December 03 Corfu News

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Greetings from an autumnal Corfu. With the summer heat gone and the arrival of early winter rains, Corfu's landscape has burst into a display of vibrant greens.
 

Olive trees are of course evergreen and their colour does not seasonally change, except perhaps the new bright green shoots that appear in the spring. Corfu is dominated by over 1,500,000 olive trees, and at this time of year, occasionally speckled with the amber leaves of an autumnal deciduous tree. A seasonal sign that the island is now returning to its winter state. The tourists are gone and the roads sigh a silent relief, letting locals return to how they have lived for generations.
 

During the winter months, many are involved in the olive harvest. Most families own an olive grove or two, which have been passed down over the years. The groves may be an excellent ‘tourist attraction’ and talking point, but believe me they are very hard work. The pruning, cultivation and collection of olives is backbreaking work, not helped by the terrain. Most olive groves are inaccessible by road, on steep terraced inclines, making mechanical cultivation and collection impossible.
 

This is in stark contrast to other olive producing countries, where the groves resemble a well ordered orchard. Trees grown in rows to facilitate mechanized production methods, often leading to the overuse of chemicals in order to increase yield. In Corfu that is impossible and hence the yields are lower (and the effort greater), but many locals would argue that the quality of their oil is far superior.

During October and November the olive nets are prepared. Olive groves only give fruit every two years. (You did not know that did you!) Nets from groves not giving fruit need to be moved to those that are - not an easy task.

Before setting the nets under the trees, the ground needs to be cleared of 'undergrowth'. With Corfu's warm climate weeds and brambles thrive making the task of clearing difficult - often a petrol 'strimmer' is employed rather than Olga's hand scythe.

The nets are 'laid' under the trees. Each net is about 10m by 30m, making them awkward to position under the trees. They are 'sewn' together with nails or large plastic pins. Usually the whole grove is covered with nets.

During December till April, the olives slowly ripen and then drop. Every ten days or so during this period, a visit to each grove is needed to collect the fallen olives. If they are left any longer, they start to shrivel and their oil becomes useless.

The olives are collected using a short stick with a nail in the end. Starting from the top of the grove, the stick is pressed into the net, turned 90 degrees and then lifted. This action of raising the net makes the olives run downwards. Once the olives start rolling, coupled with a swift wrist action, the olives can be gathered into small piles. The whole grove needs to be worked in  this fashion.

Each pile of olives has to be sifted of leaves and twigs. They are then scooped up and put into sacks.

The sacks need to be carried back to the road. This is often some distance, and so one of these is required:

Next month, I will add a report about the pressing of the collected olives.

Olive nets strewn overhead so that the local community path is not blocked.

During winter rains, the neat dry stone terrace walls can collapse. Constant repairs and work is required to keep the grove productive.

  Corfu's Cocoon

It is amazing when I meet other English people – don’t forget I have been here 10 years now - how my distant memory of back home has faded. How England was and the reality as to how it is now. Maybe it is because you only remember the best, perhaps I do not want to remember what it was really like! But, I  never seem to remember the worst – only until I am reminded by those I meet. During November, Angela has been here helping me with this winter's site update. With much less open during the winter, we decided to take Angela to town, to the supermarket. She needed to stock up on some grocery essentials. We took her to our favourite supermarket, near the airport in Corfu town. We found a space and parked outside, strolled up for a trolley and wandered around the shopping isles. Amazing, Angela declared. So few people, it is a Saturday morning – where is everyone? Back home, it would be packed – bumper to bumper trolleys – people fighting and arguing over a parking space and complaining at the checkouts. Nothing like that here in Corfu! The super markets in Greece are similar to elsewhere and have a good selection of products. Not on the scale of course as other European cities. So why are ours different? Perhaps it is simply the sheer number of people and the pace of life. The sheer density of the population, the rapid growth of building and the movement into big cities. These things I had forgotten about until I was recently reminded how my old home village where I grew up had changed. I have not been back, for any length of time now for many years.
 

No my home is now here in Corfu in my isolated cocoon. What do the local people think of ‘foreigners’ snapping up properties here either to live or as holiday homes? I'll find out and let you know next month!
 

Owning a property on Corfu

Probably the most common question I get asked at Taverna Agni is; "How do go about owning a property on Corfu?" Many are looking to buy a house here, but have very little guidance on the subject. I aim to rectify that and have produced this guide. The following is the introduction, and each month I will add an additional chapter.
 

Owning a property abroad, whether in Greece or anywhere for that matter, is an important decision and mistakes will be costly. The very principles, problems, and decisions to be made are applicable to owning a property, or second home in any country. The same care and proceedings you would use in you home country should be exercised here in Greece. By reading this guide, you doing the right thing - research - before you commit any finances.
 

How do you start?
 

