Ionian Island Cruise N'climb Meet - 25 Sep- 9 Oct 2010

Latest Update 11-Aug:

Hi everyone,

Thanks to Tony Scott and David Lanceley we are now well advanced with the financial logistics for this trip. There are a few outstanding balances to be paid but otherwise it’s all systems go.

I shall be traveling to Greece about 10 days before everyone else, so will be able to check out the boats and any other last minute arrangements that might be necessary, and will be at the airport with the coach to take us to Fiscardo.

A few bits and pieces.

Gear

David Hillebrandt is driving to Greece in a camper van, so may have limited room for the odd item of gear, but suggest you contact him direct with any requests.

I presume everyone is aware of the usual 20Kg baggage allowance and the limited stowage space on board. In terms of climbing gear I reckon one standard “Pembroke” style rack per team should suffice, with perhaps a few extra QDs for the sports routes at Varasova and some tat for abseils. I will have a selection of pegs, but past experience suggests that wires and friends work well.

The limestone varies from some of the steepest, roughest textured rock imaginable – fingers beware – to smooth off-vertical faces characterized by small incuts and thin cracks. The deeper cracks and fissures, are typically Mediterranean and can support considerable vegetation, some of it quite thorny. This is also true when walking or scrambling off-piste, although there are usually well-defined goat and sheep tracks through the maquis and above about 500 metres the vegetation becomes very sparse. Underfoot the going is far stonier than here.

Food and Drink

Fresh water sources are few and far between. There are many old cisternas, but most have long since fallen into disrepair except where grazing still occurs, but water purification is absolutely essential! Water generally is a scarce commodity in this part of the region. Some of the harbour-side restaurants will supply water free of charge…if you eat there! Bottled drinking water is available everywhere and comparatively cheap. I guess each boat will have its own system for victualling and eating out. Much will depend on how the flotilla operates. With 4 boats and skippers at our disposal, we can be very flexible, I have a couple of superb locations in mind for a beach BBQ at some point if people want. In high summer there are severe penalties on open fires, but this restriction is usually lifted by early September

Walking and Climbing

This trip will be very much a voyage of discovery for both walkers and climbers. On the walking side I do know most of the likely areas people might wish to explore, and can advise accordingly. Don’t expect accurate OS style maps and pretty waymarks. We may find another Kalymnos (minus the grid bolting), and there’s at least one crag on Ithaka heaving with tufas and overhangs, but Varasova will certainly be worth a few days whatever grade people climb at, with many new routing possibilities if you know where to look.

There is a long impressive limestone escarpment in the hills behind Mesalonghi (mainland W coast), which, as far as I’m aware, has never been visited by climbers. I would like to take a closer look, and suggest hiring a jeep(s) for a day, as access will be along un-marked tracks. If anyone else is interested please contact me as I can make the necessary arrangements through the company. 4/5 in a jeep would work out at about 10-15 euros per head for the day plus fuel.

First and Last Days

On arrival in Fiscardo our gear will be taken to the boats. We will need to arrange who goes onto which boat over a cold beer or three, get all the formalities of the charter over and done with, then stow the gear and give the skippers an opportunity for familiarizing themselves with their boats. If you all agree I will book a table at one of the quayside restaurants in Fiscardo (you can literally step off the boat and sit down at your table!) for us on the Saturday evening of arrival, and for breakfast on the Sunday morning so that we can look at charts, perhaps listen to some words of advice from the skippers and maybe agree a plan of action for the first couple of days. I will also point out some of the locations that I think will be worth a look for both climbing and or scrambling/walking, so that we have some idea of where to go first.

Ken Price will be leaving early on the last Friday, so his boat will have to be back in Fiscardo on Thursday evening, but some may wish to spend the day relaxing or exploring the locality around Fiscardo.

I will arrange for us to have a room on the final evening, possibly in the local museum where there are AV facilities. We could then run through peoples’ photos and perhaps choose a selection for a presentation at the Welsh Buffet/and anewsletter piece on the trip. Might be worth bringing whatever it takes to connect your cameras to a PC.

