Over the Hill to Lassi – a Well Deserved Beach Day!

After 2 days of marching the length and breadth of Argostoli, we felt (I felt) that today we deserved a more relaxing day. The nearest sandy beaches are over the hill towards Lassi. Peter had also spotted another ‘interesting’ landmark on the map that he thought we should visit along the way – the Cave of Agios Gerasimos. A fairly regular bus service runs from Argostoli Bus Station to the airport, which passes through Lassi – but why do it the easy way!

Peter assigned himself in charge of the directions following Google Maps. This saved me the pain of swapping my sunglasses for my reading glasses every 5 minutes, though it’s fair to say that Peter’s map reading skills are almost as bad as mine. The shortest route directed us up a street that runs perpendicular to the waterfront. It was steep, but Peter assured me it would soon plateau out. After a strenuous climb, we reached a residential street, above which there was a set of steps and another steep climb. By now, we had views over the rooftops and down to the lagoon.

Google Maps yet again tried to point us even further up through a narrow passageway running alongside the high school, but we made a judgment call to take the longer route along the main road. From here, it was all downhill.

We made the descent into Lassi with views over Gradakia Beach. Lassi was one of the first resorts on Kefalonia and has well-established tourist infrastructure, including a strip of tavernas and bars, and a good choice of accommodations, including hotels with pools.

Following the main road for another 15 minutes, we reached the sign for the Cave. More climbing was required, and it was again steep. Had we taken the track alongside the high school, we would have followed it down to the cave, but it’s all swings and roundabouts. The facade of the church seemed to be in simpatico with the relief I felt at having made it.

So, who was St Gerasimos? He was born in Trikala in 1506 to a notable family. His grandfather, Lucas, was the last prime minister of Byzantium, who in turn was related to Paleologos, the Emperor of Byzantium. After completing his education, he went on a pilgrimage to Constantinople and Mount Athos, where he was ordained as a monk. He was later ordained as a priest in Jerusalem, where he served for 12 years. After serving in Crete and Zakythnos he came to Kefalonia in 1555, where he led an ascetic life for 5 years in the cave in Lassi. He then went to Omala where he renovated a church and founded a convent called New Jerusalem. He died on the 15th August in 1579. Because this fell on the same day as the celebration of the Dormition of the Virgin Mary – the biggest religious festival in Greece, he is commemorated every year on 16th August.

Due to papal intervention, the Venetians ordered his body to be exhumed and reburied and in doing so, it was discovered that his body had not decomposed. Many miracles were attributed to St Gerasimos, including healing the mentally ill and saving sailors at sea. The entrance to the cave below the church is said to be accessible only to pilgrims and believers.

Anyway, time to get on with that beach day! We took the easier walk down to the main road and headed to Makris Gialos Beach, one of Kefalonia’s most attractive beaches. After weaving our way through a passageway, we descended a set of wooden steps onto the beach below Makri Gialos Taverna. Here, sunbeds are 25€ for the front row and 20€ for everything behind. I do hate this classification and grading of sunbeds. Jesus, just give me somewhere comfortable to spend a couple of hours with easy access to the beach! OK, so we got a set of front row beds. I mean, come on! Look at that view! (Not the legs!)

Makris Gialos certainly lived up to its reputation, and we couldn’t have chosen a better beach to spend the day. The beach did have a small shelf to navigate along the water’s edge, and the waves were ones that Peter describes as “dancing”, but it is an ideal beach for adults and children alike.

Whilst swimming, we noticed clusters of nuts or seeds floating on top of the water. At first, I thought they were pistachios because of their bright green centre, but where were the pistachio trees?. The strange-looking plant had also washed up in patches on the beach, I hadn’t seen anything like it. You know how you have a conversation near an Alexa device and soon after, something related appears on your Facebook page? Well, something even stranger happened. Bearing in mind we’d been talking about the seeds whilst in the sea (far from any devices), back on the sunbeds and whilst checking Facebook, an article popped up on my timeline that solved the mystery. Maybe Facebook can tune into my thoughts telepathically now. Apparently, we were witnessing a “rare phenomenon” that occurs every few years. The fruits are those of the Posidonia plant found in oceanic meadows, and through their ability to absorb carbon, they are crucial to the fight against climate change. This rare ‘fruiting’ of the Posidonia plant is particularly prevalent along the Ionian coast.

“Rare phenomenon” on several Greek coasts – What are Posidonia fruits and where do they appear?

All that walking, beaching and learning helped us to build up quite an appetite. The taverna by the same name as the beach was calling us. I would imagine that this place would be heaving in high season, but today, we were able to get a beachside table very easily. The house salad (a bit like Dakos but with rustic bread), beef stifado, lemon chicken washed down with a nice Plomari finished off with portokalopita and baklava with tea was perfection!

We’d lost track of time and missed the bus we’d planned to get back to Argostoli. There was no rush to get back, so we stayed on the beach until it emptied, soaking up the last of the rays and also delaying the inevitable slog back up the hill. Anyway, we made it and were able to appreciate the view over Argostoli just as the sun began to dip in the sky and turn the pastel coloured houses an eggy yellow hue.