In the ruined villages: Monastery of Iperagia Theotokos Thematon Pilarou - Palaia Vlahata - Palaia Poulata - Karavomilos The walker’s orientation and safety is solely their responsibility. The present report, the relevant tracks (gpx) and the rest of the informational material are just supplementary. The proper equipment is necessary, depending on the weather conditions and the nature of the route.  Route’s type: linear Route’s duration: 3 hours Route’s length: 9,200 metres Level of difficulty: easy Suggested season: All seasons, if weather conditions permit it. During summer, you should avoid midday hours. The route The trail starts from the Monastery of the Iperagia Theotokos Thematon Pylarou, or more simply from Themata. From this place, apart from the proposed route (which is not signposted), there are other routes, known as the 'hiking routes of Mount Agia Dynati'.  From the well-kept and lush area of the monastery, with its magnificent view, we go downhill on the asphalt road and after about 900 metres we turn east on the downhill dirt road. The landscape is rocky, with olive trees and other types of low vegetation, and the view is always magnificent. In a short while (about 1200 metres from the start of the dirt road) we come across the stream "Vathi Avlaki", the crossing of which is not challenging, because most days of the year there is no water. We continue our way downhill in the same area, enjoying the special nature and the view to the strait of Kefalonia - Ithaca. The dirt road does not present any difficulties in crossing it and although the shady places are not enough, they do exist. Along the way, we will also come across many farming activities. When we approach the abandoned and ruined settlement of the Palia Vlachata, at the junction with another dirt road, we follow the southern direction (on our right as we descend) and we reach the old square of the settlement, where a tour of the ruined buildings is considered essential, since, apart from their architectural value, they take us back in time. After Palia Vlahata, we continue our southern route along the dirt road (ignoring the asphalt road) to Palia Latavinata, another abandoned and ruined settlement. To the west and on the mountain above, there is the geological phenomenon of "Lakovitsa", but it is not visible from our route. A deviation and a short climb is required to observe it. From Latavinata, we change direction to the east, towards Karavomilos, avoiding once again the asphalt road and we continue along the dirt road, where after about a kilometre, we find ourselves on the outskirts of the settlement. Through the streets of the settlement we continue our way, until we reach the famous and particularly beautiful lake cave of Melissani. After the visit to the lake cave, we continue our way to the beach and the beautiful lake of Karavomilos, which marks the end of the route. The duration of the path is about three hours, not counting stops - visiting the various sights of the route (Palia Vlachata, the lake cave, etc.). As a linear route it can also be done from the reverse of the proposed direction, but this is not recommended, because in this case the route is continuously uphill and therefore tiring. It should also be noted that the areas through which this route passes have a number of other interesting places to visit, such as the ruined settlements of the Palia Tarkasata and Livathinata, the restored settlements of Drakopoulata and Poulata, as well as other particularly interesting geological phenomena, such as the Drogkarati cave, the caves of Aggelaki, Agii Theodoroi and Agia Eleousa, the Zervati cave in the settlement of Karavomilos, etc.  Due to the special character of the route (a continuous downhill route) and its relatively long length (more than nine kilometres), it is recommended that the walker should have a means of transport at Karavomilos, because as it has already been mentioned, the return to the start of the route (Themata) will be tiring, especially if the walker has visited the other sights of the area. In Kefalonia there are Health Centres in Sami and Hospitals in Argostoli and Lixouri. There are also police services in Fiskardo, Sami, Poros, Lixouri and Argostoli. Citizen Service Centres are in Argostoli, Livathou, Poros and in Agia Efthimia. Monastery of Iperagia Theotokos Thematon Pylarou The Monastery of Themata is built on the slope of Agia Dynati, near Makriotika in the province of Pylaros. It is an ancient monastery, probably of the 9th or 10th century, built in a magnificent location, in a forest of holly trees, with a wonderful view of Ithaca and the Ionian Sea. It owes its name to