Cephalonia (Part II)

By day 4 the expanse of sea teasing us from the villa began to make our sea legs twitch. Giving in, we wandered down to Fiskardo and rented a little boat for the day from a lovely woman at Delta Boats. This can be found on the main strip nestled amongst the restaurants and shops, in front of the Libeo Coffee Shop. After a snoop around the port admiring the luxury yachts from the water we sped off down the coast to explore some of the coves we'd been eyeing up from the villa. Boats are a fantastic way of really experiencing the coast of an area. You can flit in and out of bays and coves with ease, without the hassle of a hot car and treacherous roads. Even better when the bays are inaccessible by road- hello private beach! There's also nothing quite like diving straight from the bow into cool, clear water.

After we had had our fill of cove exploring, we changed tack and pointed our little boat in the direction of Ithaca. This was where our journey became slightly less glamorous. The sea was pretty flat in sailing terms, however little boats feel waves a lot more than big ones. My brother took the wheel and, being a typical boy, took great delight in taking these waves head on whilst I was doused in enough sea water to start a small aquarium. Nevertheless, we arrived in Ithaca 20 minutes later and moored up on a sleepy dock in Palikata bay. Here I would recommend getting a taxi up to the town, Stavros. Ask at the small cafe next to the water and they should give you the number. Once in Stavros we were pointed in the direction of the restaurant Polyphemus. For non-classical folk, Polyphemus was the cyclops that Odysseus defeated and rescued his men from by driving a white hot poker into its one, gigantic eye. Nice. Either way, with our stomachs were rumbling we beelined up the hill.

This unsuspecting little place may well be my favourite holiday lunch spot of all time. The outside is covered in tumbling vines and little cats wind around plant pots spilling over with colourful flowers. Head through the gate and the path opens up into the sweetest garden courtyard I've ever seen. Tables are scattered around this little levelled grotto, nestled amongst white painted trees which provide a cool shelter from the midday sun. From these trees hang all manner of paraphernalia: wicker baskets, old oil lamps, strings of garlic, rusting frying pans and sun bleached pebbles, not to mention all the bits and bobs dotted around the trees, such as rows of shells, weathered radios, old diving tanks and slouchy leather boots from a bygone time. They add a wonderful character and element of magic to the place which I defy anyone not to be charmed by.

The waitress was a gem, going through and explaining the menu to us and making recommendations. Being typically British, I sometimes I find this level of involvement a little irritating, preferring to make my way round the menu in my own time, however her explanations made the large menu a lot more manageable and also made clear that any choice would be an excellent one! All the dishes are named after characters in the Odyssey and we started by sharing the 'Polyphemus- some like it hot', a deliciously spicy sausage casserole type dish, which was demolished and mopped up with soft hunks of bread. We also opted for the cheesy flat bread and by far the best tzatsiki I have ever tasted.

For mains, mum and I went for the moussaka, whilst James and Dad went for the 'lamb surprise'. My favourite meal of all time is my mum's homemade moussaka. It is literally incredible. While in Greece I tried a few authentic Greek moussaka's and I'm sorry but they just weren't as good. I know that's almost blasphemy considering moussaka is the most quintessentially Greek dish there is, but it's true. I personally think the potato in the Greek version makes the whole thing too heavy, however the lovely waitress claimed that their moussaka was lighter than others so mum and I gave it a whirl. Although it wasn't quite as insane as my mum's, it certainly came close! The meat was deliciously tender and well seasoned, the cheese sauce light and fluffy with wonderful hints of cinnamon as well as nutmeg, and the potato (although still there) wasn't as stodgy as I'd previously experienced it to be. An all round winner.

The presentation of the 'lamb surprise' wasn't the only good thing about it. Opening the little parcel of joy, a meaty herbiness wafts out. The lamb had been slow cooked and melted in the mouth. The whole dish was incredibly aromatic and really delicious.

With full stomachs, we waved goodbye to this wonderful little place (and its cats) and rolled back to the boat for an afternoon of floating around Ithaca's bays.

We awoke on our final day to annoyingly cloudy skies. This did, however, make being outside a little more comfortable temperature wise, so we headed along the coast to the lovely little town of Assos, which is overlooked by an old Venetian fortress. There is a well paved path which winds its way up the hill towards this fortress, boasting beautiful views of the Cephalonian coastline at every bend. Triumphantly reaching the top, we took the mandatory tourist family photo atop the crumbling walls and decided it was high time for a long cold drink. Assos is a charming and peaceful little place, undisturbed by traffic and noise. Grab a drink in one of the bars or cafes and watch the boats bob around in the bay whilst taking in the quiet.

There is much more that we wanted to do and see in Cephalonia that our week long stay didn't allow, but either way I am completely smitten with the island and will definitely be returning to continue indulging my inner Classics nerd. And to see if they can ever top my mum's moussaka.

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