Weather info

If you type Kefillinia National into the BBC weather search facility you’ll get a 5 day local forecast that is reasonably accurate. A better site for Greece is the Poseidon satellite at:

http://poseidon.hcmr.gr/weather_forecast.php?area_id=gr

Whatever anyone tells you, it can rain in Sept/October – believe me – I lived here for 7 years! The main difference is that bad weather rarely lasts for very long. A shower often blows through incredibly quickly. I would also like to point out that September/October evenings can be chilly. Bring a fleece and long trousers. Most of the crags I’ve seen are W facing and get the afternoon sun. At Varasova particularly the multi-pitch routes are best attempted early, I was forced off the brilliant Shining Path, a superb 18 pitch E4 after just 4 rope lengths by the late October heat having started at midday! The same is true of the mega classic Africa route at VS/HVS.

Mobiles etc.

I will have my Greek mobile. (useful for contacting the local IIH reps, coastguards, marinas and essential for booking a table!)

I believe that there will be adapters for charging mobiles on board, but I’ve usually found that bars and cafes are willing to let you charge a mobile. You’ll need the standard 2 -3 pin continental adapter.

There are ATMs in most of the ports as well as money changing facilities. Most shops in the islands close at 1:00pm and re-open at 5:00 in the evening. Greek banks and all government departments shut at 1:00pm fullstop!

Kayaks and Windsurfers

One or two people have expressed an interest in sea kayaking, and the Inner Ionian is a perfect place for this. Unfortunately there won’t be room on the boats to carry kayaks but I am investigating the possibility of hiring some by the day. Same goes for wind surfers. Vasiliki Bay on Lefkada is one of the best locations for the sport in the Med, and there are plenty of places where these can be hired by the hour or day. Vasiliki village is also a good start/finish point for exploring the impressive White Mountains in the interior of the island and handy for the unclimbed crags at Sappho’s Leap

And finally…

Much has been made in the media of civil unrest and wildcat strikes in Greece due to the recent austerity measures forced on the government. This has had a major effect on tourism in the country with many of the big players pulling out in favour of Turkey and the N African resorts. Ferry and lorry strikes obviously have a major impact on the Greek islands but there has been no rioting or violence of any kind in the Ionian. If we were booked on BA I would be far more worried!

See you all at Kef airport or Fiscardo on 25 September. KALOS TAXIDI (Bon Voyage)

Iain Peters

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“ 'T is not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths Of all the western stars….. It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles, …..l To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”

Extracts from Ulysses by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Where
No, not the classic Lundy VS: this note concerns a CC expedition this year to Ulysses’s (Odysseus) home patch, the Ionian Islands.

Left: Typical slab climbing at Varasova. © Stewart M. Green

I lived and worked on Ithaka for 7 years. Work included creating and leading walking holiday programmes for various British and Greek travel companies and writing assignments which involved exploration of many of the less well known corners of the Ionian Islands and the Epiros coast of mainland Greece.

There is almost no recorded climbing (I’ve put up about a dozen routes on Kefalonia and Ithaka plus bouldering and DWS) in the region apart from the impressive semi-seacliff of Varasova opposite the port of Patras, but huge potential. This could become (for a while at least!) an exclusive CC playground presenting a rare opportunity to open up a whole new climbing area from scratch! So where are all these undiscovered crags and what sort of climbing might they offer? Most of the climbing is completely virgin, but with 40 years’ experience in the exploration of seacliffs I am confident they will yield everything from classic, fun DWS to multi-pitch routes of all grades, with a handful of inland crags and bouldering thrown in for good measure.

Varasova
This 800 metre peak towers over the entrance to the Gulf of Corinth opposite the major port of Patras in the Pelopponese. It gives over 200 routes on superb featured limestone, sport and trad, ranging from the 800m+ grade 4 East Ridge to single pitch F8a, sport routes. Perhaps the finest climbing lies on the west flank of the mountain giving classic 2-300 metre routes on immaculate limestone faces and slabs. It’s popular at weekends with climbers from Athens and Patras but never crowded. It was my ‘home’ crag in many ways and yet I’ve barely touched the surface. We could easily spend a week there, as the base of the crag is 5 minutes’ stroll from the quay, (and 3 or 4 excellent tavernas!)

Getting around
Undoubtedly the best way to explore the archipelago is by boat, and it is already a popular destination for numerous flotilla holiday companies, with no tides, superb anchorages, picturesque harbours and 300 days of sunshine a year. The original plan to charter a caique is now not an option due to cost, so we will now form our own CC flotilla of chartered 8 berth (6 for humans, 2 for ropes and climbing gear!) yachts, led by redoubtable experienced skippers some of whom know these waters well, Ken Price, John Derbyshire and Bill Dark. Virtually all of the crags are within a few hours’ sailing of each other and are found on the Inner Ionian Sea, which, protected by the islands is noted for it’s calm waters!

