Lefkas & Kephalonia

The past three days were absolute perfection.

It didn't even matter that the first bus to Lefkada sold out right before we got there at 6am on Wednesday, or that our hotel was inaccessible by anything other than taxi, or that I spent way too much money.  Those islands were perfect and I will always cherish the memories from this trip.

 Lefkada is an island actually connected to the mainland by a bridge.  A tiny, tiny bridge.  So tiny, you could cross it in about 25 steps.  See.  I found that hysterical.  Our hotel was in a small fishing village turned resort called Nikiana and it was absolutely stunning.  For 70E a night, the three of us had a small apartment, with two balconies, our own beds, full breakfast, sea access, the most gorgeous swimming pool ever, and the most incredible view I have ever seen.

My traveling companions this week were Leah and Amelia; the majority of the group is in Zakynthos until Sunday and a few others are in Santorini.  The small group was perfect; we all get along really well, have similar interests, and were thrilled to be seeing Lefkada.  It was lovely.

We decided to make a day trip to Kephalonia on Thursday, so we spent the morning swimming at the hotel's private sea access (stairs cut into a cliff that led to water) and then took a taxi to the little port-town of Vassiliki.  Our ferry took us to the Kephalonian village Fiskardo, which was so incredibly charming.  It was like the Rainbow Row of the Greek Islands.  We ate lunch by the harbor, feeding the fishies that swam up next to our table.  Our waiter set a cup of smoking coffee grounds on the table to keep the bugs away and the scent transported us to an even farther away land.  A long, dramatic taxi ride took us to our only other destination for the day: Myrtos Beach-famed as the official most beautiful beach in Greece.  It did not disappoint.

I was speechless.  So completely awed that I just started laughing and couldn't stop.  To be standing amidst such sheer beauty and drama, it was like a slap in the face reminder of how lucky we are to even be alive.  The waves were huge and crushing, too strong to even try and swim in.  I collapsed at the water's edge, laughing still, and tried to soak it all in.  Our taxi driver was waiting for us in the beach cafe, we only had about 20 minutes to enjoy the beach before we had to head back to town to catch the last ferry back to Lefkada.  I was glad to go, as beautiful as it was, because I didn't want that feeling of awe-struck near delirium to go away.  I want to always look back on that afternoon and feel slightly dizzy, as I did standing there on the stark white sand, at the base of those huge towering cliffs facing bright cobalt water.

Back in Lefkada, we had dinner at the harbor and then explored Vassilikis a little before summoning our taxi driver Panos.  Panos was our personal chauffeur; the only taxi driver in Nikiana, he had the pleasure of driving us around whenever we decided to leave the hotel.  It was awesome.  While in town, we found a tiny little store selling handmade art pieces and cool things like rugs, wooden spoons, paintings, etc.  I bought a beautiful woven cotton rug with the Greek key in grass green, a small table runner to give as a gift, and a set of olive wood salad tongs to put in my hope chest. 

The wind was strong yesterday, the kind of breeze that can cleanse your soul.  We sat on our balcony last night, each lost in our own form of solitude, and let the wind carry us away.  At least, that's what I was doing.  There's something so powerful and overwhelming about being outside at night when a strong breeze blows through, I went to bed feeling completely calm and refreshed.  

We spent the morning and early afternoon camped out by the hotel pool, too lazy/caught up in the view to care about going anywhere else.  It was the perfect three day escape from Athens and I didn't want to ruin it by trying to do or see too much.  Lefkada and Kephalonia will remain wild and untouched for me, magical places that provided much needed solace.  It was the kind of trip I'd been looking forward to all year, the kind of experience that I longed for in returning to Greece.

As Henry Miller said, "I was not unhappy to go; there are experiences so wonderful, so unique, that the thought of prolonging them seems like the basest form of ingratitude.  If I were not to go now, then I should stay forever, turn my back on the world, renounce everything."

Pictures forthcoming. 

~RLM 

Comments

[Sonia Bonia! :)]

Okay...this place you speak of is on my list. This list, if I've failed to mention is 3 pages long...and that's w/out going into detail.

Also...if you could do me a favor. If you have any money left by the end of your trip, can you buy me something beautiful and original? I'll pay you back for it. Just something decorative that is uniquely Greek. It doesn't have to be big, just gorgeous. But don't worry about it too much if you are strained in the finance department. I understand. I cannot wait for you to come back home! E-mail me your flight info and I'll be sure to be waiting at the airport with an organic ginger ale in hand. :)