Six days on the Corfu Trail

Six days on the Corfu Trail (September 2006)

All we had to do was walk ......We’ll be back

We arranged our trip through Apreghi Travel (http://www.travelling.gr/aperghi) who provided us with an itinerary. They booked all our accommodation and would transfer our luggage. All we had to do was walk.

We had arrived at Corfu about 11:30 on the Monday morning. Anna Aperghi was waiting at the arrival lounge and escorted my wife and I with our luggage to a quiet area where she gave us some last minute details of the trail and the amended list of our accommodation. Anna explained how the trail was marked in strategic locations on the sides of olive trees and posts with little yellow aluminium plaques with the letters C.T. in black and also by yellow paint marks (sometimes arrows indicating the direction of travel) on rocks, fence posts and low walls.

Shortly after 12:15: we met Chris who loaded our luggage into the back of his car and drove us on to our first departure point of the trail. On the way we had spectacular views over the bay at Agios Gordios. In the distance along the horizon to the north east we could see dark clouds skirting the slopes of Pantokrator.

We arrived on a warm, but cloudy September afternoon at Paramonas on the western shore of Corfu. Our apartment was about 500 metres up a hill from the coast but had a beautiful view over the bay at Paramonas.

Our first encounter with the locals was with 3 small kittens, which were extremely curious and pleased to see us. Isabel took off her boot and socks; the smallest of the kittens identified her toes as some sort of delicacy and decided to sample them. Shooing the kitten away only encouraged the others to jump through the door to see what nibbles were on offer.

We walked down to the beach and went for a swim. We could see that the weather was going to deteriorate so we walked round the small settlement found the local shop, a small convenience store, where we got condensed milk and coffee. Later that evening we ended up playing musical beds as the kittens led us a merry dance. We no sooner removed one from our apartment then another would bound through the open french windows and straight under the nearest bed or chair. In the early evening we witnessed a heavy downpour and a brief thunderstorm. A party of 16 other walkers on a guided walk along the trail arrived they hailed mainly from England, New Zealand and Switzerland. The leader of the party Neil said that he worked for Explore Worldwide. They had been caught in the downpour.

The weather cleared for a while and we went along the road to find the first waymark of the Corfu trail then we went down to the Sunset Taverna for a meal. (25 Euros for two courses and drinks). On the way back up the hill we stopped for several minutes to enjoy the stars although part of the sky was cloudy. That night, having evicted the cats, we were woken in the early hours by a thunderstorm and heavy rain. By 7:45 AM the rain had cleared and we made our way down to the beach. We wandered about until the taverna opened and went in for a breakfast of cold boiled eggs and bread and cheese. The other walkers came in small groups.

Day 1: We started from Paramonas on a dull but brightening Tuesday morning 19^th September. From our self-catering apartment we walked uphill on the road a few hundred metres to the north. We then walked up through an olive grove past a shed and a hen coop. Carefully picking our way through olive nets we followed the path up a steep hillside. We stopped briefly at a few vantage points to appreciate the view and after about 30 minutes climbing, we approached the top of the ridge.

The lasting impression of the climb was the smell of thyme and sage and marjoram which grew wild on the hillside amongst small hawthorn bushes and a local variety of dwarf holly. It didn’t take us long to realise that the yellow paint markers could be confused with lichen on the surface of rocks and that we would have to keep our eyes peeled to tell the difference. We reached a small road near the summit and followed it over the ridge. We had a beautiful view of the valley below although it was still very misty.

We then found another path and followed it down through the olive trees to Ano Pavliana. The village was full of hustle and bustle at about 10AM on the Tuesday morning. On the way out of the village a woman watched us approach and came out of doors to indicate the path between two houses. We thanked her and went on our way. Without her help it might have been difficult finding the waymarks from the village, but we picked up the marks on the path further on and followed the trail through some olive groves, occasionally having to cross a number of small streams that flowed through the grove, past the refrigerator graveyard. Eventually after walking through the trees for about 40 minutes we arrived at Kato Pavliana. We walked along the village road until we found the path heading off to the left and went down some steps. We reached a path, which became a small track. After walking about a kilometre we thought we saw a waymark on a concrete wall (turned out to be a yellow leaf caught behind some grass against the wall) and went down to a small concrete bridge. This led us into a small olive grove after walking about there for about half a kilometre, we realised we had taken the wrong turning (a total detour of between ten to fifteen minutes). In the grove we heard then spotted some people through the trees; Isabel called out to them. Initially it appeared that they had either not heard or were reluctant to reply, but once they realised we spoke Greek, they came over and indicated the correct direction to Vouniatades. We walked down the track where we came to another concrete bridge, on the other side we could see a path leading uphill into the trees. This was way marked and we followed it up into an olive grove. After following this path for about 15 minutes or so, we arrived at Vouniatades. We followed the village road once again and found a track heading north. A close inspection indicated that it was waymarked.

