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Some of the finest sandy beaches on the island are just beyond Skala below the village of Ratzakli, and around the growing microresort of KATO KATELIOS , which already has a couple of hotels: the smart Odyssia (tel 06710/81 615, fax 81 614; 73 and upwards) and the Galini Resort (tel 06710/81 582, niko-P-@hotmail.com ; 59-72), which has good deals on apartments for four. There are also some rooms and apartments available through the Lighthouse taverna (tel 06710/81 355; 24-33) and Jimmy's (tel 06710/81 363; 43-58). Of the half a dozen restaurants and cafes at the seafront, the Blue Sea taverna is renowned for the freshness and quality of its fish, the Arbouro offers a wide selection of dishes, while the Cozy bar is the prime drinking location. The coast around Kato Katelios is also Kefallonia's key breeding ground for the loggerhead turtle . Camping on the nearby beaches is discouraged. The inland village of MARKOPOULO , claimed by some to be the birthplace of homophonous explorer Marco Polo, witnesses a bizarre snake-handling ritual every year on August 15, the Assumption of the Virgin festival . The church where this ritual is enacted stands on the site of an old convent. The story goes that when the convent was attacked by pirates, the nuns prayed to be transformed into snakes to avoid being taken prisoner. Their prayers were supposedly answered, and each year the "return" of a swarm of small, harmless snakes is meant to bring the villagers good luck. As Mother Nature is unlikely to keep to such a schedule, some discreet snake-breeding on the part of the village priests must be suspected. The coastline is largely inaccessible until the village of VLAHATA , which has some rooms and restaurants, but there's little point in staying up here, when you can turn 2km down to LOURDHATA , which has a kilometre-long shingle beach, mixed with imported sand. Adonis (tel 06710/31 206; 43-58) and Ramona (tel 06710/31 032; 34-42) have rooms just outside the village on the approach road, while the one hotel , the Lara (tel 06710/31 157, fax 31 156, larab@hol.gr ; 59-72), towards the beach, has en-suite rooms with sea views and a pool. There's a couple of tavernas on the tiny plane-shaded village square - Alexia's and the Diamond - as well as the smarter Spiros steak and grill house above and Dionysus , closer to Vlahata, while at the beach itself Mangas is good, if a little costly. The beachside Astrabar is friendly and plays a good mix of English and Greek music into the wee hours. Another fine beach, reached by a turning from Moussata, west of Vlahata, is Trapezaki , an attractive strand with just one restaurant by the small jetty.
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