As with any solution, you first need to define the requirements. Lets start by discussing the first question you need to ask, as it will shape how you will plan to continue. What type of property am I looking for?

A holiday vacation villa or a home for permanent living or retirement?

Of course your answer to that question greatly defines the type of property you are searching for. If the property is for a holiday home, then you may be looking for aspects such as a swimming pool, rentability, location, ease of maintenance. Where as a property for permanent living, will have the emphasis on livability such as the kitchen, practicality, the location (in respect to others living nearby), access, amenities and local community. A house high up in the hills in a remote location, offering stunning panoramas may be a perfect choice for a two week summer vacation hideaway, but may prove too isolated and cutoff for all year round living.

Once you have decided the type of property that you are looking for, there is another very important decision to be made, which is not a easy to answer at this stage.
 

Should I build from scratch, or purchase an existing property?

Many immediately opt for the later only to review their answer once they start searching. Purchasing an existing property, can further be broken down into:  Buy an existing property that can be moved straight into; contract a ready built so called 'turn key' property; or renovate an older neglected building.

The romantic thoughts of converting an old beachside 'olive press' into a holiday home attracts many - but how realistic is that dream? Many imagine that there are numerous abandoned olive presses by the waters edge with a small private beach, an old disused press inside with stone huge wheels that will make a feature of the living room and all this with a budget of 20,000 Euros. The reality is they do not exist.  Those properties that look abandoned on the waters edge often have generation long disputes over ownership. You may stumble across an empty abandoned  property - its roof caving in  making it seem unwanted,  and yet it is very very much fought over by the owners.
 

The problem often goes back many years. Many parents simply did not have a legal will. The property would be left to the children. Those days the property had very little value - and anyway 'its right on the beach - who wants it!' Many locals after the harsh second world war, moved to America or Australia seeking a better life. In time they forgot about their family home. Gradually they have returned (often ironically seeking a better  life!) Property values of course have greatly increased and the number of entitled owners grown. Often a family feud has started over who should now claim ownership of the property.  Some houses have been divided but as time goes by and the generations get bigger, 10-20 people can easily be come the 'owner' and yet it only takes one to disagree to what should be done and the deal is off. A lesson indeed to make sure that the property you intend to buy is indeed owned by the alleged seller.

A dream home on Corfu can be yours, but you need patience. Especially as it will not be until next month that I will add another chapter to this guide!
 

 Taverna Agni News

The last day of November saw the first sprinkle of snow over the distant mountains. It is still surprisingly mild with warm sunny days - ideal for walking.
 

Agni Bay

The Taverna is now completely closed up. I pop down most days though just to keep an eye things - and it gets me away from the computer! Normally I will visit Olga and we will have a coffee together - or if it is after 9am, then an ouzo!

Some of you may have noticed the small narrow building between the Toula Taverna and the end cottage on the corner (Agni Cottage). Well, amazingly it is being converted into a small two bed-roomed cottage. Local materials are being used and the renovation work is to the highest standard ensuring that it will blend in with existing buildings. I am told that Toula is furious!

  Caption Competition

To add a caption to this photo, follow this link: December Caption Competition

Web Site News

Well you cannot have missed it! Yes this winter's web site update has started. A new navigation system has been added to aid finding information. New layouts using style sheets to assist future updating, and a brand new chat system which is causing a storm - it has sounds! If you have not experienced it yet, then you are missing out. *Chat Room*

We will spend December adding new content and goodies to the web site. Thanks to Angela who has been here in Corfu helping. Also thanks to Sofri from the Agni Travel office who programmed the new menus and navigation system. He is planning to further improve the system over the next few weeks - in between running the office of course!
 

Corfu During the Winter

While updating the website, we spent some time visiting some of the resorts. Amazingly, my wife Eleni had never visited Sidari before!

Sidari Beach

Roda - high street!

Acharavi Beach

Villa Michael - Beyond our vision

Construction

30 September – 14th October 2003

Fuelled with excitement, we boarded our Britannia flight with our friends Ian and Sally, who were looking forward to their first ‘Corfu Experience’. Of course, for us, we were not only looking forward to our holiday and meeting all our friends in Agni but also seeing how Villa Michael was progressing.
 

We knew from Yiannis that excavation had been completed and work had started on the concrete structure. However, due to the softness of the earth, the foundations had to be dug deeper than first expected. As a result, the driveway resembles a ‘bobsleigh run’ and now there is no way of accessing the garage by car.

With four up in a Renault Twingo, limping up the steep hill and thinking that any minute Ian would have to get out and push, we arrived at Villa Michael and WOW!! STEP BACK IN AMAZEMENT!! it is well and truly taking shape. The construction looks SO BIG! It isn’t of course, it is quite modest in size but looks far bigger than we imagined, which was a pleasant surprise.