We were then walking in a valley of open heathland for the next hour or so before we began to see signs of the next village Stromvoli. First scattered housing with large plots of land and then a conurbation on a road. This was a relatively large village and as we entered we found a small taverna (Spiros) at the side of the main road. It was now about 1:00 PM and we decided to have lunch. The owner had been contacted by the large group of walkers and fortunately had food available. We sat down for a meal of homemade tatziki and bread, Mussakas, and a Greek salad along with liquid refreshments (30 Euros). We used what water was left to top up our flask for the afternoon. After about 35-40 minutes the other party of walkers arrived. Only 12 were walking that day, the others (4) were suffering from blisters, sprains or lack of sleep because of the thunderstorm. They were not all walking with poles. We found these indispensable, particularly when the cobbles or rocks were wet. We exchanged greetings spoke with some of them for a further half an hour before setting off just about 2:15 in the afternoon. Just before leaving Isabel went across the road to a general store to buy the only thing we had forgotten to pack, a comb (0.5 Euro). We wound our way through the village streets past the town square and headed out on the road. We were initially on the flat in lightly wooded countryside but then started to climb up on a track onto the hillside north of Stromvoli. There was a beautiful view across to the other ridge that we had walked over almost 5 hours earlier. After about 1 hour’s pleasant stroll from Stromvoli we approached the path to Komianatta. It was in the process of being bulldozed to make a new road up to the village from the south. The process was not complete and we walked for the last 10 minutes on a cobbled path. We met an old woman and stopped briefly for a conversation. She explained that the road was being made for her benefit. We wandered through the village and eventually stopped at a beauty spot to look at the view north towards Agia Deka and Pantokrator in the far north. Here we left the trail to head for Benitses.

Finding the path down was very difficult; first we followed a very obvious path down past a house but after a couple of minutes it was clear this was not going to take us down the hillside. We made our way back to the track and followed a second path down and round into an olive grove, we followed this very obvious path ran down past a large olive tree and on between some hawthorn bushes which turned into a hedge. Eventually we arrived at some rocks about ten minutes along the way. It was obvious we had missed the path we were supposed to take.

Picking our way back through the olive grove I located what appeared to be a path, turning around the large tree we passed earlier. It was almost washed away by the heavy rain and was covered in lots of dead leaves. We followed this down through the olive trees. It seemed more like a dry streambed than a path. It had obviously channelled the rain downhill the night before. After walking downhill over the rough stony path for about a kilometre we came out onto the road. There we spoke with an old man who was slightly startled to see us walk out of the trees. We asked him how far Benitses was he said about one kilometre. After we were still walking on the road downhill for some 15 minutes we could only imagine he meant, as the bird flew. We went up over a small rise in the road and then down hill again. Eventually after another 10 minutes we reached a junction taking the right hand turn, which went straight down towards the coast, we followed this for 10 minutes or so, and came out onto the main street at Benitses. We then went looking for our accommodation. Although we were only about 200 yards from it, none of the locals seemed to know where it was! The tourist office would have had us looking in the wrong direction! We sat down and had a drink while we decided first to look south then north along the road.

We first walked south, but after a minute we could see that this was not the right direction. We were leaving the village. We backtracked and walked towards the town harbour. We then spotted a roadside sign for our accommodation, the Arches Hotel. After we checked in, took our case to our room and had a welcome shower, we watched the other walkers arrive. Speaking to them later; they told us they also had difficulty finding the path from Komianatta. Our room was situated at the end of a terrace with easy access to a side street.

We went for a walk and found the sign to the roman bathhouse, which we followed along a small lane until we found the ruin situated in a field behind the houses of the main street. We walked down to the harbour and along the promenade. Benitses appeared to be slightly rundown; a few businesses that had obviously relied on tourism in the past were closed down. There were some signs of a slow recovery from the loss of more abundant tourism several years before; some places had been converted from bars into shops or houses more suited to serving the needs of the local population.

Later that evening we wandered back down to Benitses, after our large lunch we did not have a great appetite so we found a small kebab shop and bought some chicken in pita bread with salad and with drinks and rice for desert from the local supermarket we went back to our room to eat (6 Euro). It rained in the night but it did not disturb our sleep.

Day 2: Wednesday: The next morning we got up about 7:00 and went for a short walk into Benitses we went into a supermarket and bought a phone card (4 Euros) and some bite cream (2.50 Euro). We had forgotten to pack some and despite having clothing impregnated with insect repellent Isabel got bitten by a horsefly the previous afternoon; the bite only began to bother her that morning. We went for the usual continental breakfast about 8:05. We watched the other walkers leave about 8:20. We went back to our room repacked our case and waited for Chris to come and pick us up. He arrived promptly at 9:00 and took us up to Dafnata, a village about 400 metres from Komianatta. There we found the trail as it left the road and followed it down out of the village through well-tended plane and olive trees. We headed past a large church and picked up the path as it headed into some olive trees at the foot of the mountain. We walked under hawthorn and what looked like ash and a few small oak trees, underfoot we walked through rough grass, wild sage, marjoram and oregano. We followed a path through the trees and came to some strange limestone formations they looked like the cartoon houses of the Flintstone’s; large oblong slabs of stone that almost looked man made. The path went quite some way round the foot of the mountain before it began to twist and turn up the slope. We came to Ano Garounda a small but quiet village. We left the main road and followed the path through olive groves and began a very steep assent on a slightly cobbled path twisting and turning back and fourth. After about 5 minutes assent we heard voices ahead, about 10 minutes later we spotted the walking party approximately 100 metres ahead after about another 5 minutes we reached what one might call a large shelf on the side of the mountain under some olive trees; the other party had made a brief halt to catch their breath. We stopped for a talk then walked gingerly over some olive nets that had been laid over the path. I took the lead and found I had to beat the trees ahead to rid them of the water that had collected on them from the previous night’s rain. After a brief level section the path turned steeply up the mountain and we had to climb the last few metres onto the summit. The ground was slippery and I had to haul Isabel up the last stretch. Suddenly we were at the summit of Agia Deka.

