Corfu 1+2
I've traveled many places short and long haul across the World but not many pack so much culture, energy and nautural beauty as the island of Corfu, i would truly call it as close to paradise as you can experience and luckily for those based in Europe it is only a short flight away. I arrived in Corfu late October 2021, the weather can be temperamental during this time of year, sure enough i experienced the worst of the Corfu storms straight from touchdown at the airport, the plane itself had to do a fly by to correct a bad landing due to the storm weather, a sign of things to come for the following few days. The tropical climate does have benefits, when the sun is shining on Corfu the island displays some of the most beautiful natural sights possibly anywhere in the world, i would go as far to say it is unfair how perfectly balanced Corfu is in terms of lifestyle for those who enjoy the outdoors.
I booked a stay at the Paleokastritsa hotel situated right opposite the beach of the same name, the views were absolutely amazing from the hotel room balcony, i spent my early mornings looking out from the sundeck over the beach and contemplated what i've been doing with my life to overlook a place like this. I never intended to travel on this trip alone, a few weeks earlier i had broken up with my now ex for the first time, the holiday had been booked well in advance as a means to celebrate freedom again after COVID 19 and would be my first trip abroad since, so i would go it alone if need be, i've never had any issues with going solo in the past.
I had a funny kind of love romance situation out in Corfu, I met this absolutely beautiful Ukrainian woman after noticing her relaxing with a friend outside the beach bar next to what would become one of my favourite beaches in the area. There are times in the past i've simply been curious and i'm not one to always act upon instincts but there was just something about her that i was drawn too, she made me feel like i've just met my first ever crush, she could easily have been a model which would also explain why i was so attracted to her. We managed to see each other again on the way back from a trip on a tour bus, so we exchanged numbers and arranged to meet again, however despite everything inside of me telling me not to be stupid and miss this opportunity, i stepped back and then did not see her again. See when i left for Greece i had just broken up with my gilfriend, i had no intention of meeting somebody new, the time away was a chance for me to reflect and return back with the idea of trying to make things work out, and we did eventually get back together however ultimately i broke up with her indefinitely years later for issues similar to the first time. Looking back and writing this now in 2025 makes me wonder what could have been.
I spent most of my days waking up early and preparing myself to explore Corfu Town and the countryside of Paleokastritsa. I decided on about the 3rd day in with a decent warm weather window to climb the donkey trail trek leading all the way to the top of the mountainside fortress. The trek in itself was very challenging not only for the distance but the heat, I must have lost 10kg on this walk alone. I made it out of the olive tree trails and up to the first village at the top of the mountain, thankfully i come across a nearby cafe shop located at the first point at the village edge. Now what i didn't realise before stepping inside is that around the back of this cafe i would find one of the most incredible rooftop view terraces possibly anywhere in the world, with a full panoramic view of coastline below, which from any angle is spectacular but added an extra special and unexpected moment for me during the trek. The strange thing is that a set of Wasps had also decided to call the cafe home, i didn't really expect to see this type of insect life so high up the mountain, but they appeared attracted to the flowers, fauna and the amazing greek treats being sold at the cafe. Unfortunately this meant customers had to share the experience with the wasps, eventually i got bored of trying to dodge wasps at the table so i eventually continued my journey walking further up the beautiful countryside road and onto the next village.
I reached my next checkpoint on the route and decided to take a take a detour and walk further inland up to the village of Makrades which i had heard about before setting off. I arrived in the Village and was welcomed by a really cosy looking cafe/restaurant situated in the village square which had a very impressive tree providing some much needed shade for customers, but it also added to the whole greek traditional feeling of the cafe itself. I always remmember thinking that the owners of this restaurent were actually relatively young, something which up until this stage had been a fairly uncommon sight in this part of Greece, Corfu outside of the main cities did not seem the most youthful place. Anyway, the owners were very friendly and outgoing and i can see why they decided to settle n such a beautiful village, they also had the advantage of being one of the only cafe/restaurants in the village for those making the pilgrimage this far up, so hopefully business was pretty good for them.
