Argostoli, Greece

Sunday, July 8

Our first of two Greek Ports.... Cephalonia is the largest and most mountainous of the Ionian islands. Has a classic landscape with an arid mountain interior and a rocky sea coast punctuated with bays and beaches. Mount Ainos, the island's highest peak, towers a mile above sea level. The busy seaport of Argostoli is Cephalonia's largest town.

Population: Approx. 53,000

Situated: in the Ionian Sea between Greece and Italy.

Climate: typically Mediterranean.... it is both sunny and well watered.

Language: Greek 99%, English, French

Currency: Euro

Time Zone: GMT +2

We were advised a couple of days before that this port was now going to be a tender port as there was going to be two cruise ships in. Apparently the rule is first in gets the berth and this was not going to be us. We had a private tour organised and the plan was that the guide was to meet us at the port straight after docking at 8am. Tendering meant that we would be late getting to our meeting point.

On the morning of our arrival the Commodore announced that the other smaller ship could not dock because of the strong wind but our Captain was willing to give it a go. It helps having the experience of a Commodore.... the Captain of Captains!

We were docked, tied up and off the ship to meet our guide in plenty of time. Interestingly there were a lot of quite new Mercedes Benz taxis lined up offering private tours.

Our tour guide was Mikie who was going to show us the sites of Cephalonia or Kefalonia as it also spelt. We were a group of 8 and we fitted snuggly into a reasonably new comfortable air conditioned van.

Our first stop was to the lookout over Myrtos Bay... the view was breathtaking and the many shades of blue water was just amazing.

We then headed to Melissani Lake to try to beat the ship's tour buses as the lines can get very long. Thankfully the queues were relatively short to what they can be. The Melissani lake is a huge underground lake situated near Sami on the other side of the island to Argostoli. The crystal clear water undergoes a series of colour changes during the day giving a variety of different shades of blue. The main chamber is 160m long and a small rowboat takes you around the lake and into the adjoining cavern to see the stalactites.

After driving through the beautiful seaside town of Sami, where "Captain Corelli's Mandolin was filmed we stopped for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the sea and lake.

We had a very relaxing break topped off with good Greek food, Greek beer and wine, free wifi, a beautiful view.... and of course good friends.

Our next stop was to Drogati Cave where only 3 of us ventured down the 150 stairs to the bottom.... the others were keen to rest. The cave lies 200 feet below the surface, is over 200 million years old and is quite impressive.

Our last stop was to a winery for a tour and tasting. The drive was very picturesque but the wine not up to the quality of the Hunter Valley.

At the end of our tour we were dropped back into the main shopping and restaurant area which was in walking distance to the ship. After checking out the shops we met friends for drinks before getting back onto the ship at 9.30pm for a 10 o'clock sailaway.

Another big day in port and we have to do it all again tomorrow in Corfu!