Blogs from Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece, Europe - page 9

What a whirlwind the last few days have been! Our time in Rome went extremely fast!! in 3 and a half days we did 3 tours with a tour group and did LOTS of walking. Our calf muscles look amazing! haha So as I said, we did 3 tours. The reason for this is that we wanted to go on a tour of vatican city which included entrance, skipped the 2 hour line and gave us a complete guidd tour lasting 3 hours. It was pretty funny when we showed up at the meeting point and there were 2 guys from calgarywe had met at our hostel in Nice!! And actually we were booked on all 3 tours at the same time! So we spent a lot of time with them after the tours just having ... read more

June 17, 2010. The ship's final port of call was at Corfu, an island off mainland Greece's northwestern coast and situated tantalizingly close to the Albanian coast. Locally known as Kerkyra, Corfu is the second largest of the Ionian Islands and its most popular, having had roles in the works and lives of literary giants -- whether it be Homer, Shakespeare or the Durell brothers. It's not hard to see where the fame comes from: idyllic beaches, neoclassical architecture, and the signature Greek filoxenia (hospitality). But unabated development and a steady rush of visitors into the island threaten to overwhelm Corfu's superb vistas and traditional culture. McDonald's and tacky souvenir stalls immediately greet visitors upon descending the tender boats at the port, and the lack of a central tourism office means once you arrive in the ... read more

Awake and it not a good start, leg is worse and it took ages to pull on my sock. Go outside and it very low cloud; in fact I couldn't see the top of Agii Deka where I was to walk. Pack waterproofs and bags in case it rains and go for breakfast ( i tried yoghurt and honey but it was not to my liking). Chris arrives as I'm to have a lift from Benitses up to Trail in Stavros; he is concerned about my foot and says I shouldn't walk; I speak with Anna who has much better English and tell her I must and it's been ok so far especially on the uphills....she says the descent today is rather steep in places. I just say I will go slow and be ok but ... read more

And after a night of next to no sleep.............why? Well behind the appartments at Santa Barbara is a stream and it is full of frogs. Any from sun down to sun up they do more than croak; they screem, it sounded more like a maternity unit than the frog corus. Usual breakfast at 8:30 whilst watching local fishermen pull imn their nets. Other workers are putting out the sunbeds and a digger is movign sand to open up a river outlet further along the beach. All is quiet but the sun is up as I leave at 9am. Its a walk along the beach to Ag Georgios (South); simple I hear you say. Well lets just say the beach is a lovely soft sand and it stays that way even at the waters edge. Every step ... read more

"Corfu is all Venetian green and spoiled by the sun.Its richness enervates. Its valleys are painted out boldly in heavy brush-strokes of yellow and red. The Judas trees line the dusty roads in terrific purple explosions. Everywhere you go you can lie down on grass - Lawrence Durrell" Ok so we are about to find out if these words of some 65 years ago are true today. Usual continential brekfast of eggs, meat, cheese, bread. Also cereal, yogurt, jam, honey available. I had tea and orange juice. At 8:45 I'm met by Chris (Anna's husband) from Aperghi Travel. He will drive me to the start in Kavos. He is also the luggage mover each day behind the scenes so my bag will go to tonights stop, where he will pick up the luggage of those the ... read more