Greece Corfu:The Green Island, July 4-6, 1997      Corfu: The Green Island. The island beloved to Gerald Darrell, which inspired him to write a series of books about his childhood on the island. An island that some, incorrectly, claim is the Ithaca that Odysseus was trying to get back to. Corfu is a special island. If one flies in over the over developed southeast, that person fails to see it. Corfu is a magical island, but you have to find that magic.      I arrived on Corfu with 5 other people, a pair of Dutch girls, a pair of recent college grads and a guy who was traveling on his own. I had met them the day before on my way to Brendisi. Each of these five already knew what they wanted to do when they go to Corfu. The Dutch girls, to save money, were going to camp. They had camped all over Italy. and now it was their time to camp in Greece. I have found that many young Europeans will camp out in order to save money. The college guys were going to stay at the Infamous Pink Palace, which I made a point of not going to. The fact that almost every single American on the boat was planning on staying there helped. The fact that these two left their bags unattended (well the Dutch girls and my self were sleeping by them) was part of it as well. The last person was going to stay at a time share villa his family owned. Having traveled through Italy, finding places on a shoestring budget, I figured I would spend a day in the main town and then go on. My guidebook listed several places in the city.      When we got of the boat the Dutch girls and I quickly said goodbye to the boys. Like me, I gather they had enough of the boy's alcoholic ways. My arrival in Corfu was a shock. In Italy, you had to fend for yourself in finding accommodations. Greece was quite different. About 100 feet from the dock there were dozens of busses each with large signs advertising different hotels away from the main port. This is the norm in Greece Hotel owners greet you at the boat offering rooms, with transportation away from the port. Greece is a buyers market to say the least.     In Italy, I learned it helps to ask for information at the train stations T.I. (tourist information) offices. So I looked around for some sort of information booth. I spotted an information booth with a lady standing next to it. As the mob of pleasure seekers rushed outside to large tour busses waiting for them, we went over to see where she recommends staying. She wasn't much help to the girls (who went to a campground right outside of town.) She was a lot of help for me though. A 7:00 in the morning the booth was unmanned. It turns out she was a hotel owner and she was the greater or handler. As I mentioned above, most hotels send someone to greet the boat and she was such a person. Her job was to try to get people to go to the hotel. This is costmary in Greece and aside from Kos and Rhodes a good tactic to follow to get a good room. Her method was quite good. Her family wanted quite people there for the beauty of the island, not the hoards of partiers. She offered me quite a deal. Two nights for about 13 dollars a night including breakfast the next morning. This included two meals. They also had scooter rentals and free bus rides to the beach as well as a free bus to their hotel, in the western hills. I could hardly pass this up. So I decided to go with her to her hotel.      There are two Corfus. The overdeveloped, flat dull southeast and the lush, green and hilly North West. This hotel, called the Bella Vista, was in the northern part. I stayed in a room overlooking a terrific valley. The hotel was quite properly named. (Bella Vista is good view in Italian?). The meals at the Bella Vista were also wonderful. The hotel had perhaps 10 rooms with about 25-30 people staying there. I guess because transportation was scarce, they cooked for everyone. The meal I remember was portokolo slaviki, a staple of my Greek diet. I forget what dinner was the other night but it was quite good too. After budget eating in Italy I was eating like a king. In the evenings, after dinner, the family put on a traditional Greek dancing show. Part of the tactic I think was also to have the guests buy beer and wine at their "bar".      The owners of Bella Vista were quite friendly and outgoing. They were also quite hard working doing all the cooking and driving themselves. They attempted to make the stay as pleasant as possible. The other people I met at the Bella Vista were also quite nice. They were laid back, friendly and helpful.      Staying at the Bella Vista made my stay on Corfu quite enjoyable. Since they were located in the North, I took to exploring the northern quadrants of the island. The north is by far most beautiful part of the island (skip the south, there is nothing there I later learned). On the first day, I went St. George beach. As far as beaches in Greece goes, it was in the middle of the pack. However, after spending two weeks seeing every cathedral, museum and ruin possible in Italy, all I wanted to do was to lie down and take in the sun. On my second day I rented a moped and did a little exploring. Being low on Gas I was not that adventurous. I was told by several people at breakfast that the Paleokastritsa monastery and beach was a can't miss sight so I planed on spending my after noon there. My morning consisted of unsuccessfully looking for a gas station (A note: Gas stations are generally closed on Sundays. It is a good idea to fill up the day before.) and exploring the north coast. The strong waves and winds I think saved the northern coast from its southern sisters fate. Driving long the rugged roads was very scenic. Corfu gets a lot of water so it has lush, pine forest covered hills overlooking scenic bays and vistas. I spent the day at the Paleokastritsa monastery and beach. The monastery is on a track of land overlooking two scenic bays. It is far enough up and away that you can swim without worrying about offending people.      I fell in love with Corfu on this stay. I think that it was in part that I had a terrific place to stay. On my second trip, I stayed in a more centrally located place. The immediate surroundings were not as impressive but because of my first stay, I knew right where to go for the best sites on Corfu. The Bella Vista Dafni, Corfu, Greece Tel. 06630 71243 Fax 06630 71010 Guide Books |  FAQs |  Photos for Sale |  Travel Essays |  Links Contact info: