"Now I am once more amongst the merry Greeks..."

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"I am once more amongst the merry Greeks, who are worth all other nations put together...All their bad habits are Venetian; their wit, their eloquence, their good nature, are their own." Sir Charles Napier 1825

(Of the seventeen British governors who ruled Kefalonia, only Sir Charles Napier is was looked upon favorably. His great affection for the island is obvious from the name of his daughter, Emily Kefalonia.)



Our next two stops in Greece were much shorter, unfortunately. We had only about four hours each day in Santorini (Thera) and in Kefalonia the following day.

"The devastating volcanic eruption of Thera has become the most famous single event in the Aegean before the fall of Troy. It may have been one of the largest volcanic eruptions on Earth in the last few thousand years. The violent eruption was centered on a small island just north of the existing island of Nea Kameni in the centre of the caldera; the caldera itself was formed several hundred thousand years ago by the collapse of the centre of a circular island, caused by the emptying of the magma chamber during an eruption.

On Santorini, a deposit of white tephra thrown from the eruption is found lying up to 60 m (200 ft) thick, overlying the soil marking the ground level before the eruption, and forming a layer divided into three fairly distinct bands indicating different phases of the eruption. New archaeological discoveries by a team of international scientists, in 2006, have revealed that the Santorini event was much more massive than previously thought; it expelled 61 cubic kilometres (15 cu mi) of magma and rock into the Earth's atmosphere!" Wikipedia

Once we set anchor near the harbor of Fira, we were shuttled to shore in smaller boats. Bill and I decided to walk up the cliff road, dodging donkeys and hoping none decided to kick....The traditional tourist route up is by donkey, but there is now a cable car to take you up in few minutes. Both experiences cost about $5.00 one way. (To save his knees, Bill took the cable car back down, while I walked...)

We debated about taking a taxi out to the archaeological dig, but decided it would be too rushed, so we just hiked along the cliff, had coffee, and talked politics with shop keepers. I wore some very interesting leggings given to me by a friend, and they turned out to be great conversation starters!

"Kefalonia lies in the Ionian Sea in western Greece, although it is proudly Greek in its cuture its proximity to Italy has influenced its history and its geography is vastly different from the barren Greek islands such as Mykonos – Kefalonia is densely wooded, particularly in the north of the island around Fiskardo. Kefalonia is spectacularly, breathtakingly beautiful with an enchanting coastline and a sleepy charm that survives to present day. Because of its geographic position, Kefalonia has been conquered time and time again by a smorgasbord of invaders who, once having taken possession, treated it as a private fief to be exploited and with little concern for the inhabitants. The island has changed hand by conquest been give as a gift or traded as a bargaining chip. It has never been central to the main course of history but always on the periphery, its destiny decided by whichever large power was in the ascendancy at that particular time. The long list of rulers includes the Romans, the Byzantines, the Normans, the Venetians, the Turks, the Russians, the Italians, the Germans and the British. Only very recently has it become part of modern Greece.For most of recorded history Kefalonia has been a possession that various landlords abused; appropriating its resources neglecting or, more usually, oppressing its people."

The next day we docked in Argostoli, the capitol of Cephalonia or Kefalonia. We decided to get a coffee and do some research on the internet before heading out and with our new info set off for the archaeological museum. ("From an archaeological point of view, Cephalonia is an extremely interesting island. Archaeological finds go back to 40,000 BP. Without doubt, the most important era for the island is the Mycenaean era, from approximately 1500–1100 B.C. The archaeological museum in Cephalonia’s capital, Argostoli – although small – is regarded as the most important museum in Greece for its exhibits from this era.")

We found the museum quickly and but even more quickly found that it was closed for renovations. Bitterly disappointed, and without many more options due to our time constraints, I decided we should walk over the hill behind town, go to a beach, and then walk the long way along the shore back to the ship.....

On the way, we visited the Folklore museum, where we were greeted by a docent with a New York accent, who lived part of her life in the States. The museum has a collection of photographs before and after the 1953 earthquake that destroyed everything on the island. (Bill remembers seeing the newsreels as a child).

"A series of four earthquakes hit the island in August 1953, and caused major destruction, with virtually every house on the island destroyed. The third and most destructive of the quakes took place on August 12, 1953 at 09:24 UTC (11:24 local time), with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale. Its epicentre was directly below the southern tip of Cephalonia, and caused the entire island to be raised 60 cm (24 in) higher, where it remains, with evidence in water marks on rocks around the coastline.

The 1953 Ionian earthquake disaster caused huge destruction, with only regions in the north escaping the heaviest tremors and houses there remaining intact. Damage was estimated to run into tens of millions of dollars, equivalent to billions of drachmas, but the real damage to the economy occurred when residents left the island. An estimated 100,000 of the population of 125,000 left the island soon after, seeking a new life elsewhere."

After the museum, we continued walking and after an hour were not yet at the beach....I overheard an elderly couple speaking English and knocked on their car window to ask where we could get a taxi. They offered us a ride, gave us the scenic tour of that part of the island! She was 85 and spends part of the year with Charlie, her young (76) German boyfriend, who lives on Kefalonia...They were delightful, and a partially wasted day ended up being great!

Back to the ship...and we set sail for Dubrovnik...

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Photos

Tide power
Rebuilt after the 1953 quake, but now the location of a disco club/bar...