According to Homer, this is the island home of the Greek warrior hero Odysseus. Several of Ithaka's harbors, mountain peaks and valleys can be identified with places described in "The Odyssey", although we've yet to re-read this almost three thousand year-old epic to know more about the references.

Arriving from sea to the northern peninsula (the island has two distinct land masses connected by a narrow isthmus) we found the town of Kioni to be a picture postcard kind of place. The afternoon sun lit up an attractive huddle of white-washed houses, a handful of which are of Venetian origin and display ornately carved balconies and roof molding décor. While the waterfront cafes seemed incredibly welcoming, we decided to lunch aboard, and then stretch our legs with a good walk followed by a swim and snorkel off the west side of the quay ... not a bad afternoon by any standard! Amy soon declared it her favorite port of call and her photo above shows just how happy she was feeling. The evening was a festive one for us all, so with Jen's recovery well underway, we dressed up and ate out at a pretty sidewalk taverna enjoying some very good traditional Greek cooking.



Cruisers' notes: No crowds and no charge for us stern-to on the quay in late September. Some yachts were anchored with long stern lines ashore off the cemetery in the SE corner of the harbor. On the Monday afternoon we were in Kioni, a large tour boat, "The Mycenaean Queen" tied to the end of the pier mid-day and offloaded a hundred or so Greek tourists for lunch making the local taverna operators very happy at this slow, end of the season time.