What to bring
Sun cream, quality sun glasses, sheet sleeping bag, light shoes for the boat, approach shoes for walking and an average Britsh trad rack and a spirit of adventure. Kalymnos it ain’t!

Getting there
By far the most hassle free way of traveling to our port of departure is to Kefalonia by direct charter flight from Manchester or Gatwick - see update below. We are arranging package deals with Ionian Island Holidays, see the update below. Please let me know if you want to make your own travel arrangements. We already have one team coming overland.

As with any meet we will be self-catering but on a shared buy and cook basis. However with so many waterfront tavernas available we can eat out whenever required. One of the many perks of my previous job was compiling a long list of great eating places way off the beaten track.

Extra-mural activities
Many of the beaches are completely inaccessible by land, and away from the tourist honeypots and the spirit of philoxenia (hospitality to strangers) is very much alive. I’m sure we could arrange a BBQ at my olive grove on Ithaca, which, fittingly, is situated close to the remains of Odysseus’s palace - well never let the truth…

Update 13-Mar-10

Money matters and bookings
First things first: the deposit (£2500) for the charter of the three boats has now been paid by David Lanceley on our behalf. The latest information I have is that £3750 had been paid in to the CC. I shall be asking David to make a further payment of £600. This is to secure the charter of a fourth boat., details below. The total cost for the fortnight including boat charter, flights and transfers will be £869 (£894 ex Manchester.) For those making their own travel arrangements the cost is £589. I will advise when the balance is due, but likely to be in mid-July.

We now have an extra skipper and one crew member. Bob Watson and Dave Viggers will be joining us, hence the extra boat which is a 4 berth 31ft. This leaves us with 2 spare berths. Bob and Dave are hoping to recruit two more from the Bristol area, but if you know anyone who might want to join us please get in touch. The total cost remains the same.

Objectives
Following our meeting in N Wales, it seems that we have varied aspirations for this trip, which as far as I’m concerned is excellent news.

As an inveterate seeker of new rock, I would hope that, following this fortnight, we will have discovered a number of worthwhile venues, perhaps put up a new route or three, but more important, established access both by land and sea for future development. Others may be looking for some great walking and scrambling, whilst we’ll all enjoy the opportunity of sailing in some of the finest surroundings in the eastern Med. As a rough guide I’ve listed below some of the possible main ‘attractions’.

Fiskardo and the first and last days
Our port of arrival and departure, about 70 minutes’ drive from Argostoli (airport). Perhaps the most picturesque harbour in Kefalonia and a perennial favourite for yachties. Can get crowded in high season but we should be OK. I’ll book the Captain’s Cabin restaurant for the first evening; it’s about 5 metres from where the boats will be moored, has hot showers, toilets and water and Tassos the owner is a legend in these parts.

If you’re arriving under your own steam, like myself, you should aim to get there for about 13.00 when the rest will be arriving from the airport.

Ken Price has suggested that the skippers should be left to themselves for half an hour or so on arrival to familiarize themselves with the boats and meet the charter reps. There’s good coastal walking and beaches hereabouts and some cragging on small limestone sea cliffs. We might have time for a quick sail afterwards. The village is about 70 minutes’ drive from the island capital and airport, Argostoli.

On the departure day, (Saturday) hold luggage will be collected from the quayside, and the coach normally leaves at about 09.00. Most of us will be getting back to Fiskardo during Friday apart from those who might choose to return with Ken on Thursday. (He has to be back in Dublin on the Friday).

W Coast of the Eriissos Peninsula in N Kefalonia
Harbour/anchorage: Assos
A spectacularly situated harbour tucked into the N side of the Isthmus. Can be subject to a swell coming in from the N. Limited mooring alongside. Most anchor off. Good tavernas and a mini-market. There is more swell on this coast as it’s exposed to the open Adriatic, but we should be able to traverse sections and land from the dinghies.

Climbing
From the famous beach at Myrtos, featured in Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, now much favoured by naked German tourists, 5kms south of the dramatic Venetian fort on the isthmus of Assos to the northernmost tip of the island there are over 20kms of seacliffs, rising to 250-300 metres in places. Some of the terrain is extremely loose, but there are characteristic intrusions of much harder rock that should have potential. Virtually all of this coastline is invisible from the land, due to lack of tracks and the presence of ‘longos’ or maquis up to the cliff edge. I have climbed (DWS) on a series of small crags of immaculate featured limestone at the northern end, and investigated a sector close to Assos itself which can be accessed via ancient vine terraces, but these are likely to be the remotest crags we visit, and we will certainly need the dinghies for recce and landing purposes.

