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To the beach and Mazarakata


Home -> Europe -> Greece -> Travelogue Greece -> 01 July 2018

Sunday 01 July, to the beach and Mazarakata

Yesterday we liked it very well to go swimming in the morning so we do that again today. Then we go into Argostoli to visit the archaeological museum where many finds from the island are exhibited, but unfortunately it is closed. On the internet we read later that it was damaged by an earthquake in 2014 and has not been open since. Too bad, because we had read some good reviews about it. So instead we have a cup of coffee on a terrace and look around in a few souvenir shops.
Mycenaean cemetery Mazarakata Mycenaean cemetery MazarakataThen we drive to Mazarakata where we first pass a Mycenaean cemetery, the largest on the island with 16 burial chambers. The burial site was in use between 1390 and 1040 v.c. Most of the objects that were found during the first excavations can be seen in Switzerland, taken by the then consul of the island. The graves have a sloping access road and behind that one room, carved into the sandstone. Most are parallel to each other. This kind of graves are common on Kefalonia but not in the rest of ancient Greece.
The Venetian castle St. George, Kefalonia Mazarakata on KefaloniaThen we drive to the Andreas Milapidias monastery, but we probably did not find that very interesting because we did not make any pictures. After that we go on to the St. George castle that dominates the plain from a hill. The fort has an area of 16,000 square meters (1.6 hectares) and was built in the 16th century by the Venetians who were in charge at the time. A steep road brings us up where we can park in the village.
But what exactly is it called here? Mazarakata is indicated on the map and at the bottom of the village; on websites you see often Peratata as the place name but the address in google maps gives Livathou. As far as we can see, the first two are the villages at the bottom of the hill and Livathou is the municipality in which both places are located. Confusing sometimes and then I'm not even talking about the different way in which the place names are sometimes transcribed into the Latin alpahbet.
Gate of the Venetian castle St. George View of the Venetian castle St. GeorgeWe still have to climb the steep road to the entrance of the castle, but the castle will close within an hour. So we decide to come back here another day, it is too hot to walk in the bright sun today anyway. Fortunately, there are plenty of nice terraces and we choose a spot in the shade of vines with a nice view of Mount Ainos.
Good food in Mazakarata View from the terrace in MazakarataOn the menu are fried and scrambled eggs, with a piece of bacon, exactly what we always have in Scotland. Now it is our late lunch and we are both surprised how tasty (Scottish) the dishes are. Teije has only eaten his scrambled eggs so well in one other place before and that is with our friends Iain and Cathy in Scotland. Here we will certainly eat again!
Church of Annunciation, Mazakarata Church of Annunciation, MazakarataNot far from the castle is the church of the Annunciation, also called the Church of St. Theodore. It is not much more than a ruin with a small cemetery but we do have a nice view over the island from here. It is quite logical that the Venetians built a castle exactly on this spot, you have a view over the entire plain south of the big mountain ridge.
Both the fort and the church have been severely damaged by various earthquakes.
View from Mazkarata, Kefalonia View from Mazkarata, KefaloniaAlthough there are still a few white clouds floating through the sky, the sky is mainly clear blue and hopefully we will have it that way the rest of our journey. We have already had enough rain this time.
From our high vantage point we can see Zakynthos in the distance where we were last year. That was also nice but we think that it is a lot quieter here, but that may also be because the island is a lot bigger.
When we are outside our apartment at night, our neighbors suddenly come along. They don't speak any English but we exchange our names with the Moldavians who want to thank us for the use of the wifi. Probably because their teenage daughter is now somewhat less unmanageable. We get a bottle of Moldavian wine and bags full of sweets. But we wonder, how would they help themselves here, without any knowledge of English or Greek? Our landlord just shouts louder and louder to them, as if that helps ...

 


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