Corfu, The Ionian Emerald Isle

Mike had been obsessed with Corfu for months, pushing us on and on to this island of mythical proportions. The more he gabbed on about it, the less interested I was in going there. Yawn.... what's so special about Corfu, there are some lovely islands we are missing in this annoying quest to visit a place over-run with tourists. (cos of course, I'M not a tourist...)

I was an idiot. Just the once.

Corfu is indeed special, and was a total surprise to me. To start it's very green, in fact it is known (to everyone but me apparently) to be the greenest Greek island of all. The beautiful landscape is characterised by soaring hills, sparkling bays and outstanding views from the top of the many peaks.  Add to this Venetian castles and forts, cobbled streets and gardens. While it is a popular destination, it didn't seem at any time to be overun with tourists, there's just so many places to explore right around the island.

Having crossed over from the mainland in half a day, but expecting some winds and rain later, we stopped off at the bottom of the island in Lefkimmi Bay, a wide shallow bay where the landscape is a bit flatter than the rest of Corfu. While we had a bit of rain and wind, which required resetting the anchor 'to be sure to be sure', we watched with interest an intense lightning storm over Preveza, which we had left 2 days previously. We lazed around with no worries, until we tried to lift our anchor - we had dragged a little bit the day before - straight into a submerged plastic container, which was attached to a line attached to another container, attached to a rope that was tied to a (probably illegal) octopus pot. All of this was wrapped around and around our anchor chain. Long story short, when Mike jumped in the dinghy to sort out (cut away) the offending ropes, the outboard wouldn't start. This was just another  example of Sh*t happens, and we stayed another night while we sorted both anchor chain and outboard.

Might as well relax in Lefkimmi Bay

Preveza somewhere in the distance,  octopus pot lurking underneath us

Time for a little bit of civilisation, so our next stop was only 8nms away, at Benitses. Corfu offers the opportunity to stop at so many bays or towns, it can be a little hard to decide where to stop - too many choices. There are boats sailing or MED sailing (Motor Every Day) backwards and forwards between the mainland and around Corfu,  lovely boat-spotting as you go along. That evening we listened to a variety of Greek musicians and singing, the music floating across the water from the many bars lighting up the sea with flickerings lights. We even heard an excellent rendition of what we know as the music from Zorba the Greek. 

Beach side Bar, Benitses, Corfu

Again, time for a car trip. As we are sea-based travellers, we tend to drive around to see what the land is like, and only visit a few places. So there were many attractions or sites we didn't see in our limited time. Driving to the north-west peak of Corfu took us through the middle of the island to one of the 5 castles of Corfu, Angelokastro.  To see this Byzantium castle, which is really the ruins of walls, acropolis and church, you have to follow the steps up 305 metres, in the heat. Why do I choose these places?? But it was a lovely path, and the view from the top across to the mainland, and taking in the southern part of the Adriatic sea, was breathtaking. Or perhaps that was just me, unable to stop puffing for quite a while.

Beginning the climb...

Mike ready to catch me on the way down

Back down the steps, negotiate the tiny roads hugging the hillsides, and it's time for lunch. Oh look, a hilltop restaurant, with balcony views across the valley to blue sea and a great menu... don't mind if we do. (sorry....). 

Someone is looking pretty smug....

Just another view of more bays and (rocky) beaches

I heard there were some lovely gardens we could see at the Achilleion Palace, on the eastern side of Corfu, so that was our next stop.  We expected to see sumptuous well-planned gardens filled with flowers; surprisingly the gardens were a little sad and forgotten. However, the palace and statues were absolutely amazing, not expected at all. The Achilleion Palace was built for Empress Elizabeth (Sissy) of Austria in 1890 as a summer residence and refuge from her unhappy life at court. Unfortunately she was assassinated in 1898,  and the palace lay empty unitl 1907 when it was purchased by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany. 

At the entrance of the grounds of the Achilleion Palace 

Unfortunately many statues did not have an explanation, and I have been unable to identify these while researching...

The palace is closed for renovations so we had lots of time to appreciate the of many classical statues honouring Greek gods, goddesses and muses, which are placed strategically around the grounds. Sissy, also known as the Melancholy Princess (unfair, she really had a bit of a rough time before being murdered), had a particular fondness for Achilles, hence the name Achilleion Palace. She commissioned the statue of Dying Achilles, lying down attempting to remove the arrow from his heel.

