Corfu, Greece

Hello, thanks for dropping by. 

Today we are in our only stopover in Greece. Since we were rerouted, our other stopovers in Greece were replaced with Africa, so we wanted to make the most of the day. 

The two most visited Greek island are Mykonos and Santorini. A lesser known but equally beautiful dream destination is the quaint island of Corfu, which we were lucky enough to visit today. It was spectacular!

Corfu is an island off of Greece’s northwest coast. It was no surprise when we found that meandering through the towns winding mazes of medieval lanes made for a most remarkable day. 

Greeks call the island Kerkyra, a reference to Nymph Korkyra, the daughter of the Greek River God. Legend has it that Poseidon, (who of course was the Greek God of the Sea) fell in love with Nymph, kidnapped  her, and brought her to this island to live out their days. So there you have it. 

We were very excited about seeing the island, which is legendary for its cuisine. We hopped on a HOHO in the general direction Liston Eleftherias Street, which is in the famed old town city center. 

For those of you not familiar with HOHOs, they are “Hop On, Hop Off” tour busses that are available in most touristy cities for about $20 a day. They generally make a 1-2 hour loop around a town, with stops at all of the places of interest. In this case, they come back in 15 minute intervals, so it was super convenient. They have recorded narrations as you for, if you one is interested. Bigger cities also have sister-apps that provide addition functionality, interactive maps, and even ticketing and reservation capabilities. 

After looping the townsite once to get a feel for things, we checked out the area just out of town where the airport is located. Like Gibraltar, the city has a single short runway, which ends abruptly at the ocean. (I’m sure these make for exciting takeoffs!) 

Near the end of the airstrip, in the heavily forested area above their runway, there are several really different artsy restaurants and a handful of ruins. Apparently, this area is a big draw for tourists. Pretty cool.  

Afterwards checking out the two local castles, we spent the remainder of the day wandering the cobble streets. We also had lunch at an unbelievable outdoor dining establishment on the old town agora (which is Greek for “plaza”). 

One of the dishes was an unbelievable Oven Roasted Saganaki Cheese with Goat butter. It turns out that “oh my God!” Is a universal language, and earning a chuckle from the waiter… Anyway, an update to the Book of Mike. Never pass up a chance to eat Saganaki. 

Also, in need to tell you, it is not Baklava, it is pronounced “Bak • LA • va”. Hmm…

After a few hours of wandering aimlessly in the beauty that is Corfu, we one again found tears in our eyes as we pouted all the way back to the ship. Goodbye Corfu. Until we meet again. And if we do, well, that too will be another story.

Good bye my friends. Nice visiting with you. 

Mike

“He never forgot anything but he never bothered to arrange his memories.” – John Steinbeck, Cannery Row