Ithaca
The Greek poet Constantine Cavafy once wrote in his poem called “Ithaca” the following words: “As you set out for Ithaca you better hope your road is a long one… full of adventures and full of discoveries. You better not hurry the journey at all.”
That’s exactly how we felt today when we reached the port of Vathy in Ithaca. This was the first Greek port of call after leaving the beautiful Dalmatian coast. The welcome here wasn’t as “warm” as it should be on a typical day of June…actually it was fairly unexpected to be very windy, cloudy and humid! But we were not bothered at all so right after lunch instead of having a “siesta” as the locals do we left for an island tour very eager to see every single spot where Odysseus stepped his foot.
Homer’s famous epic “Odyssey” determined the history of this island. It wouldn’t be the same without the stories of Penelope – the most faithful wife in the world that waited patiently for 20 whole years for her beloved husband to return, and very smartly she managed to resist and to keep 108 ambitious suitors waiting for her to make up her mind about which one would be the new king of Ithaca.
As we drove by the small bay of Phorkyn where the Phaeacians left Odysseus and his treasures, we were trying to feel all the emotions Odysseus had when he finally saw his island after 20 years… Our romantic mood though was gone instantly as we continued driving on mount “Niriton” with its switch back roads, overlooking the steep cliffs and the deep blue from the altitude of approximately 800m! We thought that only we and wild goats made it there but to our surprise there it was – the 17th century Monastery of Kathara standing proudly in the middle of nowhere!
Mr. Demosthenes, a typical shepherd of the area opened the door for us to visit the interior of the Greek Orthodox Monastery. We admired the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary hidden behind the numerous ex-votos or “tama” as the pilgrims call them. Next to the Monastery stood a tower from where we had a breathtaking view of the Vathy, the Ionian sea, Cefallonia island and the coast of the mainland called Akarnania.
The village of Stavros was our next stop, near the location where many excavations took place in the 1800’s to trace the palace of Odysseus and the city. Unfortunately the archaeologists were not very lucky. A modern bust of Odysseus stood right in the central square along with a map of his return journey described by Homer as “Nostos”. It was time for us to have a break and to enjoy the sun that made its appearance at last and to sit down and drink our first Greek coffee with delicious pastry.
We made our way back to the boat and some of us seized the opportunity of a stroll in the town that still remains unspoiled and less touristy.
Our initiation into the Greek world was completed with a presentation by Sharon Grainger about olives and olive oil, sampling the different kinds of olive oil from all the countries we visited. The closing of the day came with a Greek dinner followed by music and of course dancing by the officers and crew of the Panorama. Many of us tried to get rid of the many calories we gained today by following the steps of the dancers but who cares about calories when you are having such a good time. The only thing we could say now and go to bed is OPA!!!
