Welcome to Katakolon
08 May 2018 : Day 7 of travel ( from the Italy , Greece & Montenegro diary)
By boarding the MSC cruise in Brindisi, Italy, on the 7th of May 2018, we were assured of a wonderful trip around the Luxurious Greek Islands, in the upcoming days.
​
The Greek jewels of Katakolon, Corfu, Santorini and Athens were a part of the 'MSC MUSICA' cruise itinerary. Our excitement knew no bounds.
The Ship drifted gracefully from the Adriatic Sea into the Ionian Sea and docked at 12 Noon in the first of our greek destinations - Katakolon, pronounced as CAT- AH -COLO.
We had exactly half a day to tour this seaside paradise. An early, sumptuous brunch from the choicest buffet spread, displayed at the "GLI-ARCHI" cafeteria, of the ship, unleashed the 'glutton' in us and by 12:30pm we managed our way out.
​
Our ship approached the dock yard soon & we witnessed beautiful views of this wee town and the surrounding blue waters, right from the balcony of our cabin. As it was our first stop on this journey, it posed a great learning experience and helped us understand the docking techniques. Witnessing the
cruise crew give it literally their very best to ensure smooth docking, was definitely enriching.
The process lasted nearly 20 mins, before the ship came to a halt.
After due security checks, we found ourselves admiring a long cemented pathway, walking towards this lovely, unique looking, town.
The Mighty, anchored vessel minisculed us, as we photographed beautiful sights. The waters of the Ionian Sea cast a magic spell on our senses. Six of us frolicked around. Two of our group members chose to stay aboard the ship, we let it be.
Katakolon is the doorway to Olympia - a town were the Olympics originated. Most cruise passengers, prefer to visit Olympia town, due to its historical significance.
​
As we had our upcoming itinerary already filled with places of historical importance - Athens, Rome, Vatican, Naples, we decided to give Olympia a miss and spend some leisurely time in Katakolon instead. We were anything but disappointed. We were also lucky, as most of the cruise passengers had opted to visit Olympia, therefore leaving the Katakolon town free and empty. The 5 hours of leisure on this tiny seaside delight, triggered enthusiam and a deep sense of relaxation.
Our first views of Katakolon town as seen from the ship
Heading into the town
Do you see absolute Green waters ? Take a closer look. These are adult Fresh Water Eels sighted in the clear waters of the Ionian Sea, near the dock yard.
Like I mentioned earlier, the town was not so crowded as the most cruise passengers made their way to Olympia by hopping on to the buses that were waiting for them at the port.
​
This picturesque town has absolutely no tall skyscrapers. It is just a small area, filled with various shops and beautiful sea-side restaurants. Due to its location and general awareness of the schedules of various cruise ships docking here, the place is flooded with shops of tourist interest. Therefore, they are well equipped in advance to receive the cruise crowd.
​
Private taxi drivers are in plenty, willing to take cruise passengers anywhere, as per their personal preferences. Plenty of options are explained to the tourists on arrival.
​
We were approached by a bunch of them at the town entrance. Their fares seemed reasonable, compared to those offered by cruise ships for their day tours. The reason why cruise passengers choose day tours
arranged by the cruise itself, is because they are ensured of returning aboard the ship on time.
TIP :
​
Consider the option of booking your day tour carefully, after checking the prices offered by your cruise as against a local taxi driver. You can save a lot of money there. Most of the local taxis are aware of Cruise rules & time schedules. They will definitely reach you back to the ship much before hand. Just remember that in case of any delays due to renting of a private vehicle, the Cruise ship will not be held responsible and can leave without you. You can take a calculated risk, by ensuring you return much before the required time. That way, you will save a lot more. We did just that. It is real easy.
The town opens into a 'fairy tale' like street laden with shops on either side, running upto a kilometre. Flowers and greenery bedeck the street offering a beautiful natural set up, giving it the unique look. The shops with exquisite greek feel, presented the country's most cherished items. The sea facing restaurants promised a feast of a life time. A shop offering miniature marble greek sculptures fascinated us. We could find miniatures of almost all the important Greek gods and also a few replicas of famous sculptures.
