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Published: June 26th 2017
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Stromboli
Notice the small eruption! Geo: 39.6178, 19.9196
Cruising on our way to Corfu we had a full day at sea.At 8am we passed the volcanic island of Stromboli. This is a very active volcano which is continually erupting, albeit small emissions. It was a fascinating sight as we passed by. There is a small village on the island which can only be accessed from the sea and there is limited tourism there. I was happy just to watch it pass by.
Yesterday we spent the day in what is supposedly Homer's island of Scherie, home to the Phaecians. Corfu is a beautiful place with an interesting old Town and beautifully looked after.
We caught the local bus from the terminal to the Old Town. This consists of the usual narrow winding streets filled with tourist shops and fortunately not too many tourists. Many shops got my attention. There were produce places selling olive oil and assorted ceramic ware as well as the local specialty of cumquat jams and sauces. The many T shirt and other clothing shops and the souvenir sellers are prolific here but the quality of the goods is a cut above other places. We wandered till we found ourselves emerging on the square where the
cricket field is. We had seen this on Joanna Lumley's Greek series and there it was complete with white wooden scoreboard.
We then walked to the Palace of St Michael and St George which was an imposing structure but badly in need of a clean. Then it was to the Old Fortress, built by the Venetians in the 17th Century. On the way we found a lovely garden dedicated to Lawrence and Gerald Durrell who lived here in the late 1930s. Inside the garden are busts of both. I took some photos for you, Melissa.
The Old Fortress iself is an impressive structure with towering sea walls enclosing an inner fortress as well. Some of the buildings are now used as the Music Faculty for the Ionian University. We walked along the walls enjoying the magnificent scenery and then headed higher to where there was a cafe overlooking the town. Here Fletcher's knees were rested while we sampled the local beer.There were cannon and mortars surrounding this open courtyard, dating from the Venetian occupation. We also saw the Neo Classical structure of the church of St George.
Back in town we saw a May Day parade as the locals were celebrating but also
protesting the state of the Greek economy. We visited the church of St Spyridon, an elaborate Orthodax church where many believers were lined up to enter the inner sanctum.
Back to the cricket field and one of the many cafes overlooking it. There was actually a kids game going on. Many families were taking advantage of the holiday. At the Gondola Restaurant we had lunch of local cuisine. Fletcher tried the Fish Bourdetta while I had Pastitsada which consisted of very slow cooked veal and Penne. The veal was delicious, melt in the mouth stuff in a lovely tomato sauce. Too much Penne though. The local white wine was also a winner.
Then it was more walking back to the port. I tried looking for a T shirt for Sam which had Corfu Cricket Club on it but evidently non existent. Sorry Sam, I tried! Back at the old prort we found a Wifi Cafe so Fletcher managed to check email etc but when I tried to post a status it did not work. We did buy a lovely piece of jewellery for me. Thalos is a shop specially in jewellery using natural products such as leaves, flowers etc and enclosing them
in silver/gold etc. I bought a lovely daisy pendant with silver petals and a gold centre. Very pretty.
After a successful visit we returned to the ship in late afternoon having thoroughly enjoyed our sojourn in Corfu. Tried to find the Phaecian ship turned to stone by Poseidon but was told it was on the other side of the island so too far. Next time!
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