Cephalonia. Greece

Cephalonia is a most beautiful island. It is located in the Ionian Sea west of mainland Greece.  It didn't hurt that we had a crystal clear day, a true Greek Isle blue sea, blue sky day. 

The port is Argostoli, a quiet town in late October, when the tourist season is winding down.  We had the port all to ourselves.

We were at sea until noon, which made for a very relaxing morning, something I needed in order to recover from the Santorini donkey trail descent the day before. 

Our excursion bus took us high into the mountains for distant views out to sea, that beautiful Ionian blue sea. The island was mountainous and rocky.

 I love the cypress trees.

Our first stop was the Drogarati Cave, a still active "wet" cave with stalagmites, stalactites and curtains, that opens up into a huge chamber sometimes actually used as a concert venue.

 This was not the first place we noticed hardy cyclamen growing wild.  They will naturalize here in the northwest, but are not native.

The small coastal town of Sami is a beautiful place to stroll along the edge of the blue water.

 This memorial honors the occupying Italian soldiers who were massacred  by the Germans on Hitler's orders after the Nazis overran the island in 1943. A movie about the incident, Captain Cornell's Mandolin, was filmed here in 2000.

Our next stop was Lake Melissani, a cave lake in a collapsed underground dome with incredibly vibrant and changing shades of blue water.

We moved over the water in row boats, going back into a second, darker chamber.  It was a magical place and I would have liked to just float quietly, without a boat full of people.

We took a while to stretch our legs, enjoy the countryside,  and hook up to WiFi at a tourist cafe there.

 I do love these big old olive trees, some hundreds of years old.

 Back on the bus, we took another scenic route back to the port.

We stopped at an overlook  to get views of a famous beach popular with the yachting set.

 Home, sweet home, and the end of another beautiful day.