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Boarding the plane in the afternoon in Munich, rambling the heated streets of Athens three hours later—and still being on time for a romantic Saturday dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Acropolis.
Next day: a bit of sightseeing, a drink on the beach, and at night, shuffling my feet in front of a TV set. Up to this point, it’s a story pretty familiar to many “weekend tourists.” This trip, however, presents the opportunity to go on world-class dives in addition to the good lamb, the glass of “red” and the Acropolis
If you postpone the sightseeing and don’t mind another 55-minute flight, you can have lunch at the beach and fill out forms in the diving centre by late afternoon. With these changes, an extended weekend steps into a totally different dimension.
Zembekiko and Cipuro
The sharp November wind blows cold today. Even the sun’s rays seem cold. The whistle of cicadas is not as deafening as it is in the summer. The mood on the terrace of the Sto Psito Tavern is relaxed. The leaves on the pergola rustle smoothly, the tones of Greek folklore music ring, all movements are half the speed. It is Mesimeri, the time for a leisurely rest, similar to the Spanish Siesta.
The wind made it impossible for us today to go out to the sea, so we can enjoy the Mesimeri in its whole grandeur, just like a cup of Cipuro, Greek grape spirit. It is Sunday, and a few well-tuned Greeks stand up from the table to perform the traditional male dance Zembekiko.
At Central Square, in Argostoli, wind blows dust and leaves. The clouds across the sky, as if someone chased them and the ruler of the western wind, Zephyros, decides that we will not see the sunken submarine Perseus, our original objective, today.
Fortunately, Perseus is not the only treasure Kefalonia has to offer. We weren’t blessed by Poseidon and Zephyros on the open sea, but instead we’ll try our luck in the underworld, by Hades.
Realm of Shadows
The road from Argostoli to the west coast leads through high mountains. Who would say that the highest peak of Kefalonia, Mont Ainos, reaches to 1628 meters above the Ionian Sea.
As we rise to the height, more and more dark green coniferous trees are spread out between the rocky patches. They look like green fossils with a perfect shape of a slim cone that guard the way through the island.
Though the most interesting phenomenon lays underneath the guards. The high mountains retain large amounts of water that evaporates from the sea. It then crawls in cracks forming underground streams to return to the sea’s surface a few days later.
Lake Karavomilos is one of the places where crystal clear, precisely filtered water breaches from the underground. At first glance it looks like a common pond in the city park with ducks and frogs, but a harder look below the surface shows the opposite. The water is perfectly pristine. Aquatic plants cover the bottom like the finest carpet. The highly saturated greens light up with the sun’s rays appearing surreal. The undisturbed reflection from the surface seems to lock the diver between the spring meadow and the bright green sky. When exhaled bubbles disturb the surface, the green mirror-like surface undulates. At the end, the lake submerges into the dark. The green is replaced by deep blue.
When the light disappears completely and we enter the realm of the shadows, it gives us an even more fascinating view. The entrance chamber is about 70 meters long, 20 meters wide. The visibility seems to be endless. When pointing the torch to the other side of the chamber, the light penetrates all the way through and renders the contours of the stalactites to the smallest detail 70 meters away. Only Silfra in Iceland can compete with such purity. The cave’s limestone walls are richly decorated with stalactites, but the feeling of great space and perfect visibility is what makes this cave unique.
The chamber ends with a domed air pocket, where divers can emerge. Further the cavern transforms into a closed overhead system, which is no longer an area meant for sport diving. Today we are not geared in proper cave diving equipment, and so here, our exploration ends. The further inside we penetrate, the more exquisite the cave gets, hence turning back to the exit is not an easy decision.
Styx
Unlike the Karavomilos Cave, Melissani takes the breath away straight from the beginning. The ceiling of the large dome collapsed and created a hole with steep negative walls and a blue pond at the bottom. An artificially drained tunnel brings visitors down. The scenery is akin to the Cenotes of Mexico or the famous cave entrances in Florida.
Dimitris slowly pulls the punt underground. Occasionally, silence is replaced by a splash of water and the fluttering wings of the bats. The river below us turns dark blue. Again, a metaphor with Greek mythology comes to everyone’s mind. Just as Charón used to bring the dead across the river of Styx to the Kingdom of Hades, Dimitris carries us across the Melissani Cave. We gave him a coin to bring us in the realm of shadows and added one more bill to bring us back as well.
Like in many Mexican limestone caves, the dripping rain water disturbed the rock beneath the surface until the ceiling collapsed. The lagoon which was formed at the bottom of the dome resembles a pool at the stadium. Even hydrogeology has a similar specification like Cenotes. In the deep parts of the cave the fresh surface water is mixed with the heavier salt water that flows into the island from the sea. The walls of the cave are densely covered in stalactites in dry parts as well as underwater.
When ferryman Dimitris brings the punt back to daylight, the blue pond shines like sapphire. One knows that in Kefalonia, humans are closer to gods than in any other place.