The Island of Corfu & Corfu Town
Kick’in Corfu…….. This was the exciting name of the excursion on Corfu that lured us into driving Jeeps up the twisting roads along hillsides of Pantokrator Mountain and the high country of the Island.
With Jim at the wheel, four of us climbed into a tiny jeep with a manual drive and joined the line of twenty or so jeeps into the light Corfu traffic. A short time later, we left the busy seaside behind and were driving along twists and turns that took us further from the sea through the dry scrub and grasses toward hillsides covered with olive trees. We could see dark nets rolled in piles below the trees, waiting to be spread out when harvest time arrived.
We passed through old-world villages with lanes so narrow that we could reach out and touch the few residents who stood in their doorways to watch our little jeep train pass by. It created a strange feeling of trespassing inside me and I didn’t particularly like the feeling. Fortunately, my attention was soon grabbed again by the vistas on display at each hairpin turn of the road where far below, the sea was an azure blue expanse floating out into the hazy horizon line.
Our first stop was a tiny village of Sokraki where tables were set up outside the one café that lined the tiny main street. We were offered local wine and ouzo along with sausage slices, bread and of course olives. It was only 10:30 in the morning but we refreshed ourselves with a few sips of wine, a taste of the ouzo since we were in Greece after all.
Our jeep train guide also served as our walking guide through the tiny town where we wandered by bright Venetian influenced villas, old stone crofts and quaint Greek churches topped with multiple bells. Grape vines draped on trellises inside courtyards and hibiscus trailed over stucco walls. We could have been dropped back in time into 1950’s Greece. Even the old women and Coptic Priest we passed look like film extras in costume, but they greeted us with friendly nods confirming they were just citizens of the hillside town.
Continuing on to the far side of the island, we stopped for pictures on the edge of a steep cliff where the wind whipped us toward the edge and we nervously laughed and took each other’s pictures posing at the edge.
Our last break for the jeep train was at a cliff side resort in the town of Paleokastritsa where we marveled at the views of the marina and beaches nestled among tiny deep green mounds of islands along the shore far below. The resort had a bright blue pool hugging the edge of a cliff terrace and umbrella shaded tables graced other terraces that clung to the steep hillside. A tiny souvenir shop and open air café hugged the parking lot above the resort. Our jeeps took up a good part of the parking lot looking gay with their orange flags fluttering above each jeep rooftop.
Refreshed, legs stretched, we finally headed back to the port where we hopped a bus into Corfu Town for the second half of our day on the island. Corfu Town is the capital of the region of the Ionian Islands and the town feels very European, with bars and cafes lining the pedestrian streets and lots of fabulous shopping. You can find not only inexpensive tourist shops, but upscale, leather, jewelry and fine art boutiques. There are also two 19th century palaces to visit, but we passed those up for the promise of shopping. I found the city charming and would love to go back some time for a longer stay.
Kick’in Corfu…….. This was the exciting name of the excursion on Corfu that lured us into driving Jeeps up the twisting roads along hillsides of Pantokrator Mountain and the high country of the Island.
With Jim at the wheel, four of us climbed into a tiny jeep with a manual drive and joined the line of twenty or so jeeps into the light Corfu traffic. A short time later, we left the busy seaside behind and were driving along twists and turns that took us further from the sea through the dry scrub and grasses toward hillsides covered with olive trees. We could see dark nets rolled in piles below the trees, waiting to be spread out when harvest time arrived.
We passed through old-world villages with lanes so narrow that we could reach out and touch the few residents who stood in their doorways to watch our little jeep train pass by. It created a strange feeling of trespassing inside me and I didn’t particularly like the feeling. Fortunately, my attention was soon grabbed again by the vistas on display at each hairpin turn of the road where far below, the sea was an azure blue expanse floating out into the hazy horizon line.
Our first stop was a tiny village of Sokraki where tables were set up outside the one café that lined the tiny main street. We were offered local wine and ouzo along with sausage slices, bread and of course olives. It was only 10:30 in the morning but we refreshed ourselves with a few sips of wine, a taste of the ouzo since we were in Greece after all.
Our jeep train guide also served as our walking guide through the tiny town where we wandered by bright Venetian influenced villas, old stone crofts and quaint Greek churches topped with multiple bells. Grape vines draped on trellises inside courtyards and hibiscus trailed over stucco walls. We could have been dropped back in time into 1950’s Greece. Even the old women and Coptic Priest we passed look like film extras in costume, but they greeted us with friendly nods confirming they were just citizens of the hillside town.
Continuing on to the far side of the island, we stopped for pictures on the edge of a steep cliff where the wind whipped us toward the edge and we nervously laughed and took each other’s pictures posing at the edge.
Our last break for the jeep train was at a cliff side resort in the town of Paleokastritsa where we marveled at the views of the marina and beaches nestled among tiny deep green mounds of islands along the shore far below. The resort had a bright blue pool hugging the edge of a cliff terrace and umbrella shaded tables graced other terraces that clung to the steep hillside. A tiny souvenir shop and open air café hugged the parking lot above the resort. Our jeeps took up a good part of the parking lot looking gay with their orange flags fluttering above each jeep rooftop.
Refreshed, legs stretched, we finally headed back to the port where we hopped a bus into Corfu Town for the second half of our day on the island. Corfu Town is the capital of the region of the Ionian Islands and the town feels very European, with bars and cafes lining the pedestrian streets and lots of fabulous shopping. You can find not only inexpensive tourist shops, but upscale, leather, jewelry and fine art boutiques. There are also two 19th century palaces to visit, but we passed those up for the promise of shopping. I found the city charming and would love to go back some time for a longer stay.