Arrividerci Italia, Hello Greece

And so it was time to sail on to Greece.  As we approached Cephalonia through the Ionian Sea the beauty of the crystal clear water with the sun shining upon it, catches your breath.  Like most countries in this area (and pretty much everywhere else it seems) the Norman Kings of Sicily followed by the Turks in 1478 who were defeated by the Venetians all ruled here.  Oh, and the British for awhile as well.  It wasn’t until 1864 that Cephalonia was returned to Greece.

Agristoli is the biggest town on the island and the most happening with yachts pulling up along the shoreline and ferry boats coming and going bringing visitors and beachgoers to the many restaurants and shops.  It has become known as the island of celebrities; we were told Prince Charles and Diana spent part of their honeymoon here and Brad and Angelina were here before returning home and splitting up.  Not a good track record for couples, I’d say.  But there is hope.  We were told that Tom Hanks and Rita come often as well.  These celebs all just anchor their yachts in the harbor and enjoy themselves.  Sounds good to me.  I see a return visit possibly in our future.
Sadly, in 1953 the entire town was totally ruined by an earthquake but they seem to have recovered nicely.  The people were so welcoming and wanted us to have a good time so that we would return.

Our first stop was to Melissani Lake which is enclosed in a cave thousands of years old.  We walked through an underground tunnel to row boats manned by men who each row boatloads of tourists almost 50 times a day.  They are so buff; kinda sexy, I must say!

We then drove for a panoramic photo op of Myrtos Beach, the most photographed beach in the world!  Who knew?  Our guide said any marketing photo you see of resorts uses this beach in its ads.  Why wouldn’t you?  It is gorgeous!

On to Fiskardo Village where we had the freshest grilled swordfish for lunch while relaxing and enjoying the sites.  It was a long day as the sites were pretty far apart.  The drive back to the pier was about an hour and a half.  But what a lovely place to visit.

On to Kotor Montenegro!