Hello Erika (& Dimitris) Not sure if you will remember me – I'm the “Sue” half of Sue & Mike (without the house) and I'm coming over again and travelling on my own – Mike is following me out a week later. Sorry to bother you – I'm pretty sure you must get fed-up with questions like this one - but I'd appreciate a little help here ! I'm arriving on Sunday 15 th at approx 16.15 at Kefallonia, so should be in Sami by approx 6pm .  Is there still a late-night ferry from Sami to Vathy?  When we came last year I recall we arrived at about 12.30am at Vathy.  I've looked at Strinzis timetable on their website, but couldn't see a late ferry.  If there isn't one I will need to arrange a night's stay in Sami. I do look forward to hearing from you and also to seeing you both again – still watching the website daily – keep up the good work – you are obviously a woman of immense patience !! All the best Sue (& Mike).

Dear Sue (& Mike) Of course I remember you both and I'm happy to answer your question. The late ferry leaves Sami around 11.30pm and arrives in Vathy 12.30 - 1am depending on the outgoing and incoming traffic at Sami. If you don't want to wait for the big ferry, you can ask at Sami for a water taxi (person with boat that will charge you around 80 - 100 euro to take you across) Sue, I don't know about the patience, but I am immensely stupid. Look forward to seeing you on Ithaca .

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Hi Erica, I'm Denis Sikiotis' son - I wrote to you a couple of years ago I think about possibly coming over to Ithaca with my partner and daughter. Well that never happened, but the prospect is now on again - we're hoping to be able to visit for around 6 weeks or so in September, early October. Last time I wrote I asked you about getting connected to the internet while there, as I need to stay in contact for work reasons. I assume there is still no broadband option available in Ithaca ? If dialup is the only option, how easy is to get an account set up on an existing landline do you think? And what is the internet cafe situation like in norther Ithaca , particularly in Stavros if possible? Thanks for any info or tips you can give me, and I look forward to actually getting to Ithaca this time - might see you there if we make it! Regards, Fionn

I just now loaded up our discontent about the lack of internet service in the north of the island. Unfortunately there are no sure options.  Dial-up is barely worth it. Most people can't get online most times. ADSL is not coming to the north so we have just been informed and wireless broadband, is getting to be as difficult to get online with as dial-up. There are no internet cafes in Stavros, but Frikes has internet at Fiorendino bar.  They use a ISDN line.  There is also internet in Kioni. Your best option would be to get wireless broadband. It's called 'internet on the go' It's not great and it costs around 30 euro per month, but it's the best option available at present. See you on Ithaca .

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Can you please tell me how to get to Ithaki from Corfu , with and without a car. Many thanks Chris Bond

From Corfu to Ithaca you can fly with Airsea Lines. Timetable can be found here http://www.ithacagreece.com/How%20to%20get%20there/howtoget.html or www.airsealines.com You can also catch a ferry to either Cephalonia or Patras from where ferries to Ithaca are available. By car you will need to catch a ferry to Igoumenitsa (closest port) and then drive down to either Lefkada to catch a ferry to Frikes, Ithaca  or to Astakos on the mainland to catch a ferry to Piso Aetos, Ithaca .

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hello! first let me say congratulations on your site! i get all the news from kioni from the site and it's great to see the pics of whats going on! I was surprised to see that my grandmother was not listed as a Raxi local. i think she would be pleasantly surprised if we told her she was on the internet (she's 85 btw!) I will send pics of me and my family. I am not married to an ithacan, but I am from ithaki myself. My sister is getting married to an Ithacan as well. Hope to hear from you soon! Marianthy Karantzes, Doula

Thank you for your email. I'd love to have your grandmother on the site. If you come to Ithaca , let's arrange it or send me a photo and a little history, but please make certain it's something that she wouldn't mind. Also thank you for offering yourself up for Ithacans around the world. It's a pleasure to be able to add you and your family. Please do not send large photo files, a cd would be great.  You can send it to PO BOX 83 Vathy 28300 Ithaki Greece .

