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.
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