>br> On my way over to the final stretch up to the fortress i discovered a really interesting and remote shop called Marias Eco farm shop which sold lots of really nice homemade greek eco products, the owner possibly Maria herself but i didn't properly ask is such a characteristic person and very kind hearted and open minded, she had lots of wisdom about the local area and shared with me tales of her own travel experiences, she also appeared to have very much found peace in her remote surroundings, and we chatted for quite some time, she was impressed on the fact that i did the entire walk up the mountain from the town below, she also had a bunch of cute chickens and animals running around outside on the land. I finally made it around the final dirt path over to the Fortress, the last stint went on forever, i remember seeing the fortess but not getting any closer to it because of the winding path which leads up to the main entrance, followed by a million ancient steps up to the fortress itself. The fortress was the end point to a great trek and i really enjoyed all of my encounters on the way, i am glad i took the walk up and experienced the local culture firsthand, something i probably would have missed if i took the easier transport route.
On my descent back down to Paaleokastritsa town centre all i remember is my legs feeling like they were walking in auto pilot, I was running on empty but i had to keep going as i didn't want to get stuck in the creepily eery forest section at night. Normally, walking down is much easier but cramp started to set in at the half way point down the mountain, i had been walking after all for the best part of 6 hours, I also started to feel sorry for the donkeys who take this journey on a regular basis, strangely enough i didn't see any donkeys on the way. I eventually made it back to the hotel exhausted and ready to eat a huge meal before completely wiping out in my room shortly after.
I spent a lot of time swimmming in the sea in Paleokastritsa, but how i could i resist in such picture perfect crystal blue waters. The sea was actually fairly cold at first entry but quickly warmed up when moving around, we still had a nice daily average of around 24 degress in Autumn, however in the peak of summer this place must be absolutely amazing with higher temperatues. A few places around the town had actually now closed for the season due to the downturn in customers, however the majority of the town remained open and active. I spotted a few big fish when swimming in the sea, nothing too much to worry about but it was enough to make me think twice about swimmming further out beyond the bay, i also received somes nibbles from curious fish who fancied a bit of me, something that you need to be aware of when swimming in the greek waters.
I did a lot of sightseeing around Corfu Town during the remainder of my visit, the main highlights were the random animal encounters throughout the streets and the English graveyard which was a sombre but also a strangely peaceful and interesting place to understand the historic connection between Corfu and the United Kingdom. Overall, i really loved my time in Corfu and vowed to return again maybe with a partner in hand, which i would eventually do back in 2023, unfortunately, i have lost the photos of this trip and the rest probably now forever remain with my ex.
Corfu second visit
The second time around We did have a great time and it allowed us opportunity to explore further afield across the island visiting places such as Kassiopi and the north coast. We also did a massive hike to the top of Corfu's highest mountain Pantokrator starting from the northern village of Pelekito and then following the route up to the incredibe village of Old Perithia and continuing to our final point at the top of the mountain which presented us with 360 degree views of Corfu island, plus lots of randomly placed cats and dogs which had found home at the top. We took a different route back down to reach the village of Nissaki before connecting with a bus back to our hotel in Barbati.
The hotel itself was stunning with incredible views over the Ionean sea, especially at sunset. The only one downside to our hotel was the outdoor swimming pool which could have passed for a swedish ice bath, I don't know how they managed to get the water feeling so cold. On our penultimate day we decided to book a boat tour from Corfu Town to visit the islands of Paxos and Anti Paxos. We had a really unusual situation during our excursion, our boat actually got into a boating incident with a smaller charter sailing yacht whilst anchored at Anti Paxos beach, the sailing yacht had stopped to anchor in a normal place where the passing tour boats would normally anchor up, the captain of our boat a fiery Greek younger woman decided she would try to fit a square into a triangle and attempt to park the 100ft+ boat into the smallest of gaps next to this charter sailboat regardless of the risk. Sure enoughm, we ended up colliding with the sailboat which resulted in both boats being caught and tangled by anchor under the sea leaving us stranded until the coastguard was called out to release the chains from the seabed underneath and set us free. Our captain was furious, i heard a good combination of greek sweary words aimed at the captain of the other boat who appeared all a bit too relaxed considering they had nearly been capsized in the middle of the Ionean Sea. The other guests on our ship found the funny side to it all, i guess it was hard to be too upset whilst on a boat being stranded at one of the most idyllic beaches in the world.
