Melisani Cave, Kefalonia > Reviews > Melassani Lake - sapphire blue waters

Author's product rating:   

Advantages:	Natural breatht - aking beauty
Disadvantages:	Tacky gift shop !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

We parked our hire car in the dusty carpark of the Melisani Lake. It feels rather odd - as you step out you can see a cafe bar, shop, swimming pool, public toilets (very clean) sunbeds and apartments but no lake. The you see the red-carpeted entrance down into a cave (we looked at each other dubiously.)

As you walk down the slope you enter a very tacky gift shop - 'authentic' greek plates, sea-shell creatures, statues of Dionnisus and his enornmous..well lets just say he must be a fertility symbol! Through the gift shop and down another carpeted slope you can just glimpse the opening of a cave, with glittering water at the edge. It gets cooler as you approach the water. As you reach it you see the boats waiting to take you around, manned by Greek oarsmen, each boat can hold about 8 people, we were at the end of the season so there was just 4 of us on the lake.

The first thing that attracts you is the absolute clarity of the very sapphire blue water - it really is stunning to look at.

Our oarsman was friendly, chatty and cheeky - ''Step into my love boat Mrs.'' (We were 2 couples). The row around the lake in the underground cave was just wonderful. The lake remained undiscovered until the earth quake of 1953 when the roof of the cave collapesd to reveal the crystal waters below (The water is from one of the bays and travels underground for some way before reaching the lake) It is ice cold and sparlkles with every glint of sunlight.

The view upwards is as stunning as below, looking into the clear blue sky framed with the rocky edges of the cave what seems like hundreds of feet up. The water is populated with rocks bulging out of the surface which our oarsman navigated expertly, poining out roks - ''Look Croco-deel!'' And yes it did look like a crocodile peeking out! We were given all the statistical information about the lakes age, depth, cave height etc that we needed and much to our amusement, were even treated to a chorus of ''Just One Cornetto'' (oh the power of advertising!) in a Greek accent to show us the superb acoustics!

As the boat pulled back into its mooring before we alighted again our freindly 'sailor' took photos of us - ''ere Mrs let me make you photo''. Thanked us profusely for our custom and made a big fuss over not accepting the 2euro tip while taking it out of my hand and thanking me in the same moment! Then it is back up the slope, getting progressively warmer with each step, through the gift shop averting my eyes as I pass the statures of Dionnisus, and out into the sweltering heat.

The cost was 5euro per person and the 'sail' takes about 15 minutes.

My advice is to take a cardi or light jacket as it is quite cold underground. Go and have a drink in the cafe and keep your eyes open for the swallow nests in the eves of the canopy. You can use the swimming pool too if you want to make a day of it. The cost of the sunlougers is about 6euro for the day for 2.