6/11/08

It is hard to believe that the cruise is almost over and that I will be flying back to the States on Saturday. It doesn’t seem possible that this much time has gone by, that I have been in Greece so long as to already be leaving.

We are in Kefalonia today – I was here before, last year, but only for an afternoon. I never really thought I’d return to this island, let alone so soon. We are at a different port this time, a small town called Sami, which is near the famous Melissani Cave Lake. Melissani is an underground lake created by a water system that reaches across the island – it is famous because the roof of the cave collapsed hundreds of years ago, illuminating the cavern and its adjoining chamber, which is full of stalactites. The two rooms are toured by a small boat, but the 10 minute tour cost more than our hour long small boat tour of Palaiokastritsa, so I didn’t feel like it was quite worth the 7 euro or the 10 euro taxi. We ate a very late lunch at a restaurant in the harbor, enjoying the view and delicious food, as there is not much else to do in town.

We stopped yesterday in Preveza, a small town on the coast of the Peloponnesus, for a quiet, relaxing day after the excitement of Corfu. We wandered about town, spent the afternoon on a very humble local beach, and then ate dinner and watched Greece lose to Sweden in the Euro2008 tournament. Each day of the cruise has been so distinctly different, as each place has its own local character and sensibility. The pace here on Kefalonia is much like Preveza, the towns seem sleepy almost, as if they are really taking their time in moving throughout the day. It is not laziness, but more an awareness that life doesn’t have to move so quickly. I liked Preveza, it was cute and quaint, not a tourist town by any means. Walking to the small local beach reminded me of summers at Carolina Beach outside Wilmington, the air scented with pine trees and the din of children laughing. It had the same laid-back vibe as Carolina, lacking the tourist overgrowth of Wrightsville – and the more popular Greek destinations. I was content to nap on a chair in the sun, and then escape under an umbrella to read in the shade.

~RLM