Lassi - Super-Pavlos & The Hill of Death

"o lophos tou thanatou"

But look what’s at the bottom of the hill……

Apparently many people who stay at the Panorama or Olive Gardens in Lassi, Kephalonia, hate the steep incline to the accommodation. It's much the same over at the Dionysios Village Resort, even though I've only been there once by accident!

So, the Hill of Death, eh? 38 0r 40 degrees of Greek heat & the pressure's on!

And there's a taxi (tacsi in Welsh - stupid language that!) strike. So legs it is, one before the other and walk....easy after a while. Or, if you know some Greek, you can chat up the locals and soon they'll be ferrying you everywhere, even to places you don't want to go (see Pants off for Lexi!).

In any case what an insult to the locals to call the hill that - it's got the most sacred thing in Kephalonia less than 50 yards from the Panorama! Yep! On the hill is situated the Cave of St. Gerasimos, a saint revered by the locals & other Greeks who stop their cars, abandon any family member inside and head for the little church on the hill. In the church are some small steps which lead to a tiny cave, used by the hermetic saint in his lifetime. In the church and in the cave are iconographic paintings which the locals kiss before lighting candles and praying for redemption/their sins/a lift back down.

It's a fantastic place and a compulsory visit for the complaining Brit tourist (who probably is ignorant of its existence).

If you continue up the hill (what fool would?) you come to the top! It takes moments and you spot goats and young deer and stuff....If you carry on walking (down now) you come to one of the roads leading into the port of Argostoli, a feat achieved by at least TWO families staying with us in July 2011.

Hats off (better keep 'em on) to Bob Dedridge Snr. & his wife for doing a complete circuit of Argostoli, the harbour and the coastal road back (via Fanari & lunch at Oscar's) in 3/4 hours. Well done! That beer was well-deserved.

Sandals off, too, to Matt Savory, from Penarth, who did the Argostoli hike at will, as in "Just popped down to Argostoli for a paper/gyro/another snap of the turtles! Brave man. No wonder his son, Rhys, is so fit and racking up the points at outside half for Penarth RFC!!

So, what's up with the Hill of Death? Pete (Pedro) the Fish was up & down it for fun. I did it every night, despite the taxi-strike. Mind you, I cheated.

Everyone heard me getting out of a vehicle every night and I said I'd got a special taxi. But it's the Super Pavlos approach which did it...speaking a bit of cheeky Greek!

At the Panorama Village, Arturo (Arthur) & Maritta (Mary) run the bar/kitchens etc. and they asked for my name, which goes from Paul to Pavlos in Greek. Much to Pete (Pedro) the Fish's amusement, Arthur started calling him Pedro & me Pavlo.

Following absurd discussions between me & the non-English speaking owner, Andreas, in Greek I was elevated to Super-Pavlo. Ridiculous, but that's Greece!

Great fun.