Corfu island, Greece. (Kerkyra is the second name).
1.
Before the trip, I carefully studied many reports, travel notes and impressions of the island.
Since everyone noted the strangely cold water in the seas of the north and west of Corfu, he decided to go to the east coast. I studied almost the entire alignment of those places, chose what I liked more - comparative privacy, rugged landscape, good reviews about the hotel.
The choice is Nissaki Beach. They never regretted it, but only everything confirmed the correctness of the choice.
Great place, great food, decent rooms for the right price. It was especially touching how the chef went out to the audience in the evenings and talked about his dishes, sometimes even helping to put them on a plate. The cooking is really one of the best hotel we have ever met (considering, of course, that there was a buffet here). There is only one minus - paid sun loungers / umbrellas. But the price is moderate, something like 2.5 euros per kit. Yes, and with our frequent trips to the native beach for 2 weeks, it took 5-6 days. The Germans and the British found their way amusingly - sun loungers near the pool are free, so they ran early in the morning and took places there, just a stone's throw from the pool to the sea, however, most of them lay there all day by the pool ...
Car rental - at the hotel. Most often I take a Volkswagen Polo, the luckiest car for rent. There were three of us, a son and my wife and I.
The island is small, you can go around the entire coast. Moreover, as far as I found out, in the very south there is nothing special to do, dull sandy places, without relief and with a small number of settlements.
Mount Pantakrator, towering over the northern part of the island, is also of interest.
Well, the capital, the city of Kerkyra town. Or Corfu town, both names are found.
So, the hotel and surroundings:
2. Nissaki Beach. (Albania on the right, visible from almost everywhere on the east coast) 
3. Nissaki Beach. 
3. A place within walking distance to the south of Nissaki Beach: 
We get into the car and go to Sidari. This is the north of the island, the water there, as we already know, is cool. The cliffs here are soft sandstone, the water washes away the quaint coastline.
4. Sidari: 
5. Sidari 
6. Sidari: 
7. Sidari, the so-called Channel of Love (the couple who swam it together will never part, the legend says): 
8. Sidari, Channel of Love: 
There are many hotels, a lot of people, but personally I would not like to stay here, the water is cool, muddy (due to the fact that rocks are constantly being washed away, the water contains a lot of suspended matter). However, some do not mind ...
9. Sidari, rock relief: 
10. Sidari: 
11. Sidari: 
12. The town and beach of the same name Ipsos. In my opinion - not very much, there the road goes a few meters from the water's edge, there are very few left to the beach, cars constantly drive by ... 
13. Top of Mount Pantakrator: 
14. View from Mount Pantakrator to the strait between Corfu and Albania:
Further, we go to the capital, it is quite interesting there, two fortresses dominate over the city - Old and New, between them the Old Town is located, with pedestrian streets, restaurants and street bazaars.
15. Kerkyra town, view to the south from the Old Fortress: 
16. Kerkyra town, view from the Old Fortress: 
17. Kerkyra town, streets of the old city: 
18. Kerkyra town, the Church of St. Spiridon (with a red dome). A highly revered saint not only in Greece, but also in Russia. 
19. In the old town: 
20. New fortress: 
21. View from the walls of the New Fortress. The Old Fortress is visible in the distance. 
We are going to the west of the island. Here is the most famous and a nice place - Paleokastritsa. However, the water here is quite cool, as in the north.
22. Paleokastritsa: 
23. Paleokastritsa, view from the monastery of the Virgin: 
24. Paleokastritsa, view from the monastery: 
25. Paleokastritsa, Monkey face rock (monkey face). The joker guide explained that in America there is a rock with the faces of presidents, they say, we also: 
Being in Paleokastritsa, you should definitely take a boat trip, the places are amazing, grottoes, wild beaches, rocks.
26. Rocks near Paleokastritsa: 
27. Paradise Beach. You can get here only by sea. People leave the boat, stay for a couple of hours, and return on the next: 
28. Paradise Beach: 
29. Paradise Beach: 
30. Paleokastritsa, top view: 
31. From Paleokastritsa we drive to the north, a small pass, and we leave for the town of Agios Yorgos (Agios Georgios):
We stopped here to swim, but the water is cold, and the place is also open - the wind, in general, quickly got out and drove on.
32. Just a piece of the coast: 
33. Kalami, a place near Nissaki, a little to the north: 
The next day we decided to continue our trips to the west of the island, this time south of Paleokastritsa.
34. Glyfada. 
35. Hard-to-reach nudist beach near Glyfada: 
36. Ayios Gordis, the farthest point, where we arrived on this route: 
37. Kommeno, this is the east. The chapel on the micro-peninsula is one of the symbols of Corfu. 
38. North. The town of Kassiopi, slightly away from it: 
39. And a little further Kassiopi: 
40. And finally - the moon over the island: 
Summarizing. Corfu - very interesting place, a lot of original, original, after a few years for some reason is not perceived in memory as Greece (at least for me personally). The island has a certain aura of high prices, but in reality this is not entirely true. Those. prices may be more expensive than in the mass places of mainland Greece, but lower, for example, than in Italy.
In general, it is definitely worth spending a couple of weeks here
Corfu, the most famous of the Ionian group of islands located northwest of the coast of Greece, differs markedly from other popular Greek islands. The reason for this is not only the lush green vegetation and beautiful landscapes of Corfu, but also the fact that the island enjoys the fame of one of the most prestigious resorts with a high level of tourism development. It can be very noisy and crowded here, especially at the height of the summer season, when not only charter flights, but also cruise ships from various European cities arrive on the island every day.
The island 60 km long and about 30 km wide has the shape of a sickle, with which it was compared in ancient times. The cosmopolitan capital of the island, Corfu, has retained its remarkable influences from Greek, Italian, French and British cultures. The old part of the city was founded by the Venetians in the 14th century, and there are narrow streets lined with rows of pastel-colored high-rise buildings with red tiled roofs, evoking memories of Italy.
The center of city life is concentrated on Rue Liston, a replica of the Parisian Rue de Rivoli, which is a vaulted gallery that houses cafes and restaurants. As in any good Greek city, Corfu has an archaeological museum where you can see the remains of the local temple of Artemis, dating back to 590 BC. In the northern part of the Esplanade there is another museum dedicated to Asian art. Corfu Town boasts the oldest orchestra in Greece, with free concerts often held on the Esplanade during the summer. On the last Sunday before Lent, a traditional Carnival is organized on the island, and in September it is the time of the famous festival, during which you can visit many concerts, choreographic, opera and theatrical performances of both Greek and foreign art groups.
