We had (mostly) a cracking sail from Zakinthos: 3 hrs of perfect sailing on a fast beam reach (winds from the side).  Just to show us who is boss though, the wind changed as we passed the corner of Kefalonia, so we had to motor the rest of the way, hugging the shore to avoid the worst of wind & current against us.  We passed the most lovely Kefalonian coast – interesting rocks, lovely beaches and the most vivid turquoise water.  We got here just before the forecast strong winds started though, allowing an unembarrassing mooring operation.

We have now been in Sami, Kefalonia’s main ferry port, for 3 days whilst we wait for better weather to continue on to Levkas. We are berthed alongside (unusual for this part of the world) and right opposite the ferry quay.  Several times a day a crowd gathers in front of us as a ferry is due in and it is an entertainment in itself to watch the boats berth, unload and load again in a kind of efficient chaos! 

After an extremely hot week with our friends, the weather turned cooler as we headed back to Kefalonia and we have had strong winds and rain much of the time here.  Another old friend joined us on the boat here for lunch on Monday as she was holidaying on the island this week and we have been thinking of her bad luck in coming just as the weather started to remind us of GB in summer!  Actually, by mid-afternoon yesterday the sun did come out for a while and away from the windy coast it was pretty hot again.  David went off for a run and I went for a walk following the road out of the town in the other direction.  I ended up climbing away from the bay and up into the beautiful countryside with the smell of wild thyme and the tinkling of goats’ bells all around.  Found my way to a spot overlooking a large chunk of the Ionian which was the acropolis of ancient “Same”.  The ruins were not much in themselves, but the views and the atmosphere were worth the walk.  In the evening, however, it was back to rain and we stayed on board and watched the Greeks losing to Argentina in the World Cup!

Now we’re just waiting for the weather to improve enough for us to go north to Nidri to get the generator seen to.