Apparently the Kaiser was't impressed, and removed it at one stage to build his House of the Knights for his garrison. He then had a more heroic depiction of Achilles created,  which stands majestically on the tip of the garden looking down onto the sea below. 

Among the many other statues are the Three Graces or Charites - Thalia, Euphrosyne and Aglaea, who represent Beauty, Grace and Charm,  and the Nine Muses - Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomeni, Terpsicore, Erato, Polymnia, Urania and Calliope (see my note at the end for more information).   If you want to see more of the palace, it was the location for the movie 'For Your Eyes Only', yes a James Bond movie, so Mike was having a great day...

My favourite, the Charites Euphrosyne, stood a little bit differntly to the others and is responsible for joy, mirth and merriment

Strategically situated in the Ionian Sea while looking over the Adriatic Sea, Corfu started out as a Byzantium city in 8 century BC, but since then has seen the Ottomans, Venetians  (for 4 hundred years) then the French, British and Germans, before Greece claimed it. All this I didn't know, and so was stunned to see how beautiful the location of our marina in Corfu was - right under The Old Fortress (called that because there's a newer, old fortress). It was constructed and amended over a period of 15 centuries. To reach the city, we had had to walk a cobbled stone path under an ancient arch, through the fortress grounds, past the building now housing the university music school (queue students practising the piano..), and over the moat. And because we were in the marina, we did all this for free! Magic. Combined with the New Fortress, the Old City of Corfu, the Old Fortress is a UNESCO heritage site.

Rounding the peninsular looking at the Old Fortress, marina tucked in on the right

The view as we walked (tottered) along the marina wall towards the Old Fortress and the Old Town of Corfu

Looking back over the moat bridge

The moat - with massive, unscaleable bastion walls, the city of the right hand side

The Church of Saint George inside the fortress complex

The old town section of Corfu is a joy to explore. Wide promenades, meandering laneways and staircases, beautiful buildings more like Italy than Greece (in our limited experience). I saw somewhere Corfu town described as an open air musuem, and it is, with the addition of many cafes and shops to savour as well. So naturally, I spent valuable  tourist time finding a phone shop to unglitch Mike's phone. Such is the life of a cruiser, that while on land, you have to deal with real life as well. Ce la vie. But we also had time to enjoy some lovely food, swim off the walls of the marina, contemplate our journey so far and prepare for our next adventure.

Corfu was the last stop of the Greek part of our Odyssey. Up to this point we had sailed, or 'MED' sailed, 1237 nms since leaving North Cyprus. We revisited favorite spots in Turkey, had a hiatus while I returned to Perth for a month, then crossed the  short distance over to Greece, travelling onwards through the Agean, the Saronic Gulf, Corinth Canal and Gulf of Patras and finally the Ioanian. 

Now it was time to leave. We had booked Kirrikie into a marina for winter  in Montenegro, a non-Schengen country, where we could leave her and spend time with family in Australia. To get there we needed to travel via Albania - less than 30nms away, but almost another world away from Greece. The adventure continues....

Our journey through Turkey and Greece in 2024:

And a little extra info:

The Nine Muses each guided and inspired a specific creative or intellectual field:

Calliope: The Muse of epic poetry and eloquence. She is considered the chief of the Muses and is said to have inspired Homer in writing The Iliad and The Odyssey. She is often depicted with a writing tablet, scroll, and pen.

Clio: The Muse of history. She is responsible for preserving memory and the knowledge that comes from discoveries and investigations of the past. Clio is often depicted with a scroll or a book. She is also credited with introducing the Phoenician alphabet to Greece.

Erato: The Muse of lyric or erotic poetry. Her name means “lovely,” and she is said to make those who were guided by her desirable and worthy of love. Erato is often depicted with a lyre, hymns, and a wreath of roses.

Euterpe: The Muse of music, specifically lyric poetry and flute playing. Her name means “giver of pleasure”. She is credited with developing various musical instruments, including the aulos (a double flute). Euterpe is particularly associated with wind instruments. She is often depicted with a flute.

Melpomene: The Muse of tragedy. She is often depicted with a tragic mask, leather boots, and a knife or stick in her hand.

Polyhymnia: The Muse of sacred poetry, hymns, and religious ceremonies. She is also associated with geometry, meditation, and agriculture. Polymnia is often depicted wearing a tunic and veil, appearing thoughtful and serious. She is credited with explaining the origin of the name of the month of May.

Terpsichore: The Muse of dance and choral song. She is often depicted with a lyre.