For nightlife lovers, there are several nightclubs on the northern coastline between Corfu Town and Gouvia Beach Resort, such as Ekati, Esperides and Corfu by Night.
Secluded tourists can move inland to enjoy the scenic green landscape of Corfu. Its surroundings are home to 43 species of wild orchids, countless olive groves, as well as date palms, pomegranate trees, vine plantations and many other rare plants. One of the island's main gems is, of course, the island's 217 km coastline and its beaches washed by the sparkling and frothy Ionian Sea. Here you can find a secluded cove even in the midst of holiday seasonwhen the crowded east coast resorts are inundated with tourists. The most beautiful and sparkling yellow sand beaches are found in Agia Gordia, Korissi Lagoon, Agios Georgios, Marafia, Kassiopia, Sidari, Roda and many other places.
Culture and traditions
The island has a rich musical and artistic heritage. There are 18 music colleges, which often organize outdoor concerts in summer, as well as many string orchestras and choirs performing in the city streets. Since the days of Venetian rule, the inhabitants of the island have come to love opera, and opera performances invariably attract large audiences. Numerous art galleries host exhibitions of world-renowned local and international artists. Today, in the municipal theater, on St. George's Square in the Old Fortress, as well as on the site in front of the fortress, numerous and varied events are held: concerts of rock music and contemporary dance, symphony concerts, theatrical performances. In Kerkyra, the past is closely connected with the present and lives within it: events that have been celebrated for centuries are celebrated today in the same traditional forms. The most solemn ceremony is the removal of the relics of St. Spiridon, the patron saint of the island, which takes place four times a year, including twice - during the lush Easter holidays, along with many other ceremonies organized on these days (for example, the rite of breaking jugs that are thrown out of windows at 11 a.m. at Easter Saturday). During the summer, the island hosts many traditional music and dance festivals, and on warm nights, the smell of local delicacies is heard everywhere. Approximately two millennia of church tradition are reflected in many churches with amazing icons, countless chapels in which the candles never go out, and numerous monasteries.
Sea and coast
The sea washing Kerkyra creates a temperate climate here, bringing fresh winds even in the most intense heat. The eternal movement of waves has formed an amazingly beautiful coastline, green hills merge with the background of azure waters. The sea also offers new opportunities for recreation and entertainment: safe swimming on beaches with golden sand or white pebbles, snorkeling in the clear waters, sailing and windsurfing. To the south of Kerkyra is Paxi - an island immersed in olive groves, with villages where houses built of stone are connected by paths also laid with stone. There are steep cliffs on which old windmills rise and under which sea caves hide. To the south of Paxos lies Antipaxi, an island dotted with vineyards and many beaches with fine white sand. Antipaxi is truly a blessed place, real paradise for anyone looking for peace and solitude. Before heading out to the open sea to the northwest, we come across three small islands of enchanting beauty along the way. These are the so-called islands of Diapontia: Erikusa, Otoni and Matraki. Their unspoiled landscape attracts lovers of pristine nature, and their shores, somewhere rocky, and in some places covered with fine sand, are ideal for swimming and traditional June fishing.
Rugged landscapes with olive and cypress groves, plains with wooded spaces interspersed with vineyards and orchards, cliffs decorated with spring flowers on the mountains of the northern part of the island, lakes and sand dunes, colorful fields on which melons, beans and corn grow, all this creates a unique color gamut. In Kerkyra, you can find all shades of greenery, and the landscape is extremely diverse: wherever you look, nature generously rewards it with amazing views. In the north, the sea washed away the soft coastal rocks, turning them into fine golden sand. In the middle of the island, as in other places, the olive tree reigns, the landscape is complemented by a great variety of colors. There are many cultivated valleys in the interior of the island, and Mount Pantokrator stands proudly above the rocky northern part of Kerkyra, with small tracts of arable land interspersed with gullies and small ravines. The east coast is no less picturesque. Moving south you will find hills covered with olive groves, low shores and spacious beaches stretching to the horizon. The most interesting attraction of this part of the island is Lake Korission, declared a nature reserve. This is a land of sand dunes, overgrown with cedars, willows and other trees that grow well on the sand - a real paradise for birds.
sights
The sights of Kerkyra are so numerous that even those who vacation here regularly discover something new every time. It can be the unique grace of the palaces of Achilleion - a monument unique in Europe in its history and aesthetics, the amazing panorama of the island of Pontikonisi, opening from Kanoni, "Bella Vista" view of Paleokastritsa, which is considered the most beautiful panorama in Europe, or the historical center of the island's capital, where people live and work surrounded by monuments and museums. Every village, every corner of the island has its own peculiarity. Noteworthy are Peritya and Sinies villages with abandoned stone houses hiding in the mountains of the northern part of the island, fortresses in Gardiki, Kassiopi and Angelokastro, the islet of Vido, which has historical connections with Serbia, Lefkimi with its fishing boats and almost all the villages of the island, each of which has its unique architectural features.
Entertainment
In Kerkyra, everyone can choose a suitable option for a vacation: just lie on the beach or do active recreation. It has one of the world's best golf courses, three equestrian schools, many tennis clubs, including the oldest in Greece, a rich cricket tradition dating back to the 18th century (a course in the center of the city hosts regular competitions between five teams), not to mention the water sports: scuba diving, sailing and windsurfing. There are all the opportunities here for active travelers as well as for groups coming to practice specific sports.
Kitchen
The island's cuisine is the cuisine of centuries of tradition. Having experienced a strong Venetian influence, it has retained the cooking techniques and names of many local dishes over the centuries. Kerkyra specialties such as pastizada, sofrito and burdeto can be enjoyed in many restaurants around the island. But Kerkyra is able to satisfy any other gastronomic whim, because there are establishments of a very different type: from fast food restaurants, pizzerias and taverns to chic restaurants with cuisine of various nations (Italian, French, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, etc. ). Local desserts, such as grape, fig or quince jam, are also unusually tasty. Sikomaida, tsitsibira soft drink and, of course, kumkuat jams and liqueurs are especially appreciated.