Walking
The hills that run down the spine of the island provide excellent opportunities for exploration. There are a few scattered villages, untouched by tourism and the barren mountains are often broken by fertile valleys where olives, vines and wheat are still cultivated.

I discovered a great coast-to-coast walk from Aghios Nikolaos on the E coast of Kefalonia to Assos (18kms) mainly following old mule tracks and Venetian roads through a varied landscape, and can provide details. You could be dropped off on the E coast and meet up with the boats at Assos on the W.

Lixouri Peninsula, Kefalonia
Harbour/anchorage: Afales Bay
Relatively sheltered, There is a small jetty used by fishermen. One beachside taverna (maybe closed at this time of year) and a small monastery. The main village is set back at the top of a hill about 3kms inland. Shop and taverna.

Climbing
A picturesque bay on the N coast of the Lixouri Peninsula. I’ve done about 4 routes to E2 on an easily accessible seacliff situated on the W side. Height varies from 20 – 40 metres and the crag itself extends for about 350 metres, with many caves and zawns. Because the clifftop is covered in trees, access by rappel is straightforward. I reckon a great place for a fun day. Southwards from this area there are many other crags, some accessible from above, but I haven’t explored these.

Walking
The circuit of the bay, including the inland village of Afales is a very pleasant walk taking in fine coastal scenery, open heathland and fertile valleys. Details available, Great potential for longer cliff and hill walks on comparatively good going. This is a favourite area for tortoises!

Central/South Kefalonia
Harbours at Sami and Poros
Both with extensive facilities.

Climbing
Not so much cragging here, but a potentially major bouldering venue near Sami, Poros in the south is backed by a steep limestone gorge with possibilities.

Walking
Mt Enos, is the highest point in the Ionian, just over 1000 metres and largely covered by pine forest. A track traverses the peak but there are numerous, more challenging routes to the summit via steep mule tracks and goat paths. I have scrambled up an impressive dry river gorge opposite Enos which was very entertaining and led to a ‘lost valley’ complete with abandoned medaeval villages. Recently a fire road has been bulldozed but it’s still unvisited and unspoilt. Look out for the goatherd, He speaks English with a strong Ozzy accent and his home brewed raki and feta are a lethal combination! The coastal hills to the East overlooking the Ithaka Channel are also well worth exploring. The traverse of the summits from Poros to Sami could be a classic.

Ithaki
My ‘home’ island: not the centre of the climbing/walking universe but well worth a visit.

Main harbours/anchorages
Vathi. Island capital with many facilities, a small marina, berths alongside and anchorages. Kioni and Frikes. Two small, pretty villages at the NE end of the island. Popular with flotillas and the Brit villa set, but very pleasant. Polis. Good anchorage on the west coast. Handy for some of the crags. One taverna, but many more in Stavros 15 minutes’ up the hill.

Climbing
Limited but what I’ve done so far has been worthwhile. There is good bouldering near Anoghi a hill village in the centre of the island on Karst limestone clints and grykes, including the 15m pinnacle of ‘Iracles’ (Hercules) which we were the first to climb by an HS and an E2. DWS at Sarakiniko in the south, near a German hippy commune. A cave (Eumaios) and very steep classic tufa crag near Arethusa’s Spring (access by land or sea) which is unclimbed and would need cleaning and bolting.

Piso Aetos on the E side of the narrows is the island’s most developed crag with about 5 routes from S – E3 with room for more. Easy access from a pleasant beach.

Polis Bay. Running for 5kms along the NW coast are a series of impressive buttresses set back from the sea up to 80m. One route so far, but need more detailed inspection as to rock quality etc. These are visible from Fiskardo opposite.

Agios Ioannis. Near Lefki on the west coast. Best beach on the island with a boulder garden behind (belonging to a Greek millionaire, but I created his garden for him, so no access difficulties!)

There is an impressive gorge S of Piso Aetos which I’ve traversed. Could be exciting!

Walking
A great island for walks. Too many to describe here, but there are marked trails as well as open mountainsides and coastal traverses. All easily accessible by land or sea. Kioni to Mt Niritos and return via Stavros is a great walk taking in the best terrain on the island. Interesting archaeological remains from pre-Homeric times.

