We have been to many places around the world, but this is one place that we are happy to keep coming back to, and this is why.......
Part 2.... 2019 saw us revisit Greece where we hired a car and drove across to the west coast of Greece, passing over the Corinth Canal before driving onto a ferry and visiting the Greek Islands of Kefalonia & Lefkada then back to the mainland and finishing in the coastal village of Parga.
Flying from Sydney to Athens, we picked up our car and then headed off to find our accommodation which was supposed to be near the airport. After getting lost a couple of times, we evetualy found the palce and it was a very quait and rustic accommodation but very comfortable with obliging hosts who made us dinner as we arrived so late.
The following morning we headed off early across the country to the port of Kyllini on the west side of the Peloponese. On our way, we stopped to view the Corinth Canal - a spectacular 6.4km canal completed in 1893 to cut shipping time between Athens and the rest of Europe.
The canal is worth the stop, and is a magnificent engineering marvel.
The drive is pretty much a motorway most of the way to Kyllini and if so inclined, one can take any number of exits off the motorway and go off to explore the Peloponese. Unfortunately, we had a ferry to catch that afternoon, and as as such, were on a mission.
We arrived at the ferry terminal around lunch time and so stopped at a small market to pick up some bottled water and have lunch at a tavern. It was a warm day.
We drove onto the ferry and then went upstairs to the lounge area for the ride to Kefalonia. The ferries are huge and they sure pack a lotof cars and people on them. We arrived at the port of Poros on the island of Kefalonia (as opposed to the island of Poros that was visited in Part 1). from Poros we had to drive to where we were staying - a picturesque little village called Asos (see main photo above).
Our accommodation was superb and the views were nothing short of spectacular....
The village of Asos had it all. It was picturesque, it had awesome views, the village square had some great tavernas to eat at, the port was small but pristine, the beach was at our doorstep, and there was another bay just around the corner (less than 100m from the main beach). We jagged a great stay here in Asos.
The Greeks do alfesco dining very well, mainly because they have a great climate and the food is conducive to it - especially when it's accompanied by a cold beer or wine! The tavern we ate at was recommended by the owner of the apartment we stayed at. The tavern owner not only serves you, but also grows much of the food (plants and animals) that he serves his customers! From paddock to plate - truly!
We spent a day or two swimming around the beaches of Asos, but we also set aside time for sight seeing around kefalonia as well as visiting the pristine Myrtos beach where the water is as blue as it getsm the beach as white as it gets and sunglasses and sunscreen are a must!
Myrtos beach is spectacular. We got there around 9am and by 10am there was no parking to be had and people were parking their cars and walking over 1km down the steep road to get to the beach - which is fine, until you have to walk back up in 30+C heat!
We went for a drive to the port village of Fiskardo and did a bit of a walking tour of the place. A quaint former fishing village now catering mainly to tourists that visit the island by ferry or private boat. It is full of restaurants and has some of the prettiest views and clearest waters such as those at Foki beach. Of course, no drive on Kefalonia is complete without stopping several times for a herd of goats on the road!
We visited other places including Sami, Argostoli, Melissani Cave and Agia Effemia.
After our 5 night stay on Kefalonia, we headed off to the port and drove our car onto a ferry headed for the island of Lefkada which is just off the western mainland. In fact, it's connected to the mainland by a causeway. As such, a lot of locals visit lLefkada for their holidays.
We drove to the village of Agios Nikitas where we were going to spend the next 4-5 nights.
Our accommodation was a challenge to 1) find and 2) get our luggage to. When we finally located our hotel, we had a cold drink, recovered for 30 mins (it was really hot) and then walked back to the car (about 1km away) to get our bags. We wheeled them up the hill and then down a ridiculously steep driveway and 30 or so steps down to our hotel.
Let me say, wheelie bags are great as long as the ground is smooth, but they suck on cobblestones and dirt!
Agios Nikitas (Nikitas from now on) is a veery quaint village in a hilly part of Lefkada. There are a huge amount of shops and tavernas to choose from and this place is a tourist hotspot. People park over 1-2 km away and walk over to visit the place. It gets crowded on the beach too - but that's all part of the fun.
We had dinner at Nikitas most nights and tried several different tavernas. From Nikitas, we caught a ferry around to Milos beach - whose easiest access is by boat. It too is a spectacular beach surrounded by high cliffs. The beach itself, like most on the Ionian Sea is made of pebbles and reef shoes are a must.
We also spent a day or two sightseeing and we visited Porto Katsiki which is a spectacular beach and absolutely clear blue water as you can see below.
The vews from the top of Porto Katsiki were phenomenal and we stopped for a greek coffee at a taverna located on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and right at the top. Greeks tend to put both churches and tavernas is the strangest and most obscure places.
The streets through the villages can be very narrow, and when you have a truck or a bus coming at you from the opposite direction, you better know the dimensions of your car and have good spatial awareness!
While at Lefkada, we across to Nydri, a coastal port on the eastern side of the island where we decided to hire a boat for the day. In Greece, you can easily hire a 7m boat with a 150hp motor to cruise around the islands and we did just that! We were given a cooler box with ice and packed some drinks and our lunch into it and off we went.
We had a great day and visited a number of local islands including Meganisi, Scorpios (formerly owned by Aristotle Onasis), Ithica, and Fiscardo back on Kefalonia. The islands are close together and as it was a beautiful day, we just buzzed around the Ionian Sea
We departed the island of Lefkada and headed across the causway onto the mainland and up the west coast of Greece to another village called Parga. I chose Parga because an old Greek man that owns a deli/cafe in Sydney told e about it and how it was his home town. he showed me photos of it and I thought it looked like an OK place to visit. Arriving in Parga was quite spectacular. Our accommodation was at the top of a hill with a steep walk down to the port. Our view was amazing. We naturally walked down to the port and while down there I took a photo of where we were staying - just to get a perspective of the climb back. That night we had dinner at the hotel restaurant. The hosts were excellent with great accommodation, awesome food and spectacular views it was a great place to stay at.
As you can see below, the water is so clear that the boat looks like it is floating!
Our trip was cut short due to family reasons and though we had another couple of days in Parga as well as a couple of days planned in Meteora, we decided that we needed to head back home to Australia. As such, we packed up the following morning and drove the 6 hours back to Athens airport for our departure back to Sydney.
We arrived back in Sydney 36 hours after departing Parga.
Hopefully, we will get back to Europe again soon!
Andrew & Stephanie
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