We walked in and out of shops for a while, enjoying the mild sea breeze as against the bright noon sun. At the end of the road, we took a right turn to reach the KATAKOLON tourist fan train stop. This hop-on hop-off road train took us around the town with 2 stops. One at the Mercouri Estate and other at Agios Andreas beach spot. We couldn't ask for more, we purchased our tickets at EUR5 for adults and EUR 3 for kids and boarded the train. Though the heat caught up, we thoroughly enjoyed our ride through the Korakochori village, which fell on the way. As we moved up and down the curvy roads, we could spot unique houses and other buildings. Big & shady Orange fruit trees all around with loads of greenery, provided some great ambience. We decided to get off only at the beach spot and spend more time there. We ogled at the winery cum estate, from our train seats and were more than satisfied.
To know more about this train journey, other options or any booking information you can click here.
Route taken by the tourist road train
Train Ride through the KORAKOCHORI VILLAGE
First stop at the Mercouri Estate
The train had a few passengers, other than us. A couple of them got off at the Mercury winery/Estate. The train stay put there for about 5 minutes and picked up few other passengers who had got there earlier . It gave us enough time to get up close with this cute looking estate and winery .
Soon the train was on its way to reach the Agios Andreas beach. Can you imagine visiting a remote part of Greece by a small road train. The train dropped us off at a square near a resort, by the beach side.
​
Shack shaped umbrellas were laid out neatly in rows on one side of the beach. We could spot people in colourful beach wear relaxing under these. Few others were exploring the place. We climbed down to walk up to the beach waters. The clear waters captivated us. We had around an hour for ourselves. We spent our time dipping our feet in the cold fluid, climbing up and down the slippery rocks, jumping into water and making our memories by just living the moment. We chose not to wet ourselves entirely, due to time limit.
A Calm Afternoon by the Agios Andreas small beach
Water rushing towards us was heavenly to watch. Capturing this moment of the gushing tide, in all its colourless splendour, reflecting the 'sky blue' was just priceless. We spent time throwing stones, creating ripples and just relaxing by the beach. The water was so crystal clear that we could spot rocks and stones clearly lying even two to three feet beneath. The pictures here will speak for themselves. We re-discovered the child in ourselves.
​
These secluded beaches usually have their own 'Mojo' I would say. We never regretted skipping the stop by the estate. Every moment spent around here is still cherished.
​
It was soon time to get back to the train stop. Opting to wait for the 'next' train would mean cutting too fine close to departure time of the ship. We therefore had no choice but to leave.
We ensured we got back on time and had a look around the town, from where the ship could be spotted easily and was within our sight.
Unlike the onward journey to the beach, which was by a green train, the return journey was by a blue train.
Totally smitten by the unspoiled beauty, we enjoyed our leisurely walk yet again around the town. The shops were in business now. The seaside restaurants were smelling just great and the aroma of food filled the environment. The daily flea market was up and there was a sale going on in every corner. One of our group members picked up traditional greek attire for the kids. We shopped for souvenirs and enjoyed the town settings thoroughly.
Beautiful boats were anchored at regular intervals all along the length of the ramp, that led to our cruise ship.
​
I managed to take a picture of the stand alone phone booths that are installed for public usage. Interesting to find those, in that part of the town.
​
Our ship looked even more majestic from this distance. We were able to finally take a picture of the entire MSC MUSICA, our temporary home.
THE UNDERWATER TREASURES- Unique Shells as seen from at least 5 feet above the amazingly clear waters
No doubt, it was a really short visit to this beautiful town, but it offered us memories of a life time.
​
We got back to our cabin rooms after the stroll around the town. We washed up quickly and rushed to have a quick round of yummy snacks at the GLI ARCHI. Cruises do spoil us with food and comfort.
​
We once again closely witnessed the ship being manoeuvred out of the port.
​
The rest of the evening on board the ship was another colourful story.