To our delight, the fantastic panoramic views will be clearly seen from the bedrooms on the ground floor. This is a bonus because we thought the scenery would only be captured from the first floor. On this day the view was so clear that you could see the small estuaries winding through the valleys and the mountains were crisp and clear, despite the fact that there had been storms the day before we arrived.

See the photo below and try to capture our feelings:

We immediately telephoned Yiannis to enthuse over the progress and the way the Villa was shaping up. Yiannis suggested we meet on site to discuss the way forward. This we did and in true Greek style WE turned up late. It wasn’t intentional on our part but we were unfortunately stuck behind a coach who had come face to face with another coach and as many of you will know, this caused a major problem. Had we realised that there was a short cut, that we have now found, from Agni to the Villa we would have taken it. This ‘hairy’ route starts in Kentroma and cuts down the travelling time by more than half.
 

Yiannis and Fotis welcomed us and carefully explained how the build would progress. Commencement of works was scheduled for June but didn’t start until August due to our delay in setting up Power of Attorney to enable Spiros, our Lawyer, to make stage payments on our behalf. Winter weather permitting we are still looking at completion by the end of 2004, which is fine by us.
 

Our next meeting with Yiannis was at his office in Corfu Town, prior to which we needed to get our heads around a number of matters. These being, the number and position of electric points/telephone/tv/plumbing etc., So over a few glasses of wine and a plate of Red Mullet, for brain power we took on the task, which once started was quite time consuming and it’s amazing how many lights and sockets are needed.

During our meeting with Yiannis and Fotis, they guided us through our plans with an enormous amount of patience and we eventually settled upon suitable cabling and points for all the rooms. One major oversight though, which amused them, was that we had totally forgotten to include wall switches, a rather crucial omission, wouldn’t you say? All we need to do now is give some more thought to the kitchen layout, as the design has not yet been finalised.

We now await some ideas for how best to utilise the existing garage space, and the positioning of a garage suitable for housing a car rather than a toboggan!

The final task was to visit the Town Hall with Yiannis, during which we were introduced to the Mayor, to complete the paperwork allowing Yiannis to connect electricity and pay Greek Social Insurance contributions (IKA) on our behalf.

Well, that’s it for now. We had another fantastic holiday in Agni and Villa Michael is progressing beyond our WILDEST DREAMS. Ian and Sally enjoyed their stay so much that they are planning to return for a month next May and we’ll be back in February to start choosing tiles, flooring, colours, windows, doors and sanitary wear and we are sure many things we have not yet thought about …………. It’s all SO EXCITING!

Bre & Al Wild

Corfu Resort Guide Helping you choose where to stay.

Taverna Agni Planning to visit Taverna Agni?

Corfu Holiday FAQs Take a new look at our FAQ page.

Olives How they are grown, collected and pressed on Corfu?

Agni Travel Properties with pools, traditional local houses and quiet apartments. Agni Travel can help you find your perfect holiday.

A Winter Visit

"Lazing on a beach in hot sunshine, dipping your toes in the sea to cool down and eating in the local tavernas for two whole weeks."
 

If this is your idea of a holiday when visiting a Greek Island, or in this case Corfu, then this chapter is not really for you. Many of us have visited Corfu (or any other Greek Island for that matter) and thought what it must be like in the winter? When all the tourists have gone, how do the local people live in the winter when they have their Island back to themselves?

These two questions occur to me during every visit, and this year I had the opportunity to find out. Graham and I recently bought our own property in the village of Kendroma above Agni Bay, and with our own apartment to stay in, it made the accommodation situation easy for me. However there are plenty of houses available for winter rental with heating, which is definitely required during the winter months. My visit was for six weeks, through the whole of November and beginning of December, maybe this was not the worst of the winter months, but it certainly answered my questions and showed me Greek life.

I would mention that I spent this time on my own and without transport in an old traditional Greek village, very close to the sea and not far from our favourite Agni bay. Of course the three Tavernas on Agni beach were closed and I did not see a Taverna for miles around that was open, but I did on many occasions have Agni beach all to myself, apart from a few cats. On really nice sunny days, especially on Sundays, there would be a few of the local people down on the beaches fishing off the end of the little piers and many little boats on the sea, all trying to catch some fresh fish. Fishing seems to be a very popular sport at the weekends when no-one is working and the beaches and rocky coves are all free from tourists, but then perhaps even the fish are more laid back and easy to catch when the tourists are not around! It was quite warm sitting in the sunshine and there were many sunny days, not quite sunbathing weather, but I did on the warmer days see people swimming in the sea.

Our village, like most of the little Greek villages, is on a bus route, so getting into Corfu town is not difficult, but the bus service is limited and the last returning bus is about 2.30pm in the winter months, so visiting Corfu town has to be in the morning but there is time enough to shop before catching the last bus home and anyway the shops close at 2.30pm.

Of course cooking becomes an essential part of life with no tavernas and no transport to go further a field. There are some tavernas open which the local people use, mainly at weekends. most of them are in the larger resort areas such as Kassiopi and Acharavi especially, and of course Corfu town, but without transport not even those are available.

I had brought with me a book about Greek olive oil which contained recipes. This proved very useful, the dishes were delicious and simple to cook, I just had to make sure that I stocked up on plenty of herbs and spices, the vital ingredients to tasty Greek dishes. You can also find some very tasty recipes in the Corfiot magazine in the winter editions, if you come without a book. So no ready meals, frozen pizzas, or takeaways, just real Greek home cooking and very enjoyable it was. For someone who does not like cooking at home, I really surprised myself.

I visited the local Kafenion, where I suprisingly found many essential food items for sale. The local bakery is down the road in the next village. On Wednesday and Saturday the vegetable van arrived in the village square and I would walk up and sit in the warm sunshine with the older Greek ladies and await it’s arrival whilst admiring the stunning views towards Corfu town (on one or two occasion I had to do this in the rain, but it had no effect on the views, they were still stunning!!). The ladies would greet me and try to tell me the names of some of the vegetables, I just wish my Greek was better and I could have chatted with them. One Wednesday even the fish van came , they pointed him out to me and explained that he was selling fresh fish, so it was not difficult to get supplies and trips to the town were not needed very often.

If you bear in mind that you have to cook for yourself in the winter months, and buy the produce, this takes up some of your time. Visiting friends and people you may have met in the summer is also very enjoyable because they have time to talk and spend time with you and people who would normally be very busy in the summer are at last taking it easy and much more relaxed and they make you so very welcome.

My Greek neighbours are very friendly and they also made me feel very welcome, although their English is limited and my Greek even more limited, we were still able to convey a friendliness and I never really felt alone. I am sure, should I have needed help in any way they would have been only too pleased to assist.

A hobby or an interest of some kind makes a winter visit even more fulfilling such as painting, writing, reading and weather permitting, walking and the all popular fishing. Even just relaxing and taking life easy in general can be fulfilling and an escape from the hectic life and work at home. I had no television and I did not miss it, although it is available in some of the winter lets. I will of course confess to my one piece of ‘technology’ that I did have and that was my PC!! (well just how do you live without one in this day and age!!!) I was helping Nathan with his winter update on the website, which made my visit very interesting and occupied some of my time. Websites, PC technology and communication, are of my indoor interests and hobby, however, without it I really feel I could have still filled my time with the other interests that I have mentioned. Of course not many people would visit alone, and with such warm and friendly hospitality, not all of my time was spent alone, but with a partner or companion, even some old fashioned games would pass away the dark, cooler evenings, I had to play them on the PC!!

It is an excellent time of year to walk, and I spent many hours walking the coastal footpaths, visiting many beaches that I had seen so busy and full in the summer months. You can have every beach on the North East coast to yourself if you are lucky, but you may find one or two people around on the good days. I also walked up into the hills, where it is far too hot to walk in the summer and the views are fantastic. You can see so much more of life on foot than in a car. Walking up into the hills is a fantastic experience, it is nothing like the hard work it is in the summer heat and it is surprising how quickly you are high up into the mountains exploring the quiet and in some cases deserted mountain villages, a part of Corfu that some people never get to see.

So next time you wonder what it is like in the winter, save some of those well earned holidays and give Corfu a try in the winter months. I do believe that if you love Corfu, the countryside, reading, writing, painting, fishing, the simple things in life and all that nature has to offer, then you would really love a winter visit.

Agni Travel is currently offering suitable properties for winter rental. Contact Sofri at the Agni Travel office for details: sofri@agni-travel-corfu.com

Driving to Corfu

In the very early months of this year, 2003, having read some of the posts on the message boards about driving to Corfu, we were quite surprised as to how many people had actually made this journey.  Having read Nathan's write up of his own experience of this journey and wanting to take some goods out to our house, we were encouraged to give it a go and drive there ourselves.  As an update to Nathan's report this is how we did it, as a guide I have given the costs but this is a guide only as there are various options, and of course prices change.  I hope the report is of interest and useful to others who may be thinking of making this journey.

We decided to go at Easter, as we could then include some bank holidays along with those precious leave days from work giving us a two and a half week holiday using only nine days works leave.  Our journey may not have been the shortest or the cheapest way of driving to Corfu, but since we have done it, we now realise that there is no one set way of making this journey, it can be as short/long, cheap/expensive as you wish to make it.  We bought a copy of ‘Philip’s Multiscale Europe 2003’ maps which we found very clear and simple to use.

We left England on (UK) Good Friday afternoon about 4.00pm from Long Eaton in Derbyshire and drove to Harwich where we took the night ferry to Hook of Holland, arriving about 7.00am Saturday morning. We booked a cabin at a cost of about 60 GBP for two people (single journey), in addition to the standard fare for a car and 2 people of 105 GBP (single journey). The cost can be reduced by not taking the cabin and booking an aircraft type seat for about 10 GBP per person (single journey). Having had a meal, a good nights sleep and a good breakfast (meals are included on this ferry) we could then enjoy a full days driving feeling quite refreshed.  This is not the cheapest way to cross the channel, the short crossing to France would have been cheaper as cabins would not have been needed but crossing the channel very much depends on where you are starting your journey from in the UK, and how far you wish to drive before taking your first stop.  What is saved on a crossing would probably be spent on an extra nights stop in Europe.  We felt it was important to consider how long we would be driving for and as a safety issue not be feeling too tired at the start of the drive through Europe.

Arriving in Hook on the Saturday morning, we drove south through Holland passing through Breda and into Germany through to Koln.  We drove for most of the day passing through Frankfurt, Wurzburg, Nurnberg, and Munchen stopping at the motorway services two or three times.  If cost is important we would recommend using the shops on the services for sandwiches and snacks, coffee is also available, as it is much cheaper than using the café/restaurants.  By the end of the day we were in the south of Germany and now very close to the Austrian border. We stopped in the evening for a meal in a lovely restaurant in the small town of Rosenheim and would recommend making this an overnight stop.  There are many B&B accommodations in this area, so it would not be difficult to find accommodation out of the season, perhaps booking would be advisable in the busy Summer season.  Accommodation could also be taken at many of the Motorway service areas. (I do not know the cost for these rooms - we slept in the car overnight as we did not want to leave a car loaded with goods including computer equipment unattended for the night).  This is another part of the journey where the cost can be reduced by sleeping in the car, but taking into account the amount of driving done during the day and the remaining amount to be done, we would recommend taking a room for a proper nights rest as we did on the return journey.

The following morning we woke at dawn to see the beautiful Austrian mountains in front of us topped with snow.  A really beautiful sight and quite a surprise as it was dark by the time we had left the restaurant and parked up the previous evening.  We had a really early start with staying in the car, so we were off on the road again at about 6.30am after coffee and a wash and brush up in the service station. The toilet facilities in the services were excellent, and nowhere appeared to be very busy.  Had we taken a room for the night we would probably have had a little later start about 8.00am. We had pre booked the Venice–Corfu ferry which left at 3.00pm on the Sunday afternoon, so an early start was needed, especially as we later found out that we had misjudged the mileage on the last stretch of the journey by about 100 miles.

We continued the journey into Austria, which was the best part of the journey, through Salzburg and on towards Villach near the Italian border.  The scenery was breathtaking, as we drove through valleys and snow capped mountain passes.  We passed by some of the ski-ing areas in the little Alpine villages of Austria and if we could make a leisurely journey with plenty of time to spare we would certainly consider stopping and visiting some of the lovely villages in this area and in the South of Germany.  However, we had a ferry to catch and had to continue, so after passing through many tunnels and mountain passes we continued until we arrived at villach, it is here where we turn right for Italy and left for Slovenija, so we had to make sure we took the correct slip road on the motorway as we did not have time to make any mistakes !!

We managed to get it right and passed over the border into Italy where we stopped for a coffee and very late breakfast break at the motorway services in Italy, the standard of which is not as good as the German and Austrian services. This is were Graham had a brain malfunction as he suddenly declared “we are going the wrong way” the blood drained from his face as he looked up and said “the sun is in the wrong place, it should be over there”.  He had driven along way and as I was the one reading the map, following every twist and turn in the road and reading every sign, I had no doubt as to which direction we were going. So I just stared at him and replied that if he wished to continue the journey using the SUN as a guide to getting to Venice he could do so – on his own – as I was going to stay with the map !! (I think for a moment, he thought he was a Greek – an Ancient Greek!!)

It is the mountain passes that made the distance look much less on the map where the roads twist and turn through the mountains (and where the sun appears in the wrong place !!) and this is why we misjudged the remaining distance by about 100 miles.  As we did not have much time to spare for this stop we stood outside in the bright morning sunshine, drank our coffee and was soon away again for the remaining part of the journey. 

We continued on – in the right direction - towards Udine where the motorway splits left for Trieste and right for Venice, the last leg!!  Not much further to go now and we were really looking forward to seeing Venice as neither of us had been before.

We arrived in Venice at about 11.30am in good time to catch the ferry.  Boarding time was about 1.00pm, we had made it in perfect time, but should anything have gone wrong we would have struggled to make it.  It would perhaps be advisable to leave a little more time to reach the ferry but it worked out perfect for us.  We had no time to visit Venice but did not have to wait long before it was time to board to ferry. Not being able to visit Venice was not that much of a disappointment as when the ferry pulled away it sailed right along the Grand Canal and you could see all of Venice in front of you from the deck of the ferry!!  It was fantastic, a real birds eye view and it is well worth taking the ferry for the sail around Venice.