Hospitality
The hospitality of the people of Kerkyra is part of their way of life. The cordiality and hospitality of local residents is the first thing that any visitor feels. A smile and a heartfelt greeting to a passing foreigner, a plentiful table, which the guest is greeted at home - all these are indispensable manifestations of local hospitality. Nights in Kerkyra can be stormy or very calm. By the evening, the whole island, from end to end, is revitalized, the pulse of the entertainment industry beats at discos and chic bars until the morning. But there are many opportunities for those who prefer silence and traditional relaxation. Gamblers can try their luck at the city casino in Kanoni. Kerkyra's nights are truly unforgettable. As day turns to night and the sun sinks into the sea, Kerkyra appears in its sparkling night dress, celebrating the holiday of nature, life and God's peace again and again ...
The resorts of the Greek Kerkyra (Latin name - Corfu) are surrounded by numerous bays with snow-white sandy shores, rocky mountains, and delightful vegetation landscapes.
And each resort is attractive in its own way.
The island has many gorgeous beaches with golden sand or white pebbles and crystal clear sea. Popular sandy beaches Acharavi, Sidari, San Stefanus, Roda, vacationers will not be bored: here they can go water skiing, jet skis, parachutes, canoes, catamarans, play beach volleyball, go snorkeling or windsurfing, ride yachts. On the beach, you can always grab a bite to eat in traditional Greek taverns or drop by a bar. The most luxurious beach is considered to be Glyfada, with delicate golden sand and small tables by the sun loungers so that vacationers can order at any of the beach cafes. If someone is looking for silence, then you can retire to the beaches of Kerasia, Barbati, Avlaki, San Spiridon.
All resorts of Corfu are a continuous chain of cozy hotels, beaches, open-air cafes, restaurants, shops, narrow city streets, small markets. Tourism and industrial agriculture are the backbone of life on the island.
Corfu can be roughly divided into several coasts:
South part of Corfu island significantly different from other regions of the island, especially the north. It is dominated by extensive sandy beaches. The largest beach in the area is Lake Korissia with pine trees and sand dunes. There are almost no mountains and hills here, the landscape is quite calm. Olive groves can also be found in this part of the island, although there are fewer of them than in the North, and the trees themselves are not so large. The resorts of the southern coast of Corfu are Benitses, Moraitika and Mesongi. The Seaside Tourism Center is located in Moraitika. On the beaches of southern Corfu, you will find water skiing, jet skis, parachutes, canoes, catamarans, beach volleyball, scuba diving and yachting. History lovers can go on excursions: visit the capital of the island, Kerkyra, go to Paleokastritsa, where you can soak up in lagoons with cozy beaches, visit the Orthodox monastery and the "Castle of Angels". Cruises to the mainland, with a visit to Greek villages and a cruise to the Paxi and Antipaxi islands, a cruise around the Gouvia island, a cruise to Albania, are very popular among vacationers. southern region In Corfu you can visit the famous Achilleion Palace and the picturesque villages of the central part of the area.
Nature has generously adorned the North-West coast of Corfu with picturesque coves and long beaches, unique places such as the Paleokastritsa bay with its amazing grottoes and green hills.
Resorts on the Northwest coast of Corfu - Roda, Glyfada, Ermones and Sidari with the famous canal d'Amour.
Paleokastritsa - the most popular resort in this area of \u200b\u200bCorfu, it is a real paradise in miniature. Crystal clear sea, picturesque little bays, greenery extending to the water, underwater caves. Around the bays there are mountains covered with forests. At the top of one of them is the monastery of the Virgin.
The beaches are sandy and well equipped. Sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach are payable locally.
In ancient times, this area experienced rapid development. Medieval fortifications and towers, ruins that are still visible among the bushes, clinging to the slopes of hills and rocks, remind us of the hard times that the island went through, when waves of conquerors rolled over it. In the area of \u200b\u200bRoda, many finds have been discovered dating back to the ancient Greek and Roman periods. Most of them are kept today in the Archaeological Museum of Corfu.
In North West Corfu you can visit the ruins of the impregnable fortress Angelokastro, the Paleokastritsa monastery founded in 1225, admire the breathtaking views from the Bella Vista lookout point.
The beaches of the north-eastern part of Corfu are sandy. Here you will find excellent conditions for swimming and water sports, as well as numerous taverns and night bars for fun lovers. On the beaches there are water sports centers (for a fee): wind surfing, water skiing, canoes, catamarans, banana rides.
Northeast Corfu hotels
intended for family vacation, there are excellent conditions for families with children.
On the territory of the hotels there are children's pools with fresh water, children's mini-clubs, for children 4-12 years old with an active entertainment program, playgrounds.
In the northern part of Corfu stands the largest mountain range on the island with the peak of Pantokrator. Here, in the mountain villages, life is ruled by the peace and tranquility of pristine nature, as if nothing has changed after many centuries and successive conquerors. Stone houses nestled in densely vegetated terrain, open pastures and grazing herds.
In the north-east of Corfu, you can visit the Antinioti salt lake, the ruins of a 13th century Byzantine fortress and one of the most revered on the island, the 16th century Kassiopitis church in the village of Kassiopi, olive and pine groves.
Acharavi
The resorts of Roda and Acharavi are located 42 km from the city of Kerkyra along the longest seven-kilometer beach strip on the island with a lively tourist area. These small villages are located on a picturesque plain filled with almond trees and vineyards. There is a wide selection of shops and taverns, where there is always fresh fish. There is a water park next to the Gellina Village.
Benitses
Located 12 km from the city of Kerkyra. The old town was the favorite resort of the Romans. Near the sea there are springs that supply the capital with water and the remains of Roman baths. Now it is a developed tourist center offering entertainment for every taste.
Gouvia
Dacia
Located 12 km from the city of Kerkyra. Numerous restaurants, taverns and hotels create a small cozy town suitable for families and water sports enthusiasts. Nearby is the elite residential area of \u200b\u200bKommeno with villas of local aristocrats and the best hotel on the island, Grecotel Corfu Imperial.
Ipsos
One of the busiest resorts on the island. The two-kilometer long beach is lined with a continuous line of Greek taverns, discos and bars. At the end of the beach, at the foot of Mount Pantokrator, there is the village of Pyrgi with hotels located by the sea.
