Katakolon Beyond the Ruins

As fascinating as the visit to the ruins was, it was time to go. We had a fabulous time ogling the reminder of bygone days; the opportunity to see it was stimulating. However, we were operating under a time table.

We walked back to town with the intention of window shopping and actually doing a bit of a shopping. A friend from back home, who got back from her own Greek cruise not too long ago, asked if I could buy her Vinsanto wine, coz she ran out of stock. We were supposed to pick up the wine in one of the Greek islands we visited earlier in this cruise, but we forgot until now so I had to find the darn wine by hook or by crook, because this was the last port of call.

We crisscrossed two blocks and found that there is an almost pedestrianized street filled with restaurants, shops, boutiques, museums, art stores, etc. The grocery store is where we stocked up on gifts for family and friends and thankfully they had 2 wine bottles of the Vinsanto left. We bought both of them and our friends had to go with another brand. Anyway, I was thinking Vinsanto is either very popular or not at all because this grocery store seemed to only carry 2 bottles.

Some stores we entered had wonderful artisanal items that were too beautiful to ignore; however, the price was not right. I was not ready to part with most of my greenbacks; after all I was only halfway through this European vacation. I had a long way to go so with little regret I had to say no to beautiful works of art.

1349

Further along, we noticed tavernas next to each other. We chose one that I was attracted to, it was empty; well most of them were empty. In October, the summer crowd had definitely left.

None of us were hungry; we just wanted to sit and avail of wi-fi. As soon as we took our seat, a cat and a dog came near us. The cat especially guarded our table, like staking a territory. With the cat in mind I ordered a tuna wrap. The hubs got something with spinach. Once the food came out, our table was busy talking that nobody seemed to notice I was feeding the cat the contents of my tuna wrap. The cat was happy; I knew it, although he/she wore that poker face the whole time. Nope, I did not get a thank you meow, or a head bump or did I feel a furry slither on my legs. How rude!

IMG_20141023_082948_582-EFFECTS

IMG_20141023_083000_509

IMG_7833

IMG_20141023_075054_579

IMG_7826

The drive back to Katakolon was completed in silence. Were we processing everything we saw, experienced, touched? Possibly. One of us was sleeping, I was wool gathering. Upon arrival, we went straight to the car rental agency to return the car. Soon after, we all agreed to look around the port area and pop into stores lining the waterfront. One of our companions needed to complete a test online so he parked himself on one of the cafes offering free wi-fi so he can complete his assigned school test. Us ladies we went away from the waterfront to scope out the stores lining the main road. The husband was busy with photography.

IMG_7848

IMG_7843

IMG_7846

greece and venice 2014 670

greece and venice 2014 674

KINDNESS IN KATAKOLON

IMG_7842

We took this photo immediately after arriving from Olympia. After this was taken, we went our separate ways. As I mentioned above we ladies went for shopping. The husband here was not carrying his backpack, it was sitting on the ground next to the tripod.

Much later after our shopping trip few blocks away, we met up at the cafe where our friend was doing his test/homework. Husband was not there, which was curious so I asked. Friend said he was looking for his backpack. He misplaced his backpack. His backpack contained EVERYTHING we need to travel, passports, itineraries, paperwork for our next cruise, etc, etc. WHAAAT? Thoughts of Paris swirled all over my head once again. He was so excited to chat up the local guys fishing (on photo #7) who showed him what was available in the waters that he did not remember to pick up his backpack from where it was placed on the ground next to the tripod. The tripod he remembered to pick up, not the backpack. When he remembered his backpack it was too late. He had the presence of mind to inquire from shop keepeers along the water's edge if they saw a backpack. Thankfully the owner of the store across from where we took the photo took it and sent it back to the ship. Luckily for us, there was only one ship on the port that day and they knew it belonged to one of the passengers of that ship. We were so fortunate to meet with very kind people all over the Greek islands, but more so in this case. It was awesome and we were so grateful for the lady that returned the backpack.

A lady cruiser told us later on that she also left her purse in the bus and it was returned to the ship. So many kind strangers we meet while we travel.

SKYWATCH is a weekly gathering of sky lovers and sky watchers. Join us.

Comments

  1. An interesting tour of the town. It's amazing that your bag was returned to the ship.

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a great tour of the town!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hello, what an awesome tour and wonderful photos. I am so glad there are nice people around and the bag was returned to the ship! Have a happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Believe it or not, the cat photo is my favorite--and I'm not even a cat person!

    Arizona Sky

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great photos and a happy ending to a scary situation!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful photos! Love the boats in the harbor! Glad you were able to find the wine for your friend though in tha last port of call. Looks like a wonderful little town!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You were so lucky to get your backpack back ! My roundtrip through Greece was not so nice ! Unfriendly people, bad food and neglected sites ! The whole bus was very disappointed. We were a very mixed group, Americans, Canadians, Australians and some Europeans. However this was Greece mainland and not the islands !

    ReplyDelete
  8. So lucky indeed. Nice people there. I have fond memories of my visit to Greece mainland.

    ReplyDelete
  9. It looks like a fun time was had by all.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great photos of the places you visited. Looks like a beautiful to visit. Enjoy your tour and happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great photos of the places you visited. Looks like a beautiful to visit. Enjoy your tour and happy weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  12. A great tour of the town indeed, very nice photos!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Dearest Photo Cache; Wonderful tour at Katakolon♪ Beautiful sky and sea, the cat is lovely as well. How wonderful you expressed the human kindness♡♡♡
    Sending Lots of Love and Hugs from Japan to my Dear friend, xoxo Miyako*

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi! Your photos are very beautiful. The story of the wine is very interesting. It's the nice topic about the returned purse. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Thank you for the well wishes! We have arrived and are settling in. Time to get back to blogging! @outandabout

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for the well wishes! We have arrived and are settling in. Time to get back to blogging! @outandabout

    ReplyDelete
  17. What a beautiful area - I'd love to see the Greek islands.

    ReplyDelete
  18. These photos are spectacular!!! I would love to have a taste of that sandwich and have one of those vases!

    ReplyDelete
  19. so much to see and do in this Island.
    I would love to visit it someday, everything just feel so laid back and relax.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I had Vinsanto wine in Santorini as it's where it's made and everytime we go back to Greece, wherever island we go to - we would look for it but not one wine shop/stores have it. :(

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment