I was surprised and pleased that I actually woke up at 8:30 in the morning, ready for a morning swim. We had seen a sign the night before back a bit along the road that had indicated a beach, so we decided to follow that and hope it led to our swim. It was a bit of a walk, descending down a gentle slope of olive trees with not another soul in sight. The beach itself was a wonderful surprise as not only was it lovely, unbelievably we had it all to ourselves!
As a side note, I feel it is important to not show as if all was perfect with Greece, no matter how beautiful the scenery or friendly the people. Although tourism is keeping the islands pretty untouched, there were hints of problems, from empty or closed up cafes, to often almost deserted beaches, Greece was quiet. There was almost no sign of the mass tourism I had expected, except in very isolated areas. Even compared to my trip only two years before, Greece had become so much quieter. Additionally strikes were obviously a problem as we found rubbish littered the sides of the roads in Corfu, built into huge piles and rotting slowly in the heat. It was strange to see such a thing in the height of tourist season, and to notice the disparity between the cheerful bars and hotels, the shiny BMW car dealerships, and then the mountains of rubbish piled right outside.
After a breakfast of honey and yogurt (oh how I miss you Greece!) we headed the opposite direction than we had gone the day before, following the coast south. There was an extremely pretty coastal road that allowed us views of the beaches for most of the way. We followed this road for most of the morning, stopping first to buy some oh so stylish aqua shoes as we had unfortunately discovered the beaches were so full of sea urchins (although at least we knew the water was clean, as they will only live in non-polluted waters) that it would be almost impossible without them. After this purchase and feeling extremely silly wearing them, we went for a swim before deciding it was time to find somewhere for lunch.
Spotting a cute little taverna on the waterfront we decided to give it a try. It was fairly easy to find good food in Greece, as the staples are hard to screw up. Truly outstanding restaurants that we occasionally found were of course a notch above, but we only very occasionally got food that was actually disappointing.
This food was anything but disappointing here, for starters, they had Corfu beer! We also discovered Zucchini croquettes which were fluffy fried balls of Zucchini goodness. For lunches we would often do a tapa-style meal, getting a few little dishes so that we could try lots of things. Our staple was always tzatzicki however, which we always ordered to start. Finishing off with a complimentary baklava (another favorite thing of mine in Greece is on the islands especially, they will usually give you free dessert or a free shot of some sort of liquor at the end of your meal).
That view.
That view.
After reaching the end of the coastal road, we decided to head back up and go visit the sight that most people picture when they hear the name Corfu: Vlacherna Monastery. Built in the 17th century and used as a nunnery until the 1980s, the whitewashed walls and ocean backdrop make it very pretty indeed.
Dad had taken an iconic photograph of the monastery back when he visited Corfu in 1973, and I was determined to replicate it. Unfortunately we soon discovered the look-out point with the view had of course been turned into a restaurant, cashing out on the unique view it offered.
All was not lost however, as dad had a cunning plan. Engaging the waiter in conversation on what time they opened the kitchen for dinner, I was able to sidle away and get this beautiful shot without paying for a drink. Success!
As it was growing late in the afternoon we headed back to Ipsos to use the internet at a little waterfront cafe that we had found the night before, to search out new accomodation for the night. Anna Apartments was the place we found, a little inland and away from the main road. We each had a little studio next to each other, on the ground floor so we had use of the gardens and tables and chairs. This was one of my favourite accommodations, as not only was the place very clean, well thought out and serene, but the people were absolutely lovely. One of the high points for me was wandering over to dad's studio to see that he had just been handed a freshly picked cucumber which apparently the lovely elderly Greek lady next door had given him whilst working in her garden, simply because he had said 'kalimera' (good morning) to her. I love greek people.
To finish the evening off, we decided to go find a beachfront bar serving some Corfu beer as we were having a craving. We found one fairly easily and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and the seabreeze.
We had planned to go to Paxos the next day, but as we sat there enjoying our beers and thinking of our wonderful accomodation waiting for us, we looked at each other and said, shall we just stay another night? So we did. Why not!?
This extra day allowed us to not only go back to Avlaki for another swim, but also back to Agios Stefanos to try out the adorable restaurant we had seen on our first day. We decided to have something a bit different for lunch, so I tried chicken Souvlaki (chicken and vegetables grilled on skewers) and dad after being shown the what fresh seafood was on hand in the cooler, chose a fish. We washed it all down with a deliciously cool rosé, something that would quickly become my favorite drink in Greece.
Having the water so close to our table was so lovely that I couldn't resist taking a photo of it.
Although the restaurant was very pleasant, it didn't have any natural shade, only a wooden cover, so it became very hot. To cool ourselves down we decided to try a swim at Ipsos, since it had become our base of operations on Corfu, and the town we continued coming back to.
The temperature of the water was surprisingly warm, so much so it didn't even cool us down! There is something uniquely frustrating about swimming in water on a hot day and not feeling cool.
After our tepid swim, we decided a Corfu Beer would be just the thing to cheer us up (I told you we were making the most of having them available didn't I?). Our waitress was an extremely happy, funny and friendly middle-aged Greek lady, who was so lovely that we couldn't help but stay, deciding to have dinner there and a few more Corfu Reds (what a shame). Dad had the typical and delicious Greek salad, while I settled for a scrumptious baked feta.
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