Normal Service Resumed

Well after the one stormy grey day, I can safely say that the last few days have been glorious here on the island with temperatures rising to around 28 degrees once again. Our beaches are alive once again with the few tourists we have left, mainly from 9 Muses and Tesoro Blu Hotels, and the view to our surrounding islands and mountainous mainland is clear as crystal. If I could get a sun-lounger and wifi connection, I would be typing this post from the beach, but alas, all of the sunbeds have been gathered and collected ready to be put into their winter resting places. So at this time of year, a beach towel is a must.

I decided to drive the 12km to Poros today and take some video footage of the first resort to grace Kefalonia's shores. Unfortunately these days, most of the larger tour operators fail to feature it in their brochures, but personally it is definitely worth a visit and has a charm all of its very own.

Poros is a significant port here on the island as it provides a daily ferry service to link Kefalonia with Killini on the mainland. As with most villages here on the island, the 1953 earthquake devestated Poros and its quaint fishing village type houses, and was rebuilt as you see today.

My favorite restaurant here is Bello Pizza, with its wood oven, the pizza is cooked fresh and to order, and boasts an enviable location along the sea front. There are a selection of tavernas and cafes in Poros, some of which stay open late giving it a distince cafe vibe. After dinner you can walk the length of the sea front and see the remnants of the scattering of bars and resturants that once used to thrive here, however, when the tour operators pulled out of the resort and discovered Skala, Lassi and Lourdas, it appears that Poros was put back on the shelf. A real shame, as it is a beautiful, Venetian inspired little port town with plenty of nooks and crannies just waiting to be explored. On the entrance to Poros, you can park near to the HMS Perseus plaque that pays honour to the English Crew that died in WWII (I will be doing a seperate post for this as it is a spectacular story) a short walk through a pine tree lined path will take you to the plaque. Poros boasts some beautiful pebbled beaches and is surrounded by vast hillside that encases the monastery at Mount Atros (also worthy of a seperate post). It does not stop there, the ravibe of Poros is an 80 metre deep orifice and the huge indentations in the rocks are said to be the legendary footsteps of Hercules himself. In the summer there is evidence of the river that flows during the winter months - the Vohinas River - which starts its life at Avithos - the 'bottomless' lake outside of Poros on the way to Sami. Outside of Poros around halfway to Skala, there is the beautiful Limenia Waterfalls again only visible in the winter months due to the lack of rain in the summer here. If you drive through Poros you also have the Mycenean Ancient Tombs at Tzanata.