27 Jun - 30 Jun 2004 Vathi

Mediterranean Sea
Ionian Sea
Hellenic Republic of Greece
Ithaka Island
Vathi
SY "Kamu II" at anchor, inside the protected harbour, one of the world's largest natural harbours.

Click below for a bird's-eye view of our anchorage:

Click here for a summary of this year's travels:
2004 Map

Hiring a red 80 cc Honda scooter for € 12.- per day, huffing and puffing over the mountainous island of Ithaka and visiting the famous sites which are allegedly connected to Homer’s Odyssey, such as (i) the Cave of the Nymphs, (ii) Odysseus' palace and (iii) ancient Phorkys where the Phaeacians had disembarked and had laid the sleeping Odysseus on the sand.

Meeting Greek emigrants/expats from countries as diverse as the USA, Australia and South Africa during their summer holiday back home on Ithaka and talking with them about their archfiend Wilhelm Dörpfeld, a 19th-century CE German archaeologist who stated that Odysseus' palace was allegedly located on neighbouring Levkas Island and not on Ithaka.

Haunting the local kafeneio (coffee house), where elderly men gather every morning without fail, where they sip on short blacks, click and twirl their worry beads and chat and argue over games of cards, sampling the gooey rovani, a warm Ithacan traditional rice and honey sweet, and snacking on riganado (slices of bread dipped into water and then topped with oregano, olive oil, tomato and white local cheese).