Ever since one of my dinner ladies back in primary school told me of how she swam with sea
turtles in the school holidays, I’ve been desperate to see them up close for myself. Despite seeing them from afar when living in Australia, I had yet to be so close to them that I could see the detailing of their shells and reach out and touch one if I wished. In
Kefalonia, my dream finally came true.
Loggerhead Sea Turtles in Kefalonia
The Loggerhead Sea Turtles are famous in Kefalonia, and the islanders do everything they can to protect them. Our first trip to the beach we saw sea turtle nests, and then when we visited Argostoli we saw the adults swimming in the harbour. They’re there every morning, waiting for the local fisherman to throw out any small fish. I was told we’d have to be there early (6:30am!), but we didn’t get there until 11am, and thankfully they were still there!
We spent ages standing on the harbourside just watching these beautiful creatures come up for air, dive for fish, and swim right along the harbour wall beneath us…so close we could have touched them if we’d dared. Mum didn’t seem too impressed and wandered off, while Dad and I stood there snapping away in complete awe of them.
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Just look at all the barnacles on his shell! Amazing! |
Wandering around Argostoli
After watching the turtles we headed into the main town, went to the archaeological museum, and wandered down the main shopping street. Most of Argostoli was flattened during the earthquake, so a lot of the buildings are ugly 1960’s builds. The town hall is one of these, however they have some of the old original
Venetian columns outside in between the modern ones.
We also spied a Body Shop! After wandering through the town we went back to the harbour to see the turtles again, who were still there swimming around!
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Sunglasses are from here.
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If you visit Kefalonia, no trip would be complete without seeing the Loggerhead Sea Turtles! It was definitely one of the major highlights of the holiday for me.
Further reading:
Catherine Lux
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
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OMG I wanna see the turtles in the wild. They're amazing!
http://golddustk.blogspot.co.uk/
x
They're such beautiful creatures! Definitely recommend seeing them in the wild 🙂
C x
Nice article and photos, Catherine. Other readers can also check out the people at http://wildlifesense.com/en/ who are doing a great job preserving and safeguarding the Kefalonia turtles.
Thanks Paul, will check out that site! 🙂
C x
Amazing!!!! I went swimming with a turtle in brazil and it was unbelievable x
Ahh so jealous! My next plan is to swim with one!
C x