 |
| Views of Ithaca, and the port of Vathy, on our drive to the Monastery of Kathara |
Sunday, July 10 - Trip Day 11
The first thing you notice at Ithaca is the beautiful white rock beaches, which lend vibrant jewel tones of blues and greens to the water. Michael weighed the options -- take a bus to tour a monastery vs. stay in Vathy and swim at one of the beaches..... Guess which he chose?
Our bus took us north from Vathy, first following the shoreline of the bay. As we approached one bay, our guide Paula said it is the traditionally held location of Odysseus' landing when he returned to Ithaca. You will remember that he was lost and on a series of adventures for 10 years while heading home from the Trojan War. We all compared notes on the bus - when did you read the Odyssey? I was in eighth grade - probably 13 or 14. Paula reminded us that the first person to recognize Odysseus when he arrived home was his faithful dog.
 |
| Jewel toned waters line the beaches of Ithaca |
 |
| Our guide said this is the bay traditionally associated with Odysseus return to Ithaca |
As our bus climbed up the hills to the mountaintop Monastery of Kathara, the views of the island grew more spectacular. Mostly the terrain was limestone and karst with Mediterranean scrub forest, along with some smattering of olive trees.
As we climbed higher, we could see the narrow neck of the peninsula that joined Ithaca together like a set of barbells - and to the west, the larger island of Kefalonia.
 |
| Looking east along Ithaca's northern peninsula |
 |
| View's south at the beach our guide called Odysseus' landing place |
 |
| You can see the road we've been traveling, cut into the mountain side |
 |
| A look back to Vathy and the bay where the Sea Cloud is anchored |
 |
| An overlook stop - how gorgeous are these views! |
 |
| These circles are for threshing wheat in the traditional way |
 |
| Looking west to Kefalonia (Hi Pauline and John!) |
 |
| Ithaca's beautiful white beaches in the foreground and Kefalonia on the horizon |
 |
| Kefalonia is much longer and larger than Ithaca - probably three times bigger |
 |
| Saying Hello to the many wandering goats that we passed |
No comments:
Post a Comment