Greek Odyssey Day 7: Skala-Poros-Melissani-Sami

Our second day in Kefalonia. We drove down to the South then back up the East coast of the island to visit Sami and the caves at Melissani. En route we stopped by several beaches - I don't remember all their names, but here are the pictures.

Sunny breakfast room at the Hotel Moukis where we stayed.

A bright start in Argostoli.

The beginning of our road trip.

Typical vegetation across the island.

The mountain peaks have wind turbines to generate electricity.

My old man of the sea.

A Greek taverna by the beach. Unfortunately, like most establishments in the tourist areas, it was closed during the off-season months.

We managed to fit in a visit to an archaeological site. This was supposed to have belonged to a wealthy merchant in ancient times, but the remaining floor was only about the size of my condo in Damansara Perdana.

Next stop:

Poros also had its share of archaeological findings, but the gates were locked so we couldn't get to see it in detail.

The highlight of the trip: the underground caves and lake of Melissani. The source of the water is actually the sea at Lassi, all the way across the island. Part of the roof fell during an earthquake in the 1950's, which created the beautiful sights here. We were lucky that two large tourist groups had arrived the same time as us, otherwise the ticket counter would have been unmanned.

The hole in the roof.

One for the album.

The coast of Melissani, where the lake water flows out. Across is the island of Ithaki, anciently known as Ithaca, home of Ulysses.

We then headed to Sami, another major town where most of the filming of 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' was done.

Three olive trees mimicking the three witches from Shakespeare's Scottish play.

Ruins, maybe?

Native inhabitants of Kefalonia.

We stopped at Sami for coffee. Hubby had the standard Caffe Latte while I tried an iced coffee concoction and pretended to appreciate a fashion magazine in the Greek language.

A tribute to the book and film inspired by this island.

Back in Argostoli. This time we managed to buy some souvenirs from the shops.

Dream a little dream of me

My heart, mind and other bodily functions stop at the sight of this gorgeous creation. So sleek and elegant, yet the smooth contours hide a steel nerve, like an iron fist encased in a velvet glove.

I long to touch it, feel its raw strength beneath my fingers. Feed off its energy, push it to the limit, culminating in a great roar at the peak of its power.

What would I give to experience such excitement?

Defintiely something beyond my current means.

Someday, you WILL be mine.

This Mystery is History

Teringat zaman2 muda dulu...

Sometimes it's fun to create or imagine a person's character or personality without really getting to know that person. You superimpose the most attractive and desirable traits on this object of your interest, that you end up putting him or her on a high pedestal. A so-called perfect creation.

And then you find out something so normal about this being, so much so that you feel so disappointed at this imperfection - almost like a betrayal. Never mind that all this hurt and disappointment was self-inflicted.

No wonder it's called a crush.

Greek Odyssey Day 6: Athens-Kefalonia

Last view of the Parthenon on the Acropolis from our hotel after the island-hopping cruise. At about 4 am, we had to take a taxi to the airport to catch our flight to the island of Kefalonia.

Near the dock at Argostoli, Kefalonia. We arrived really early but were so tired we slept half the day away. It was a cold and damp afternoon by the time we had our lunch.

Another view of Argostoli.

Our mode of transportation around Kefalonia - a weather-beaten and much-used Fiat Punto.

Lassi. Up to 50 years ago, the sea water here got sucked underground only to emerge again on the other side of the island. The flow was so strong it was used to power watermills like the one in the background.

We decided to drive over to Lixouri. On the way, we drove up a hill to check out a medieval astle, but it was closed.

Anybody home?

It was raining heavily when we reached Lixouri, so all we did was drop in for coffee and drive back.

Night time in Argostoli. Lots of nice shops selling clothes, watches, jewellery & souvenirs.

The Truth About Men & Women

... or "Typical (Mis)communication Problems."

A TV show I saw recently brought this particular thought to mind. I am sure many women can agree with this entry.

I'll start with a question to our dear partners:

When your wife or dear lady friend tells you her problems, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?

Yes, I'm sure that 99.99% of you will immediately try to think of a solution. And that 99.99% of you felt that you did not receive the thanks you deserved for coming up with that solution. Instead, you get a stare, a pout, a cold shoulder and an even colder bed.

Do you know why?

Because when women talk about their problems, they do not necessarily want you to solve it for them. Most of the time they can deal with it themselves, and the reason for talking about it is just that - to talk about it.

It means a great deal for a woman to be able to share her experience of the problem, and even more that she has managed to solve it on her own. There may be times when we need to let off steam - which I tend to do by making a really big fuss about nothing - but unless we specifically ask for help, we're actually doing okay. The last thing we need is for someone to provide UNSOLICITED advice.

Now this begs another question:

Why do men feel the need to solve every problem that is presented to them?

Somehow, their brains are programmed to make a seemingly logical deduction that every problem discussed requires a solution. Maybe it's all that 'Damsel in distress. Knight in Shining armour' stories we were fed while we were young. But while the female of the species learned to grow out of it, our men didn't. I suspect it also has to do with machoism i.e. to maintain that persona of having everything under control. I mean, how many guys do you see actually discuss their problems with you? Or even among themselves?

As for me, having spent most of the last 3 years with my husband on another continent, I have learnt to be self-sufficient during his 60-day on-duty periods. There are times, when I've had a particularly tough day, when he admits to feeling 'helpless that he's so far away he can't do anything about it.'

Well dear, you don't have to. You can save all that effort for the 18 days when you ARE home.

So gents, I have this piece of advice for you:

Listen carefully when a woman talks about her problems. Only provide a solution or try to help when she SPECIFICALLY asks for one.

This should really be written in a manual for men-women communication. But how many men do you know will actually read manuals?

Let's take a break, shall we?

The previous six entries marked the first part of my Greek Odyssey, where we were based in Athens but took day trips to other sites on or near the mainland. Each day trip was organised by the travel agency, so there were itineraries and guides to keep us informed at all times.

For the second part of the trip, we took an early pre-dawn flight to the island of Kefalonia. This is where 'Captain Corelli's Mandolin' - both the novel and the film - is set in. No tour groups this time, just the two of us.

You want pictures? Tunggu....

Greek Odyssey Day 5b: Aegina

After Poros, we had lunch on the ferry as it headed back north towards Aegina. Hubby went round taking pictures while I tried to sleep off my motion sickness.

By the time we reached Aegina, it was raining heavily.

We took a 'scenic' bus tour of the island, but the rain didn't allow us to see much. This is a 15th century monastery on Aegina.

After the rain stopped, just before getting back onto the ferry, the rainbow came out! I also sampled the island's famous pistachio ice cream, made from locally grown pistachios.

A much prettier view of the town as we were leaving compared to our arrival.

Saying goodbye to the island, as we head back to Piraeus.

A beautiful sunset to end the day.