Odysseus' Ithaca

Our next port visited was a different Greek Island in the Ionian sea named Cephalonia or Kefalonia. I mentioned having read Homer's The Odyssey just before embarking on this trip, yet I had no idea that we would be anywhere near the place described. I enjoyed The Odyssey, and I was impressed by Odysseus' descriptions of his beloved Ithaca homeland. He noted its rocky scrub lands, not very suited to cultivation, its many goats and sheep, and its beauty. I took a tour, and imagine my surprise when told by the guide that Ithaca was the next island over across a short bay from Kefalonia. In the meantime I was enjoying the beauty of the island I was on. We went to the Dragorati Cave. As caverns go, it was fairly big, but not as large as Carlsbad or Mammoth. However, it had good acoustics, which was demonstrated by an enthusiastic opera-singing visitor. My mother didn't dare descend the hundred steps to go in the cave, but it was a relatively easy entrance and exit for me. The photos didn't turn out well, but I enjoy a cave anytime, whether it is at home or abroad. The second site on our tour was the Melissani Lake. This too was a cave, but in this case, the chamber was filled with water. Also, the roof was open to the air. It was closed, but the roof fell in following an earthquake, leaving the lake to be discovered, and a tourist attraction built. The lake was accessed by a sloping corridor that had been bored into the limestone. Once at the water, a large rowboat could be boarded with a Greek oarsman to steer you to the middle of the water and to the section of the cave that still had a roof and a very high ceiling. My mother was up to the sloping corridor, but not the boarding of the rowboat, so just Brianna and I rode out. It was a beautiful site with the very clear cerulean water below (very deep) and the arching ceiling above. The section of cave that still had its roof showed what the other section would have looked like, but I cannot imagine any one wanting to enter that expanse without the sunlight shining in! The water was a mix of salt and fresh, and was a cold ultrafiltrate of the island's rain water mixed with the ocean's input thirty kilometers away. No fish or sea-life lived in there because they had no way in, so the water stayed very clear. Neither of these caves were mentioned by Homer, but then we went on a scenic drive around the island, where we saw the rocky land with very few farms and tons of semi-wild goats. The goats were on and off the road, and we stopped by this overlook which not only allowed us to photograph the goats, but also the poppies and the amazing color of the coastal water. We saw this fantastic beach which was accessed only by a five kilometer long steep, winding, hairpin-filled, one-lane dirt road. The sandy beach was long, and very private, and the beautiful water... Lets just say that I never knew the true meaning of Azure before seeing this beach. It was the truest blue color of water, better than the caribbean, better than anything I had ever seen. This had to be one of my favorite spots on the planet. I would return any time! No wonder Odysseus was proud. On the way back, I just kept watching the coastline and the amazing water and beaches the whole way. Our tour guide then explained that no evidence of Odysseus' magnificent palace was discovered on Ithaca, the neighboring island. Rather, in the south of Kefalonia, the ruins of what must have been a large estate have been discovered. And it is proposed that Ithaca was once both of these islands, merged together. Only more recently have they been separated by the frequent earthquakes of this area, with the Ithaca title going to the smaller chunk of land to the east. I was so excited to hear that I had been exploring the very island of Odysseus' home.