Hiking/Trekking

'26 - Greece

While it hadn't been on our bucket list (yes, we have a list), an international yoga retreat in the heel of Italy provided a great opportunity to visit and explore some more parts of Europe we hadn't been - Greece was it.

For many seeing and experiencing Greece, besides Athens, means visiting the Greek Islands in the Aegean Sea. For us and the balance of our trip, we wanted to experience Greece, yet we also wanted to avoid the crowds - in effect, see it "local". So we looked west towards the Ionian Sea, the Peloponnese peninsula and the Ionian Islands.

Kefalonia seemed our speed - more chill, less touristy, AND, it had mountains for hiking! We added it to our itinerary and found a stunning villa with a sea view. And to add more dimension to our itinerary, we also discovered and settled on Kalavryta - a small mountain village in the central part of the peninsula, again with more mountains (hiking - yeah!) and, as it turns out a very chilling history.

Browse the blogs below to read about our adventures in Greece.

Athens

Athens was the first stop in our visit to Greece – where, having traveled separately, Jeanne and I planned to meet after her yoga retreat in southern Italy. Because our visit was short, really only a single day, we’d booked a 2hr group tour of the Acropolis – bright and early (8am) to beat the (anticipated) crowds. From our recent European travels, we learned the small group (or individual tours) available through GetYourGuide or WithLocals provide large amounts of “information”

Kefalonia

Arriving at the ferry terminal in Poros, yet another small port town on Kefalonia, we stopped at a local super market for a few food items, then headed toward our villa, about 40 mins from the ferry. Not just any 40 mins, we got our first taste of driving the roads on a mountainous island. Yes, twisty, windy, and sometimes with little “protection” (aka, guardrails) as the roadway hugged the mountain curves. For many seeing and experiencing Greece, besides Athens,

Kalavryta