Kassiopi
Located 37 km from the capital of Corfu. It features a picturesque horseshoe-shaped bay and a beautiful promenade along magnificent pebble beaches. There are many evening entertainment for young people. In a part of the harbor, there was once a temple of Jupiter, which was visited by the emperor Nero in the first century. Nearby are the ruins of a 14th century castle.<
Kontokali
Located 8 km from the capital of Corfu. This is the ideal place for those who like to relax in a calm scenic locationbut, at the same time, be close to the city.
Moraitika
Moraitika is a small fishing village on the southeastern coast of the island, which has developed into a popular resort over the past decades. Today, as a vacation destination, this resort is chosen by thousands of tourists. A popular resort Moraitikaowes its wonderful endless sandy beaches and shallow, clean, warm sea. That is why families with children often come here. Parents do not have to worry too much, the bottom smoothly goes into the depth, and small tourists can safely play in shallow water, however, to swim at a depth, you do not need to go too far either.
The beaches here and the seabed are mostly gray sand. In good weather, the coast of mainland Greece is visible. Whole resort Moraitikaburied in greenery. Coniferous groves occupy very large areas, palm trees grow right on the beach, which greatly saves all beach goers in the sun. However, the first place is occupied by olive trees, many of which were introduced and planted at least 2-3 centuries ago by the Venetians. It is estimated that there are about 2 million olive trees on the island.
Moraitikuchosen by tourists who want to relax in silence, enjoy the wonderful natural and sea landscapes.
Although there are cafes, bars, restaurants, taverns on the beach here, life here flows more or less calmly even at night. One cannot speak about the national Greek cuisine, except with words of delight. Whatever the Greeks cook, they always succeed in everything: meat, fish, poultry, salads. At the same time, salt and pepper are not considered seasonings, so they try not to overuse it. And what are the wines here ...
Lovers of active water sports can go surfing, windsurfing, water skiing, catamarans, and for beginners who want to learn how to dive with scuba diving experienced instructors of the diving school will tell and show everything. On the beach you can play volleyball, basketball, tennis.
The name comes from the "Moraitika" settlers who arrived from the Peloponnese (originally known as Morias) in 1540. Moraitika is located on 4,150 hectares of land and has a population of 820 inhabitants who harvest olives in winter and work in the tourism industry in the summer months.
In Moraitica are the remains of Roman baths and a mansion belonging to the wealthy nobility of Rome. In the village Moraitika there are 6 churches dedicated to various saints and, celebrating their patronage, they annually organize traditional celebrations (panigiri), where local residents and guests merge into one merry round dance.
On moraitika beach you can find small secluded coves to sunbathe on the beautiful sandy beach. During the day, life revolves around beaches and water sports, as well as a wide variety of bars and taverns where you will receive a warm and friendly welcome from the locals who will provide you with many delicious food, great service and a great atmosphere.
In the center of the village, the visitor will find shops with souvenirs and other goods. In addition, pharmacies, a medical center, an ATM, travel agencies, car rental, motorcycle rental, bike rental, supermarkets, plus many bars, taverns and discos with a vibrant nightlife.
Moraitika is a tourist area that offers a little bit of everything for everyone, suitable for families and young couples.
Nissaki
Paleokastritsa
Located 25 km from the capital of Corfu. This is one of the most beautiful spots on the island, where emerald green cliffs cut into the sea to form six small bays with sandy beaches. Paleokastritsa is one of the most popular holiday destinations on the island. It is suitable for sports lovers and those who appreciate the beauty of the surrounding nature. Paleokastritsa has good hotels and taverns serving the best lobster on the island. On the mountain is the 17th century Teotoku monastery - the largest monastery on the island. The chapel and caves of the hermits are also preserved.
The beaches of Corfu are a very special part of entertainment in Corfu and are worth talking about separately. The sea in Corfu is crystal clear, absolutely transparent everywhere, with a beautiful emerald hue. The sea in Corfu will not leave anyone indifferent.
On the island, the best will be presented to your attention: Glyfada, Paleokastritsa, Liapades, Nissaki, Sidari, Kalamami, Kassiopi and others. The beaches in Corfu are both sandy and pebbly. On the west coast, the beaches are framed by picturesque cliffs, while on the east of the island, the beaches are more traditional. The beaches of Corfu, like all beaches in Greece, are municipal. Admission is free, but you have to pay for sun loungers and umbrellas.
The most convenient way to get to the beaches of Corfu that are not located near your hotel is by car, but nevertheless, many of them can be reached by bus. Just keep in mind that buses run rarely and on schedule, so it is best to book the first half of the day for viewing the beaches on public transport.
The beaches of Corfu are visited in different ways and are also equipped in different ways. For example, the beaches are very densely populated. Therefore, if you have a car or would like to pay 8 euros for a boat or take a walk, it is better to go to the beach in.
As a rule, many beaches of Corfu have traditional sun loungers and umbrellas, but such water activities as banana, water skiing or paragliding can not be found everywhere.
But these water activities are more than offset by other, less traditional, but also vivid experiences. If you are staying in, for example, and you are tired of the standard beach with sun loungers, you can go to public beachwhich locals love. It is next to Liapades. If you turn your back to the beach at the Ellie Beach Hotel and follow the road uphill, after about a hundred meters you will see a footpath leading to the right. Climb up and walk along it. I don't remember the name of the beach, but you will find it, I think.
By the way, when going to this beach, as well as to other beaches of Corfu, and indeed to any place, keep in mind that there are snakes in Corfu too. There is only one species of poisonous snakes in Corfu, but that's enough to take precautions. Ask a tour operator to describe to you what a venomous snake looks like in Corfu. And in any case, while walking, walk only on asphalt paths to exclude the possibility that you will not notice the poisonous snake and step on it, and it will bite you. Don't walk the fields, the hills outside paved paths, do not walk on olive groves, under olive trees, on dirt roads. When I was walking to the already mentioned city beach, I met a resident who specially came to this beach to relax, but asked me to go with her, because she was afraid to meet a snake.
What other water activities can you recommend for tourists in Corfu? For example, on Liapades beach you can rent a pedalo or canoe. Ask the clerk how far you can go with this. The fact is that the sea in Corfu can also have character: in Paleokastritsa and Liapades, outside the bays, there is a rather strong current and waves, so you cannot go there. But don't be discouraged.
