Greece Travel Blog

Benitses is a small fishing village that has turned into a summer holiday town, so basically that means there are lots of tavernas, shops cafe and bars which are all shut down. This is a recurring theme in Corfu – actually there are three or four places open here so it is one of the more lively holiday towns. We found the village of Lefkimmi and thought that it looked lovely, but as we got further south we kept coming across deserted holiday towns. What must once have been quaint Corfiot towns were now left empty shells.

The worst example we found was at Kavos. I’m sorry if you are a regular visitor there and think it is lovely, but I suspect that no one goes there for a cultural experience. We found literally dozens of bars, clubs, theme restaurants, all of them closed. The whole place looked to me like it would be horrible even when it was all open, but as a deserted ghost town it simply looked like a sad example of allowing development to go completely without check and with zero regard to the environment, to traditional Corfiot values and traditions and quite frankly, without any regard to good taste.

The main feeling I got from driving around coastal Corfu (the south part of the island on that day, but the north part a couple of days later) was sadness. How can such a resource be left empty and unloved just because it was winter. Some of the villages away from the coast still appear to retain their traditional charm but there is little or nothing of that on any part of the coast.

The next day we visited Corfu Town and found a charming old town, complete with very glamorous shops. We wandered around, got lost looking for a recommended restaurant, Tsipouradiko, found the restaurant (closed) and then wandered some more. We marvelled at the impressive twin fortresses guarding the town and enjoyed watching the locals going about their shopping and preparations for Christmas.

On Friday we decided to explore the west coast and northern part of the island. Here we found Paleokastritsa and Liapades bay and the area known as Bella Vista, and it’s easy to see why. There are some very beautiful views indeed. Sadly all of the businesses even in this part of the world are closed. We were starting to get a bit peckish by this point, but other than a couple of ’supermarkets’ (really small general stores) there was nothing to be had. We continued on our journey, climbing up and up to Lakones, where we found a wonderful mountain village with one of those roads that is so narrow there is barely room for your own car, and certainly no way to pass another car, nor any room for parking. We were hoping to find a cafe with a view of the countryside below and just as we were about to give up we found Dolce on the edge of town. This was our lifesaver. The most delicious fresh cakes and excellent coffee! If you happen to be near here, make sure you visit.

We stopped at Angelokastro, an ancient fortification and climbed to the top. We could see almost to Italy (it seemed) and took delight in exploring the battlements. From here we went back down to the coast, exploring the beaches of Agios Georgios, Agios Stephanos and Sidari as well as others in between. I’m sure they are great summer resorts but I couldn’t see anything but a tragedy and an affront to the people of Corfu. Developers have taken over this prime real estate, made some ugly looking buildings that appear completely out of place, and they are lived in for a few months each year while local people are squeezed out. We headed back inland where we saw more of what I would imagine to be the real Corfu. Beautiful mountain villages, people out chatting and working the fields, γιαγιάδες (grandmothers) carrying loads and tending their gardens.

We climbed to the highest peak Pantokrator which is really dizzying at the top. You can look straight across into Albania. Overnight, snow had appeared on the peaks to the inland of Albania and it looked stunning in its austerity. We could also see some seaside towns and I wondered what life was like over there.

We tried to stop at another recommended restaurant, a La Palea in Strinilas but unfortunately it was not open for dinner. We were not having a lot of luck with the recommendations. Oh well. We made it down the mountain as the last light of day was fading and drove back to Corfu town where we grabbed a bite to eat and watched the locals going to church to celebrate the evening before the most important day on the island (no, not the first day of summer). December 12 is the ‘name day’ for Corfu, the day of Saint Spyridon, the patron saint of Corfu. What this means is that everything is closed.

According to the guide books this day is meant to be celebrated by fairs all over the island. It may be that the rain impacted, but we could see no evidence of fairs. It seemed more like a day for family celebrations. We tried to explore the old fort but got rained on (instead we found a really cool cafe, the Winter Bar, where we dried out for a while).

We also took a drive around Gouvia Bay and Kommeno and found where the millionaires live. Some enormous villas with stunning views, some huge yachts and large gates all let us know we were in privileged turf. At Ipsos Bay we stopped at a tavern and had a nice meal (not sure if it was a very late lunch or a very early dinner) and sat and watched the view of the bay and the mountains beyond.

By Guykb; excerpts, edited by Greece Travel Blog

Related posts (automatic selection)

• Young British holidaymakers are animals
• Rhodes is my favorite old town in all of Europe
• Kontokali Bay Resort And Spa in Corfu (5 Stars)
• Exploring Minoan ruins in Crete and the Medieval town of Rhodes
• Enjoying Corfu in Ag Gordios
• Acropolis in a rub-a-dub style