The other walkers followed us up. On the top was a church with some benches where we sat for a few minutes. We looked inside the church then followed the path down to a monastery. It was abandoned but the chapel was well tended and the garden in good order. We looked inside the buildings. We then followed the path out of the gate and made our descent down an old cobbled path.

This path was very steep in parts and took some sharp turns back and fourth as it went down the mountain. About 15 minutes later on our descent we got the first signs of impending rain. About 200 yards from the village of Agia Deka the rain started, within two or three minutes it was heavy. For about 10 minutes the rain was very heavy as we wandered into the village. I had forgotten my rain jacket that morning, but wrapped a waterproof groundsheet around my shoulders and with a hat on my head that kept me dry. We navigated the streets with some difficulty and eventually picked up the trail. Following the road a short way we picked up a track. There was supposed to be a path past a house a few minutes down the track, but there had been a new road bulldozed through to the main road. We found a waymark someway down on this track (it had been moved). We followed this on to the main road knowing that we had gone too far to the east and bypassed the hamlet of Alepohori. The rain now stopped, the clouds passed over and the sun came out. I could see the houses behind us in the trees. The main road was waymarked and pointed uphill. So obviously this was a temporary detour. We met a cyclist and we asked him if he knew the way to the village called Kamara He had not passed through it and could not find it on his map. I could see some houses on a hill to the left and decided to follow the road northwest. So we walked along the road to a junction. There we found a road sign indicating the way to Kamara. We followed the small road into the village, picking up the trail once more on the way. Once there we found more waymarks and headed out of the village towards Sinerades. We crossed a bridge and walked up to an asphalt road and turned right until we reached a junction just across from a small church. We turned right again. The amendments on the companion guide were confusing at this point; we had been told to take a path at the second chain linked fence and walked past the first one. After walking about 300 metres we passed by some new buildings but nothing seemed to fit the description in the book. After investigating a track we decided to make our way back to the church. We scrutinised the first chain-linked fence more closely and found that here was indeed a waymark very close to the ground and hidden by the long grass. We followed a narrow and difficult to follow path into an olive grove. At the other side of the grove the path became a track when we came to a junction we took the left hand track and went over a hill. Turning right at two junctions we met a road and went downhill and found the signs for the folk museum. We followed these, passed the museum (closed) and continued gradually downhill. It was not long before we turned into the main street of this large village and we stopped just opposite the square for a drink. After a 20-30 minute break we set off down the main road and picked up the trail heading almost southwest out of town. We went uphill along an alley until it met a track. We could see we were heading towards the coast. We followed a rough track some distance through some olive trees, until we came to an asphalt road, turning slightly right we picked up the trail on the other side. We went up past some derelict buildings, but walked a little too far. A large unfriendly dog spotted us as we turned back to find our way past an old church and on to some cobbles. The dog saw us from the top of a retaining wall and decided to make an attack. When it was within or 3 or 4 feet, I had my sticks handy, but Isabel used her ultrasonic dog dazer to great effect. The dog made a rapid retreat. Cowed it made no more approach. We were now overlooking the west coast and could see Agios Gordis away to the south. We followed the main track for a few miles heading steadily north and west.

We had not seen a waymark for some time but eventually spotted one on the side of a tree. The map in retrospect seemed to indicate we should have gone slightly west, but the waymark seemed to suggest we turn east. We looked over on the west, but could not see any sign of the correct route, so we walked on the other path, the wrong way! Eventually after walking for more than half an hour we came to a small lane we followed this up to the main road. We saw a woman and asked her where we were. To our dismay we were on the north side of Sinerades we had almost walked in a circle. We walked down the main road towards Pelekas some 3 kilometres away. Isabel saw a taxi and hailed it and we traveled in comfort up to our hotel (6 Euros). The taxi driver asked what we were doing we explained we were walking the Corfu trail. “You from England” he enquired.

“No, we’re from Scotland”.

“You’re crazy”, he informed us. “English people - German people walk the crazy paths. You’re Scottish, you have no excuse, you must be crazy”.

We were staying at the Hotel Levant right on the top of the hill. The views were spectacular. Isabel was particularly taken with the quality of the hotel. Our room had beautiful wooden floors, old wooden furniture and a canopy bed. The bathroom held a full sized bath with ornate fittings. We had a quick shower changed and went to explore. Just across the road from the hotel at the top of the hill was Kaiser’s seat with crenellated walls, built to make it look like a fortress, on top of the hill. The views from there were spectacular. We looked across to Agia Deka Mountain and to Sinerades, then north towards Paleokastrisa. We could just about make out Liapades several miles away to the northwest.

We then wandered down the hill along the road as it zigzagged on its way down to the village. We met the other walkers arriving. They were staying down in the village. We browsed in the shops and Isabel bought a wall plaque in a craft shop called Magisospiti. We walked back up the hill to our hotel and looked out over the terrace to the South. About 7:30 PM we left to go back downhill. I brought our torch to let cars know of our existence on the road as part of the way was under trees, which blocked some of the street lighting; some of there were no longer working. We looked around for several minutes for a place to eat. One place off a side street looked at first impressions to be inviting but the proprietors seemed to be having trouble with their sulking teenagers. Eventually, we sat in a taverna overlooking the street as it began to get dark. A cold breeze began to blow so we moved to the back of the taverna. We had two courses and drinks (22 Euros). While we were sitting eating we could watch the lightening play on Pantokrator in the north. After sitting there for almost two hours we wandered back up the hill to our hotel and before we settled down for the night Isabel grabbed her jacket and we went out to the Kaiser’s seat to look at the stars.