For example, in Liapades, within the limits of permitted movement, you will see several stunning deserted mini-beaches (unequipped, of course), where you can have a great rest. Just do not forget to bring the canoe ashore so that it does not wash into the sea :) It is interesting that tourists are brought to such beaches by boats, but apparently some unspoken rule is observed: if the beach is busy, look for another. When I settled down on one of the beaches, a boat drove up to it, but when they saw me, its inhabitants smiled, waved at me and went home.
And one more beach in Corfu, about which I simply cannot remain silent: it is called Paradise Beach, which means “paradise beach”. The fact is that there are several beaches in Corfu that you can only get to from the sea, as they are reliably sheltered from the mainland by rocks. Paradise Beach is one of these beaches; it is located closest to Liapades. You can get there by boat, which can be hired from the beaches of Corfu Liapades and Paleokastritsa.
This pleasure costs about 40 euros for two (round trip), 30 euros for one traveler. This trip left a very deep impression in my soul. Paradise Beach is about 1 km long, so those few of its visitors who will be on it will not disturb you at all. At the time of my visit, there were my bungalow neighbors on the beach, as well as a woman preparing food for tourists, plus a boat with a glass bottom, full of tourists who had barbecues on the beach on the beach. We all dispersed to different points of the beach and it seemed that there was no one on the beach except you. The beauty of the beach is not easy to convey in words: the beach is covered with white sand and surrounded by bizarre rocks that look like a layered cake with black stripes of cream.
In the right wing, where I was located, there were also swifts colonies, which flew out of their nests, uttering a characteristic bird cry. When you go into the sea, hearing these voices resounding on a deserted beach, closed from the mainland by bizarre rocks, a completely surreal feeling is created.
If you are going to this beach, agree in advance with the boatman about what time he will pick you up. Otherwise, stay there :-) However, if you have health problems or suffer from seasickness, I do not recommend you to go to Paradise Beach. The fact is that local residents, who have lived at sea all their lives, have their own concept of the speed of movement on a boat. When we all drove back, there was a light storm in the sea in Corfu (that's why our skipper made me leave the beach at 13:00, and not in the evening, as I wanted). But the boatman didn't seem to mind at all. Our gallant driver accelerated the boat so that we flew up on the waves for at least a meter, and then fell down like a stone. The landing was harsh and creepy. True, then I got used to it.
But after this thriller we were taken to Paleokastritsa and shown a local landmark - the Blue Eye cave. One of the walls in the cave has a hollow and is a small stone arch through which the sun beautifully illuminates the water so that it looks sky blue. Due to the small size of the cave, it takes some skill to get there by boat. If you are driving a rented boat yourself - do not even try to repeat this trick. Leave the boat without a propeller, and yourself without money.
Another walk that I highly recommend to you is the boat trip to the islands of Paxos and Antipaxos. Such a walk will most likely be offered to you by a representative of the tour operator. Pick up from any hotel on the island comfortable bus and will bring to the capital of the island,. Next, you will head to the island of Paxos. The walk is designed for the whole day, take everything you need with you.
A walk on the sea itself is wonderful entertainment to Corfu, but beyond that you will find a lot of interesting things. At some point, a rather large boat will drive into the depths of the cave, where you can take wonderful pictures. Next, the boat will drop you off on the island of Paxos, where you will have an hour and a half free time.
Me and my neighbor from the hotel settled down in a beautiful restaurant on the shores of the azure bay and ordered the most amazing breakfast on the planet: hot rolls with chocolate cream, toast with honey and a variety of jams, and cappuccino with foam sprinkled with cinnamon.
Life is good, we decided, and went further to the island of Antipaxos. Unlike Paxos, the island of Antipaxos is home to quite a few people. While we were driving, I was haunted by the thought: where do the inhabitants of Antipaxos work? Do they go to Corfu? It's kind of far away ... yes, and in winter, judging by the rocks licked from the sea side, to put it mildly, it storms.
On Antipaxos, adventurers were invited to swim in the sea directly from the boat; they were not landed on the island. Quite a lot of people went down into the azure water, as well as a lifebuoy just in case. I didn't want to swim, so I watched the process from a land-based boat.
Then we had a small deja vu - that is, we again arrived on the island Paxos... Now we were given more time and we all scattered in all directions. Some went swimming, some dined in restaurants, but we walked around the island, found a closed BP gas station, bought souvenirs in local shops.
We drove back almost in the evening, the sun was no longer hot so much, so we went to upper deck and admired the sea around Corfu.
Another boat trip that you can take is a trip to the Italian city of Bari (with an overnight boat trip). It once seemed to me that going there was a waste of time and money (it costs about 230 euros per person). And really, what to do in the city, near which in 1943 ships were flooded with a cargo of mustard gas - the gas that killed so many people. But of course, I just mentioned it as a catchphrase.
The war is long over, so for many decades people have been traveling safely to Bari to visit the main attraction of the city - the Church of St. Nicholas, where the relics of Nicholas the Wonderworker are located, one of the most revered Orthodox saints (Italy itself is a country mainly with the Catholic faith) ...
If you have received a single-entry Schengen visa to travel to Greece, before ordering and paying for your trip to Bari, check with the representative of your Russian tour operator if you can travel outside Greece with such a visa. And although in the Schengen countries there is no longer landborders among themselves, it is not known how the situation with the sea borders is. If your visa is canceled at the port of Bari, you are in big trouble. Therefore, it is better to find out in advance.
This year we went on summer vacation with the whole family with a 4-year-old daughter. We chose the Greek island of Corfu for rest on the advice of my sister, who was here a year earlier.
This was my first trip to Europe, although before that I had visited 10 countries, but I have never faced a visa issue. And for my daughter, this was the first trip abroad and the first flight.
Before the trip, I could not decide on the hotel for a very long time. For several weeks I read reviews on all sites, compared ratings, looking for the perfect combination that would take into account all my immodest requirements.
As a result, our choice fell on the Paleokastritsa region of the Adriatic coast of the island. Akrotiri beach hotel 4 *. I think I will begin my story with its description.
