Two Sore Backs

The Cephalonia ferry terminal with boats to Ithaca and Patras is on the east side of Sami. Turns out there are actually two terminals, one for each of the major carriers. Blue ticket? Ionian, “over there”. Yellow ticket? Levante, “over there”. Our ticket was blue.

These pilots are very good. Below is the Ionian ship, dropping its anchor as it shifts into reverse in order to back in.

Here it’s lowering the car ramp as it backs in. Ionian didn’t seem to use ropes – they just reversed in and kept the power on.

Levante is more cautious. They set two ropes before allowing cars to disembark.

It’s a short drive from the Ithaca terminal to Vathy, where our Airbnb was. Val booked this one and wow, very interesting.

It was located a block or so from the water near a busy intersection.

The unit has its own private courtyard.

It has an old well in the livingroom.

The well has some cool lighting. The water at the bottom is crystal clear and, apparently, fine to drink.

Another interesting feature is a round opening in the floor. There was a time when the room was used to make wine. Grapes were stomped on the other side of the wall, where the kitchen is, and the juice would flow into the opening. It’s a vat of sorts, with a drain hole at the bottom. We guess that barrels were filled from below.

A spiral staircase takes you to the sleeping loft.

It’s such an interesting place.  The owner, Ioulia, is very proud of it.

Ioulia was great, giving us lots of advice about what to see and do. Of course, that includes where to eat. First stop was O Batis, a great spot by the water.

Regulars are in the habit of tossing bread in the water and watching the fish attack it. The seafood we ordered was outstanding.

The next day we did the hike to Gidaki beach. The path was mellow, very pleasant.

And the beach was gorgeous.

There were many goats along the trail. it must be a challenge to corral these guys.

The following day I rented a paddleboard. It felt great to be out on the water.

Vardiola beach was stunningly beautiful, and I had it entirely to myself.

The return paddle to Vathy was ino a pretty strong headwind.  The beer was well deserved, I’d say.

Later that day we did a road trip to the northern part of Ithaca. This is tiny Kourvoulia Beach.

The port town of Kiovi looked like it would be a great place to spend time. Lots of boats, but more down to earth than even Vathy. Didn’t see any Prada bags here.

Views on the way back to Vathy were very nice. For reference, Vardiola beach is on the far peninsula, first bay from the left. Gidaki is on the other side of the same peninsula, to the right (south of) Vardiola.

Below is a photo of Sami taken from the ferry back to Cefalonia. What caught our eye was the lush forest behind the town.

A quick switch of ferries and we were on our way to Patras and further on to the wine country of  Nemea.

We would go back to Ithaca in a heartbeat.