We are now full on into the resort set up and our team of staff and volunteers are arriving by the day and putting in long days work gardening, cleaning, building and fixing, but its not all hard graft we do take plenty of time off to enjoy the island and warm weather. Samantha took a few people to visit the waterfalls which only run during the wet winter months. I on the other hand organised a beach walk and litter pick up.

Our small team of four plus Lucy dog managed to collect two large bags of plastic bottles off the naturist part of Avithos beach (right side). The beach was the best I have seen it for many years and we were able to completely clear the whole beach into two bags which in the past has taken many more trips.

Well done to the team and as a reward had time for our first skinny dip of the summer and also found Marina Cafe in Kourkoumelata open and we all had a glass of wine and dessert.

The news lately seems to be constantly about environmental issues and most of all about the massive amount of plastic in our seas. This came to light after the amazing Blue Planet 2 series on BBC1 when the program showed viewers huge fields of plastic waste floating on and below the surface of the sea.

We at Vassaliki, are big fans of the sea and spend most of our free time swimming, snorkelling, sailing, waterskiing and boating on the sea around Kefalonia.

Blue Planet has prompted us at Vassaliki to try and reduce the amount of plastic we use at the resort, so we will be only giving out card straws with drinks and wood stirrers with the cocktails.

We also want to reduce the large number of plastic bottles we use. So we will now be selling Vassaliki reusable drinking bottles from our resort shop. All guests who purchase a bottle will have free access to use our new water coolers which will be situated around the resort.

The water is dispensed from 20L bottles that are returned and refilled when empty. The water is offered cold or room temperature.  We hope that with your help we can reduce the number of water bottles used at Vassaliki by over 600 bottles.

THAT’S approximately 1/4 ton of plastic that won’t end up in our seas.

We will continue to recycle all our cans, glass bottles and non reusable plastic bottles from the resort.

BOOK THIS AMAZING OFFER NOW BY CALLING +44 (0)20 8144 2166

This offer is not available online so call now 020 8144 2166 to enjoy this amazing offer.

Experienced Resort Chef

So if you are looking for a complete change of lifestyle and would like to join our team at Vassaliki for the summer of 2018 have a look at the job description below and send us an email with your up to date CV and a covering letter/email stating why you feel you would be the best person to fill the position.

The start of the summer the first 4 to 5 weeks are for set up of the resort. This is a busy time for us and the jobs can be handwork and tiring. Long hours will be needed to get the resort to the required standard we demand for the summer. This time of year (April – May) can be very hot making the work even harder. The sort of work required will be but not limited to –

Setting up the kitchen pool bar

General construction

Painting

Garden cut back and tidy

Health and safety checks

Once the resort is open jobs below will be required to be done on a day to day basis. The job changes every day and depends on the demands and expectations of our guests.

Breakfast cooking and service

Prepare and serve lunches

Evening meal service including a daily special and dessert

BBQ night once a week using resort BBQ and wood burning oven

Occasional beach BBQ on remote beach

Replenishing drinks fridges

Coffee service – using a barista machine

Pool Bar cleaning an tidying

Laundry of pool bar cloths.

Resort Shopping for all food and drinks using our suppliers. Driving licence essential

Being on hand to answer guest enquiries – able to learn local knowledge

You will be required to cook five days a week with two days off each week. Your time off will be covered by resort staff so some preparation will be required.

The most important thing is you must be clean and tidy worker as the kitchen is small and on view to the customers. You must enjoy meeting and talking to guests and dealing with dietary requirements of some customers.

The atmosphere at the resort in relaxed and informal.

For the details of the benefits package please email – info@viglanatura.com

On 18 March 2017 The Times newspaper  in its travel section highlighted ‘Ithaca’s golden bays and ancient legends attaching to the article a delightful picture with the caption  ‘The village of Frikes’right to reach

Times say it Frikes but I believe it Kioni

This year, half way through our holiday at Vassaliki  with The Times article in mind, we popped over to Ithaca for two nights staying at the Perantzada Art Hotel Vathy.   The car ferry leaves from Sami and takes about an hour to reach the tiny harbour of Pissaetos.