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Hello, I should like to know the possibilities to reach Ithaki   by boat or speed jet from Patras the 18th of june, without car. Thank you for a quick answer. Philippe Collet

Please see http://www.ithacagreece.com/How%20to%20get%20there/howtoget.html for ferry and airsea plane details.

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Hello there! I was looking at the Events Calender for June (me and my husband will be on Ithaca at the end of June and leaving 5 July) for events, and notice that the Frikes festa could be on quite a few days. We would really be chuffed to get a street festa in on our holiday. Have the organizers decided on a definite date yet? We'd hate to miss this opportunity. Thank you in advance. Debb.

I have asked several times about a definite date for the Frikes Panighiri and so far it looks like it may be on the 4 th July (from the lips of the Frikes president to my ears). It's a funny panighiri this one. They don't usually decide til the last minute and then wonder why there aren't many people. The minute I know for sure I'll publish it online in the Calendar.

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Hi Erica, I'm amazed you don't tell all those lazy people asking you for ferry times to bugger off. Don't you get tired of answering the same questions over and over? Paul P.

I don't actually mind answering real questions, it's the questions that have no answer that bug me.

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Hi there Erica! Why have you stopped the Who's here and Ithaki general pages? Anna-Maria

I thought it was a waste of space and I think including everything in one page makes for a better, bigger picture . Don't you agree?

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hi. i am holidaying in kefaolnia at the start of july and wish to hire a car and come to ithica for a day. last year i saw ferries going from sami. which is the best way to go? is there one that goes in the morning amd comes back late afternoon. regars  nick betts

There is a ferry leaving Sami at around 8.30am and arrives on Ithaca at 9am . Last ferry back to Sami is from Piso Aetos port on ithaca is 4pm . For more detailed schedules of ferries please contact Delas tours or Polyctor Tours

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Hello there! Nice content. Could you please send me travel brochures for Mykonos and Santorini. Thank you in advance. Mr. Michael Carter (address witheld)

Dear Michael, Just out of interest what makes you think that I could send you this information considering this is a website about Ithaca?

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Can you help please? We are unable to find who is the contact/agency for renting the Lycoudi apartments that we have stayed in and enjoyed in previous years. We look forward to your reply.

I don't know who has taken on the booking for Lykoudi, but I can give you the owners number Poppy  Mob: +30 6976 132 397 Hope this helps.

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Hi Erika, I just visited your Ithaki site. Eleni Cominos put me onto it, We were out to dinner together last night. She was telling me that my beautiful sister Christina Sykiotis was on the site & I've just checked all the photos. Wish I was there dancing with her!!! Eleni said you live next door to them so give her my love, tell her that her & Luka looked very relaxed & we all wish we were partying with them! Ax,……one day! I saw Ros yesterday & can't wait to see them all. I want to see more photos of the whole family please!!!!! Thankyou, your site makes us all lament for a Greek Island holiday!! Cheers, Deanne Apostolou

Hi Deanne, Thanks for your email.  I'll pass on your message to the sikiotis family, who yes, are my neighbours coincidentally, and yes, they are all very relaxed and enjoying their time on Ithaki . Marina is on some of the earlier summer pages and the frikes panighiri. Maybe I'll see you on Ithaki one day.

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Hi Erika, Sorry to have missed you on our latest visit but it was so hot I rarely crawled out from under the shade. Could you tell me the name of the ruined Church at Polis beach? I can't seem to find it anywhere and the more I look, the more interested I become! Regards The other Mike (&Sue)

The name of the Polis church is St. Andreas.

