Каяк туризъм: Ionian Islands- Kayak adventure trip

(Ithaki,Kefalonia,Zakynthos)
Kayaking Itinerary: Sami (Kefalonia), South Ithaki, North along east coast of Ithaki, Crossed back to north tip of Kefallonia. Went south along west coast of Kefallonia. Crossed to Zante - went South along west coast until Lagana bay.

Kayaking Distance: 240 km.

Duration: 7 days;

Difficulty Level: Difficulty;

Alan Brook’s Sea Kayaking trip

I landed in Zante (a.k.a Zakynthos) and I made my way by ferry + taxi to Sami (Kefallonia). Here I built the folding kayak and started by crossing to South Ithaki. Went North along east coast of Ithaki. Crossed back to north tip of Kefallonia. Went south along west coast. Crossed to Zante - went South along west coast until Lagana bay and finished trip a few Kilometers from the airport.

Big black bag contains the Feathercraft Kahuna Kayak and most of the paddling & camping equipment (30Kgs). Two small carry-on bags (13Kg) contained the rest of the equipment.I easily fitted all this stuff inside the kayak, including 2 days worth food and water. It

would probably be a tighter fit for a winter's trip with more bulky equipment.

Trip start – crossing from Sami(Kefallonia) towardsSouth Ithaki.

Ormos Andri bay at S. Ithaki. Wild (I think) goats greeted me. The goats really seemed impressed by my Kayak. After watching one chewing a washed up plastic bottle I became a bit worried that they would try tasting my kayak in the night. As a precaution I put the kayak real close to my tent and set up a trip wire tied to a pot. I also told them that goat skin was as good as any for fixing a skin-on-frame kayak. This seemed to work since the night passed peacefully for both me and the kayak.

The goats and I settling down for the night.

East Ithaki – fighting a head wind crossing Siinos bay. The forecasted West-force-2 wind was North and much stronger. Eventually I had to cut west and spent the rest of the day bay-hugging my way North

Protected from the wind by the Ilias headland.

Psdadi headland with the towers approaching Kioni bay/town.

Kioni town (Ithaki) – stopped here to pick up some supplies.

Camping on NE Ithaki – looking north towards Lefkada.

Camping on NE Ithaki – looking east towards Atokos

Crossing back to Kefallonia - north. Looking back towards the sunrise. A bit later a minor storm came out of nowhere – half a hour of rain with a back wind was very refreshing.

North tip of Kefallonia after the crossing. Map shows cliffs for ~15 Kms. A few miles later I met a single fisherman in a boat:

He said, “hello”

I replied, “hello”

“From where you come?”

“Ithaki”

“Ithaki!! – ha-ha-ho-ho… Ithaki - in this canoe?”

“Yes - this is the only one I got”

“Ha-ha-ho-ho – very good”

I, ”Where is the next place that I can land?”

He pointed south towards a headland, ”After there … small beach, two miles”

“Thanks - bye”

“Good luck friend”

After 20hrs of solitude a fitting break-fast – concise, informative and humorous.

Bay near Tzamarellata in NW Kefallonia – the first bay after a few hours of continuous cliffs after crossing fromIthaki. This is the "small beach" that the fisherman had spoken of.

A sea caves in Assou bay – one of many that line the coasts of these islands.

Assou bay

Assos village in the distance on the saddle between the two ridges

Stopped for lunch in an Assos taverna. Later relaxed a while in the kayak in this sea cave near the village.

Going south from Myrtos beach.

A perfect beach for my 3^rd night’s camp

Room with a view.

Kayak packed and ready to go very early after I had been woken by a thief. Just before first light I heard a scuffle by my tent and woke up to see the shadow of a fox running off along the beach with something in his mouth. I gave chase shouting until I saw the shadow dividing up into one that continued running and a black blob that stayed stationary. This turned out to be one of my sandals. I returned to my tent and was relieved to find that nothing else was missing. I could manage fine without a sandal but a lost spray-skirt would be a big problem. I smelled the sandal and understood the fox's choice.

Sea cave on the Atheras headland

Brunch on the beautiful Petani bay

Petani bay. Two sea kayakers from Italy. They told me that each year they take their kayaks by ferry to some Mediterranean island and circumvent it at a leisurely pace. These were the only kayaks that i saw during the trip.

Kipouria monastery

A mile south of Kipouria monastery – the most western point of Kefallonia.

Lighthouse 2 miles south of Kipouria.

Guardian on a rock facing the sea.

Liakas point toward Thionisi Islet.

Liakas point – my camp on a fossil bed

Liakas point – first light. Before packing the kayak for the crossing to Zante in the morning.

Looking towards Zante in the morning. The crossing from here is ~22Km towards the northern point of Zante (Akr. Skinari) which appears as the leftmost part of the distant landmass. There is actually another crossing point which is closer to Zante (Kato Katelios) from which the crossing is about 17 Km but since I wanted to cross in the morning there was no point in spending the extra 2-3 hours to reach the closer point. Also my route kept me out of the ferry route between Pesada (Kefallonia) to Korithi (Zante).

Half way into the crossing. Zante (Akr. Skinari) the cape on the right still looks far off and the kayak, for the sake of the picture only, is pointing towards the Kefallonia-Zante ferry.