Ithaka, Greece
The Panorama arrived in Ithaca, the second smallest island in the Ionian Sea and the home of Odysseus, in the early afternoon, in a cloudy but still warm day. Ithaca is small and rugged, but still one of the best kept secrets of our islands, and a place with a great maritime tradition. Vathy, the main port and capital, is a nice small quiet town hiding in one of the most concealed and protected natural bays of Greece, in the old days hiding from the pirates but nowadays only from the strong winds. It’s a tiny port, but many sailboats prefer it and come here to enjoy the sweetness of the land and the legends associated to the cunning king Odysseus, the “man of many devices.”
We drove with our busses on the windy roads in the northern part of Ithaca, and its mountain Neritos. The landscape was green, full of low vegetation but also pines, olives and cypress. We drove past the beach where Odysseus landed after 20 years away from home, fighting in Troy for 10 years and then wandering in the seas – and the arms of various women – for another 10, and made it up to the Monastery of Katharon, founded in 1696.
The view from the elevation (1900ft) down to the south and the bay of Vathy was spectacular! Lord Byron had also visited the precincts, but there was very little from the original buildings that had survived, after the disastrous earthquake of 1953. However, we did see the miraculous icon of the birth of the Virgin Mary in the main church that was loaded with votive offerings in the form of jewelry or silver and bronze plates with representations of objects, body parts or people for whom the dedications were made.
Our picturesque drive continued through the village of Anogi until we finally reached Stavros, with 250 inhabitants it’s the second largest town on the island! We stopped in the central plateia, i.e. square with the main church and the coffee shops with Greek men, to enjoy some free time. It was admittedly very quiet since it was siesta time. Even though we could not drive further north, Stavros is very close to the ruins of what archaeologists believe are the ruins of Odysseus’ Palace, in other words, a Mycenaean 13th century palace complex that is still being excavated, with a view to three seas and stairs in the palace carved out of the natural rock, just as it is described in Homer’s Odyssey. This was the home to which Odysseus strived to return, while his faithful wife Penelope with her son Telemachus were trying to keep the suitors away from the throne!
After enjoying our Greek coffees and juices, we drove back to Vathy, always following the road on the steep slopes of the mountain and enjoying spectacular views to the neighboring island of Cephalonia, the island of Captain Corelli’s Mandolin. Vathy was back to life after the afternoon siesta and with quite a few shops open, to which the passengers made a pilgrimage!
