter service or alternatively keeping my good lady wife company,enjoying a leisurely breakfast in the comfort of our cabin.
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Eileen described this behaviour as FOMO - "Fear Of MissingOut", but the fact was no one did miss out, all that was needed was a littlepatience and some good manners. We couldn't put our finger on it, but wehaven't witnessed this type of behaviour on any of the previous cruises we'dbeen on, and that included the voyage from Hamburg up to the Norwegian fjords witha boatload of boisterous, but good-natured Germans.
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Safely on board the comfortable coach, our leisurelyexcursion of Kefaloniatook us through attractivestreets of Argostoli,before climbing up into the hills. On the way our guide explained about theearthquake of August 1953 that devastated large parts of Kefalonia. Consequently,most the island’s buildings either date from after that time or have beenextensively restored after the earthquake. This applied to the church, at ourfirst stop, which forms part of a former monastery.
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Dedicated to St Andrew, the church contained a ratherbizarre relic in a form of a rather grizzly-looking, and shrunken, mummified foot, said to belong to the apostlehimself. There were some impressive wall paintings, and the setting among thehills of Kefalonia added to attraction, but of more interest to me was theimposing castle of St George, high on the hill overlooking the surroundingcountryside. Built by the Venetians who occupied the island for severalcenturies it still looked reasonably well preserved and had obviously survivedthe earthquake.
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I'm not sure quite how accessible it was by coach as I wouldlike to have seen it, but instead we continued along some narrow and, at times,quite hair-raising mountain roads complete with hairpin bends, as we climbed rightup into the interior of the island. Mrs PBT’s take was not to look out thewindow at those moments, particularly when the back of the coach appeared tohang over the abyss, but I couldn’t resist a quick peep, having everyconfidence in our unflappable driver.
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On the way our guide told us how, due to its strategicposition on trade routes between Europe and the Middle East, the Venetians, theTurks, and forces from several other countries had occupied Kefalonia. Britain also had a presence in the IonianSea for a short while, towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars, but the saddeststory was the one concerning the Italian troops who'd occupied the island duringWorld War II. Following the collapse in 1943 of Italy’s fascist government, and thesubsequent armistice which heralded the country’s exit from the war, Nazitroops arrived on the island, to take their place. A tragic chain ofevents, then led to the massacre of several thousand Italian soldiers, heldprisoner by their former comrades in arms, after being regarded as traitors. Atthe end of hostilities most of those responsible for this horrific war crime werenever brought to account, with just a handful standing trial at Nuremberg. Setagainst the background of the initial occupation, was the fictional story ofCaptain Corelli’s Mandolin which, in 2001 was made into a film, staringNicholas Cage and Penelope Cruz. Our guide was less than complimentary aboutthe film, although to be fair it must have boosted visitor numbers to Kefalonia.
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Eventually we arrived at our next destination, a largevineyard and wine-making complex right in the heart of the island. Several othercoaches already were already there, and yet again it was an unsightly free forall, this time just for a few small glasses of wine. If people could just waitrather than pushing and shoving, there would have been plenty for all but, aswitnessed earlier in the day, the behaviour exhibited by some of those n the excursionwas shameful.
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In the end I managed to get some water for Eileen plus acouple of glasses of wine for myself, but not exactly being a great wineconnoisseur, I didn't feel as though I’d missed much. Instead, I just enjoyed thebeauty of the surrounding countryside, with views of the grapevines, climbing upthe slopes of the surrounding hills in every direction.
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After leaving the vineyard, the coach took us on a differentroute back down into Argostoli, following a series of steep winding roads, beforecrossing the end of the lagoon on a man-made causeway. We then drove along the waterfront with its various shops, bars, and restaurants before arriving back at theship. By this time the sun was blazing down on the town, and the mercury hadclimbed into the low 30’s, so I left Mrs PBT's to make her way back onboard theboat and set off to explore Argostoli, on my own.
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As I walked along the road, past the row of shops andrestaurants, keeping in the shade as much as possible, I bumped into a fellowpassenger from the ship who we'd got to know. Andrew was full of enthusiasmabout a bakery a bit further along the esplanade which was selling homemadepies. Being a huge pie fan, I had to go and try one, but by the time I foundthe place the only pies left were cheese and mushroom. It's unfortunate thatI'd missed the meat ones, but a nice puff pastry pie, plus a decent cup ofcoffee for six euros, was a real bargain.Afterwards it was time for a beer, and where better to enjoyone that in the cool shady interior, of the attractive Dash Coffee Baroverlooking the waterfront. Seated atthe bar, enjoying a cool and refreshing half litre of Mythos beer, whilstwatching the world go by outside saw me in proper, wind-down holiday mode, andwas the perfect way to round off my time ashore in Kefalonia. Before leavingthe bar, I had a chat with another fellow passenger from the boat, an intrepidfellow in his 80s, holidaying without his wife, who was back home in Somerset, andthoroughly enjoying himself. (And Mrs PBT's complains if I abandon her for justa couple of days!).
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