Assos on the Isthmus

Assos on Kefillonia August 30

We motored around the top end of Kefillonia and down the west side to the little village of Assos.What a jewel we found. As we entered the small bay we could see a well preserved 16th century wall on the hills to our right. There is a fort attached to the top corner wall and the remains of housing for 3000 people. Straight ahead and to the left is the little village on the 'Ithmus of Assos' (say that fast 5 times).

Space was availabe for us on the small quay and we tied up beside another British boat. If I have his accent correct he's actually Irish. He and his wife have a 6th interest in a 33' sailboat so they take their 2 weeks now and 2 weeks at another time. That's easy to do from English, I suppose.

The waters were clear and inviting and it wasn't long before we were all swimming or snorkeling around the bay. It is so perfect.... as long as you keep well clear of the sewer outlets, etc.

Jim and I explored this town too. This is another town that was devastated by earthquake in 1953. We saw the remains of 5 large buildings that have little left to them but the front wall. They are for sale – but we didn't ask the price!

As usual, along the waterfront are cafes and quite a few tourists. The new buildings are all built in the same style as pre 1953 so you get a feel of what the place was, and now is. We loved it. The housing is still very venetian, in fact Italians owned this island for quite a number of years.

There is a war story from here. During German occupation they rounded up 1000 Italian military and marched them off one of the high cliffs above the sea. There are many high cliffs on this island.

We met a couple from Milan while we were exploring the town. They were thrilled with this place too. When he found out we lived near Vancouver he told us that it has been his life dream to visit Canada. He now has 40 weeks of work left and then he will retire so after that he will come to Vancouver, rent a car, and go looking for our wildlife. They know about Banff and Jasper so may head that way.