Thalia: The Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry. Her name means “rich festivity” or “blooming”. She is often depicted with a comic mask and an ivy crown.

Urania: The Muse of astronomy and astrology. She is often depicted dressed in blue, holding a globe and compass, and wearing a star diadem or having stars on her dress. In some accounts, she is identified as the eldest of the Muses.

The Ionian! Kirrikie's Odyssey follows Odysseus

 It's a catchy title, but ok, not completely accurate. In fact I have very little real knowledge of the journey undertaken by Odysseus - hero or scoundrel?  It it is said that he devised the strategy of the Trojan horse and he was certainly major figure in the twists and turns of that 10 year war. Without The Iliad and Odysseus we would not know of the Cyclops and the Sirens, just two of the challenges he overcome on his 10 year voyage home to Ithaca. (When he finally did reach home after a 20-year absence, only his dog, Argos, recognised him. I think more should be written about a dog who waited over 20 years...)

But back to modern day sailing adventures. We were not to face capricious gods, unless you count the ones controlling the weather. We were excited to be in the famous sailing waters of the Ionian and I was intent on visiting every island. After all, there are only 7 large, and 7 small islands, how hard can it be? The Ionian islands are much more lush than the islands we had seen in the Cyclades, and it is these islands that we think of when picturing olive groves and blue seas, and we felt a little bit more like we were on holiday. 

We'll start at the bottom at Zakynthnos and see them all, says I. Not possible says El Capitano. We still have a problem main(sail), it's 21st August, and you have a ticket home from Montenegro on 23rd September. Arrghhhh. More must keep going ...

So we ignored the Siren call of Zakynthos and headed for the next major island, Kefalonia.  Which, we could have easily spent a month exploring. We had 3 days. It only took a few hours to motor/sail across from the mainland, and anchored off the south of the island. After an overnight stop we headed for the port of Argostoli, after anchoring for lunch at a place called Sparta. Wrong Sparta as it turns out, but Mike had delusions for a while... then we had fun tacking up the bay into Argostoli, while every other boat and ferry ignored the winds, motored and tried to crash into me. I was of course on the helm, felt I had superior judgement, and refused to take my sails in til the last minute. After all, we've sailed in Western Australia, this was nuthin'.

Spectacular views from the hills of Kefalonia 

Kefalonia/Cephalonia is a popular destination, with pebbly beaches at the bottom of white cliffs, pretty villages accessible via narrow hillside roads, with breathtaking views looking down onto the azure ocean. We left Kirrikie safely in the bay, leaving her to be looked after by loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) who live in the protected lagoon at the end of the bay. Having one day for exploring, we tried to travel as much as the island as we could, limiting our selves to two stops, the village of Fiskardo on the northern tip of the island, and Melissani Cave on the eastern side near Sami. 

Gosh darn golly,  the island is stunning. Of course being normal tourists doing tourist things, it meant competing for parking, jostling in narrow lanes, trying not to be ripped off, but it was worth it. Fiskardo is one of the few harbour villages in the area that escaped the devastating 1953 Ionian earthquake, so has kept some of the original venetian architecture. It has narrow access for boats, and we watched with interest some very glam boats coming in, so posh owners could step off onto the quay to visit the expensive boutiques, or just sun themselves ostentatiously on their decks, whike servants brought them cool drinks.

Fiskardo lanes 

 

Fiskardo fishing harbour 

Havinghad fun buying gifts, the proprietor invited us to view the mini museum they had set up in what had been living quarters upstairs. This was devoted to village life and industries on one side, and the earthquake on the other. On display were family photograh albums and photos documenting the devastation on the island. In August 1953, 113 earthquakes hit the southern islands, including Zakynthos and Kefalonia, the worst on August 13th. There was widespread destruction, with all buildings on the island except those of Fiskardo were destroyed, and Kefalonia was raised by 60cm. Nearby British and Israeli warships were the first to respond, with multinational assistance provided for some time. Quite frankly, it was almost inconceivable that the modern towns we passed by had developed after such hardship, but there were ruins and reminders all along our drive.

An old photograph of Kefalonia after the 1953 Earthquake 

We head south to the underground lake of the Melissani Cave. Seawater is sucked underground near Argostoli, forming a hidden river which makes it's way across the island and is expelled into the sea on the other side near Sami. The roof of the cave collapsed centuries ago, exposing the waters to the sun, creating a sun-lit chamber filled with water whose colour ranges from cobalt to turquoise. Access is via a very long queue, down onto a cave, stepping into gondolas, which are then quietly propelled around the lake by boatmen. It was very pretty, just a bit too busy for us. The boatman neglected to inform us that in Greek mythology, the lake was known as the cave of the Nymphs, particularly the nymph Melissani who threw herself into the lake after her love was neglected by Pan. 