Oxeia (Ossia) Island
Harbour/anchorage
Mesalongi or Astakos on the mainland or possibly Varasova all 2-3hrs sailing. Shops/tavernas etc

This small uninhabited island on the approaches to the Gulf of Corinth could be a great find. I’ve not landed but have specced it through binoculars on many occasions as all the ferries pass very close. Its main feature is a dramatic rocky spine composed of a series of buttresses, pillars and outlying pinnacles up to 50/60 metres in height and a much bigger crag on the N side of the central ridge. Access at either end looks easy, and the potential for scrambling and a full traverse of the ridge itself should keep everyone happy for a day or two. There are newish fish farms on the E and W of the island, but I should imagine we could find somewhere to put a hook down.

Varasova
If I’m wrong about everywhere else, this one crag will save the holiday. Loads of great routes in all the grades up to 600 metres. Superb mountain walking and scrambling. Potential for new routes on outlying sectors and a long (2kms) sea traverse. Large jetty, good tavernas; within taxi reach of a massive inland escarpment with no routes as yet.

Lefkada (Lefkas) Island
Harbour/anchorages
Plentiful all along the S coast, sparse on the exposed and craggy W and N coasts.

Climbing
Sappho’s Leap. 200 metres of steep limestone slabs and faces, situated near the lighthouse at the SW tip of the island. Can be reached by a walk along the coast from Vassiliki Bay (1.5 hrs) but better to land from the boats. Higher cliffs hereabouts whilst spectacular may be too loose, but worth further investigation. There looks as if there are isolated buttresses scattered across the central mountains which might also be worth a look.

Walking
The White Mountains situated in the centre of the island give the island its name. Superb walking, with some fairly strenuous, and remote ridge walks and summit traverses. These can usually be accessed on foot from Nidri or by short taxi rides from Vassiliki or Lefkas Town. The N coast must have potential for great clifftop walking but this would be venturing into the unknown.

Meganisi
Anchorages/harbours
Mainly on the sheltered w side of the island. Vathi is the main one with some shops and tavernas, but many of the bays are inaccessible by land and well worth a visit. A beautiful and largely undeveloped island, and a great place to spend a few days

Climbing
The w coast of the long narrow peninsula could hide some great crags. There are a number of large caves, and these can be explored by dinghy. We should pay a visit. I've walked the full length of the peninsula which does involve some interesting scrambling and traversed into one or two likely crags.

Walking
Apart from the peninsula mentioned above, Meganisi is more of a strollers’ island but pleasant enough and always very quiet.

Arkoudi
A small now uninhabited island, recently bought by yet another Greek millionaire, with one superb crescent-shaped DWS crag of 15-20 metres. Well worth a low profile trespass!

Kalamos
Sparsely inhabited, with one or two semi-deserted fishing villages. There’s a large crag on the central peak but no other details. Atakos Now deserted, but its main bay is popular with the flotillas. Has both sea cliffs and an inland crag, but no other details.

That’s about it. If time permits the mainland coast N of Preveza would be well worth exploring as would the W coast of Paxi and Corfu. We shall see…..

Update 15-Mar-10

I now have 25 names on my list.

Name	Flight	Role	Telephone
Ken Price ** John Derbyshire ** Bill Dark ** Iain Peters ** Colin Struthers ** Tony Scott ** Harold Walmsley ** Jill Stevens ** Paul Stevens ** David Hillebrandt ** Sally Hillebrandt ** Fiona Sanders ** Keith Sanders ** Roger Benton ** Jill Sumner ** Pete Murphy ** Peter Nugent ** Daphne Pritchard ** Steve Mayers ** Bob Watson ** Dave Viggers ** Cathy Woodhead ** David Medcalf **	Charter/ Gatwick o/w Charter/Gatwick Charter/Gatwick Own arrangements Charter/Manchester Charter/Gatwick Charter/Manchester Charter/Gatwick Charter/Gatwick Own arrangements Own arrangements Charter/Manchester Charter/Manchester Charter/Gatwick Charter/Manchester Charter/Gatwick Charter/Manchester Charter/Gatwick Charter/Manchester Charter/Gatwick Charter/Gatwick Charter/Manchester Charter/Manchester	Skipper Skipper Skipper Co-ordinator Finance Website Skipper

Note: If there’s a blank against your flight option please let me know your arrangements ASAP. Thanks. Iain

Note: ** Indicates that the deposit has been paid to Colin - if you have not yet paid will you please send of the deposit ASAP as the deposit on the booking will need to be made soon. To secure your place a deposit of £250 will be required. The Club is handling the transfer of the deposit, so please make out cheques payable to the Climbers’ Club and send them to:

Previous update -10-Feb-10

As I mentioned on Sat morning, there has been a big problem over the return flight from Lefkas (Preveza) on 10 October, due to lack of aircraft with most holiday outfits pre-booking all the remaining seats for getting their staff/clients home. Lefkas finishes for the season on that weekend whilst Kefalonia carries on until the end of October.

