The Island Of Ithaca - Part 3
There is so much more to Kioni than its harbour and yachts. The beautiful buildings and architecture adorn the streets, some in ruins. Some make you want to go inside and throw open the shutters to let the sunlight in to them once again. If you take the street to the left, you can walk further through the village and along the coast. There are places where you can take stone steps right down to the rocky outlet below. If you carry on walking, you come across a small stony beach with a jetty below a house and a few fishing boats bobbing on the clear water. We sat here at the moment to soak up the view and the late ochre October sunshine before heading on to our final destination for the day - Vathi, the picturesque harbour and capital town of the island.
We were give some local advice to take the aerial road over to Vathi, as we would be rewarded with stunning views, and they were not wrong. We climbed up and up into the rocky mountains that adorn the centre of Ithaca and stopped off along the way to admire these stunning views.
Vathi is a bustling little town and one of my other favourite gems of the island. We had chosen a hotel carefully to stay the night, but on arrival, we were let down by the owner saying she had decided to close her hotel early. However, I always believe in fate, and it turns out she did us a great favour, as just as we thought our luck had run out, we came across a fantastic hotel in a location right on the harbour. The room was large, clean and the tastefully decorated with a balcony that afforded us a great view of the sea. It was central too, so not far to walk to the bars, shops and restaurants that Vathi has to offer. Vathi (meaning deep) is fairly low key for a capital, but pretty and worth a visit nonetheless. I would have no hesitatation in recommended it as the place to stay for the night and we are staying here on our next visit. The bay and harbour area is a horseshoe shape and you can have a soothing stroll before or after dinner from one end to the other. We went for dinner at a small taverna that sold a kind of kebab meat called kontosouvli. It is big chunks of succulent pork cooked with peppers and onion and is delicious. The plate was big enough for two of us to have shared, needless to say that afterwards we were well and truly full to bursting, so we ambled around the waterfront to the far end and found a nice relaxing bar in which to while away the evening, before the short walk back to our room for the night.
We woke up fresh the next ready to do some more exploring, however, the south of the island is not very well populated or accessible. So we took a leisurely stroll and retraced our tracks of the previous day before our ferry left for Sami at around 3pm.
It would be a shame to come all the way to Kefalonia without seeing its little sister, Ithaca. In the summer months it is feasible to take your hire car over on the early ferry and come back in the afternoon. Although you may not see everything during this time, you will get a great feel for the island and all of its beauty. A must see! I will leave you know with some parting shots of Ithaca.
We were give some local advice to take the aerial road over to Vathi, as we would be rewarded with stunning views, and they were not wrong. We climbed up and up into the rocky mountains that adorn the centre of Ithaca and stopped off along the way to admire these stunning views.
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| View of Vathi, Ithaca from Above |
Vathi is a bustling little town and one of my other favourite gems of the island. We had chosen a hotel carefully to stay the night, but on arrival, we were let down by the owner saying she had decided to close her hotel early. However, I always believe in fate, and it turns out she did us a great favour, as just as we thought our luck had run out, we came across a fantastic hotel in a location right on the harbour. The room was large, clean and the tastefully decorated with a balcony that afforded us a great view of the sea. It was central too, so not far to walk to the bars, shops and restaurants that Vathi has to offer. Vathi (meaning deep) is fairly low key for a capital, but pretty and worth a visit nonetheless. I would have no hesitatation in recommended it as the place to stay for the night and we are staying here on our next visit. The bay and harbour area is a horseshoe shape and you can have a soothing stroll before or after dinner from one end to the other. We went for dinner at a small taverna that sold a kind of kebab meat called kontosouvli. It is big chunks of succulent pork cooked with peppers and onion and is delicious. The plate was big enough for two of us to have shared, needless to say that afterwards we were well and truly full to bursting, so we ambled around the waterfront to the far end and found a nice relaxing bar in which to while away the evening, before the short walk back to our room for the night.
We woke up fresh the next ready to do some more exploring, however, the south of the island is not very well populated or accessible. So we took a leisurely stroll and retraced our tracks of the previous day before our ferry left for Sami at around 3pm.
It would be a shame to come all the way to Kefalonia without seeing its little sister, Ithaca. In the summer months it is feasible to take your hire car over on the early ferry and come back in the afternoon. Although you may not see everything during this time, you will get a great feel for the island and all of its beauty. A must see! I will leave you know with some parting shots of Ithaca.
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