Day 3: Thursday: The next morning we woke early and went to look at the view again. At just before 8:00 we went for the usual breakfast. About 8:30 we went back to our room picked up our walking poles and daypack and wheeled our case to reception. We set off downhill until we met the main road. There we turned right and followed it some way out of Pelekas. To the left hand side of the road there was a concrete ramp, which went down a slight incline we followed the track onto a path and walked gently downhill until it forked; careful inspection showed that both branches ran down to the same road. Taking the left fork and turning left we followed the road for about a kilometre. And at a junction we spotted the Malibu snack bar. Once across the road we had to look carefully for a path that went into the olive groves. Having located it we followed this path for a while until it passed a house and joined a track we went left, took the track and followed it to a junction where we turned right at a house. There we found a track that went to the left and we found that this met a concrete track/road and was signposted down to Myrtotissa beach. We walked alongside some people who were obviously making for the beach and followed others down hill towards the shore. About 400 metres from the beach bulldozers were busy widening a stretch of road. So we had to squeeze past the machines at the side of the road and walk over a very loose rocky surface, which was hard on the feet and ankles. The morning was dry and bright and beginning to get hot. We arrived at the beach about 30 minutes out of Pelekas. There were several sun worshippers there and others beginning to arrive. We walked along the path that ran along the back of the beach in front of a cliff. Then at the north end of the beach a path ran up a slight slope we followed this until we reached a taverna. It was open for breakfast. I went to buy some more water and filled our flasks. After a short break we continued north on the path. After a little while we came to the monastery it was closed. A large dog stood at the fence and glowered at us. Taking a path we passed to the left hand side a little down the slope. We followed this for some distance until we came to a fence. At this point we turned right and went uphill. Eventually we met a track at the first junction we continued straight on and turned right at the second junction. We then followed this fairly steep track uphill for some distance making our way to a ridge and some large aerials. The track turned first south then back north and headed over the ridge. Over the ridge it began a gentle decent down to wards the village of Vatos.

We descended on the landward side of the hill gently down until we reached the town square at Vatos.

The directions out of the village were very confusing, as we seemed to have to take a number of twists and turns. The sun was behind some large clouds that had rolled in during the last ten minutes and there were no obvious waymarks through the village. However on the outskirts we had a choice of two directions. We chose the wrong one and we turned off in the wrong direction. Isabel had asked a man for directions and he pointed off down this path. So we took the route. I was almost certain we had come the wrong way; however as we could see the main road up ahead. We followed it down to a bridge. It almost matched the description, but not quite. I reckoned we were too far to the west. I guess the man misunderstood and indicated the way to Ermones instead of the bridge. We followed a path but as far as I could see it was leading to Ermones, not the direction we wanted to follow. We walked down to the small river and cross a small bridge on the other side we walked up in the opposite direction to a petrol station and some shops next to a tourist information office, so we asked a woman there to help put us back on track. She said we would be back on the trail if we walked up to the next bridge, crossed it and followed the path heading first east then north. After about 10 minutes up the road we reached Ermones Bridge just in time to see the sheep being herded over it. We picked up the track on the other side and followed it along the side of the river for several kilometres, we were soon on the open Ropa valley.

It was very picturesque and the bird life was remarkable: kingfishers, falcons, buzzards and herons. By the river there were terrapins and traces of other small animals, voles probably. As we walked along the riverbank we could hear loud claps of thunder. In the distance we could see dark clouds rolling over the mountain and then down the east side of the island. Ten minutes later the clouds also obscured the large radar dish on the lower summit of Agia Deki to the south. We thought for a little while we were going to be caught in the open in a downpour, but fortunately, it did not rain on us and the cloud moved away; cleared away from Pantokrator in the north and remained in the south for the rest of the afternoon.

About half way along the valley we crossed an old stone bridge and stopped for a few minutes to look back the direction we had come and a bite to eat (energy bars we had brought from home). We waved to some drivers on the road. We then walked a short distance on the other bank of the river and reached a track heading northwest. We followed this track into the hills towards the village of Giannades, which lay on the crest of a large hill directly in front of us. The track joined a road and we turned right. Just then we were spotted by some very small and cute kittens which started to mew when the saw us and followed us onto the road. We were worried that they would come too far and were in danger of being injured or killed on the road. We tried to scare them off but they persisted in following us for 30 metres or so. We hurried further along the road then up the track on the opposite side of the road. The kittens seemed to want to follow, but fortunately they were scared off by the noise of some cars and ran back the way they had come. We walked up a steep footpath and up some steps into the village of Giannades. At the top of the hill there was a little town square, which was open at one edge and was like a gallery overlooking the Ropa valley.

We bought some soda water from a shop in the main street leading to the square and sat on a bench for several minutes. Overlooking the path we had walked that morning we could make out a dozen people in the distance cross the little bridge we had sat on some 30 minutes earlier. It was obviously Neil and his party. We waited another ten minutes and set off through the village. The instructions in the companion guide were easy to follow out of the village, but the first waymark we spotted on leaving the village appeared to make it fairly difficult to choose the correct path. These particular instructions were amendments to the first published edition and not shown on the map. We scouted along 2 of 3 obvious paths leading from the road. None of which seemed to have a waymark. The third went down hill it was obviously wrong. Even a Greek van driver stopped to ask us for directions. We spoke to a local woman who said the leftmost path and the one on the right both went to Liapades. The description in the book indicated we take the left path, as Giannades would be on our right as we proceeded into the hills; whereas, the right-hand road did not seem to fit the description. The path swung first right then left and gently climbed into the hills to the west of Giannades. Following only the main track and avoiding any turnings we made our way to a T junction and took the track on the left. This is where the new Corfu trail route through Giannades meets the alternative route through Kanakades. We crossed the ridge and began to descend towards the coast. At the first junction we kept to the left and at the second we went right. The path went through miles of olive groves. We could hear bird-scarers going off; slightly disconcerting at first when one thinks it might be a shotgun. After we had been walking in the groves for more than one hour we came to a small road and a shrine.