The ferry is like a small cruise ship, with bars, restaurants (al a carte and self service) spacious lounges, a large sun deck and swimming pool.  It is a 24 hour journey to Corfu so we booked a cabin, which really bumps the price of the journey up, at a cost of 175 GBP per person return. This is an option and it is possible to take an Aircraft type seat for 83 GBP per person return or a deck passenger ticket for 63 GBP return.  In addition to these prices is the vehicle cost of  77 GBP return for a normal vehicle up to 5.5 metres in length. If travelling as a deck passenger I think that you would have to sleep on the outside decks as we did see people on the deck in sleeping bags the following morning.

After a very relaxing afternoon, a much needed shower, a nice evening meal and a good nights sleep, we awoke the following morning, had breakfast and went up onto the deck of the ship.  It would have been about 10.30am by this time and we were by then cruising along the Albanian coastline and there was Corfu and her Northern Islands clearly ahead of us.  We passed Agni bay at about 11.30am, as the Minoan ferry does most mornings at about this time and at this point usually passes the sister ship going in the opposite direction.  The ships always acknowledge each other with a blast on the horn, and can often be heard when lazing on Agni beach.  As the boat unloads at Igouminitsa first, it is about 2.30pm before we finally arrived at Corfu docks.

As a guide to the distance and the actual cost of the trip, our mileage was 945 miles from Harwich to Venice and the same again on the return as we took exactly the same route. The Petrol cost was approximately 200 GBP (using a 4x4 Diesel Engine vehicle) including the return journey, bearing in mind that Diesel is very much cheaper in Europe than in the UK.  We had taken single journey tickets on the Harwich–Hook ferry as we were unsure as to the time we would be crossing on the journey back.  On the return journey we crossed during the day, so a cabin was not necessary, the cost was approximately 30 GBP per person and 40 GBP for the vehicle. We also had a Bed and Breakfast stop on the return journey (I would not recommend sleeping in the car) at a cost of 60 GBP for two people. The rooms on the Motorway I believe would be less than this.

The total cost of our journey was therefore approximately 952 GBP plus meals and snacks on route at 2003 prices.  These prices are only a guide and will vary according to the time of year and current exchange rates. 

When comparing the costs with flying, the summer charter flights are obviously the cheapest, but travelling out of season we estimated the air fare via Athens to be about 260 GBP each, but do not forget to take into account about 250 GBP car hire for 2 weeks and about 100 GBP for airport car parking, then the cost is not so much more than travelling by air.

It was a wonderful experience, a lovely journey with so much to see on route even without stopping and visiting places of interest.  We shall certainly be making this journey again next year and as soon as we can spare the time we shall do it over a much longer length of time and visit some of those places of interest on the way.  I think on that occasion it will probably take us about a week or more to get to Corfu.
 

Panayia Day

My mobile ‘phone vibrated like an angry bee, waggling its rump in a circular war-dance on my dressing table. The insistent beeping woke me from a deep sleep at 6.00 am. A laryngitic cockerel was already heralding the approaching new day, although a good hour before sunrise. Looking blearily out of my cabin window I could just discern a lightening of the sky, a dull purple glow over the mountains and hills of Albania four nautical miles across the sea from our anchorage in Kassiopi harbour. Lights were still sparkling like fireflies in the small town of Sarandes. On the misty silhouette of the dark hillsides strips of brush fires glowed at intervals like the veins of Etna.

Sliding out of bed my feet bumped heavily on the floor, our double bed on ‘Sarava’ is cabin-style with a cushioned bench seat half-way down its side, necessitating a two stage descent for those of small stature. I picked up my phone and went outside into the cockpit. The air was full of the scents and sounds of Kassiopi waking up. Freshly made bread and cinnamon from the bakery in the main street, jasmine on the table, picked the day before from the wall by the bins at one of the harbour-side restaurants where it thrives amongst the smell of rubbish, with the biggest and most highly scented flowers of any plant on the island. It was as if the plant was striving with all its might to overpower the malodorous garbage. Mingled with these scents were those of pine, eucalyptus, juniper, myrtle and curry plant from the dew-damp trees and shrubs growing along the coast path and around the point leading to the white pebble beach. Wafts of salty air moved over the placid sea, now ribboned with pink and turquoise.

“Message received” said my ‘phone. “R u up? Dave & I want b.fast & K * not open til 8, starving, luv Rory”.
Reply: “Yes, come 2 boat 4 b.fast. Gr8. C u, luv Mummy”. Rory had a summer job in the most popular bar in the town, working as a disc-jockey. As the bar did not close until dawn, breakfast always preceded bed in his case.
And thus my Panayia Day had begun. On August 15th each year Kassiopi celebrates with a feast day in honour of its patron saint, The Virgin Mary. All the townspeople are involved, either in the church procession, the service, catering, decorating or simply dressing in their best to enjoy the festivities.