The hotel is located on the very promontory of one of the rocks overlooking the sea. Therefore, each room offers a magnificent view of the sea surface, mountains and the beauty of the immediate surroundings. We were given a room on the fifth floor. Good size room. One large bed for us, parents, and a small bed for the child. There is a full wardrobe with hangers and lots of drawers. There is a large mirror, table, bedside tables, ottoman, small refrigerator, TV. But the most important thing is a large and beautiful balcony from which an absolutely stunning view of the beach, bay, port, mountains and the immediate vicinity opens. The most unimaginable thing is the color of the water. It is simply impossible to take your eyes off. Every day we went out onto the balcony and gasped from the beauty that surrounds us. From the time of day, the landscape magically turns into pictures of the best galleries in the world. In the morning, thin rays of the sun begin to make their way to the beach. The waters of our bay are still dark, but the mountains are already turning from night boulders into bright green olive groves. During the day, when the sun enters its zenith, the sea becomes incredibly turquoise. In Paleokastritsa, the sea is clean. The waters are so transparent that we saw stones at the bottom from the balcony of the fifth floor. Swimming is a pleasure. It seems that you are in the purest source in the world. In the evening you can watch the sunset. The rays of the daylight will slowly descend behind the neighboring cliff, the beach will slowly begin to empty, and luxury yachts will sail into the bay for the night. The balcony has become for us the most favorite place in the room. In the heat, during a quiet hour, it is pleasant to admire the ideal beauty of the Adriatic Sea, the lush greenery of mountain groves, and breathe in the warm Greek air. At such moments you really feel that you are resting. You don't want to know any exact facts, reports of historical events, you just stand and look at the best creations of nature. Millions of working thoughts go out of my head. You are completely absorbed in the sky, mountains and lapping waves.
Paleokastritsa is the most beautiful area of \u200b\u200bCorfu. We traveled many places on the island, and realized that we would never trade our Paleokastritsa for something else.
The hotel has a swimming pool with panoramic sea views. It is very interesting to swim in the pool, lean on the side and watch the huge liners entering our bay. It is even more interesting to swim on the hotel's own beach, which is located right on the cliff. If you get a room on the other side (not the one we had), you will admire the wild beach, enjoy perfect silence and wonderful nature. Exiting through the lobby to the other side of the hotel, you find yourself on the eastern part of the cliff. Now down the narrow, gnarled stairs. You have to be very careful here. The staircase is carved right into the stone, and does not differ at all with a flat surface. Small areas are made here, filled with concrete. There are several sun loungers. Not the most sophisticated place to be honest. I think the owners of the hotel would be nice to somehow reconstruct and decorate their own beach. But swimming here is extremely unusual, a little scary, but incredibly interesting. It is very rare to visit such places. A staircase leads from the cliff to the sea. There are few steps and we are already diving into the depths. One interest is swimming without a mask. It's a little extreme. Around you are sheer cliffs, about which the waves beat, the vast expanse of the sea, the complete absence of the usual civilization. Boats and ships are sailing nearby. You can swim to the caves. But a completely different interest is to dive with a mask. When I lowered my face under the water for the first time, I was somewhat horrified, and could not immediately cope with my fear. Diving from a rocky beach, of course, I understood that it was deep here, but I never imagined that it was SO deep. The bottom is so far away that it seems only experienced divers can swim here. But gradually you get used to the realization that under you there are many incredible meters of free space filled with water, and you begin to examine the water surroundings. Here is an old staircase, some pipes are passing, there are huge bizarre stones, and here it even seems like the entrance to a cave. But the most interesting thing is, of course, the fish. There are a lot of them here. Let them be dim, and there is nothing unusual about them. But their whole flocks and families. It is incredibly interesting to watch them, to consider their silvery scales, shimmering in the underwater rays. There are very large fish. Some even unwittingly imagine being grilled.
You can swim all day on the rocky beach. There are few people here. Silence. Complete unity with nature. And there is an opportunity to explore the depths of the sea. But we rarely went there with a small child. I was scared, what can we say about my daughter. Nevertheless, we swam there several times. It was a whole adventure, how we went down these narrow stairs, how we plunged into the sea. It seems to me that our Arisha was the first and only child who mastered the rocky beach of the hotel.
Now back to the main beach. It is considered urban. But as a rule, only guests of the nearest hotels rest on it. Sun beds and umbrellas are paid. But we have never used it. there is a lot of free space on the beach where you can lay out towels and blankets, take up a lot of space and sit comfortably. The beach is composed of medium and fine pebbles. Walking is often very painful. Therefore, I recommend crocs or coral slippers. The beach is calm enough. There are no merchants and barkers. Also, there are no noisy youth. There are a lot of children, there are even babies. From Russia, people with families or aged people rest here. But there are many young people from Europe. Sometimes there are girls with bare tops. But grannies from Europe keep up with them and also demonstrate themselves with pleasure. One joy - this is rare enough.
The beach has showers and changing rooms. You can also hire a catamaran for 10 euros per hour.
The whole story is connected with the water temperature in Paleokastritsa. Even before leaving, I read that the water is very cold there, and I didn't believe the reviews. But it turned out that the water was not just cold, but icy. And this is at the peak of the season in the second half of August. In general, the water temperature changes from day to day. And during our vacation, we learned to determine the temperature in advance for the next day, and in the morning from the balcony, one glance at the sea understood what to prepare for.
When we arrived, we immediately threw ourselves into the sea. I wanted to swim and splash so much that they did not pay much attention to the temperature. Then a gradual getting used to cold water began, and we entered without fear. I don’t want to scare anyone, and even more so we didn’t have a thermometer with us, but it seemed that the warmest thing in our 14 days was plus 20. This is some amazing phenomenon, but it is in our bay that the water is colder than anywhere. On the rocky beach of the hotel, the water is much warmer. And on an ordinary beach, well, ice is straight from the spring. But after bathing it feels incredibly pleasant. You feel rejuvenated, hardened, accomplished a feat and regained health. If you swim and move all the time, then you feel quite comfortable. I've always done multiple swims. This is not a tropical sea for you. This is a hardening resort.
