The Final Chapter!

 

This is the beach at Louguivy de la Mer, just a bit further to the west than the Ile de Brehat  where it was a bit touristy, so we didn't take a trip over to the island. We spent the afternoon on the beach and then found an overnight stop on the river at Lezardrieux. Chris and I went off exploring on our bikes and found a great little camping spot nearby for the next night.

 

The next day was very hot so we dozed on the beach at Sillon de Talbert, a huge long shingle spit. The tide was so far out that none of us could be bothered to swim, we ate ice creams instead! That evening we returned to the freebie camping spot we'd found and barbecued our dinner.

 

 

We were right on the water's edge and had the place to ourselves, and it was another freebie!

        At Ploumanach we saw enormous smooth, pink granite boulders in all shapes and sizes. It was a very different scene, but very picturesque. Dave swam off the rocks near the lighthouse in the waves.

 

We had lunch in a Creperie in Tregastel on Saturday, and then Chris and Lin headed off towards Roscoff.  For various reasons Dave and I have decided to return to England a few weeks earlier than planned, so we set off for St. Malo. We met up with Paul, my brother and some of his friends in Cancale on Sunday morning for coffee and the final 'pain au chocolats' of the trip.

 

At noon on Monday 7th July we boarded the ferry from St. Malo to Poole. Neither of us really queried the journey time, so were surprised, yet quite pleased to find we had a three hour stop-over in Guernsey. That was enough time to do a whistle-stop tour of the island although we were totally unprepared. We had no map of the island, the sat nav didn't register. We had no English money, got confused having to suddenly drive on the left, and didn't know if the island was on French or English time!

Anyway, we finally arrived in Poole, had fish and chips on the quay, and set homeward bound to Ringwood.

 

By October we'll be needing a holiday, so the plan is to have ' a final fling'. We'll fly back down to Kefalonia, and drive back leisurely via a route that hasn't yet been planned.

Until then, this will be the final blog. Thanks for reading it and sharing our big adventure!!

 

 

The Brittany coast

Leaving Limoges and heading north we found a lovely town with a chateau called Montreuil Bellay. It was good for a ( free) overnight stop on the banks of the river.

The next day we continued on to Dinan, and found another free camping aire under the huge viaduct which runs over the river. We enjoyed great views and were well placed to explore the old, cobbled medieval town centre.

On Saturday we met up with Chris and Lin on the beach at Erquy.

 Beautiful, vast, spotlessly clean sandy coves bordered by jagged, rocky coastlines. On Sunday we explored Cap Frehel and the light house. Great climbing down to the water's edge.

Monday 30th June ... Happy birthday to me!! We cycled along the coast path back into Erquy and found a great little restaurant on the harbour front. I had moules frites which were delicious, and everyone else ate well too. That evening we had an impromptu cheese and wine party. It is still light until at least 10.45pm in the evenings.
We followed the 'Circuit des Falaises' around the coastline. The sea scape is interesting with hundreds of rocky islets everywhere you look.
At Paimpol we were the only people on the campsite. There was a crazy golf course there but no-one to lend us any equipment so we improvised with a potato and a golf umbrella! When the potato didn't roll through the holes and tunnels you had to use your best snooker skills instead!

Good fun, and I was the crazy golf Champ!! Will continue round the next headland tomorrow.

Leaving Kefalonia

Since we came back from Ithaca we've been working hard to finish all the jobs we'd started. It's been about 34 deg C every day, so we've had plenty of late afternoon swims to cool off.
We have spent time with the neighbours, Jim and Denise and their German Shepherd dog, Lexie. Dave's been helping Jim to do some pool maintenance jobs, and Jim's given us a hand with things. It's been really nice knowing them and spending time together. I had the most amazing fresh tuna salad for lunch at Makis' restaurant on Trapezaki Beach. However I must say that the island is getting busy with tourists, so it's time to go!! We've been spoilt having the island to ourselves.

