Cephalonia

 After a useful service stop we crossed over the mountains of Lefkada to the island's eponymous 'capital', parked in a car park that would have challenged a tank and walked through the sunny town streets and eventually out along the causeway to the swing bridge. At this time of year few leisure boats are out and about so the structure looked unlikely to move that day but we did watch as a large machine lifted a skid steer bobcat out of a hole before walking out past some fishing boats to the harbour wall. A Ukrainian guy was washing down his yacht and as previously we considered the mixed emotions he was undoubtedly feeling regarding the conflict back home.

Having returned to the mainland we took the quieter road south and passed several herds of goats before reaching a ruined village whose collapsing houses lined either side of the road for a mile or two. Many villages were abandoned after WW2 as agriculture changed and the younger populace headed to cities both home and abroad for work. We stopped to chat to a French couple and their daughter who were cycle touring : Mum had an electric cargo bike with the tired daughter and her bike strapped on top of the majority of their luggage.

Down at Astakos, reached after a superb section of rugged coastline which we thought surpassed the Amalfi coast, we filled up with fuel and checked it would be OK to park up down by the beach. The view across the bay was superb and after booking a ferry to Cephalonia for the following morning (£90 single) we walked round to the quiet quayside where a few fishing boats were offloading their catch and taking on bagged ice. A couple of luxury yachts were also tied up and after checking out the various tavernas we settled on the Olympic Pegasus and took a table in the covered terrace. We enjoyed an excellent meal with my plate of white bait proving something of a challenge and with few customers the owner had time to chat and was hugely amusing. Walking back we noticed the curious spectacle of a large van loaded with chickens in cages whose owner, an elderly lady, was bedding down in the front section for the night, whether she sold eggs, table birds or both we didn't quite work out

The following morning we sat watching the ferry arrive, drove down to the ramp and were straight on for the two hours and  twenty minutes crossing to Sami. The views were spectacular and included a glimpse of a new commercial container and cargo port along the coast and Lefkada away to the north. Approaching Cephalonia we passed rocky Vathy before pulling in to Sami's small port. We took the road north to charming Fiskado and parked outside the village for the night before walking down to the picture postcard perfect harbour where a smart MV, the Freja was moored. A quick search showed it be owned by a successful Australian couple, registered in the Cook Islands and heading up the Adriatic sea to a boat show. Quite what the local fishermen must think I don't know but they were busy preparing their crafts for the oncoming tourist season as trips out to caves, coves and beaches are popular. We walked out to two old lighthouses and a ruined church before returning for a very quiet night. The following morning a double tanker arrived and filled a huge underground reservoir that must be the village water supply and we walked back in to the village to visit an impressive Roman cemetery and talk to a guy and his father painting a shop ready for their planned boutique. We took another superb coast road around the top of the island and dropped down some sharp hairpins to Assos on its rocky peninsula. As in Fiskado the various taverns, shops and villas were being spruced up and we spotted some enchanting but neglected villas ripe for redevelopment. Back up on the main road it wasn't long before we stopped to look out over impossibly beautiful Myrtos beach, reached again by numerous hairpins and completely deserted. It was a great spot for lunch with dazzling white pebbles, chalk cliffs and a sea that must have been photo shopped. There was some evidence of winter storm damage and we cleared a couple of bags of rubbish before climbing out and heading for our planned park up. 

Myrtos being north facing would have been in shade whereas our lofty perch at Paliki faced west. En route we had looked at another option but the coast road had been washed away, so we had carried on south stopping briefly to fill up with good water from a tank at the top of a hill. The road down to Paliki was again somewhat twisting and ended up in a large parking area with the beach some 400 steps below of which the last 220 have been missing since an earthquake in 2014. Whilst someone had rigged up a handline it all looked rather precarious so we contented ourselves with a stunning view augmented for me by the Marine Tracker app enabling me to identify the passing shipping.

We parked at Gerogompos lighthouse for a walk along the coast before pulling in at a beautiful beach where the calm sea, hot sunshine and clean sand encouraged one of us to take a dip. We passed the water tank again en route to Argostoli and filled up before reaching the island's capital and taking a walk round. The ferry from Lixouri came in and we walked across the beautiful sickle shaped bridge that now prevents boats from entering the further reaches of the lagoon which are a sea turtle sanctuary. 

A few miles beyond the town airport's runway we dropped down the steepest and tightest hairpins yet to reach a tiny cove with parking for a few vehicles right at the water's edge. There were a few benches for the pop up taverna but we had an undisturbed night as everywhere is so quiet at this time of year. As we left a guy arrived to go scuba diving and we wondered if he might be tempted to head out to the small offshore island that remarkably housed a small chapel.

Crossing inland through the mountains we stopped to look round the impressive Venetian Castle at Ayios Georgios with its panoramic views and looked round the grounds of a large nearby monastery before dropping down towards Sami where a cove at Antisami provided a quiet place to rest for the afternoon under a hot sun. We then parked along the seafront within view of the port looking out over the sea to Vathy.

That evening in Sami we ate well at a small restaurant, taking unfinished gyros back for another day and sleeping well on the quiet road. Our ferry wasn't due to leave until 3pm and had been moored up overnight alongside another from the Levante line whose crew had been busy painting the night before. We walked around the bay to Karavomylos where a waterwheel was being driven by the brackish spring emerging from a cave system that had been dye tested to prove its connection under the mountains back to Argostoli. Whilst chatting to a Greek lad back at the van we noticed our ship pulling away but fortunately it was only nipping over to Vathy before returning for the rest of the passengers, vehicles and lorries. It was a speedy if chaotic boarding process, passengers all had to walk on but we were soon underway arriving back in Astakos as the sun set. We parked in the same spot near a Greek guy with a decent boat on a trailer behind his camper and two German vans buddied up further on and walked back to the Olympic Pegasus for another excellent meal after a friendly greeting. 

Today we stopped briefly at the archeological site of Kalydon having found nearby Pleuron closed and walked up to the site of an old city and temple with views across the salt pans and marshes of the Etoliko lagoon before heading south to Patras reached by an expensive toll bridge (€25). Next time we would use the car ferry which still operates and would give good views of this attractive modern structure. A couple of possibilities for Camping Gaz in Patras came to nothing but we enjoyed a friendly interaction with the young parking attendant who let us stop for 5 minutes in exchange for one of the oranges picked up earlier at a roadside store full of home made jams, marmalades, preserves and liqueurs run by a super friendly woman. 

So here we are at one of the few campsites open all year on the Peloponnesus for another service stop. We are parked amongst orange and lemon trees with power and water supplies and just four other vans dotted around. We will cover some of the Peloponnesus over our last fortnight together and keep an eye on the tragic events unfolding not so very far away which may impact on my future plans. 

The van is running well, an erratic issue with the central locking has been resolved by cleaning up the door switches that control the interior light and must also trigger the locks and so far the flashing glow plug has been eliminated.

Piccies