There are also a lot of fish on the beach. Therefore, be sure to take a mask. We also had an underwater camera. I really liked hunting for fish to get a beautiful shot. When you lower your head with a mask in the water for the first time, your jaw drops. Then it's easier. But despite all this, we would not trade this icy, purest, clearest water in the world for any other beach. The color of the sea is truly divinely beautiful, and the transparency resembles a diamond. But we also had warm days. When the sea is rough, the currents bring very warm water into the bay. Here all the children are already jumping into the wave and floundering until a pig squeal in the coastal spray. Adults climb the stones near the shore and wait for the oncoming wave to create an incredible amount of spray to make amazing beautiful photos... On such days, the beach is half-flooded, and there are noticeably fewer places for laying towels. Accustomed to the cold, we go into the sea at a brisk pace and swim in the already comfortably warm water. But this warmth has a significant disadvantage. Warm currents bring a lot of marine debris, black algae near the coast, mud at depth. You can't swim with a mask, you can't see anything, and you swim no longer in a crystal-clear well, but in an ordinary sea. But if by the evening the waves begin to subside, and in the morning from the balcony you see the ideal surface of the sea and the absolute transparency of the water, then this is a sign that you are unlikely to bathe today. Arriving at the beach, you will feel that today the sea is a minimal plus. Going to the ankle, he will pull his legs. Rare daredevils reach at least to the waist in the water. I overdid myself, swam my usual distance. But it's SO cold, insanely cold. It seems that in a moment a thin crust of ice will begin to form around you, you will look around, and it is already winter around and you are in Iceland. Somewhere in the mountains there are geysers, and you are in a hole in the ice. But when the icy leads leave you and you are back on the shore, you feel like a hero. True, you won't want to get into the water that day. On the very last day before leaving, we were very lucky. The sea brought the biggest waves in all of our two weeks. We bathed in the warm sea and frolic in high waves. The daughter was indescribably delighted. But despite all my scary stories, I advise everyone to go to Paleokastritsa beach. Maybe you're lucky and the sea will become warmer, or maybe you will feel the cold charm of the crystal turquoise of the Adriatic.
Let's move on to food. At the hotel we had breakfast and dinner. Breakfast is quite modest and does not change from day to day. These are bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs or scrambled eggs, cereals, milk, jams, sausage, cheese, tomatoes, olives, peaches and pineapples in syrup, honey, Greek yogurt, some pastries (muffins and croissants), juices from a vending machine, coffee from a coffee machine, tea. Sometimes a little fruit. The choice is not very good, but we did not complain. Always gorged. The setting in the morning is very pleasant. Calm. Everyone is smiling. The sun rises. After breakfast it is pleasant to go out onto the veranda. Admire the glare of the sun on the sea and play with the local cats.
Dinner à la carte. It always hangs in the elevator in the morning. Those. you know right away that you will eat in the evening. Usually this is the first course, then salad, then hot (there is a choice) and dessert. For example, the first course is mushroom soup, the second course is spinach pie, and the hot choice is turkey, lamb, chicken, meat balls or an omelet with cheese. Or, for example, another dinner: a tomato stuffed with rice, green salad and lamb. Sometimes a complete meal is a selection of various Greek appetizers and sauces. For hot meals, sometimes barbecue or lula is served. Sometimes there are national Greek dishes. For example, a moussaka casserole. The dessert menu is very large. Fruit, watermelon, melon, ice cream, mousses and creams, baklava, halva, pies. There is a separate charge for drinks. For three, we usually got about 10 euros. A glass of orange juice costs 3 euros. And here is a jug of wine 5 euros.
As a result, the dinner turns out to be very extensive and dense. Eating everything is almost impossible. We only took two sets of menus, and the three of us ate well. At the first dinner, we still did not understand the system, in the end we typed everything, we ate terribly, and we couldn't take dessert. But our waitress was so imbued with us, apparently realizing that we were the first day, dialed us a whole tray of fruit and handed it to the room. This is how we met Katerina. My daughter could not have breakfast or dinner without her. We constantly talked, always sat only at the tables that she serves. And when they left straight they could not hold back their tears, they hugged, kissed like best friends.
At dinner you are met by a man of respectable age. Accompanies to the table, gives out the menu, writes down the order. Then waitresses run with huge trays and deliver orders to everyone. Performances almost every night. Sometimes Greek music, sometimes world famous hits, sometimes local popular songs. After dinner, the musicians go to the bar, which was located under our windows. And we listened to evening concerts from the balcony. My daughter liked the music so much that she forbade us to close the balcony at night, because loved to fall asleep to some song.
We dined at some nearby tavern, or bought food in a store. There are many taverns in the area. All are delicious and at about the same prices. There are also owners with Russian. Most of all, we loved the cafe, which is located right on our beach. Poseidon is called. In the early days of our arrival, we only went there late in the evening after dinner at our hotel, when we walked before bed. We only went there to drink tea and listen to the sound of the waves. I immediately liked the attitude towards us. Despite the fact that we ordered only 2 cups of tea, we were always greeted warmly, smiled, and our daughter was given a huge amount of all kinds of decorations for cocktails and small sweets. Then they began to walk during the day. My daughter really liked the playground in this cafe. The area is small. It has sand, a swing, a house, a table, chairs, a set of plates. There are always children there, and it was interesting for her to play. While we were waiting for the order, Arina had fun with the children. Poseidon has incredibly delicious milkshakes. We ordered several different pieces at once. You can choose several types of ice cream and get unusual combinations. They also prepare delicious Greek salad here. And here it is cheaper than elsewhere. Only 5 euros. I discovered this salad in a new way. At first I didn't even want to try, because I don't really like him in Russia. But when I tasted the salad in his homeland, I realized that our Russian Greek has nothing to do with the salad that is prepared in Greece. I loved it so much that every day I ran straight to eat it. A delicious combination of vegetables and cheese, without oil and salt. I bought a real Greek feta at duty free, and on the very first dinner after arrival I made a Greek salad at home, just like we ate in Poseidon. Other dishes in this cafe are delicious too. You can try the national Greek dish - saganaki. This is fried cheese soaked in beer. Ordered a grilled octopus, seafood kebab, pasta. Everything is very delicious. I recommend this cafe, well, everyone else in the area too. But we always went to Poseidon, because my daughter really liked the playground. And when we asked where we were going to have dinner. Arina shouted cheerfully: only to Poseidon.
In the evenings we went out for a walk outside the hotel. The roads are very narrow and there are no sidewalks. You have to walk right along the road with cars, although in the evening the traffic is already small, but walking is not particularly pleasant and not safe. But nevertheless, you can look into souvenir shops or a grocery store. If you walk a little further down the street, the road becomes wider and a sidewalk appears. Although you will not find anything particularly interesting on the street. If you walk up the road from the hotel, you can find a small observation deck on one of the coves.
