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Travels |
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| Skala Beach cools the soul in Kefalonia |
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When we arrived on the tarmac, our big Boeing bird flying directly from Gatwick to Kefalonia "International" Airport, it was 104 degrees. Our white little bodies, made softer by months of English summer, were poorly equipped for the "swoosh" of hot air that hit us. Being the "international" airport of Kefalonia, we had to wait as the other airplane on the tarmac rolled out for departure before we walked into the arrival hall. I had the excitement of being the only passenger to receive a stamp in her passport. Everyone else was British or Irish, and therefore parts of the EU along with Greece, so no one else has a passport record of their trip (including my son and husband!). This was our first-ever-chartered tour -- apparently it's a popular way to travel in England. When we finally got our luggage (there was only one deboarding plane; it shouldn't have been that difficult), we loaded ourselves onto one of the four waiting buses. The Thomas charter crowd is extremely efficient, and we were whisked away to our selected resort beach of Skala. Happily, the tour bus was equipped with air conditioning. Sadly, our hotel and room were not! |
| Branduff spent a lot of time building sand castles at Skala Beach. |
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As I was baking on the beach, I reminisced how I spent 40 years in such a climate. Not directly on the beach, mind you, but I had lived in Texas for 36 years and Malaysia for 4 years. I dreamt of returning to my new home, Keepers Cottage, and to the remaining English summer. However, I must admit that the Skala beach on the Ionian Sea was simply the most spectacular stretch of water I've experienced. The water was absolutely crystal clear and looking at it from a distant, it shone a turquoise blue. The waves were minimal and it was the best ever for simply bobbing up and down. Branduff loved floating in his ringed float as well as building sandcastles with Niall on the beach. We spent a huge portion of our time on the beach, although we did have a car for two days of excursions around the island of Kefalonia. On the second day, you'll be glad to know that an air-conditioned room became available. The first night was akin to hell, and Branduff couldn't sleep for the heat. We wondered how the other guests coped. Unfortunately for my waistline, the Greek food was phenomenal! Why is that something as simple as bread and butter even taste better on holidays!? |
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This was my second trip to Greece and completely different from the first experience. The first trip was around 10 years ago, and it was to the mainland during December. It was a very multicultural, highly enjoyable excursion. Kefalonia is not exactly "multicultural": the island is mostly a Greek and a British holiday destination. After the summer months, the island more or less shuts down! In the grocery stores, English food items share shelves with Greek ones. Eventually, the week came to an end, and countless tourists left Kefalonia on that Thursday. There were four flights to England that day! On our flight, I was the only American. Fortunately, I had enough sense to ask the flight attendant for a landing card, which I required upon entering Britain. When we arrived at Gatwick, we were the only family to go through the "other" passport line while the other 447 passengers went through the EU passport line. Niall and Branduff happily didn't desert me to go the EU way. We had experienced highs of more than 100, and lows in the 90s and 80s, to return to weather system that had crept over England. On Friday, we struggled to achieve highs in the 60s, while we watched buckets of rain come down. The feeling of fall had moved into our midst, and I remarked at the irony of leaving home in the summer one week and returning to Keepers Cottage the next week in the autumn. Yours, the teawife, Kathryn |