the leader of the Byzantine "Thema" of Kefallinia (local governor of the island), who had his headquarters in the area. Throughout the existence of the Thema of Kefallinia, the monastery played an important administrative and spiritual role. In later years, the passage and teaching of Cosmas Etolos in the monastery in 1777 is memorable. In 1953, the monastery was destroyed by the devastating earthquakes that struck the island. The carved wooden iconostasis, some icons and manuscripts were saved. In the period 1970-1974 the monastery was rebuilt from the ground up. The miraculous and ancient (12th century) icon of the Virgin Mary is solemnly celebrated on Easter Tuesday (Panagia Portaitissa of Agio Oros) and on the 15th of August (Kimisis tis Theotokou) with widespread participation. Palaia Vlachata Palia Vlachata is a village of Kefalonia that was inhabited before the 17th century, but unfortunately it was destroyed by the earthquake of 1953 and its inhabitants were transferred to the present-day Karavomilos. During its prosperity, it had 800 inhabitants, of all social classes, nobles, merchants, farmers (villans) and fishermen (buranelles). In the village there were three churches, schools, shops and three olive mills. A point of reference for the local community was the saristra, the central square of the settlement, which hosted the festival of Zoodochos Pigi, as well as dances and carnival masquerades. Today, all that remains are half-ruined buildings, old cisterns and winding dirt streets, often covered by over-aged olive, wisteria and pomegranate trees. One of the buildings, the biggest part of which has managed to remain standing, is the church of Agios Ioannis tou Prodromou (Saint John the Baptist). The church, built in 1871, has paintings on the inside and parts of the floor, recesses where the chalice and the icon of the saint were placed, are still visible. In the ruins of the old village, every summer, the three-day festival SARISTRA takes place with music, art, cinema and many parallel activities. The festival is very popular and attracts many visitors from every corner of the island. Unfortunately, the festival has been cancelled in recent years due to the pandemic. Karavomylos (and its lake) Karavomylos is a picturesque fishing village located west of Sami and 2 km from its port. What characterizes and gives Karavomylos a special character is an underwater spring of a large supply of brackish water. The spring is of great geological and biological interest. It is one of the most important springs of the wider network of the area and it is connected through an underground system with the sinkholes of Argostoli. The spring has been isolated by a wall from the sea, creating an artificial lake. This lake is almost circular, with brackish water gushing out of the bottom and ending up in the neighbouring sea, in the bay of Sami. The diameter of the lake is 50 m, it is about 1 m deep and its bottom is covered with seaweed and mud. The settlement of Karavomylos, and therefore the spring and the lake, took their name from a watermill that operated there, using an iron ship's wheel. Water mills were already operating in the area since the 19th century, using the waters of the spring. The village is an attraction for visitors to the island, as some of the most famous and beautiful natural attractions of Kefalonia are located within walking distance. These are the cave of Drogarati and the lake of Melissani. Melissani Lake Cave The Melissani Lake Cave is located 2 km northwest of Sami, in Karavomylos. It was discovered in 1951 by the caveologist Giannis Petrochilos. It takes its name either from the myth of the nymph Melissani who committed suicide here because the god Pan refused her, or from the tradition that the shepherdess Melissanthi was killed by falling into the lake while chasing one of her sheep. In the middle of the lake there is a small island on which worship objects of the god Pan have been found, proving that the place was already sacred in prehistoric times. The natural entrance to the cave is vertical (40 x 50 m) and was created by the fall of part of the roof, probably due to an earthquake. The lake is 20 m below ground level, about 160 m long and between 10 and 40 m deep. Stalactites dating back 20 000 years, with strange shapes, decorate most of the cave.  The Melissani Lake Cave can be visited from an artificial entrance, which leads through an underground tunnel to its main hall. The tour is guided by boats along the entire length of the lake. The absence of a roof in the main hall allows sunlight to enter the cave and color the waters in a unique way, especially at noon.