I threw on my bikini, wrapped a sarong around my waist, brushed my hair and teeth, grabbed some large sunglasses to cover my early-morning eyes, squirted some scent on my neck and appeared to meet the boys as if this was all perfectly normal at that hour of the day.

As Rory cooked bacon and eggs in the galley I sat watching the sea, the colours disappearing. Just before the huge, scarlet sun peeped over the hills, the water turned almost white, pearlised and opalescent, smooth as silk, only the gentle lapping on the rocks of the quayside betraying that it was moving at all. Mr.K walked briskly to his supermarket at his usual time, 6.45, stopping to chat with Andreas the fisherman who hopped into his little boat, plastic bag in hand (breakfast perhaps) bad-tempered because his pre-dawn catch had been, “Ena!” one fish.

A solitary cicada warmed up with its scratchy overture, soon followed by another until the olive trees on land were a cacophony of raucous noise. The sleek coastguard boat sped across the water, patrolling the area like a grey predator, looking for smugglers or illegal immigrants from Albania. Sometimes these poor souls would swim for freedom to the tempting shores of Corfu, or cram into tiny and often un-seaworthy craft in a desperate attempt to escape the poverty of life in their country. The guards would bring their boat alongside, hovering just within reach of the quay. One smartly uniformed and fit looking young officer would leap athletically from the bow onto the jetty and head off determinedly in the direction of the nearest taverna to pick up a takeaway breakfast. Meanwhile the vessel hovered on the water, engines revving, churning white foam around its sides, waiting impatiently for its passenger’s return. I witnessed this operation so often and in so many locations, sometimes at suppertime, sometimes lunchtime, that I wondered if the crew telephoned their order ahead of their arrival to ensure a swift collection. Laden with plastic bags full of hot food the guard jumped aboard like a ship’s cat, disappeared into the bowels of the boat and off it roared into the distance leaving a frothy trail and the smell of charcoal grilled kebabs in its wake.

Suddenly, from behind the headland, the huge bows of the Minoan Lines high-speed ferry appeared, smart in its red and white livery, lights still twinkling, gliding majestically and almost silently from Venice, looking like a child’s toy. The wash followed a while after, black rolls of water approaching menacingly, crashing onto the jagged rocks of the breakwater and over the top, sending the small sailing boats next to us into a frenzy of excited movement, bobbing and rolling madly. I meanwhile, on our lovely stable catamaran, merely rocked as gently as a baby in its cradle.

There is no music more suitable for watching a sunrise, in my opinion, than the first track of “Songs of Sanctuary” by Adiemus. Most mornings I start the day with this playing through the earphones of my mini-disc recorder. This morning, right on cue, a tiny kingfisher plopped onto one of our mooring ropes, bobbed up and down a couple of times, peering into the water intently as the rising sun lit up the turquoise feathering on his back. A group of small fish were circling nearby, their tiny heads poking up out of the sea, mouths agape; were they taking in air or catching drowning flies? The Greek name for kingfisher is Halcyon, a mythical bird believed to have had the power to calm the waves at the time of the winter solstice when it nested at sea. Hence our modern-day expression, “ halcyon days”, the seven days before and the seven days after St.Thomas’s Day, the 14th to the 28th December, which would denote a calm and tranquil period in winter. In Ancient Greece a dead kingfisher was hung up as a protection against lightning. Last year in exactly this same spot near the harbour wall I had spotted a large shape gliding through the water close to our boat. Jumping up quickly onto the decks slippery with dew, I saw a beautiful dolphin, much bigger than any I had seen before, cruising slowly and peacefully around the harbour before heading out to the open sea and disappearing up the sparkling gold reflection of the early morning sun.
The church bell called the faithful to prayer, echoing solemnly around the harbour and little town. I dressed quickly, not wanting to miss the start of the procession. First came the papas, the priest, followed by dignitaries of the church, the choir and congregation, then the enchanting little girls, all in white, to represent the Virgin Mary. I made my way through the crowd until I was able to squeeze into the church. The air-conditioning was on full throttle and inside it was as cold as the grave. The floor was littered with fresh bay leaves, in Greek legend the tree was made sacred by Apollo who, having slain the dragon Python, bathed in the river and cut laurel sprigs from its banks. He then marched triumphant into Delphi crowned with the leaves. From then on the bay became a symbol of purity, victory and glory. The laurel wreath is still used today as the crowning glory for victors which originated at the first Olympic Games. It was used to ward against bad luck and illness and the leaves are always strewn on church floors by the Corfiots when a village celebrates its saint’s day. The scent of the leaves crushed under the feet of the worshippers mingled with the magical and mysterious smell of incense and the fresh basil which smothered the altar. Basil is also considered sacred in the Greek Orthodox Church, it is said to have grown where St.Helen discovered the Holy Cross. The clumps of emerald green basil were liberally interspersed with kumquat-coloured marigolds for happiness.