Perhaps for those who may be confused by the geography, Kefalonia and Lefkas are two separate islands, served by different airports: Preveza on the mainland for Lefkas, and a comparativelty new airport near the island capital Argostoli for Kefalonia. Small car and passenger ferries connect the two islands but they often break down or don’t run, in which case one either has to charter a private caique for the crossing (if available) or contemplate a 10hour journey via road to Patras and scheduled ferry to Kefalonia/Lefkas!

The two alternatives would have been:

• To deliver the boats back to Lefkas on Thursday 8 October, transfer to Kefalonia via chartered caique or ferry on Friday in order to catch the Saturday morning flight (9am check in) from Kefalonia. Apart from the extra cost of an overnight in Fiscardo (Kefalonia) I feel that this would effectively have taken 2/3 days off our fortnight.

or:

• Leave the boats on Kefalonia on Saturday morning. This would incur a hefty delivery charge (back to their home base on Lefkas) of over €250 per boat.

Ionian Island Holidays have come up with a new proposal:

• Fly ex Gatwick or Manchester (£25 surcharge for Man) to Kefalonia on Saturday 25 September with return ex Kefalonia, Saturday 9 October. Details below.

They will have 3 boats available from a different company in Fiskardo: 38’, 38’ and a 39’. Inventory and charter arrangements,(fuel/insurance etc), and cost will be the same as with Nisos.

This seems to me to be a far better option than before. Both Man and Gat flights arrive and depart within an hour of each other. There will be a coach waiting and we can all be on board by 2pm on the Saturday, leaving time to play around on the boats, stay overnight in Fiskardo, which has a wide choice of tavernas, restaurants and food stores and is equally convenient for most of the places we are likely to want to explore.

IIH will be responsible for the whole trip. Kefalonia is their base island and they have a fully staffed office in Fiskardo with internet and cambio facilities, as well as rep teams on the other islands. In the event of any problems we will be dealing directly with the company. There are also 2 ATMs in the port.

Ken Price has to leave on Friday morning, so those wanting a free day to explore the Erissos peninsula near Fiskardo – excellent walking and beaches, and a crag within walking distance can stay on his boat in port on Thursday and Friday nights, whilst the other two boats can stay out until the Friday evening. (On shore shower facilities!)

On the final Saturday morning, the coach transfer leaves Fiskardo at about 8.30. Journey time to and from the iarport is about 80 minutes.

Cost for the full package - boat, flight and transfer for the fortnight will be £869 (+£25 ex Man). The £250 deposit will confirm booking the whole package, with the balance due 56 days before departure, as per IIH terms and conditions. It should be noted that the £250 deposit is non-returnable. It may be possible to find replacement(s) but the individuals concerned will have to negotiate the deposit payment between themselves.

Any questions regarding IIH Terms and Conditions please visit their web site: www.ionianislandholidays.com

Colin Struthers is now paying in your deposit cheques to the CC a/c and although the CC treasurer, David Lanceley will be away from this Saturday, he can make the necessary transfer via BACS with no problem or delay. It may be that the initial deposit will be £150 as per IIH terms: if this is the case then the balance will be put towards the final settlement in late July.

I think this arrangement will give us the most hassle-free holiday. One might find cheaper, but I have neither time nor energy to spend ploughing through all the different options to save a few quid. Remember DIY packages are not covered with insurance in the event of companies or airlines going bust.

PLEASE CAN ALL THOSE WHO HAVE NOT INDICATED THEIR FLIGHT/TRANSFER PREFERENCES PLEASE DO SO AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. AS OF 3 FEB I HAVE PROVISIONALLY BOOKED 16 SEATS EX GAT/MAN. THE COST FOR THOSE MAKING THEIR OWN WAY TO KEFALONIA IS OBVIOUSLY DIFFERENT. PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR DETAILS.

Iain Peters