Ludus on the road - Kefalonia

It took us a while to finally sit our butts down and write about everything we have been living. It has been an intense process of reactivating memory, time flies, and in the middle of so much rushing around, the words keep getting run over by its passing. But we are not giving up on this writing, even if it takes a while to happen.

Kefalonia is a Greek island, an island that, without knowing much about it, we decided to explore in our own way. It is an island we knew was not wildly touristy or busy, aimed more at couples looking for a certain calm and more affordable prices, without so much buzz but with beaches and waters just as turquoise. And that is exactly what we found, an island full of secrets and adventures. Maybe those adventures have much more to do with us than with the island, but it was all very reciprocal.

We decided to stay 10 days in a very cheap airbnb we found right next to the airport. We are not too precious about luxury when choosing places to stay, only about being clean and good value (also because on most short trips we end up spending far more time out of the hotel/airbnb than in it). Our airbnb was a bit janky, pero. It was a mild ordeal, but nothing that was not worth it. Traveling while young is like that, you pay less here so you can pay more there, dancing in that back and forth that is even fun sometimes (sometimes not so much).

We decided to rent a car and it was an absolutely fundamental decision for experiencing this island (we do not recommend counting on public transport). We got to explore every hidden corner, traditional restaurants and tavernas run by local families at the top of mountains, insane trails down to remote and deserted beaches, the main villages and also the better known, touristy attractions. I think we really did complete Kefalonia, as arrogant as that might sound.

Because we were born and raised on an island, it is very beautiful to notice the connection between the islands of the world. Traveling to other islands is always thinking about ours, it is a constant exchange and absorption. There is something that binds islands together and the people who live on them, or were born, or grew up on them. We islanders go looking for those gaps, those parts of our island inside other ones. We keep finding them and losing them. That feeling is good, that relationship with our own home.

Anyway, I would say the highlights of this trip were:

• The day we climbed down to a beach closed off after a landslide (an absurd pile of loose rock with no protection on a very high drop), maybe one of the most dangerous adventures of my life, to find a paradise beach all to ourselves. We swam naked at sunset. Hard to compete with that feeling, it was very special. I felt alive, maybe exactly the way God meant humans to feel when he created the earth. Extravagant, gigantic nature affects me that way, it is a singular feeling to be alone with it.
• The local taverna we found in a remote village on the way back from that adventure. The food was not even the peak of it, but the view and the moment were unforgettable. I even kept the restaurant’s napkins because they were LUDUS.
• Our daily chases after the sunset, especially the one where we danced an imaginary little waltz on top of the cliff.
• Mirtos Beach. One of the island’s hyped spots that is really worth it. We got there super early (for Europeans, eight in the morning is early), and we conquered the beach. The color of the water is absurd, the setting too, and having all of that to ourselves for a few hours was supremacy.
• Fteri Beach. It was an experience like Lagoinha do Leste, in Floripa. That day we felt a little bit at home. Except the beaches here are quite different. The stones hurt your feet a little at first, then they start to feel like a nice massage.
• The frozen yogurt we ate in Fiskardo.
• The many water experiences (we swam a lot, saw the animals, the fish) and the stones we kept collecting.

Ah, I don’t know, I could write a full guide about everything we did, but I am not sure that is quite what we want to create in this space. If any reader wants to know more, feel free to send us an email and we can pass along more specific tips. For now, I think talking about the moments is a bit more what we want to do. On this trip we developed a sound walk on practically every beach we visited. It was really interesting. We are producing so much material that honestly, may there be time to work through all of it later. We are going slowly and without pressure on ourselves, otherwise the whole thing seizes up. You know?

I don’t really know who I am writing for, if anyone even reads what we write here. I would be very happy to know that yes, someone does, and to get to know our readers. Is there something you are curious to know?

Greece finally came to an end, at the right time. We could not take eating another skewer. It was all delicious, but I think the most special thing about traveling is realizing that far more than where we go or where we are, the part that matters most in the end is who we are with. And the two of us being together on this trip is what made it everything it is: unforgettable.

I love you, Luís. Thank you for dreaming and living with me.