Summer on the Nisi

Holly Tsalikidis

Kefalonia in the middle of Summer is not only my favourite Greek Island, but is one of the most mesmerising places I have travelled to. While I lived in Greece, my family would spend a huge chunk of the 3 month long school holidays on Kefalonia, meeting up with friends and family. We did this four years in a row, until we moved back to Australia where I was over 15 thousand kilometres away from my holiday utopia. Luckily enough, earlier this year, I was able to travel all the way back, for one week in heaven.

I was excited enough that I had just met friends that I hadn’t seen in half a decade, but nothing beat that moment of stepping off the boat from Athens and onto Kefalonia. It's nothing like Melbourne
The sun is strong enough to send a warm tingly feeling through the surface of your skin, but it is not strong enough to burn it. The locals are all golden brown, and they walk around without a care in the world. They vary from young, alive teenage groups of friends, to old, wrinkly papous (which means grandpa in Greek) sitting around drinking coffee and playing cards. The atmosphere is so laid back and just great!



The beaches are spectacular on Kefalonia. The water appears an amazing blue from a distance, but when you get up close it is crystal clear; so clear that you can open your eyes while under the surface and still see everything! There are popular beaches such as myrtos, which is a beach known world wide. There are also beaches such as Skala beach, where there are fish of all different shapes and sizes and when you go underwater with a snorkel and mask, the world above is forgotten and you feel as if you are a part of a new magical society of underwater creatures! My favourite types of beaches however, are the private ones, ones that can only be reached by boat; they are like a secret little get away.  

 Kefalonia is the largest of the Ionian islands, and is located north-west of the coast of Greece.

 Kefalonia is the most mountainous Ionian island. Driving from one end of the island to the other does not get boring! The views of the beaches below, the windy roads and the old trees all make up such beautiful scenery. The movie ‘Captain Corelli’s mandolin’ was filmed on Kefalonia as it has such a unique landscape that it passed for being set in the time of world war 1.

 

There are many different lakes and caves to visit in Kefalonia such as the Drogarati, Katavothres and Kounopetra caves however, I highly recommend you visit the Cave of Messalini. It is a natural wonder where you are able to be rowed through the cave on small boats, observing the different colours in the water and on the cave above. What adds such beauty to this particular cave, is the opening that allows sunlight to enter and crystallise the colour of the water. 

 

Kefalonia is the place for your next holiday! It is ideal for families, couples and groups of friends. You will never run out of things to do, places to visit and sights to truly blow your mind!