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Hi My name is Caron Traub.  I came across your webite trying to find a dear old friend of mine and happened to come across her sister and parents on your webite.  They are both south africans Julie is the daughter of Niki and Denis Koutsouvelis.  Julie appeared in the lowdown 2007 pics and the parents in pic of Ithacans around the world.  Is there a way I may be able to get into contact with them through you.  I would appreciate your help.  Many thanks Caron Traub

I have an email address for Julie from a couple of years ago.  Hope this helps and good luck. (address withheld)

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Hi Erika & Dmitri, Sorry to see that some idiot had dafaced your 'For Sale' sign. Strangely, I arrived at my little house at Dexa, last week,  with my son to show him what a wonderfully relaxed place Ihaki is... only to find graffiti on the walls up the road. I hope these are visitors to the Island who have no respect and will not return... Back next week with my wife and daughter, Lucy.. hopefully no more prats around. Lucy will be pleased that it's getting windy..thanks for your web updates.. Pete & Gwyn

Thanks for your email and enjoying the updates.  Yes, better to think it's strangers to the island than locals, but who knows.  It's been reported to the police. No joking around with this one. Ithaki will be relaxed again after September, until then, we all brace ourselves and hope for the best.

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Dear Erika, I was very disturbed to see the vandalism on your business signs. How can you continue to write nice things about the people and the island as you do, when there seems to be so much hate toward you. Don't these people realize you are doing a service? I'm part Ithacaecian and very embarrassed that someone from the island I love has insulted you like this. Ashamed and embarrassed to be Ithacan today!! Emily.

Thank you for your support Emily. This could actually be the straw, but I have a feeling this isn't the worst of it …

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Hi Saw the mail from Steve regarding Stefanos and your reply  ( Discount !!!) . Stefanos is far too polite to elicit the response you suggest (I expect... er probably er ...possibly..... he might give the job to Nico .. keep moving !) Now looking forward to our 7th holiday in Vathy. On every occasion Stefanos, ( and family), has been the best ambassador that the island could wish for. No one could be more friendly, helpful and just very very welcoming. We don't stay at Captain Yiannis but that makes no difference to him... we are greeted and treated as old friends. If you see him, tell him that Mike and Lynda will be there soon (He'll probably leave for Athens on receipt of that news!). Can you find out if Albatross will be doing the Lefkas cruise on Wednesday 8th October. We always seem to just miss it by about a day. Efaristo poli Lynda

I'm sure Stefanos will be thrilled to read your letter and your very complimentary thoughts on him. In regard to the Albatross Lefkada trip.  October is so far away, much could change between now and then, including the weather. Will see if someone from the Albatross can tell me when I'm in Vathy next, if they have an emphatic yes or no to this question.

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Hello Erica We're  visiting Ithaca for the first time in July and really looking forward to our holiday. I am an avid reader on holiday and will be coming with a selection of novels - my big fear is that I will have  read them all before the holiday is over. I was wondering if there was  anywhere to exchange books with other holiday makers. If not I will be  happy to leave my books somewhere to start this off. We will be  staying in Vathy courtesey of Simpson travel who I understand have  been taking liberties with your extremely useful website recently! ros binns

Dear Ros, Thank you for your email. I don't think you'll have much problem finding more english books to read.  Guests with holiday companies usually leave their books behind once they've finished with them so if you ask your rep, I'm sure he/she will be able to sort you out. In regard to Simpson copyright infringement of Ithaca Walks on this site, I am a bit disappointed that after 2 emails, I still haven't had either a reply, explanation or retraction, and it seems they have also taken walking track information directly from a Cephalonian website, making me wonder if any of their walking information from around Greece is actually experienced by anyone working for them, or for that matter if anyone actually reads the emails if they are not sent via a booking form format. Luckily, once you are here on Ithaca , Ithaca , not the holiday co. will do its magic on you.  I'm sure you'll love it.

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Good morning, I am writing to you with reference to your wall posts written on 28 June, as below-

Sat 28 June - Things to do with one finger. Infringing copyright. A reputable UK holiday company thought it was ok to copy and paste Ithaca Walks from (the copyrighted) www.ithacagreece.com, directly onto their site. No permissions asked for or granted. There's an email in their inbox. Let's see how reputable they really are. Will they ignore? Will they do a re-write? or will they do what most people would expect them to do - Send someone here to go on the walks and write from their own experience of the walks. www.simpsontravel.com/Greece/Best.asp%3FID%3D2%26RID%3D61+frikes+ithaca&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=126 INFORMATION COPIED AND PASTED FROM WALKS OF ITHACA ON WWW.ITHACAGREECE.COM

The information provided on our website, is solely for the purpose of highlighting Ithaca 's beauty and the fabulous public walks which are on offer, to our guests and visitors of our site. I apologise if the wording used on our site is similar/the same as that on your site, I can assure you in no way was I aware of this, as the information we use was provided to us by locals, who no doubt have used your site as a reference point to describe these public routes. However, now that I am aware of your site and how informative it is I would very much like to add a link on our Ithaca Walking page, through to your site so that we can further highlight the benefits of Ithaca and provide our guests with even more information on the beauty of the island. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind Regards, Omid Omid Khorsandian Commercial Manager Simpson Travel

Dear Omid, Thank you for your email. I had sent 2 emails to Simpsons without a reply before I published the excerpt you've included in this email from my site. Your text is not just similar, but an exact copy. It may be better practice to ask your local sources to check copyright or ask permission before taking someone elses' information, as it is general practice to note ones' sources with a reference. Although I appreciate the text on the walks was used by you to highlight the walks available on Ithaca, copyright is copyright, and were I a published author of a travel book, your reasoning would most certainly not suffice had you taken my text to make your own book. Anyway, I would be quite happy for you to note that the information on walks on your site was taken from ithacagreece.com Walks of Ithaca via a link.

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I am researching my great-grandfather's family. He was born in 1848 and came to Australia   from Ithaca in the 1880's. He changed his name to Ross, from Roustopolous (or possibly Roussoplous). Do birth, death and marriage records exist on Ithaca ? I know my great-great- grandfather's name was Christie as it is on Charles Ross's marriage certificate. One presumes Christos is the real name as that was the name of one of his children. Or, are there surnames which are particular to Ithaka which might help me to find the village from which the family came? You may not be able to help but researching Greek ancestry from Australia is not easy and I plan a trip to Ithaca but would like to know just where I should go. Regards, Roslyn Ross

There are records on ithaca , in the capital of of Vathy, but that would require a search from yourself.  Records are not online. The name Ross probably comes from Rossolymos.  Families with this name are in Raxi in the north of ithaca  and Vathy in the south.  Rosstopoulos and rossopoulos are a bit out there and very unlikely. In order to trace roots here you would need to know name of grandfather, his fathers name and mothers name. So for instance Christos Rossolymos with father ? and mother ? Sorry I can't help more.

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Hi Erica, I seem to be having difficulty finding the videos of Ithaca that you have made. I have tried youtube/ithacagreece but they are not there. Thanks Ben

Ben, the videos are at www.youtube.com/erikabach or through Summer lodown link at top middle “Ithaki Movie Room”

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Hi we are two families, coming to Greece for 3 weeks 2-20 Aug 2008. We are looking for a villa avilable for 1-2 weeks on those dates. We prefer the main land but for a nice house by the sea we will go anywere... Thank you Tal

Dear Tal, I run a website called ithacagreece.com which has information on the island of Ithaca with some accommodations etc. If you are interested in accommodation on Ithaca then please contact delas@otenet.gr or info@ithakiholidays.com These are two travel agents on the island that may be able to help you find something in August.

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Hello there, I am trying to arrange a Hydrofoil from Athens Airport to Porto Heli on 5 August.  The flights land at 11h30 and it is for one adult and four children.  Would you be able to assist me please? Thank you, Theresa Pereira

I run a website about Ithaca .  I am not a travel agent who deals with Greece .  Having said that, hydrofoils can not be caught at Athens airport, you will probably need to get to a port for those.  Pireas would be my suggestion.

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Gia sas! Great to find a website dedicated to my beloved Ithaki ! Your Vathy section did not have a taverna called O Mpozos in it, has it shut down? Cheers, Priya Tuli

Mpozos has not shut down, it's still working as much as ever.  Although a picture of the restaurant regularly finds itself in the summer or winter section of the site, they do not advertise on the site and so that is why they are not listed under Vathy restaurants.

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Just read you're very useful website, thanks for putting it up. I work for a company which recommends events to customers travelling with Thompson holidays, on your site I saw some pictures of a wine festival held on Ithaca around the 26th of June. Do you know if it will be happening this year too? If so, would you be able to tell me if the dates have changed, a quick google suggest to me that it might be happening in August, but wasn't very specific. Many thanks, Ben Holden Content Editor

Ithaca has only 1 wine festival.  This is held in Perahori each year around the end of July. The day depends on whether it falls on a weekend. Apart from the wine festival, there are religious festivals with food, wine and music all through the summer, starting in July and ending September, all of which are in the north of the island.

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I am planning a trip to Greece – mid Sept. – I am planning on staying on Ithaca from about Sept. 25 to about Oct.11.  I can't seem to find a schedule for the ferry leaving Ithaca to Athens .  I need to know whether to book one or two nights in Athens before flying home. I am looking forward to visiting Ithaca – it is where my paternal grandfather was born. Thank you. Linda

Ferries leave Ithaca each day at 6.45am from Vathy, arriving Patras 11.30am  and 4pm from Piso Aetos, arriving Patras at 8pm .  From Patras you will need to either drive (approx 3 hours) take a bus (approx 3.5 hours) or train (3.5 hours.)

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Dear Erica, As always it is a pleasure looking at the website on a daily basis. Well done for all your continues work. I'm looking to home to ithaki as always and having some friends come with me this year from Germany . I thought with you probably going home to Germany quite often you would know better websites and good deals. I'm based in the UK , so every google I do with "cheap flights to kefalonia" comes up with uk sights. Would you know if there are flights from Hamburg , or near by, to Kefalonia or Preveza? You help and advice is as always very useful. Kind Regards Alexi Argyris

My old home is actually Australia .  I rarely go to Germany , and I rarely get the chance to leave the island, so unfortunately I am not an expert in regard to flights.  You could try emailing the travel agents on the island, Delas Tours and Polyctor Tours in Vathy.  They each have websites and would be better able to help you. If you come across any cheap flights to Corfu , you can take them also, as the www.airsealines.com flies to Ithaca 3 days per week from there.

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Dear Erika, I was looking for the picture from our concert with the Ithaka-choir in Patras on the 24. / 25.  May. I tried to find it myself, but I did not succeed. Please tell me how to find this picture. Perhaps you remember the meeting in Judit's garden in Giftochori, where I met you? Sincerely Barbara Hurlebusch in Vathy

Dear Hans, You can find the photo by clicking here

http://www.ithacagreece.com/2008summerlodown/3-2008summerlowdown.htm  

It is on page 3 of Summer Lodown 2008 (around the middle of the page). This photo was given to me by Massos Defteraios, so if you would like  a copy for yourself, I am sure Masso will be able to provide you with one.

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Hello. First of all I would like to congratulate you on a brilliant web site. However I noticed one small omission. In your calendar, you left out the name day for Vasilios on 1 January. Well done overall. Vasilios Paizis South Africa

How could I forget such an important name day.  A million apologies to you and Ag. Vasilis. Will add it soon, even though it's late, so I'll be reminded of it for next years calendar. Thanks you for logging onto ithacagreece.com

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I have a few questions I would be most grateful if you can help me with. We are considering renting Rhiannon cottage from 2nd September. I am a little concerned as there is no air conditioning there. Is it possible to rent it on a daily basis from the village/ Vathy if there was a heat wave for example?! Also, can you tell me what is best to do regarding car rental- should we rent one at Athens airport, or wait until our arrival in Vathy? What should we expect to pay for 10days car rental? We also love cycling- is it possible to rent them on a daily basis and if so what does this usually cost? With kind regards, Leah

Dear Leah, I don't know about Rhiannon cottage, but It is not possible to rent air-con on a daily basis. I would suggest renting a car from Ithaca , because if there is a problem with the car, you can get it seen to here without having to return the car to Athens . There are competitive prices on Ithaca for car rental please check on the site to enquire. I can not tell you what is reasonable as I am not a travel agent, but only a consumer who has not hired a car on the island. You can hire bikes on a daily basis.