Day 23: Corfu, Greece

We are now three for three on our Greek ports; Cephalonia, Khios, Corfu...they are very different from each other but we've enjoyed each of them. Corfu is the largest Ionian island (Cephalonia was another Ionian island) but is verdantly green and hilly instead of being more arid. It's separated from the country of Albania by just a two mile wide channel. Cruise Director Sammie told us she had never before been in Corfu with fewer than five cruise ships in port. We're loving being here in the 'off' season.  Our arrival today was not until 9am, but the scenic views started long before that and, as we drew closer to Corfu we could see the Costa Riviera as it docked ahead of us. The Pacific Princess was asked to wait for fifteen minutes until the port pilot finished up on the Costa ship and then boarded our ship.  

We disembarked about 9:30am, intending just to go to the port terminal to check out our touring options, but we didn't return until 7 hours later. There were two shuttles; the first was simply to get to the port terminal and was free (we chose to walk), and the second one ran back and forth all day to the Old Town area and cost 6€ per person (or $7), payable in cash. A representative from that company was on Deck 4 near the shore excursions desk selling the shuttle tickets. We weren't convinced we wanted or needed the 6€ shuttle ticket and that's why we wanted to check out our options in the port terminal. 

It was a blustery day, chilly when it was overcast but the occasional sun warmed things comfortably. We walked off the ship wearing our jackets and hats (I wore my wool headband) and we stayed very comfortable all day. We discovered there was a City Sightseeung Corfu Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) bus leaving every 20 minutes. Though it only made four stops, one of the stops was the Old Town, the same place the ship's shuttle went.  Another was on the far southern end of the Corfu peninsula and that alone made it a good deal. The price was 15€ per person. Sold! We've been very happy with each of the HOHO buses we've used. 

 

Yep, it was a REALLY blustery day!

 That is how we never made it back on the ship until hours later. We boarded the HOHO bus and rode toward Old Town, turning away from the waterfront near the New Fortress and driving past the public market where we saw everything from fish to flowers being sold.  We continued south to the very end of the peninsula called Kanoni with the church of Panagia Vlacherna. Panangia Vlahairnon was small, just a courtyard and a tiny chapel and even tinier alcove where candles could be lit. Pots of geraniums over spilled and added punches of color, and everywhere we looked were cozy piles of sleeping cats, curled up as if they had been posed for photos. I loved it. 

 

One of the walls of Corfu's New Fortress, dating from the 16th century

Old Fortress, dating from the early 11th century

 

Venetian blazon with the Lion of St. Mark

 

A New Fortress watchtower and a watchful seagull

 

Alive Lobster, not to be confused with Lobster Alive on Barbados ;-)

 

We'd see signs like these and say "It's Greek to me!"  And we'd laugh and laugh. 

(More ouzo anyone?)

 

 

 

 

The Old Fortress, dating from the early 11th century

Click here for more information from Wikipedia

 

 

Checking out the local products in a small market

 

Our first view of Kanoni with the church of Panagia Vlacherna

 

 

The path down to the waterfront 

 

 

 

In the distance, Mouse Island, with its 13th century Church of Pantokrator

 

 

The tiny courtyard and the bell tower

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another candle lighting opportunity

 

The tiny church and altar

 

 

With pews like these, hopefully the Masses were short!

 

 

I think this should be called Cat Island! 

 

It's Greek to me but I think this means the church dates from 1685

 

Just the walk to/from the church is beautiful 

We spent about an hour there and walked back up the hill to reboard the bus. While we were waiting for it, we popped into a tiny grocery store (one of our favorite things to do in other countries). Before we had come to Greece, our standing joke was 'Will we be able to buy Greek yogurt there?'  Well, yes we can. All yogurt here is Greek yogurt, and we bought some today, along with the locally produced kumquat jam. 

Our next stop was back in the Corfu Old Town. We walked along the waterfront to the Old Fortress (Palaio Frourio). Perched high on a rock peninsula overlooking the harbor, the Old Fortress existed for centuries before the Venetians fortified it and dug a moat to surround it. We crossed the drawbridge over the moat to enter the compound which houses a Byzantine Museum and the NeoClassical Church of St. George built during British occupation in the 19th century. G loved walking through the fortress. He has the ability to imagine exactly how different areas were used. For example, he spotted two chimneys and said that area was likely the kitchen. Sure enough, as we walked over there, we could see the large ovens used for baking and cooking. The Old Fortress even had marginal bathrooms, making the 3€ per person admission a steal (we leave the ship each day with a pocketful of 1-2€ coins that we've named Urinary Euros). Decent, free bathrooms are very rare in this part of Europe!

 

Windmill overlooking the harbor of at Anemomilos

 

The Old Fortress

 

The Contrafossa, a moat which protected the fortress by making it into an island

 

The bridge is no longer a drawbridge, but is a recent addition

 

 

 

The kitchen, with the British-built Church of St. George in the background 

We left the Fortress and walked along the waterfront, past the Palace of Saints Michael and George (now an Asian Art Museum), and the grassy Square known as the Spianada (originally built by the British as a cricket pitch). While the architecture of the area was incredible, nearly every building was in disrepair. It's a shame that Greece doesn't have the funds to preserve these treasures, despite the Corfu Old Town being named a UNESCO Workd Heritage Site. 

 

Museum of Asian Art in the Palace of St. Michael and St. George

 

 

We made it back to the pick up point for all buses (including the shuttle used by the cruise lines) for the ride back to the port. Next time we want to focus on the New Fortress which is in the west end of town nearest the port and may skip all the buses and simply walk there. We arrived back at the ship having walked a bazillion steps today with no lunch. We were hungry and tired!  I was also anxious to see what my mattress situation would be. I had mentioned to our steward Bianca that I needed a change. I had spent at least half of last night sleeping on the comforter on the cabin floor, covered with a beach towel. I simply couldn't bear another night on that mattress. I was thrilled to return to a very firm mattress, and predict that I'll have a good night's sleep tonight. 

We barely had time to get cleaned up and get to the Platinum/Elite/Suite (PES) Lounge. Tonight was herbed goat cheese and tomato bruschetta hors doerves which I paired with a Breeza Marina, even better when hungry. Then for dinner I had a crab cake appetizer, gazpacho (bring me a quart of that, please) and pasta with mussels. We skipped dessert to get to the 6:45pm performance of ventriloquist Jimmy Tamley. Not my favorite type of entertainment, but... We finally move clocks back an hour tonight, to Central European time (6 hours ahead of EST) and I am giddy at the thought of getting an extra hour of sleep and on a firm mattress to boot. We arrive in Kotor, Montenegro at 7am tomorrow morning and the extra hour of sleep makes getting up early to watch our arrival a potentially achievable goal. Let's hope for better weather than last cruise's torrential rainfall and tornado!