Having followed the queue to the altar and said a prayer, I imitated my fellow congregation by helping myself to a small sprig of basil and a solitary marigold. Feeling a trifle guilty, as if I were committing an act of desecration, I salved my conscience by telling myself that I would put my little bouquet in water on the boat and it would survive and be admired for many days instead of withering on the altar and ending up in an ecclesiastical rubbish bin. I did not, however, stoop to kiss the pictures of the Blessed Virgin and various saints surrounding the icon for reasons of hygiene.

On leaving the church the heat hit me like a blanket and my eyes were dazzled by the bright white sunlight. I jostled with the throng surrounding the picturesque little church, periodically being grabbed, hugged and kissed on both cheeks when I was recognised and greeted with the words, “Chronia pola!” (long life) sometimes by friends, sometimes by complete strangers. It was a heartwarming, if hot and sticky, gesture and I felt very much part of this small community, honoured by their acceptance of me into the fold and by their display of genuine affection.

“Ella, ella Mrs.Jani!” boomed a rich, deep voice from the front of the crowd. “Come to take some Holy Bread!” It was a well-known restaurateur who had spotted my familiar straw hat bobbing amongst the dark-haired locals. My hand was unceremoniously grasped and I was dragged, hanging onto my hat for dear life, to the front of a long queue. “We can’t push in like this”, I remonstrated with my benefactor. “Oh yes we can, yous English so yous don’t have to queues up”. Everyone was smiling so I smiled back nervously and was handed a hunk of bread by one of church elders. This is a special bread baked for this holy day and flavoured with aniseed. During the rest of the day I was plied with more and more pieces of bread from acquaintances and friends alike, obviously concerned that I may have missed out. Everyone on ‘Sarava’ enjoyed this bounty and for the following few days we discovered that this bread was even more delicious when popped under the grill, resulting in the mildly blasphemous nick-name of, “Holy Toast”.

We busied ourselves for the rest of the day decorating the boat. Leafy branches, flowers and long strands of a wild creeper with pretty heart-shaped leaves were used to enhance the cockpit. Miranda made very realistic carnations of white Kleenex tissues to add to the greenery. The male members of the crew hoisted yards of signal flags over the top of the mast and Rory attached tiny white fairy-lights to the rigging. By sunset ‘Sarava’ was dressed overall and I felt her glowing with pride.

On the harbourside preparations had been in full swing. A stage had been erected, tables and chairs had been positioned, whole lambs were roasting on spits, the aroma of barbequing meat basted with olive oil and stuffed with fresh rosemary had been tantalising us since lunchtime. Hundreds of bottles of wine stood open and ready on long trestle tables. Cans of soft drinks and bottles of mineral water were at the ready, keeping cool in large, portable, refrigerated cabinets.

The crowd had assembled, the band struck up its first jolly Greek number and the dancing began. From tiny children to octogenarians the dancing group filled the area, circles within circles until it made you dizzy to watch. Even the papas joined in, black robes flying as he whirled and twirled, arms held high, holding the hands of his neighbours on both sides.

I looked over the crowds to ‘Sarava’, sitting quietly on the water, maintaining her dignity, despite the gently fluttering bunting and the twinkling fairy-lights. Jeremy’s comment that she looked like a garden centre at Christmas was ignored by the rest of us. Suddenly a rocket flew up into the night sky, right by ‘Sarava’s’ mooring ropes, it exploded into a million gold stars to ecstatic shrieks and cheers from the revellers. It lit the sky and everything below it. The second firework was heading skywards as Jeremy shot off towards the boat shouting, “Cinders!” Wondering if midnight had arrived, my ballgown had changed to rags and my coach had reverted to a pumpkin, I looked blank and watched him running towards the boat. Then the penny dropped. The red-hot ash, sparks and glowing debris from the fireworks were falling out of the sky and ‘Sarava’ was directly underneath. Constructed of fibreglass this could spell disaster in the form of a fire on board or at best damage to her cream coloured decks.

Family and friends were soon roped in to assist. It was really a case of “All hands on deck” as we pounced on the cinders as they landed, squashing them with wet cloths or simply tipping water on them.
Inside the boat was how I imagine being caught in an earthquake to feel, thunderous noise, the whole craft reverberating with each explosion and shuddering with aftershock. I scooped my small King Charles Cavalier Spaniel into my arms and ran down into my cabin. He looked very frightened and was trembling. I put him on my bed and put the earphones of my Walkman into his ears. He immediately relaxed and lay quietly for the duration of the display, me lying beside him. Regardless of my family’s disapproval at my musical preferences, all I can say is that, on this occasion, Sir Cliff undoubtedly saved the day.
 

Jani - "Sarava"
 

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