Nothing Icky about Ithaca

This small island is almost attached to Cephalonia, separated only by a narrow channel. We stayed in the main port of Vathi, which has a deep bay with good protection from the winds and sea. It is a popular port for yachters and certainly caters to them. We refilled our water tanks with water delivered to the quay by an enterprising guy in a water truck You can get 100 liters for 6 euros. It sounds cheap but took about 24 euros to fill up our tanks. Most places provide water at no charge, but in Greece it is much more hit and miss. We are never sure when we will come across water again, so it was worth it.

Captain Corelli’s Cephalonia

Like many of the islands, Cephalonia has close ties to Italy. During WWII the Italians invaded and occupied these islands. When Italy surrendered to the allies, Germany sent troops to control the islands. But instead of turning them over peacefully the Italians turned on the Germans and fought them for seven days. Of the 9000 Italian troops, only 3000 survived. By personal order of Hitler, the remaining 3000 were lined up and brutally shot. Very few survived. I have been told that the old Greek women still wear black to honor the Italians that defended their island from the Germans. I am not sure that is actually true since old Greek women tend to always wear black, but it is a nice sediment. There was a nice movie made a couple of years ago about this incident called Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

After spending a couple of days on the south part of the island in some wonderful bays, we sailed from the port town of Argostoli to the top of the island under strong winds and big waves. At the top of the island is Fiskardho, one of the few cities in the Ionians that did not fall down during the big 1953 earthquake. As a result, it has a much more authentic feel to it. A charming little town that is now mostly restaurants and tourist shops that has been converted from old homes near the waterfront. We stayed just south of the town in a quiet bay.

Zanny Zakynthos

Our first stop is the most southern of the 7 islands, Zakynthos. We anchored out in some of the southern bays, hung out at some of the beaches and spent a few days in the main town of Zakynthos where we tie up to the town quay that encircles the huge harbor. There is plenty of room for both ferries and yachters. However it is now August and everything has gotten more crowded as Europe takes its month of August off to explore Europe. The bay is so large, I was surprised when most of the quay got filled up with bumper-to-bumper boats.

After a couple of days we head north to Nickolaos, a very small town on the northeastern corner of the islands. This town’s claim to fame are the beautiful blue caves. Trying to out do Capri’s blue grotto, the caves are indeed a beautiful deep blue but just doesn’t have the pizzazz of the famous Capri grotto. It is a very small town with a couple of restaurants, a few hotels and boat tours all owned by the same family. I guess it pays to have land past down for a dozen generations. We still enjoyed a little touristic boat ride to the caves and a stop at some high cliffs for jumping and swimming. It is so hot here in August that you just have to be in and out of the water a couple of times a day.

On the western part of the island is the famous Shipwreck Beach. Perhaps the most photographed beach in all of Greece. Beautiful white sand meets turquoise blue water with dramatic cliffs crashing down to the bay. And right in the center is a sizable ship buried half in sand. We arrived fairly early in the morning and were the first ones in the bay. The wreck looked more like a Hollywood set with the ship smack dab in the center of the beach tilting, rusting and decaying perfectly. By the time we got our anchor set, the first of the tourist boats showed up. And then the invasion began. It made D-day look like a small operation. We took a few photos, but left when the crowds got just way out of hand. I am glad we got that first glimpse of the beach without anyone but the shipwreck, and us in the morning light.

An Eye on the Ionians

With good northerly winds, we head to the Ionian Islands. I think they are the most beautiful of the Greek isles. Dark green forests of cypress, pines and scrub bushes blanket the steep mountains. Deep inlet bays make for ideal refuge during the nights. White fine sandy beaches that crunch under your feet all make up these historic islands.

Ok, so here is the legend. Zeus had a mistress named Io. When Zeus suspects that his wife is on to him, he changes Io into a cow. Well Zeus’s wife wasn’t born yesterday and she figures it out. She sends a gadfly to torment Io. It is so annoying that Io plunges into the sea, hence the Ionian Sea.

There political history is similar to much of Greece. The Venetians kept them the longest and if there is an architectural theme that has survived the earthquakes over the years, it would be Venetian. Unfortunately too many earthquakes have leveled most of the old architecture and what you get is a more 1960’s theme to even the small towns. In general, not a good decade for architecture. A few of the islands did something completely different when they rebuilt. They used a lot of corrugated sheet metal. I guess they were tired of constantly picking up the stones of collapsed buildings. It may hold up better during an earthquake but it gives the town a western appearance. The corrugated metal feels more like a facade than a real building. You get this eerie feeling that you are visiting Frontierland in some theme park.

A Wonder to Behold

This was not just an athletic event, it was also a pilgrimage to the sacred site of Zeus. It was here that one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, the colossal statue of Zeus rested in all its splendor. And for Steve, it was the completion of being last on the list of the ancient 7 wonders of the world he has visited. Not many can claim that bragging rights. I have only seen 4 of the 7 sites. I still have to see the Pyramids, Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and Alexander’s Lighthouse.

The statue of Zeus was over 39 feet tall or about the same height as a 4-story building. It was made of gold covered bronze and ivory. Zeus’s throne was made of ivory, gold, ebony and precious stones. It must have been quite a site to behold. Since the games were as much a religious festival as an athletic event it centered around pagan worship. In the middle of the games, 100 oxen were sacrificed to Zeus. Now days we just offer nachos and salsa.

Ironically it was the pagan worship that eventually caused the demise of the Olympic games. With the decline of the ancient religion, the people attended less and less. In 393 AD, the last of the games were held because Theodosius l prohibited the cult and games from gathering as a way of imposing Christianity as the state religion. Christianity had won out and the statue of Zeus was sent to Constantinople where it was eventually destroyed by fire in 475 AD.

The Glory of the Olympics

Our last port on the Peloponnesus is Katakolon. It is a small quaint 3 street town that has more than its share of souvenir stands. It is not surprising since 2 to 3 cruise ships invade here almost every day. But they don’t come for the town of Katakolon, they come to visit the ancient site of the Olympic games. We jumped on a small train that took us inland about an hour to the rambling pile or rocks that was once the organized site of the Olympic games for over 1000 years. At the height of the games between 150,000 and 200,000 people would attend. This event, held every 4 years, was so important that no matter who was fighting, a truce was honored for a month while athletes and spectators could make their pilgrimage to the games. It was a contest of athletic prowlness that only men could compete or for that matter even watch. If a woman was caught watching the games, she was thrown off a cliff to her death. Yikes, that is pretty strict ticket enforcement. In order to participate, you had to confirm that you had been training for at least 10 months and were of upright character. Only Greek citizens were allowed to participate. Because this was as much an athletic event as a spiritual event celebrating the human form, yes, all athletes performed naked. No Nike logos were to be found on the entire field. Winning an event made you a legendary hero in your hometown. It was the highest honor a human could have bestowed upon him. In fact, some of the Greek gods were legends that came out of the early Olympic games. The victors were only awarded a palm branch and olive leaf crown. It did however come with the benefit of never having to pay taxes again for the rest of your life. As the games continued, city-states would award athletes with large cash prizes as well.

The Last Finger

If you look at the Peloponnesus on a map, it looks like a big bear footprint with 3 claws and a thumb. After 3 weeks of sailing, we are on the last finger of the Peloponnesus. This coast has always been an important part of the trade route from India to Europe. Who ever controlled this coast controlled the flow of spices, silk, precious metals, gems, pearls and perfume flowing into Europe. It is why this area is covered with forts and castles and has changed control from one empire to the next more often then Madonna changes boyfriends. We have seen castles built by the French, added on to by the Venetians, and then had a tower built by the Turks.

It is also an area inhabited by Logger turtles. It is not uncommon to see a 2-foot turtle swimming in the bay. They can become quite friendly and some restaurants regularly clean their fish at the waters edge so these big playful turtles will swim right next to the waterfront while you are having dinner.

The Warriors of Sparta

In the heart of the Peloponnesus, just north of Mistras is the area where the Spartans built their community. It is a rugged and mountainous region with rich fertile valleys. In this ancient civilization there were three distinct classes: the peasants, the tradesmen/artisans and the landowners/warriors. Those chosen to be warriors were forbidden to work for the rest of their life. Training constantly the art of war would start at the age of 7. They ate and slept communally with the barest essentials. Hence the modern term “spartan conditions”. At age 20, all of that training would be put use by a series of initiation tests. Part of that ultimate test included being flogged within an inch of your life. The military officers would abandon the warrior in training in the wilderness and instruct them to kill any peasant they came across who were outside after dark. It was not unheard of for the trainee to die in the initiation process. And if the testing didn’t kill you, the fighting probably would. In battle, you were expected to give your life without hesitation. In 580 B.C. only 300 of these fierce warriors stood up against the entire Persian army. Isn’t there a Hollywood movie about this famous battle? After holding off the Persian army, Sparta’s reputation as warriors grew to heroic proportions. For centuries it was thought that a Spartan would never be taken alive.