Cor! Phew! Quite a climb!

Not to scale! Corfu: Area 614.6 sq  km. Fuerteventura: Area 1,660 sq km

This summer's "New Place to Visit During the Journey South" was Corfu. As the Italy-Greece ferries always call at Igoumenitsa just East on the Greek mainland and sometimes at Corfu Town itself we have spied it a good few times. We know several couples who have links with both Corfu and Crete. We saw a travel programme with Joanna Lumley that impressed, and finally we spent time over the winter in discussion with Irish friends and fellow Fuerte residents who go there every summer. It all made sense and thus it was that we disembarked at 8.30 am or so at Igoumenitsa.

The Superfast from Ancona is
 in the distance

Research had of course taken place and - in particular - we had tried many times to find out about the ferry service to the island and had found no way to book and distinct vagueness about the journey time:- all in vain! It is a simple run from the large ferry port down to the one for Corfu and Paxos, the return fare was 90EUR and we got straight on to a smallish ferry which was about to leave. As we left Yvette it started to rain. After about an hour, as we lurked inside but thought the shore looked a fair way away, we got into an "Are we there yet?" conversation with a Brit ex-pat who said that this was the slowest boat and the whole thing would be in excess to two hours!

The view from Athineos-
 note the clouds!

It had stopped raining by the time we got across. We had booked three nights in rooms just north of the town so that we could visit by bus and then decide where to have the remaining week. It wasn't by the beach but had a great view over the marina at Gouvia and was a good choice for the purpose intended, with very helpful owners. They told us about the bus and we set off for an afternoon in Corfu Town dismissing the idea of taking waterproofs. as we orientated ourselves at the bus station it began to rain and that was that! We got in quickly into an unremarkable bar-restaurant and were stuck there for hours as it filled to overflowing! It was sad to see hordes of (other) tourists drenched outside. Eventually it did stop! We got back on bus and that was our first attempt at Corfu Town! We had been warned about the rain in May/June, and it explains the very "green" nature of the island.
Next day it was a bit brighter and Greyrocks sallied forth in Yvette to look for beach resorts that appealed. We went no further than Barbati - not far North - which after the foulness of Ipsos-  through which we passed - seemed like Heaven, and it came with an Irish qualified recommendation and a named suggestion of beachside rooms. We lunched in one of the several good tavernas by the pebble beach and we arranged to stay at the Renata rooms for a good rate from the Sunday. Later we discovered a very good taverna near our base.

One of two fortresses

Magnificent waterfront

No cricket today!

Could be Eastbourne!

The weather had improved yet further by Saturday so we "did" Corfu Town - in all its UNESCO World Heritage site splendour - properly! Very busy, of course, and hot, but we found some interesting back streets and avoided much of the tat, rip-off and Russians.

The rest of our Corfu stay was based in Barbati. The beach itself is disappointing stony, but the sea was gloriously clear, the sunbeds free to patrons of the rooms and it was largely peaceful. We met some delightful locals and workers, and the restaurants were all superb. This was largely a "holiday" for Greyrocks with lazy beach  days reading, occasional dips in the sea and some patronising of local hostelries.

By night though there would have to be the great ascent to the main road for dinner via very steep paths. On one occasion we did it, ate well and struggled down one path only to find we could not get through the beachside gate:-  A Grand Old Duke of York situation. (It wasn't locked we later discovered - just stiff!)

We tried five of the top eight restaurants on Trip Advisor, and they were all up to scratch and with stunning views (Well, yes! Having struggled up there...) . Highlights included Ruth's birthday meal, introducing ourselves to one owner as friends of the Irish couple, and a delightful musical evening.



One of the climbs

Worth the climb



Birthday Chateaubriand

In time we decided we had better see more of this North-East part of the island and set off on the coast road with intended destinations of Agios Stephanos ("Kensington-on-Sea") and Kassiopi. We didn't make it! After twenty minutes of nerve-racking driving the renowned Greyrocks "lily liver" set in and we turned back! On another trip we will take the bus!

The Undersea Tunnel near Prevesa

After the ten days were up we crossed back (on a ferry bound for Paxos) and drove down the E55 for a night in Messolonghi. Another very hot day and a Sunday, but we saw stunning sights and also went through the newish "Undersea Tunnel".  We stayed in the only large hotel for such a cheap pre-booked price that we were shunned by the staff. The name means "between two lakes" and there were more mosquitoes than one can imagine giving Ruth a dramatic set of bites on the legs that took a week to clear up! One reason they may have wanted to charge more was that the whole town (or the bit near the harbour) was en fete. Greyrocks never got an adequate explanation for the Roma horse lorries, Hansel and Gretel performance and racing motors. All very bizarre! Next day we continued on towards Patras necessitating use of a second Greek civil engineering feat:- the Rio bridge:- seen but not traversed before! We killed time as we travelled with several stops including the traditional fish lunch just before Athens:- on this occasion surrounded by many Greeks as it was a Bank Holiday Monday. The ANEK crossing to Chania was better than some we have suffered and we arrived at Votsalo on the pebble beach at Paleochora in good time for breakfast!