We took the left hand fork and followed the tree-lined road gently downhill towards Liapades. At a fork in the road there were misleading waymarks, following the instructions in the Companion Guide we took the left-hand fork and followed a steep path down into the village. Taking an alley to the right we emerged at the village square.

Once at the village square we made our way along the right hand edge of the square and followed the road downhill to our hotel. We did not follow the route from the left hand side of the square but rather the road, which twisted and turned more gently down the slope towards the beach and offered better opportunities to take photographs of the village on the hill. Eventually, when we were about 200 yards from the beach we located out hotel. The hotel reception was empty but a notice stated that the Cricketer taverna adjacent was serving as the reception while refurbishment was underway. We went across the street and checked in; locating our case. The clerk at the desk told us that there was a special Greek night that evening. The taverna did very good Greek specialties. After settling into our room we went down to the beach to have a swim. The water was lovely after a long hard walk. Drying off in the warm sunshine, we then went for an ice cream and a beer to watch the sunset before returning to our room. After a shower and clean clothes we went for a quick stroll uphill before going for our meal. I recalled we had been on this beach almost 25 years before stopping at Liapades while on a drive up to Paleokastritsa.

We enjoyed our meal at the Cricketer’s taverna (two courses, refreshments and entertainment all for 29 Euros).

The Greek night at the Liapades hotel was spectacular. The singer was superb, handling some old favourites of Mikis Theodorakis, Georgos Dalaris and Haris Alexiou amongst others. Also an old Dalaris song and favourite of our family, known only to us as “O trainaki mou” (my little train), one day we’ll find out what it is called. The band, accordion and bouzouki player were also on form, even morphing Fiddler on the Roof into Zorba the Greek. The dancers (in traditional costume) were excellent and had almost all of the guests up for a dance or two. Unfortunately, we had to leave early as we were walking next day. We had a marvelous evening and slept well.

Day 4: Friday: The next morning we were down for breakfast promptly at 8:00. I had the usual yogurt with honey, some bread and cheese while Isabel had doughnuts, with orange juice and coffee. We were walking from Liapades to Agios Georgios. We got talking to some of the other walkers, who arrived for breakfast as we were leaving. This was their first rest day so we would not be seeing them again. We bade them all good-bye and wished them well on their walk. It was a cool morning and we left the hotel about 8:45 leaving our luggage at the taverna. We walked down the shore in our walking gear and found a path through the Hotel Elly Beach past the swimming pool and straight up a steep slope. The path twisted and turned steeply uphill and at the top we had to climb up a small cliff; clambering up some rocks with the aid of a rope. We then followed a path downhill and across a road. There was a slight climb up a hill towards a fence. As we approached the fence some large pigs ran up squealing and grunting. They appeared to be wagging their tails with excitement and gathered in a crowd at the fence. Perhaps they expected some morsels of food because they started a higher pitched squealing almost like crying when we walked on past with out offering any. They may have looked clean, but they were a bit too smelly for us to linger long, to say the least. We walked through some olive groves until we reached some houses on the main road. Turning left we walked on the road. At this point we made a detour downhill into Paleokastritsa along a small track, we had a quick look around then backtracked to the road. Further along we took a track off of the left hand side of the road and followed it until it reached another road which we followed until it ran out at a large water container. Behind the buildings a cobbled path led steeply uphill twisting and turning. This way and that, we climbed for at least 30 minutes. On the way we crossed a narrow road, left it immediately up a steep path and some steps emerging on another road with superb views over Paleokastrisa.

This road took us into Lakones. We walked along the road and stopped at a shop to get some soda water. Isabel, as usual, befriended some kittens, which wanted to play with her bootlaces and darted about in a frenzy. We met an English couple who were touring the area by car and stood and chatted about the Corfu trail. We walked past Bella Vista and its beautiful view then along the road for at least 25 minutes.

We took a path on the left and soon after went right then followed this through an olive grove until we reached a road into Krini. It had a famous coffee shop at one time, but it now had a takeaway coffee shop and the original Kaffeneon is now a museum. It was busy and we did not stop. We followed a concrete path down out of the village and across a little valley. The Companion guide said it was cobbled, but it is now concrete. On the way along this track we spoke with a Greek woman who said she had a daughter in America and another in England. She said they had just gone home after staying with her for one month. We told her we were from Scotland and were walking the footpaths of Corfu. We then walked between a cleft in some rocks to a fantastic view over Agios Giorgios Bay. The walled costal path was spectacular as we zigzagged down the cliff. As we emerged at the foot we met three English people standing by a 4x4. They were chatting and we asked how far Agios Giorgios was by foot. We got into conversation briefly.

‘You’re mad if you’re going to walk’ they said.