I was already aware of Paxos and Anti Paxos before visiting Corfu, however the image of both islands is one which sells itself to the super rich luxury yacht owning individuals of the world, something which was evident firsthand when we finally arrived at Paxos docking next to some of the most exclusive luxury yachts and catamarans you can find in the mediterranean sea. The island for all its glamourous clientale was actually a very casual an easy going place which caters to everybody, the town itself is very much preserved in time with traditional stone buildings, cobbled streets and working fishermans port, nothing seemed out of place or completely over the top, a refreshing contrast to the usual more exclusive beach/island hotspots. The highlight for me during the visit was the incredible sea itself and being able to swim in the immaculately clear crystal waters with a vast array of marine life. I would love to return back to Paxos one day, unfortunately our visit was brief due to the earlier boating incident which left us with limited time to explore the island before the need to head back to mainland Corfu before dark.
We spent the remaining time in Corfu as i did last time exploring Corfu Town however on this occasion with new found local knowledge and built in map it was easier and quicker to navigate the streets and also share with my partner some of my favourite places from my previous visit. The food in Corfu is all round exceptional, luckily for visitors Corfu locals love their food culture just as much as we love to eat it and provide some of the best mediterranean dishes in the continent. One of my favourite places during our visit was a restaurant located on the main street of Barbati called Dionysos which served some incredible seafood and it was the first time i had ever tried Swordfish which i can definitely recommend to everyone.
I miss Corfu already and in my mind i'm already planning my next visit, however after two trips in a short time, Corfu is going to be a place which i would like to return possibly later on down the line. To be honest, if i had it my way i would make it a one way trip and live in Corfu permanently because i love everything about the Corfu lifestyle and the Island, who knows, maybe the next time.
PS. Corfu i love your miniature cats and dogs with human like character just as much!
I booked a stay at the Paleokastritsa hotel situated right opposite the beach of the same name, the views were absolutely amazing from the hotel room balcony, i spent my early mornings looking out from the sundeck over the beach and contemplated what i've been doing with my life to overlook a place like this. I never intended to travel on this trip alone, a few weeks earlier i had broken up with my now ex for the first time, the holiday had been booked well in advance as a means to celebrate freedom again after COVID 19 and would be my first trip abroad since, so i would go it alone if need be, i've never had any issues with going solo in the past.
I had a funny kind of love romance situation out in Corfu, I met this absolutely beautiful Ukrainian woman after noticing her relaxing with a friend outside the beach bar next to what would become one of my favourite beaches in the area. There are times in the past i've simply been curious and i'm not one to always act upon instincts but there was just something about her that i was drawn too, she made me feel like i've just met my first ever crush, she could easily have been a model which would also explain why i was so attracted to her. We managed to see each other again on the way back from a trip on a tour bus, so we exchanged numbers and arranged to meet again, however despite everything inside of me telling me not to be stupid and miss this opportunity, i stepped back and then did not see her again. See when i left for Greece i had just broken up with my gilfriend, i had no intention of meeting somebody new, the time away was a chance for me to reflect and return back with the idea of trying to make things work out, and we did eventually get back together however ultimately i broke up with her indefinitely years later for issues similar to the first time. Looking back and writing this now in 2025 makes me wonder what could have been.