On Monday evening we left the island and headed back to France. We have now been reunited with the campervan near Limoges, and are spending a couple of days there with more friends, Mike and Rosie at their campsite.
Tomorrow morning we'll start heading north towards Brittany where we'll be meeting up with Chris and Lin at the weekend for a 'holiday' !!

Ithaca

We arrived in Ithaca early in the morning to 34 deg C. and glorious sunshine. First we did a drive around the northern chunk of the island. It's incredibly steep and mountainous, and around every bend you see sheer drops into beautiful turquoise bays, many only accessible by boat or swimming. We stopped off at Polis Beach in Stavros and walked around the old fishing harbour.

From there we went inland up to the village of Exogi which is very high up and gives fabulous views back across to Kefalonia and the Greek mainland.
In Friskes, and again in Kioni we arrived at the same time as some yacht flotillas which proved to be very entertaining to watch as they floundered around trying to moor up on the quayside. There were very few moorings left, and a squall had blown up making it more like a game of dodgems.

We found some accommodation in Lefki, and went down to the beach for the evening, and were delighted to see a dolphin swimming close by us in the bay.

Next morning we went inland again, very high up to the Katharon Monastery, and enjoyed incredible views of Vathi, the island's capital.

 

Then a picnic lunch and a swim on Filatro Beach before getting the evening ferry 'home' again.

 

A spectacular island. Small, unspoilt, very like Kefalonia but not for the faint-hearted if you don't like hairpin bends and very steep roads. Would you trust the Greek safety barriers?? I think not!!!

The Swordfish

We've become friendly with  Makis, the owner of the restaurant on Trapezaki Beach, as featured in my last blog and whilst we were having lunch there earlier in the week he invited me into the kitchens to watch the chef fillet and prepare a freshly caught swordfish.

It was huge! It weighed 29kg, and was about the same height as me including the sword which was about 60cm long.

 

                                   ςίϕίας ( swordfish )

Georgos had already cut a 15kg fillet from a 107kg tuna, and was telling me that the largest tuna ever caught in greek waters weighed about 700kg! Wow!

We've had some lovely walks this week around the village. I particularly enjoyed seeing all the fruit growing; figs, oranges, lemons, apricots, pomegranates, almonds and even bananas and a broad bean tree!

 banana tree with flower

 broad bean tree (ok, not really, but what is it?)

 

We've decided to go on holiday .... abroad!  So tomorrow we are going to take the ferry to Ithaca for a couple of days. It's the island to the east of Kefalonia, and neither of us has ever been there before, so guess what the next blog will be about?

 

 

Back in Kefalonia

We have been back on the island now for two weeks, after a long trek from the Dordogne. Springtime is in full swing and the island is a blaze of colour from the wild flowers growing everywhere.

 

We have had a great week with Chris, Lin, Roger and Julie who came out to visit us from Ringwood. We showed them all around the island, and have swam, snorkelled or bobbed about on lilos every day on various favourite beaches.

We also found a fantastic new restaurant on Trapezaki Beach where we enjoyed dinner and lunch.

 

 

 

I chose cuttlefish and squid ink risotto because I'd never eaten either before. It was delicious, even though it looked unusual and I had to endure the comments about my meal looking like it was cooked in sump oil!!

Also enjoyed visiting Myrtos Beach, Assos  and Fiskardo again, and watching the turtles swimming in the harbour at Argostoli.

 

( Photos courtesy of the lovely Julie Jones! ) Thanks Julie.

Italy

We 've been driving east through the Auvergne district, past all the volcanoes, then up into the Alps. We've found some nice places to stop overnight, especially in the mountains. Once we'd crossed through into Italy we stayed for a couple of days in Bardonecchia. There was still plenty of snow on the mountains.
We had some fun taking the car off-road up some mountain tracks heading for the lake in Rochermolles.

Also had some lovely walks along the mountain paths. It was hot and sunny, and interesting to see the ski resorts in summer.

We have now crossed Italy and are ready to get on the ferry to Greece tomorrow from Ancona.