Corfu for You

Kirkyera, or Corfu as it is more popularly known in English, is the northernmost island of Greece in the Adriatic Sea. It is separated from Albania by a narrow straight, and because of its proximity to Italy and its position between the two peninsulas, has been the object of much fighting over the year... boys must fight over their toys. It was controlled by the Venetians for almost 300 years, 1401-1797. The Italian influence shows in the very different architecture with columned promenades and yellow-tinted buildings, very different from the Greek islands we've seen to date with their whitewashed walls and blue trim, although it all seems to be in a state of decay. It is now controlled by the genus Dwight calls "tourii." My favorite story of Kirkyera involves the visit of Odyssus. This is the island where he was washed up without anything, including clothes, and saw the beautiful Nausicaa, daughter of the Phaeacian king, bathing with her handmaidens. The Phaeacians welcomed him, feted him, and listened entranced as he told the story of his wanderings since the defeat of Troy. From here, he returned to his faithful wife Penelope on Ithaca, defeated the suitors, and once again enjoyed the life of a Greek aristocrat.

We didn't spend any time in the Old Town but headed out for the north part of the island in a rental car. We expected magnificent vistas and, as the photo shows, we got some although there were very few places to pull over and admire the view on the narrow, twisty roads. According to the guide book, the island was heavily settled in the mountainous inland area because that is where rich agricultural land could be found to grow the island's main product, olives. There are many traditional Greek villages in the mountains if you can brave the roads. British developers discovered the northern beaches in the 70s and installed large beach resorts which range from luxurious to ultra tacky. We stopped to enjoy the beach at Acharavi where Marilyn and Ron changed into their suits to test the clear, green Ionian Sea (perfect temperature!) and Dwight and I sat in a cafe. It was peaceful and cool under an arbor of grape vines where we enjoyed our lunch of Greek vegetable mezes.

We continued on our way trying to complete our tour of the north coast, but the roads twisted and turned so, we almost got lost, or at least we weren't completely sure which route we ought to take. Finally finding the "main" highway, we limped back into town and. after a quick drive through the Old Town, headed for the cool sanctuary of the ship. The best part of any day has become Happy Hour in Horizons, the forward bar on the 10th deck from which perch we can watch the sailaway. It's hard to believe our tour will come to an end in the next couple of days. I'm settling into this routine and rather like it.