And it was fascinating.   The island,  which has a magical history, is very beautiful.  The town of Vathy is great fun with yachts constantly moving, berthing, mooring and leaving:  endlessly entertaining.  We explored before checking into the hotel and going for a swim in the hotel pool.

Later we drove round the harbour road subsequently taking a turn to the right to reach a parking space by a beach where we left the car and walked the extra few hundred yards  to Skinos beach for a swim.   We did not know if we were allowed to shed our clothes so erred on the cautious side;  there was a ‘cat’ moored a little way off but that was all.  We seemed miles from anywhere.

The restaurants in Vathy (those away from the harbour seemed to serve the best food) were crowded lively noisy happy places for an evening meal.  It was fun.

Vathy  is in the south of the island.  On our second day we dove the 19 km or so along the coastal road to the northern village of Frikes, stopping there for a coffee before continuing to Kinoni ,   a lively place again full of yachts but also with a myriad of small shops selling the sort of trinkets my wife finds fascinating.   I enjoyed a beer sitting at a water side table whilst she investigated what the small shop keepers has to offer.

The  scenery was spectacular, the boats coming and going amusing.

Catching the 9am ferry the next morning back to Kefalonia required anything but a  leisurely breakfast yet watching and then being part of the system of loading up the ferry was interesting.  It was so nice to get back to Vassaliki for a swim and a drink and a session on the sun lounger bfore happy hour.

Yet there is an amusing twist to the tail.  According to Mark and I am sure he is correct, the picture in The Times was not of  Frikes at all!!!  It was actually a picture of Kioni,  you need to ask Mark that next time you see him.

Written by Michael

Stone balancing is an art form which an audience may interpret in various ways, for example as a performance, an aesthetic form or simply a source of wonder. Some may seek a more spiritual meaning in the interplay between rocks, air, sky and gravity. Sometimes there may be no audience at all, the stone sculptures are produced merely for the pleasure of the artist.

Essentially the art form involves placing a combination of rocks or stones in arrangements which require patience and sensitivity to generate, and which sometime may appear implausible. Rock balancers are frequently asked how the forms can stand without glue or other supports. The key factors are the shape and mass of the pieces, their balancing points and the interaction of the forces of gravity and friction. The forms can range from the stacking of simple flat stones to more complex arrangements with counterbalance, single balance points, arches and many other shapes and combinations. The creations can be random shapes or planned to resemble natural or man-made formations.

With experimentation and time I have developed some skills in producing stone art and find it an enjoyable and relaxing pastime. For me it is a simple pleasure to spend time focusing on a small piece of work which is by nature temporary but unique. Each piece is a challenge to my imagination, dexterity and patience and I find the interaction with the natural elements of stone and the forces of gravity, friction and wind help me to appreciate the natural environment. However there are some expert artists who devote their lives and careers to inventing new techniques and continue to push the boundaries of the art form. The Internet has many web sites with incredible photographs of the type of work done by a number of professional exponents.

Kefalonia provides many opportunities to try stone balancing in beautiful, natural and peaceful locations. The wonderful beaches on the island vary in character, from the long sandy stretches of Skala, Mounda or Avithos, to the smaller more pebbly beaches more typical of the north of the Island, such as Ebylisi and Dafnoudi. You will find on most beaches a variety of stones, from the smooth bright white rounded pebbles of Myrthos and Antisamos, through a whole range of limestone, igneous rock and conglomerates. Perfect materials for creating your own piece of individual art!

The activity is made all the more pleasurable if it can be practised in a naturist environment, without the encumbrance of clothes as this helps to provide a more perfect connection between the mind, body and natural environment. The lovely island of Kefalonia is blessed with many tranquil locations where naturist stone balancing can be done; some accessible by roads and tracks, others only by boat from the crystal clear sea.

The art form of rock balancing can be actively enjoyed by anyone, of any age. Try it for yourself – you will be surprised at the lovely shapes and patterns that you can produce with a little patience and imagination, simply by stacking stones on top of one another. I hope the examples of my work included here will provide some inspiration and get you started.

Colin Eversden

Colin lives and works at Vassaliki, in Kefalonia, in the summer months. As part of his role at the resort Colin hosts informal art sessions for guests to encourage participation and development of artistic skills.

Why we need more naked beach parties