One man drove off leaving his companions to enjoy the view while we crossed the road into the olive groves and we walked along a track through the trees. It was easy to find our way most of the time. Occasionally consulting the map, we took some short cuts down the slope and found an old cobbled footpath that took us down to a road. Imagine our surprise as we stepped out onto the road when we met the man whom we had been talking to some twenty minutes before at the foot of the cliff, but I think he was more taken aback that we had got down before him. He was driving along the road to Agios Georgios. We got talking again, he offered us a lift, which we declined and he recommended a taverna that we later found was very near our hotel. We crossed the road, back into the olive trees and made our way towards the shore and then followed the coastal path to Agios Georgios. The day was turning hot and we were glad it was one of out shorter walks. We had quite a walk to find our hotel and stopped briefly at another hotel to ask for directions. Further along the road we found the Hotel Belle Helene. We got to our hotel about 1:30 checked in and picked up our case from reception. We then went to our room and after freshening up changed into our swimming clothes and went down to the beach for a swim.

We then went for lunch (two courses and drinks 20 Euros). We spent most of the afternoon on the beach. Walking along the road in the early evening between 6:30 and 7:00 we were just remarking on the fragrance of the flowers mainly jasmine and honeysuckle when we met the English couple we had bumped into at Lakones, Martin and Christine. We got talking again and arranged to meet at the taverna about 8:00 P.M. We went down about 7:45 and waited with refreshments (3.5 Euros). Martin and Christine arrived about 10 minutes after us and we hailed them from our table next to the beach. We had a very enjoyable 3-course meal with drinks (33 Euros). We had a very pleasant evening and parted with Martin and Christine near their parked car. We then wandered down to near the water edge and away from the streetlights to view the stars and although we could make out the milky way, the constellations Lyra, Cygnus, Cassiopea, Cephus and Andromeda, but much of the sky was obscured by clouds.

Day 5: Saturday: Looking out in the early morning at dawn it was obvious that the clouds had come over although it had not rained heavily in the night, the air was cool and damp in the early morning. We went for breakfast and sat on our balcony looking towards the hotel gate. At 9:00 AM Chris arrived to pick us up and take us on to Stavros. As we approached the foot of Pantokrator from the west we could see that there were dark clouds playing around the summit. The weather was moving in from the east and Chris told us that there might be a storm in the early afternoon, but there might not be. It was up to us whether we wanted to walk up the mountain, but would not recommend it if the weather turned nasty. As we got close it seemed to be more threatening and we decided that we would look for an alternative walk near our next base, Kalami. Chris took us on and gave us a quick commentary of Achravi, Kassiopi and Agios Stephanos, while driving us to Kalami.

We were disappointed but it was still misty when we reached Kalami. We were staying in a two bedroom self-catering apartment which was fairly close to a supermarket and some gift shops and with a view of the famous Durrells’ “White House” from the balcony. Chris introduced us to the local travel agent who suggested some walks along the shore to Agni and Nissaki.

It was now about 10:00 and the top of the mountain was still obscured by cloud and a distant peel of thunder seemed to confirm we had made a wise choice. After washing some clothes and putting them out to dry we decided that we would go a walk. The sun began to burn off the mist and the low clouds began to retreat from the sides of Pantokrator. About 11:00 we decided to walk along to Nissaki. So we left about 11:10. After exploring a few of the little beaches at Kalami first, we followed the road until it led onto the coastal path. On the way past Agni, as the weather was clearing we decided to make a detour at Kaminaki and ventured up the east side of the mountain. We walked past the extensive complex of the Nissaki Beach hotel where lots of sunbathers were just beginning to put their towels on to sunbeds. At Kaminaki we set off up a steep ramp from the shore. So, after a steep assent up from Kaminaki, across a busy road near Nissaki, and on a cobbled path to Katavolos at the top of the cobble path we arrived at the car parking area just out side the southeastern side of the village. We walked a short distance uphill on a rough road past some houses. We saw an English family having breakfast on their balcony (they has teenagers so it probably wasn’t lunch as one of them was still in pajamas). We walked past a terrace of old houses where some building work was taking place and we had to scramble over some broken stones and bricks without twisting our ankles or breaking our poles “Siga, siga” the workmen called out meaning “slowly, slowly”. We headed up hill to find the path as it entered a small gully past a water cistern. We followed a rough path quite some distance uphill until we reached a track which we followed downhill slightly and then uphill and walked for at least half an hour. On the left hand side of the track a path was waymarked and we followed this down and then up the sides of a small valley. This was difficult but enjoyable walking and the view behind us was spectacular. Just as the path began to peter-out at the brow of a hill, near a small tree there was a track and we picked up a second track that took us in to Old Sinies. There were some trucks and diggers moving in the old village possibly moving stone from the road. It was now 2:45 in the afternoon. As we had now been walking for just over three and a half hours it was time to be making our way back. From Old Sinies we walked back along the track to the low tree and down the rough cobbled track. With no need to consult the map on our descent we were able to fully appreciate the scenery which was now much easier to see in the late afternoon sunshine. The views over Nissaki and Barbati were superb. We went down the way we had come up, down past the water cistern over the rubble and through Katavolos. We scrabbled down the path to the main road making a short detour into a small bar perched on the side of the hill just outside Nissaki. This place was showing an episode of Friends on their television (the one where Phoebe renames herself Princess Consuela Bananahammock). With refreshments we sat indoors briefly (a Fanta lemon and a cold Amstel, 4 Euros) then went out to the balcony as seats became available.

