Ithaka, May 27-29, 2017

Back to Ithaka and the lovely harbor of Vathy.

We have never been here before when there was room on the town wall, so we stayed a few days.

The weather was perfect, not humid, warm, with cooling nights. We ran and walked quite a bit and watched some tennis at the bar immediately behind the boat.

Perachori sits up a steep hill from Vathy, called Ithaka’s balcony, where we Walked for a lunch of Greek salad with a view of Vathi, then continued on for about a 7 mile walk all overlooking Vathy harbor. We had pleasant weather, the flowers still fragrant, the air still cool, the water unbelievable blue. Perfect.

Many beautiful beaches ring Ithaca and a few crumbled “ruins” of ancient buildings (mostly piles of rocks) but absolutely nothing that would suggest real evidence of Odysseus or his kingdom here. In fact, Ithaca has NOTHING to suggest any former civilization was here. This fabled route Odysseus took on his way home from the Trojan war is mostly likely Homer’s attempt to make learning interesting by creating a story to link history and geography. Sort of.

The town of Frise has a nice, new dock that is free with no water or electricity and at least 3 meters all the way in, but there is a rock ledge that must be approached carefully. Perhaps use the dinghy as a Pasarelle, because with that ledge and the swell that comes in the harbor, you would not want to be in too close. Friske has 3-4 cafes or tavernas and a handful of houses, but little else. A small ferry arrives there from somewhere. Kioni bay is also a nice stopping point with a beach, tavernas and a small marina or docking area.