I spent most of my days waking up early and preparing myself to explore Corfu Town and the countryside of Paleokastritsa. I decided on about the 3rd day in with a decent warm weather window to climb the donkey trail trek leading all the way to the top of the mountainside fortress. The trek in itself was very challenging not only for the distance but the heat, I must have lost 10kg on this walk alone. I made it out of the olive tree trails and up to the first village at the top of the mountain, thankfully i come across a nearby cafe shop located at the first point at the village edge. Now what i didn't realise before stepping inside is that around the back of this cafe i would find one of the most incredible rooftop view terraces possibly anywhere in the world, with a full panoramic view of coastline below, which from any angle is spectacular but added an extra special and unexpected moment for me during the trek. The strange thing is that a set of Wasps had also decided to call the cafe home, i didn't really expect to see this type of insect life so high up the mountain, but they appeared attracted to the flowers, fauna and the amazing greek treats being sold at the cafe. Unfortunately this meant customers had to share the experience with the wasps, eventually i got bored of trying to dodge wasps at the table so i eventually continued my journey walking further up the beautiful countryside road and onto the next village.
I reached my next checkpoint on the route and decided to take a take a detour and walk further inland up to the village of Makrades which i had heard about before setting off. I arrived in the Village and was welcomed by a really cosy looking cafe/restaurant situated in the village square which had a very impressive tree providing some much needed shade for customers, but it also added to the whole greek traditional feeling of the cafe itself. I always remmember thinking that the owners of this restaurent were actually relatively young, something which up until this stage had been a fairly uncommon sight in this part of Greece, Corfu outside of the main cities did not seem the most youthful place. Anyway, the owners were very friendly and outgoing and i can see why they decided to settle n such a beautiful village, they also had the advantage of being one of the only cafe/restaurants in the village for those making the pilgrimage this far up, so hopefully business was pretty good for them.
>br> On my way over to the final stretch up to the fortress i discovered a really interesting and remote shop called Marias Eco farm shop which sold lots of really nice homemade greek eco products, the owner possibly Maria herself but i didn't properly ask is such a characteristic person and very kind hearted and open minded, she had lots of wisdom about the local area and shared with me tales of her own travel experiences, she also appeared to have very much found peace in her remote surroundings, and we chatted for quite some time, she was impressed on the fact that i did the entire walk up the mountain from the town below, she also had a bunch of cute chickens and animals running around outside on the land. I finally made it around the final dirt path over to the Fortress, the last stint went on forever, i remember seeing the fortess but not getting any closer to it because of the winding path which leads up to the main entrance, followed by a million ancient steps up to the fortress itself. The fortress was the end point to a great trek and i really enjoyed all of my encounters on the way, i am glad i took the walk up and experienced the local culture firsthand, something i probably would have missed if i took the easier transport route.
On my descent back down to Paaleokastritsa town centre all i remember is my legs feeling like they were walking in auto pilot, I was running on empty but i had to keep going as i didn't want to get stuck in the creepily eery forest section at night. Normally, walking down is much easier but cramp started to set in at the half way point down the mountain, i had been walking after all for the best part of 6 hours, I also started to feel sorry for the donkeys who take this journey on a regular basis, strangely enough i didn't see any donkeys on the way. I eventually made it back to the hotel exhausted and ready to eat a huge meal before completely wiping out in my room shortly after.
I spent a lot of time swimmming in the sea in Paleokastritsa, but how i could i resist in such picture perfect crystal blue waters. The sea was actually fairly cold at first entry but quickly warmed up when moving around, we still had a nice daily average of around 24 degress in Autumn, however in the peak of summer this place must be absolutely amazing with higher temperatues. A few places around the town had actually now closed for the season due to the downturn in customers, however the majority of the town remained open and active. I spotted a few big fish when swimming in the sea, nothing too much to worry about but it was enough to make me think twice about swimmming further out beyond the bay, i also received somes nibbles from curious fish who fancied a bit of me, something that you need to be aware of when swimming in the greek waters.