After a rest of about 30 minutes looking at the superb view from the balcony we set off down to Kaminaki and the long coastal path to Kalami. We went along the shore on past Nissaki beach hotel, passing the path to Kendroma and through Agni and then on to Kalami. The sun was low in the sky and we managed to walk right past our accommodation. Hence, we saw rather more of Kalami than we intended before we realized it. Tired and hungry we had a quick shower and changed and went out for a meal. We went down onto the beach and sat in Thomas Place Taverna, certainly the busiest we had seen on this small stretch of coastline. We settle down for our meal as the sky became dark at last (a shared first course, two main courses and a half carafe of house red wine, and mineral water, 33 Euros). About 9:45, we headed back to our apartment with a short detour via the supermarket to buy some yogurt and milk (~3 Euro). We sat on our balcony covered in insect repellent sipping a coffee. About 10:30 we turned in for the night.

Day 6: Sunday: At 6:30 AM I got up and made some coffee. I had some breakfast, yogurt. Isabel was not hungry, as she had been feeling a bit unwell. After packing some snacks in our day packs and filling the flasks with water, we set off at 7:20 just as the sun was beginning to rise over the hills of Albania. We set off on a cool morning along the road past the ‘White House’ towards Agni. Turning down to wards the shore, we followed the coastal footpath towards Kaminaki, with great views back to wards Kalami and over the sea to Albania, Epirus and the Zagros mountains. The path to Kendroma our next destination was waymarked at the coastal path. Just before reaching it I caught one of my walking poles between two sharp stones and pulled the bottom section out of the stick. Unfortunately I had managed to damage the stick and being unable at that point to affect a repair I had to pack it in my day pack. However, I was to find that I only needed one stick that day as the climbs and descents were not as steep as the walk the day before. At a garden near a chain-linked fence we followed the path inland past an old mill stone. We crossed the main road and continued on the cobbled path to Kendroma. At the village we followed a track, which led to an alley through the houses.

We found a concrete cistern and followed a path uphill until we reached a road. We walked up the road about 350 metres looking for a path into the olive trees on the left. Looking back down hill we could see the waymark almost hidden out of sight high up on a tree. We walked back downhill about 50 metres and followed the path which went steeply uphill through an olive grove. The undergrowth was heavy and a strong smell of thyme was released as we couldn’t help crushing some plants under foot. We took a path to the right and after a couple of minute this path met an unmade road, which we followed. We then took a track off the road and immediately a path that went uphill to join the road again.

We followed the road up to Porta and here we stopped to have a coffee at one of two kafenios (coffee houses), which happened to be just across a narrow street from each other. It was now about 9:00. Coffee cost us 0.75 Euro each. After a 20 minute break we walked through Porta to the church. Near the church we found a well-maintained local footpath, which went through an olive grove into a forest. We put on a double layer of insect repellent almost immediately as there were many insects buzzing around. It was the first time we had encountered clouds of midges and larger carnivorous beasts. It was still relatively cool in the shade of the trees. However the walk under the trees reminded us of some of the walks we had done on the West Highland way particularly the forests near Kinlochleven. Some of the plants were similar also: coltsfoot, thistles, bracken and gorse.

There were birds chirping and the occasional bird flirted between the trees. We crossed a little bridge and on to a path that wound through the remaining trees. Then onto a slight descent that took us onto a track that climbed to the village of Santa. We found our self in an open space and made our way to the road; following this for quite a while we found a sign for the village of Mengoulas. We had to walk past the sign to see what it said.

It was beginning to get warn and we stopped briefly at the roadside to take some water. We then followed the old road down to the old village, which was largely abandoned. However there appeared to be some newly refurbished and occupied houses and evidence that some of the other dilapidated properties were about to be restored. We wound through the old streets following the description in the companion guide and climbed steadily uphill across the old village until we found the start of the trail at the top. We were now on a track heading steadily uphill, mostly on a fairly easy gradient. We had been walking on this track, which had great views of the Summit and the Nissaki bay and the old village of Old Sinies to the southwest in a shelf below the main peak, for about 20 minutes when we heard the tinkling of little bells. Expecting to see some small goats or the like, we saw two beautifully turned out gun dogs. They were mainly a dark tan colour with black saddle markings, snouts and ears and very dark tan tail and feet. They were about 18 inches to 2ft in height. They passed us on the right running gently through the scrub on the high ground near the edge of the track. They paid us little attention. Then we realized that we had not heard the sound of any birds since leaving Mengoulas. Ten minute later we reached the high coll and surveyed the scene to the north and west. We could see two long valleys spread below separated by a ridge. We then looked at an old shrine on the coll before turning east and walking north downhill along a track that branched from the track we had taken on the way up.

On the descent down the track we found the waymarks indicating a track leading down into a small valley. Cow dung on the ground and sheep and goat droppings indicated that there had been animals grazing there a few days before. Locals had probably come up to remove the animals because of the storm warnings two days before. Following the trail we reached a large olive tree. The guide indicated that we should veer to the left. After A few minutes looking on the left I found that (in contradiction to the text) the waymarks veered to the right. We followed the trail round a small ruin and down between a large gully which emerged onto a small valley in which lay the village of Old Perithia.

It was becoming hot now and we were walking on a steep path that twisted down back and forward down a steep slope; the village now in constant view. We could see that it was a mixture of old ruins and refurbished and reoccupied village houses with two magnificent churches. There were a number of tourists walking through the streets. We gradually climbed down into the valley and now the village stood above us to the north.

