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KEFALONIA-a taste of untamed Greece
Why Kefalonia?
For those who do not know me, and those who do, it may seem quite odd for a Croatian girl to be so overwhelmed by anything else than the beautiful Adriatic sea. True, no place ever feels as good as home, no pine ever smells as fine as back home, no beach ever feels as beautiful as back in the deep blue Adriatic. We like to call it the ''Mediterranean as it once was''... But then, there's Kefalonia... And it feels like home! Once you get to know it's soul, you'll never stop coming back. A paradise lost and found, a place of unspoiled beauty, still mostly untouched by evil tentacles of mass tourism. Wherever & whenever in Greece, I always get that special feel about places. The 'greek' spirit. But Kefalonia has had and still has a true greek spirit in its purest form. No view from the balcony of a 5* hotel can ever make you feel as blessed as a dusty old dirt-track somewhere on the kefalonian west coast, a piece of rock to climb on and a breathtaking view of the Ionian sea in all its might, followed by a distant tinkle of a goat bell somewhere among countless olive groves. An ideal escape for all you nature lovers, hikers, photographers, all those seeking a very relaxing and alternative type of tourism and a taste of untamed Greece.
And then there's the Kefalonian spirit...
... something you will carry in your memory even when your photos fade away. It's everywhere you look, you just have to take a moment in time and get out of your busy tourist routine and there it is...Kefalonia's own brand of Greekness.
And my personal favourite...
For whatever reason you might visit or return to Kefalonia, be sure to visit one special place - Monastery of Kipouria (Moni Kipoureon) on the Paliki peninsula, near Lixouri (15km). Why? Because of unforgettable sunsets? Definitely ! Because of the magnificent position of the monastery itself? Yes, Kipouria Monastery is located at the western side of the island of Kefalonia, overhanging a cliff that crashes into the Ionian, and makes you feel as if the end of the world was beneath your feet. Dating from the far away times, it is also known as THE VERANDA OF THE IONIAN. And finally to meet Kefalonia's true saint? A must. If you visit the monastery be sure to let Father Efsevios give you the tour as he untiredly does for hundreds of visitors during the day. If there's a person or anything else that will stay carved into my kefalonian memories forever, it will for sure be the memory of the solitary monk of Kipouria, a man locked up in his non-material world whose very appearance and simplicity will mesmerize you, a man so modest in demeanor yet so rich in spirit and mind that it will make you wonder is it really possible that saints like him actually exist in this material world of ours.
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