I did a lot of sightseeing around Corfu Town during the remainder of my visit, the main highlights were the random animal encounters throughout the streets and the English graveyard which was a sombre but also a strangely peaceful and interesting place to understand the historic connection between Corfu and the United Kingdom. Overall, i really loved my time in Corfu and vowed to return again maybe with a partner in hand, which i would eventually do back in 2023, unfortunately, i have lost the photos of this trip and the rest probably now forever remain with my ex.
Corfu second visit
The second time around We did have a great time and it allowed us opportunity to explore further afield across the island visiting places such as Kassiopi and the north coast. We also did a massive hike to the top of Corfu's highest mountain Pantokrator starting from the northern village of Pelekito and then following the route up to the incredibe village of Old Perithia and continuing to our final point at the top of the mountain which presented us with 360 degree views of Corfu island, plus lots of randomly placed cats and dogs which had found home at the top. We took a different route back down to reach the village of Nissaki before connecting with a bus back to our hotel in Barbati.
The hotel itself was stunning with incredible views over the Ionean sea, especially at sunset. The only one downside to our hotel was the outdoor swimming pool which could have passed for a swedish ice bath, I don't know how they managed to get the water feeling so cold. On our penultimate day we decided to book a boat tour from Corfu Town to visit the islands of Paxos and Anti Paxos. We had a really unusual situation during our excursion, our boat actually got into a boating incident with a smaller charter sailing yacht whilst anchored at Anti Paxos beach, the sailing yacht had stopped to anchor in a normal place where the passing tour boats would normally anchor up, the captain of our boat a fiery Greek younger woman decided she would try to fit a square into a triangle and attempt to park the 100ft+ boat into the smallest of gaps next to this charter sailboat regardless of the risk. Sure enoughm, we ended up colliding with the sailboat which resulted in both boats being caught and tangled by anchor under the sea leaving us stranded until the coastguard was called out to release the chains from the seabed underneath and set us free. Our captain was furious, i heard a good combination of greek sweary words aimed at the captain of the other boat who appeared all a bit too relaxed considering they had nearly been capsized in the middle of the Ionean Sea. The other guests on our ship found the funny side to it all, i guess it was hard to be too upset whilst on a boat being stranded at one of the most idyllic beaches in the world.
I was already aware of Paxos and Anti Paxos before visiting Corfu, however the image of both islands is one which sells itself to the super rich luxury yacht owning individuals of the world, something which was evident firsthand when we finally arrived at Paxos docking next to some of the most exclusive luxury yachts and catamarans you can find in the mediterranean sea. The island for all its glamourous clientale was actually a very casual an easy going place which caters to everybody, the town itself is very much preserved in time with traditional stone buildings, cobbled streets and working fishermans port, nothing seemed out of place or completely over the top, a refreshing contrast to the usual more exclusive beach/island hotspots. The highlight for me during the visit was the incredible sea itself and being able to swim in the immaculately clear crystal waters with a vast array of marine life. I would love to return back to Paxos one day, unfortunately our visit was brief due to the earlier boating incident which left us with limited time to explore the island before the need to head back to mainland Corfu before dark.
We spent the remaining time in Corfu as i did last time exploring Corfu Town however on this occasion with new found local knowledge and built in map it was easier and quicker to navigate the streets and also share with my partner some of my favourite places from my previous visit. The food in Corfu is all round exceptional, luckily for visitors Corfu locals love their food culture just as much as we love to eat it and provide some of the best mediterranean dishes in the continent. One of my favourite places during our visit was a restaurant located on the main street of Barbati called Dionysos which served some incredible seafood and it was the first time i had ever tried Swordfish which i can definitely recommend to everyone.
I miss Corfu already and in my mind i'm already planning my next visit, however after two trips in a short time, Corfu is going to be a place which i would like to return possibly later on down the line. To be honest, if i had it my way i would make it a one way trip and live in Corfu permanently because i love everything about the Corfu lifestyle and the Island, who knows, maybe the next time.
PS. Corfu i love your miniature cats and dogs with human like character just as much!
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