We walked up through the streets and had time to look at the small shops and tavernas around the village square. It was now about 12:30. We contemplated stopping for lunch but Isabel had not regained her appetite, so we moved on. In the village we heard birds singing and lots of traditional garden flowers growing semi- wild. The scent from some of these permeated the air. Following the main road out of the village to the north and taking the left turning we were soon on a track heading down the hill towards what I thought might be Acharavi in the distance. About one mile down the track it ended abruptly but on the left hand side there was a difficult path heading down a steep rocky slope towards a dense forest. We passed a little shrine at the side of the path on the edge of the forest. We walked down the forest track once again seeing wild flowers and other plants we were familiar with in lowland Scotland. We crossed a small river course (Parigori River) now almost dry although there had been signs of running water, as there were still some small pools in the rocks. We saw some dragonflies and butterflies and in some way it remixed us of one of our favourite beauty spots on Mainland Greece near the village of Trizina in the Argolid, the gorge at Devil’s Bridge. After a short ascent up from the riverbed we headed down though an olive grove to the village of Krinias. As we arrived on the west side of the hamlet we walked east along the road until we pick up a track heading north. We followed this track for almost a mile then reached a small path that headed up hill to a small road at a bend. We walked down the left-hand branch into Portes. Here there were some newly renovated houses with smart cars parked outside and people sitting on their balconies eating their lunch deep in conversation. We headed down to a fork in the road, went left and immediately took a grassy path through a large oak wood. After about 20 minutes from Portes we emerged on a track that took us directly to a main road. We crossed the road and walked down a track on the either side reach another road. We were now down on the coastal plane near Achravi and Almiros. We walked down a road towards the coast. We became slightly wary because after walking for some 10 minutes we had not come across a waymark. However the map was clear, further on, a waymarked track led from the road, but a gate blocked further progress. Rather than climb the gate we noticed that the road snaked round a new building development that was impeding our progress and joined the track at the other end. So we followed the road round to Georges Taverna. There we stopped for 20 minutes, took some refreshments (3 Euros) before setting off on our last march. We followed the coast road/ track along past some beautiful quiet beaches and wished we had brought some towels. The day was warm but not oppressively so. Isabel was beginning to tire on this large stretch particularly as she had not eaten much that day as she was still feeling unwell and I walk at a rate of knots that is very hard to keep up with, especially after we had crossed a footbridge and gone up a track over some sand dunes. This part of the beach was busier and there were some cars and 4x4s parked by a river. The path was over some very pointed and almost porous looking rocks that made the ground very uneven and difficult to tread. We passed the beacon at Cape Ekaterina and followed the path round the headland southeast.

Eventually we followed the path onto a beach and walked for a while along the sand until we reached a track that plunged into some woodland. There were a few people lying on the sand near the track and a few on cycles making their way through the trees. We turned left at a crossroads and walked down the track towards the coast again, crossed a bridge at the head of a lagoon (Lake Antinioti) and found ourselves on the beach at Agios Spirodon at about 3:45. We spotted a phone box, near some shops across from a taverna that we decide was our very next port of call, and telephoned a taxi to pick us up and take us back to Kalami. So we sat in the Taverna with cold drinks (4 Euros) until the taxi arrived 20 minutes later. So, we had completed our walk. We were glad to have completed our walk but with a little regret that we had had to miss out the walk up over the western side of the mountain. In reflection, we had had a wonderful time. It had been an adventure.

After a 30 minute drive down the east coast and a long chat in Greek and English with the taxi driver, who expounded his philosophy of life and claimed he was crazy, told us he longed for children, but remained childless. He stopped at a beauty spot to allow us to appreciate the view before continuing our journey. We got back to our accommodation about 4:50 in the afternoon nine and a half hours after leaving. We changed quickly into our swimwear and went down to the shore for a swim. We then sat in the last rays of the sun as it set behind Pantokrator. Then we resolved to do the whole walk next September (2007).

The next morning around 9:00 Chris was coming to pick us up from our apartment, so we went back and packed. That evening we returned to Thomas’s taverna and had our most expensive meal so far (three courses, wine and water, 52 Euro). We sat until about 11:00 -11:15 then wandered slowly along the shore to our apartment enjoying the salt air and the smell of the autumn flowers; listening to the sounds of the waves and of bats sweeping up the insects round the streetlights. We sat and chatted for an hour before turning in.

The next morning we rose before 7:00 dressed and wandered down to the beach to watch the sunrise and watched a large 4 mast sailing ship pass through the straight, sailing south, between Corfu and Albania.

We wandered along the shore close to the White House then returned to our accommodation to pack our remaining possessions. After breakfast we waited on Chris to arrive, which he did promptly and took us down to Corfu airport. A quick drive through Dassia and Ipsos and we were at the airport

In the car we met some other walkers who had been walking for almost two weeks on the trail. We shared some reminiscences with them on the way to the airport.

Anna was of great assistance in getting us to our check in desk. We parted with her, thanking her and Chris for their help and said “We’ll be back.”

What’s Next?

Having decided to walk the whole of the Corfu Trail in September 2007 we also thought it would be a good idea to use our trip to benefit a charity. If you have enjoyed our blog please visit our Just Giving website at http://www.justgiving.com/corfutrail . Please give generously to Alzheimer Scotland.

Poros

If you are looking for a more relaxing vacation can we recommend one of our family favourites, the island of Poros. This offers an island holiday while being extremely close to the Greek mainland and all the gems it has to offer such as Epidauros, Mycenae and the lovely town of Nauplion. You will be assured of a warm welcome at the family run Saga Hotel http://www.dalbeattie.com/saga-hotel-poros , we have visited many times and Zefi, Takis and family always ensure that it is a holiday to remember.

West Highland Way

The West Highland Way provided invaluable practice for this trip though Isabel swears that the Corfu Trail is tougher and the scenery more varied.