Goodbye Kefalonia - May 25

After two weeks in the Greek islands, it was time for Murray and me to leave Kefalonia. But first we had a day to explore a part of the island we hadn't seen. This time, we drove David's car instead of riding our bikes.

Kefalonia has a western section of the island that is divided from most of the eastern part of the island by a bay. This part of the island was similar but different. Similar in that it was hilly and had the folliage as other parts of the island. Different in the sandy beaches. Most of the beaches that we encountered on Kefalonia were made up of pebbles. This isn't necessarily a bad thing since it keeps some of the tourists away who prefer days of loungers and suntan oil. We decided to go to a beach, and one of the first signs we saw was for Xi beach. Our plan was to jog along the beach.

The beach was very nice and made up of red sand. It almost looked like it was brought in, so different was the color than the rest of the dirt we saw, which looked to be more the color of cement. But then we noticed other red sandy soil.

The day was once again hot - we guessed about 100 again as we ran in midday. We once tried leaving the beach and running along a road, but we turned back when we felt how sweltering the heat became away from the water. After jogging for about an hour, we headed back to the villa for a final lunch with Murray's parents.

That evening, we said goodbye to Murray's parents and Kefalonia. We were leaving behind the quaint island with its beautiful landscapes and nice people. I had even become accustomed to the roosters outdueling each other all morning, the dogs barking at night, the sheep and goats darting out in the road. Life had a nice rhythm on this quiet island. And of course, Murry's family had made the trip enjoyable. I had arrived as a complete stranger and left a friend. I still have my strange American way of saying words such as tomato, oregano and fillet. And I don't "fancy" hot tea after I've been outside in a 100 degree day. But still, they accepted me - liked me, even!

Next stop...Athens.