The next day, having re-provisioned and filled the fuel tanks, we decided the weather was just about ok to continue on our journey around the western side and over the top of Argostoli, as we had been inspired by the amazing cliffs and hidden bays we had spied on our day-trip. The prudent thing would have been to return the way we had come. So we didn’t. 

And it was worth the long journey. Sometimes sailing, mostly motoring, we had a wonderful view of Kefalonia from the sea, putting our anchor down to have lunch and a swim in an isolated spot with a Greek version of the white cliffs of Dover. I did think often of my friends back home who would have appreciated every moment of this trip, and silently tipped my hat their way. Our day ended crossing the channel between Kefalonia and Ithaki/Ithaka/Ithaca, the closest we came to paying homage to Odysseus, anchoring at Palikata for the evening.

Mike hard at work

Our next destination was the island of Lefkada, home of yacht charter companies, as this area offers prime sailing conditions, and is sprinkled with many little islands to visit, or larger ones such as Meganisi, and good sailing regardless of the wind direction. For a while we enjoyed sailing without a real destination in mind, just exloring the wind without a clock ticking, just like we had back in Perth. Eventually we pulled into the Liotrivi pontoon in Sivota Bay.  To be honest, we didn't so much pull into, as ungainly and awkwardly blunder in; it was our worst arrival in 2 years, so bad that all the astonished staff and watching boaties stopped judging and worked with us to push and haul Kirrikie into place. I could tell you exactly what we did, but then I'd have to kill you. With only our pride hurt it was time for a swim and a drink.  Our evening was spent jealously staring upwards at the huge catamarans around us, wandering along the tiny harbour, enjoying a simple greek meal and finally some cooler air.

Livrioti Pontoon restaurant 

Sivota Harbour 

We had been advised of a bay further up Lefkada that offered incredible protection in poor weather, in fact the holding in thick mud is so good that you can leave your boat unattended at anchor for weeks if need be. As the forecast was for strong winds the next day or so, we headed off towards Nydri. The weather was perfect, and we stopped off on the way for lunch in the channel between Lefkada and Meganisi, entertained by about 8 skimpily clad young women and one man on the next boat. The girls preened and pranced about the boat, and he completely ignored them. Then a camerman in a small speed boat turned up, he flew his drone over and around the yacht, the bikinis got smaller and the dancing on the stern became even more competitive and enthusiastic.... we decided they were making a promotional video. Strangely the drone was not diverted over our way when I went for a most alluring and enticing swim.  

Fish entertaining us at Elena's restaurant,  Vliho Bay, Nydri

After enjoying the calm weather for 2 days tucked inside the safe anchorage of Vliho Bay, we made our way to the marina at Lefkas, where we were finally able to get some help from riggers with our troublesome mainsail. Expecting an expensive few days paying marina fees while our problem was solved, we were extremely pleased when the staff checked, removed, re-cut and re-hoisted the mainsail all in one day. What a relief! After completing this and other housekeeping tasks, we even had time for a swim at the marina pool, how posh! 

 

Sail fixed, cheers!

Thanks for the 'new' sail

Our next adventure was negotiating the route from our marina, along the Lefkada channel and wait for the swing bridge to open for marine traffic to pass through the small gap between the island and the mainland. Along with about 20 other boats, all jostling and attempting to keep their place in the queue. At the appointed time,  road and foot traffic is stopped and a section of the bridge is swung sideways, resting along the side of the channel to allow boats waiting on both sides to pass through. 

Yachts waiting behind us...

We're on the move, yachts passing the other way,  and traffic building up - their turn to wait

The bridge section moved out of the way....

..... And the procession of boats behind us 

It was weird motoring past a large metal structure which is part of a bridge. We were fortunate to go through when we did as not long after this the bridge was closed without notice, as the authorities realised a safety certificate was out of date...  it took a month to sort out. 

Our next trip saw us head back to the mainland, towards Preveza, as we had friends from Finike we wanted to catch with - a rare right-place-right-time window of opportunity. But we had a day to fill in so we negotiated our way through the meandering waterways past Preveza, into the Ambracian Gulf, a large inland bay we'd love to visit again. First stop -pretty Panagia Bay near Vonitsa. Some bays, like this one, are so tempting, but in reality only have a few spots where the underwater conditions are good for anchoring. We were very fortunate to snag a good spot, as we watched a few other boats come in and were less successful in their 1st, or 2nd attempts. 

