Photo: Myrtos Beach, Greece

©  Myrtos Beach. Kefalonia, Greece

"The first thing that struck me was the painful clarity of the light. I suppose that would be ridiculous to maintain that the air in Kefalonia has no density, but the light is so pellucid, so pure, that one is temporarily blinded and overwhelmed, and yet feels no pain...I found that in Kefalonia the night falls without the intervention of twilight, and that before it rains the light is like mother-of-pearl. After it rains, the island smells of pines, warm earth, and the dark sea."

Louis de Bernieres, Captain Corelli's Mandolin