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ENLARGE
Leigh Wadden enjoys a break from some rainy weather along the Benitses beach on Corfu.
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Corfu's mountainous terrain captures plenty of rain from passing clouds, so the island is the greenest in the Ionian archipelago.
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A rainy night in Corfu's old town didn't stop locals from strolling through the shopping district.
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A tasty snack and a view of the Venetian fortress from a waterfront in Corfu.
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Corfu's historic old town, designated as a World Heritage site in 2007,
forms a compact mass of buildings viewed from the top of the Venetian
fortress at sunset.
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Sunrise lights up an olive grove on Corfu.
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It's raining when we get off the ferry in Corfu, not just a drizzle, but a chilly, lashing storm that leaves big puddles in the streets, with winds whipping up whitecaps on the Adriatic. It doesn't feel anything like the sunny Greek isle I had pictured in my mind's eye.
Still half asleep, I pull on a fleece layer and a windbreaker and wander out into the pre-dawn light, leaving Leigh to try out the WiFi in the terminal.
A few of the waterfront cafes are open, brewing up cups of aromatic Greek coffee for dockhands. Walking up to the counter, I miraculously remember a couple of Greek words I learned decades earlier while sampling ouzo in a neighborhood tavern.
Pointing to the espresso maker with one finger, I mumble, “Kalimera,” about 75 percent sure it means good morning.
In return, I get a big smile and a tiny cup of black coffee with enough caffeine in it to make my hair stand on end.
“That's better,” I think, slugging the shot and heading back toward the port. Leigh has the laptop plugged in and is updating her Copper Condos website, so I head back out to book tickets for a ferry to Albania.
“Not today,” says the travel agent, explaining that the water is too rough for the small boats that make the short crossing to Saranda.
Corfu — the garden island of Greece — is probably not the worst place in the world to be stuck for a day, Leigh and I decide. Signs of civilization go back to the 8th century B.C. The old town is preserved as a World Heritage site, its architecture recognized for a high level of integrity and authenticity, and there are three old forts to explore. Built by renowned Venetian engineers, the seaside fortifications protected this important outpost of Venice for four centuries, withstanding repeated assaults and sieges by Ottoman troops. The west coast is famous for its wide beaches, hidden coves, and cliff-top monasteries that dot the spine of mountains running down the center of the island.
And as it turns out, we don't have to look far for lodging. As we wind up our Internet session at the ferry port, a tall Greek man approaches us and says that he runs the Villa Rosa, a guesthouse just a few miles from town, in the center of the island. He offers a special off-season rate (25 Euros per night). When he tells us his cousin will rent us a moped for $10 Euros per day (normally 25-50 Euros), it seals the deal. We throw our packs in the back of his car and enjoy the ride past the market and through olive groves up the slopes of Agii Deka.
A short time later, we're astride an old Vespa and heading for the neo-classical Achillion Palace, built by Hapsburg empress Elisabeth in the late 1800s and later handed down to Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. We end up zooming along a narrow road that was the scene of a James Bond car chase involving a yellow Citroen 2CV and, of course, a band of gangsters careening down a steep mountainside and through narrow cobblestone streets.
Later in the afternoon, we trek across the island to the west coast to check out some of the beaches. We take cover from an evening thunderstorm at a restaurant in Agios Gordos, warming up with mushroom soup and tasty moussaka before getting completely lost in the warren of alleys and back roads on our way back to the hotel.
The next morning, we get up early to catch our ferry to Albania — but not early enough. I misread the time on Leigh's watch by an hour, and somehow, we've been locked into our hotel room, so I have to figure out a way to clamber down from the balcony to open the door from the outside. By the time we figure it all out, we've missed the boat. But we still have our moped, so we take off once again, this time heading south along the main coast road to Benitses. Finally, we get to enjoy a short spell of sunny weather on a white beach next to the clear waters, making friends with a beach cat who begs for treats among the wooden fishing boats.
Continued in next week's Summit Daily travel section.
Still half asleep, I pull on a fleece layer and a windbreaker and wander out into the pre-dawn light, leaving Leigh to try out the WiFi in the terminal.
A few of the waterfront cafes are open, brewing up cups of aromatic Greek coffee for dockhands. Walking up to the counter, I miraculously remember a couple of Greek words I learned decades earlier while sampling ouzo in a neighborhood tavern.
Pointing to the espresso maker with one finger, I mumble, “Kalimera,” about 75 percent sure it means good morning.
In return, I get a big smile and a tiny cup of black coffee with enough caffeine in it to make my hair stand on end.
“That's better,” I think, slugging the shot and heading back toward the port. Leigh has the laptop plugged in and is updating her Copper Condos website, so I head back out to book tickets for a ferry to Albania.
“Not today,” says the travel agent, explaining that the water is too rough for the small boats that make the short crossing to Saranda.
Corfu — the garden island of Greece — is probably not the worst place in the world to be stuck for a day, Leigh and I decide. Signs of civilization go back to the 8th century B.C. The old town is preserved as a World Heritage site, its architecture recognized for a high level of integrity and authenticity, and there are three old forts to explore. Built by renowned Venetian engineers, the seaside fortifications protected this important outpost of Venice for four centuries, withstanding repeated assaults and sieges by Ottoman troops. The west coast is famous for its wide beaches, hidden coves, and cliff-top monasteries that dot the spine of mountains running down the center of the island.
And as it turns out, we don't have to look far for lodging. As we wind up our Internet session at the ferry port, a tall Greek man approaches us and says that he runs the Villa Rosa, a guesthouse just a few miles from town, in the center of the island. He offers a special off-season rate (25 Euros per night). When he tells us his cousin will rent us a moped for $10 Euros per day (normally 25-50 Euros), it seals the deal. We throw our packs in the back of his car and enjoy the ride past the market and through olive groves up the slopes of Agii Deka.
A short time later, we're astride an old Vespa and heading for the neo-classical Achillion Palace, built by Hapsburg empress Elisabeth in the late 1800s and later handed down to Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. We end up zooming along a narrow road that was the scene of a James Bond car chase involving a yellow Citroen 2CV and, of course, a band of gangsters careening down a steep mountainside and through narrow cobblestone streets.
Later in the afternoon, we trek across the island to the west coast to check out some of the beaches. We take cover from an evening thunderstorm at a restaurant in Agios Gordos, warming up with mushroom soup and tasty moussaka before getting completely lost in the warren of alleys and back roads on our way back to the hotel.
The next morning, we get up early to catch our ferry to Albania — but not early enough. I misread the time on Leigh's watch by an hour, and somehow, we've been locked into our hotel room, so I have to figure out a way to clamber down from the balcony to open the door from the outside. By the time we figure it all out, we've missed the boat. But we still have our moped, so we take off once again, this time heading south along the main coast road to Benitses. Finally, we get to enjoy a short spell of sunny weather on a white beach next to the clear waters, making friends with a beach cat who begs for treats among the wooden fishing boats.
Continued in next week's Summit Daily travel section.
