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Follow a British family of explorers as they roam the Ionian Sea of Greece in the tailwinds of Odysseus, and finally settle on Kephalonia for their beach vacation.

From London, we landed on Kefalonia in the Ionian Sea, the only Greece-bound travelers who didn't have a holiday destination. For this outrageous stance, we became famous (or perhaps infamous - we will never know) on a plane full of package tourists heading for the major island resorts, villa vouchers in hand.

We weren't worried about finding a place to stay. The offering of budget holiday "villas" can be viewed or booked through any travel agent in the islands; in our experience, Simply Travel offered a good selection that we could peruse upon landing as easily as we could have before departure.

Settling Into Fiscardo, Kefalonia

We headed for Fiscardo (named for Robert Guiscard who died there in 1085), a pretty, traditional fishing village that escaped the devastating earthquake of 1953. Most of the island had to be rebuilt after it, but you can visit the Corgialenios Historical Museum (+30 26710 28835) in the capital of Argostoli to see reconstructions of houses, costumes, and photos capturing Kephalonia's proud old spirit.

On the plane we had assumed a "Rooms to Let" option might be a possibility. We were counting on Greek hospitality and community (that spirit of xenia) to ensure we didn't go homeless. On the way to the north coast port of Fiscardo in May, the spring flowers lined the road as though for a festival.

From Argostoli, we crossed a single-lane British-built bridge (ca.1814) which hadn't yet been repaired after the winters' storms. As the road wound along the sides of the arid western mountains, the flowers disappeared. In their place were goats with their neck bells clanging, terraced bee hives, and stands of cypressa conifers (peculiar to the island).

The coast is steep, and below we see the long sandy beaches of Greek postcards and the deep blue Ionian Sea. In Fiscardo, we went straight to the Captain's Cabin (+30 26740 41007), owned and run by Tassos and Rowena Matsukis and home for many years for visiting yacht crews. The Captain's Cabin was full (of course) but Tassos' partner Demitri (who helped us in all sorts of ways, including currency transactions) arranged for us to stay in an apartment overlooking the harbor entrance.

Cool and white inside and out, it had two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen and best of all, a balcony facing east with a fine view of Ithaca. Here we ate Total Yoghurt with local honey in the morning sun, and ouzo and olives before going out in the evening. The Captain's Cabin is typical in a town that has taken itself up-market in the nicest possible ways. (While we were there, the old cobblestones were replaced with better cobbles.) It still serves local wine and moussaka, rabbit pie, tiropida (cheese pies), and tsatsiki (garlic and yogurt dip) with a real bite to diners, though now with comfortable chairs under a new blue awning.