Panagia Bay  with the church hidden by trees

It was a balmy evening so we dinghied into shore planning a drink onshore to watch the sunset, and perhaps a meal. I found a table and dug my feet into the sand and settled in to watch another glorious sunset. Very quickly though it wasn't the sun that I was watching, but a quickly developing storm. Mike returned with my GnT, and we had a casual conversation about the cloud formations. A moment of silence, then he looked at me and snapped 'SCULL' as he threw down his beer and took off down towards our dinghy.  Well, it was a hard choice, a wasted GnT or boat disaster....  hmmmm...    As we ran back 3 other men started to run towards their (much smaller) dinghy. As they had already ordered a meal , they left their wives onshore, thinking they'd be back shortly. Mmwhahaha. Nup

The skies they are a'changing

Just another lightning strike..... the captain now safely back on his boat

We zoomed back as the waves and wind grew. The little dinghy with it's larger cargo puttered, strained and attempted to stay above the waterline. Rain started pelting down as we reached Kirrikie just in time to 'batten the hatches'; unfortunately our boat neighbours took another 10 minutes or so to reach their boats.  The conditions caught everyone by surprise, with calm conditions replaced by winds in the high 20s, pelting rain, very dark skies and and a spectacular lightning show. I was busy counting the seconds between the flashes and the BOOM, the closest was just under 5 seconds, so that was a relief. It was a couple of hours before the hungry blokes could retrieve their stranded but well fed women, with several dinghy trips, laughing in the dark. 

Before turning back towards Preveza we made a quick trip round to Koukoumitsa, near Vonitsa itself, exploring the small anchorage next to the footbridge connecting a small islet to the shore. We went onshore to explore this little idyll, placing our feet carefully to avoid the many sea urchins along the shoreline. It was very peaceful walking in the shade of pine and eucalypt trees, listening to the birds, looking for turtles. Of course there's always a church to check out, in this instance the Agios Nektarios, with it's terracotta tiles and trim. Then anchor up, time to sail back to Preveza

Fort near Vonitsa

We stopped only one night, catching up with Janine and Craig from SV Inelsamo, who briefly showed us around the town they know well, before taking us to a fav restaurant right on the harbour. Janine explained a little of the history, most notably that it was in this area of the Ionain Sea that the fleets of Octavia defeated those of Antony and Cleopatra; one of the 3 large marinas in Preveza is the Cleopatra Marina. It was a lovely night, just teasing me with so much to explore. But our visit was soured by the discovery of our dinghy cut adrift (but snuggled in-between other dinghies - phew!) and our spare fuel stank stolen. It was our first reality check about the problems cruisers can have - and a reminder to improve the security of the dinghy, which we promptly did with new padlocks and chains. We definitely want to revisit Preveza and the Gulf again, but as it was Father's Day, and Mike's choice, we moved on again.

Sun setting over Preveza

Venetian Clock Tower, Preveza 

We stopped one night at Two Rocks Bay, a d then left the mainland to visit Gaios harbour on Paros. (Gonna say right now, that I get the all the 'P' islands mixed up.. Paros, Poros, Patmos, Paxos, not to mention the anti-Ps .. ). Ideally you can tie up stern to along the harbour wall; in reality we anchored in a dubious spot outside the harbour where,  to Mike's extreme frustration, the description on our handy sailing apps did not adequately describe just how rocky the seabed was. It was definitely a bit risky, but the wind was picking up, it was evening, and we had to chance it.  When we were not strolling around the colourful village, where even the rubbish run was pretty, we were nervously entertained by every other boat in our vicinity, some with professional crews, struggling to anchor, and then subsequently encountering difficulties un-snagging their anchors when it was time to leave. Luckily the water was very clear so Mike took a really good look at our anchor again before attempting our escape; we were inches away from a overhanging rock, and much to our relief, Mike guided the boat at just the right angle and we were free on the first go. Good Capitano! Let's head to Corfu!

Easy to leave the dinghy, then explore the maze of lanes at Gaios 

Walking back through Gaios after getting rid of some rubbish.... lovely 

And there I leave you. As you read this I am attempting to write a brief - a challenging concept - recounting of our time in Corfu, our last stop before leaving Greece. Thank you for getting this far! 

*video shows our trip from Corinth to Corfu