An island of two halves
Date: July 9 – 12
We might have been about 30 years too late to see Corfu at its best. The contrast between the absolutely charming interior which begins about ½ km from the coast, and the very well exploited beaches makes it two completely different countries and 4 or 5 days is nowhere near long enough to be able to comment adequately on either of them.
We rode off the ferry directly to our first accommodation at Tarkis Family Tavern which promised live music at night, but only provided a moussaka that taught me how it should be made. I started to like this island, but next morning just around the corner we struck an intensely commercialised beach crowded with people who see the world differently from me. An espresso at four times the price of yesterday’s Albanian wake-up call cemented my prejudices and Jill worked hard to find a nice big hill and some gravelled back roads to restore my equanimity on the way to our next place – another of the 2% in our price range. This one had a pool, a major attraction even in the now declining heatwave.
I also suffered a terrible tragedy when my Brooks B17 saddle broke, but by a wonderful coincidence one of the two bike stores on the island was right next door and had a cheapie that will get me home, but the difference between the pure pleasure of the perfectly crafted English leather and this one is Very noticeable. I was going to send it back to the same factory in England where they have been hand crafted in the same way since 1880, but it bounced off the back of my bike on one of Jill’s interesting side roads and it’s gone forever. It takes ages for a new one to mould itself to perfectly fit your bum, but that’s the price you pay for perfection.
We thought we would hire a boat and go looking for deserted beaches so we booked 2 nights at the next small town, but our research didn’t reveal that Paleokastritsa is one of the hottest holiday spots on the island. We could hardly see the TMZs for resortwear-clad women, rented quads and motor scooters filled the streets with excitable children (in their 20s) impressing each other and we retreated to our “hotel” and its pool. We had had a brilliant ride on very rough roads and tracks to get there though, and loved the little villages with their multiple pastel coloured houses, so the contrasts continued.
A mean wind blew up and cancelled the boat trip, so another short ride to see more of Corfu’s villages followed by a Fish Bourdeto (Corfu speciality) at a seaside restaurant saved the day.
A back-road ride back to Corfu port the next day and a 6 hour ferry ride took us to Brindisi near the bottom of Italy from where we will aimlessly ride to Rome, not following any special route but sort of thinking about the next day as we go.
Kontokali to Acharavi
Accom: Tzilios Studios
Max elevation: 413 m
Min elevation: -62 m
Total climbing: 690 m
Total descent: -607 m
Total time: 09:15:03
Acharavi to Paleokastritsa
Accom: Arianna
Max elevation: 391 m
Min elevation: -2 m
Total climbing: 943 m
Total descent: -906 m
Total time: 04:54:03
Day trip
Max elevation: 147 m
Min elevation: -92 m
Total climbing: 647 m
Total descent: -536 m
Total time: 04:31:12
Back to Corfu
Max elevation: 100 m
Min elevation: -3 m
Total climbing: 318 m
Total descent: -346 m
Total time: 02:09:25
Tragedy indeed. Your B17. We need a full explanation some time. I always thought they were unbreakable (and super comfortable). Hope the replacement doesn’t cause you too much grief.