But you can stay in the hotel, leave the dining room on the balcony and enjoy a quiet night. Go down to the rocky beach, watch the moon, play on the veranda with cats, chat with the hotel guests. Or you can come to an ordinary beach, lay out a blanket and leave the stones in the sea. There is a spotlight there. Small fish swim to the light in whole flocks and splash right on the shore. This is a very pleasant end to the evening. Around the atmosphere of complete tranquility, gentle lapping of the sea, warm evening air, and in the sky myriads of stars.
A whole story can be written about the stars of Corfu. There are so many of them that it seems that they cannot be counted and put on one map. The constellations are very bright. The whole black night is dotted with a huge number of white shining points. The first days we just admired the light of other planets, but then we downloaded the map of the starry sky and began to study the constellations. And they saw with their own eyes that the sky can really be divided into parts, and the stars can be connected into constellations. These clusters of luminous dots can be ordered, named and met every night. Although it is unrealistic to realize how far they are. It is hard to imagine that these are real planets, huge, dangerous, unknown. For us, they are like a scattering of sparkles that are pleasant to admire after a wonderful day on vacation.
The climate in Corfu is very pleasant. It's really hot only at the very height of the day, but closer to 12 we always left the beach for a quiet hour. And they returned already when the sun began to drop slightly to the horizon. We never turned on the air conditioner in the room. They always opened the balcony, and that was enough. A mosquito net is stretched on the balcony at night. Therefore, we have always breathed the fresh sea air.
At the beginning of our vacation, one day after lunch, we went to explore the surrounding area. And we decided to walk ourselves to the main attraction of Paleokastritsa - the monastery of the Virgin Mary. The walk was impressive. It takes about an hour to walk from our hotel to the monastery. And at the very end you need to climb the mountain. During the walk we saw many small hotels, houses that the owners rent out for the summer, restaurants, shops, souvenir shops. We got to the city beach. There are a lot of people. The beach at our hotel seemed to us much more comfortable. If you walk a little inland from the mountain on which the monastery stands, you can find another beach. It is much more picturesque. The water is warmer and has a beautiful green color, intense sapphire-emerald. It's like a tropical island. But there is no time to admire nature, we will climb to the monastery. My daughter rubbed her legs. We carry it on our shoulders. Like donkeys, we slowly climb up the winding road. Be careful when cornering, keep an eye on cars and buses, because there is no footpath again. But the climb is not so high, with small stops in a few minutes we are already in place.
The monastery is quite small, but very cozy. Everything is painted warm yellow. Flowers and plants everywhere. The buildings are covered with loaches. Lots of cats and kittens. You can go inside, light candles, kiss the icons. There is an observation deck with a cannon right at the entrance to the monastery. If you go even higher, you can see the monastery economy. Fences with geese of different breeds. At the very end of the road there will be a cliff with a Greek flag on it.
Also in one of the first days we rented a catamaran on our beach. It costs 10 euros per hour, or 25 euros for three hours. In an hour, you can see something very little. We only managed to get out of our bay, see our rock, the top of which resembles a monkey's head, and swim to the Blue Eye Cave. This is the most popular tourist destination. Countless boats come here every day. Absolutely everyone is taken to this cave. But tourists are simply shown that there is a cave here. Swim inside a little, see a beautiful light inside and float away. The entire inspection takes a couple of minutes. We dived into the cave with a mask. Such beauty is simply impossible to describe in words. There are a lot of fish at the entrance to the cave. Whole shoals seemed to hang in the air. They stand motionless by the stones, swaying on the waves. The cave is overgrown with algae, in some places there are interesting ones, for example, red. There is a special "window" under the water, if you dive into it, you can find yourself in a cave from under the water. Beams of light fall into this hole, millions of bubbles in it turn into a cycle. In the cave itself it is shallow, you can stand on the stones. One could swim there for a long time, looking at the motionless fish and the cave itself, if not for the huge number of boats that literally stand in line. But our hour is over, it's time to return the catamaran. This trip, albeit short, was very interesting. We decided that it would be nice to take a boat and explore in more detail all the surroundings. It was pleasant to swim from a catamaran in the open sea, to realize that literally a couple of meters from the hotel there is a very interesting attraction, and just spin the pedals.
We traveled from the tour operator Kanoulas travel. He specializes only in Corfu and nearby islands. Our guide was at the hotel every day. I conducted detailed and detailed conversations with all groups, can answer any question and help solve any problem.
We thought about excursions for a long time, and in the end decided on a long trip to the continent to Meteora.
The tour starts with arrival at the port of Kerkyra. The place is not the cleanest and most beautiful in the city, but we didn't stay there for a long time. We were immediately sent to a huge ferry. Several buses fit inside the ferry, including ours. And also a lot of cars. There were not very many passengers. There was a place for everyone. The ferry has several decks. There is a closed space. There is a cafe, toilet, TVs and air conditioners. Most of the seats are on open decks. The sun is, of course, very hot, but you can find a place in the shade and admire the views of Kerkyra from the sea. You will see a new fortress, huge liners, a receding city, neighboring islands on the horizon, dazzling sun glare on the water surface. The sea trip is 1.5 hours. On the ferry you feel comfortable enough. Lots of space and space. You can just stroll along the decks, gazing at new horizons, and watching as it disappears into the morning misty haze of Corfu. You can make new acquaintances. Someone carries dogs with them. You can look at the cars on the lower deck. As a matter of fact, our daughter did all this.
Time passed quickly, and now we are in the port of Igoumenitsa. We all unload and wait for our bus to leave the ferry. We sit down in our seats and drive to Kalambaka. The trip is quite long - about 2 hours. But all the way the guide tells about Greece, its history and the current situation in the country. From the bus window you can see the landscapes unusual for Corfu. The terrain is quite hilly. Small mountains are overgrown with trees. On the plains you can see pastures, small vegetable gardens, villages, meadows, bushes. You feel like in an old movie. It seems that there is still no Internet, skyscrapers and incredible scientific achievements. But here is our first stop at the icon store. We are greeted with juice and delight. And they conduct a short excursion, telling about local icon painters. Then everyone is given time to choose icons. The prices are quite high, but everyone can find something suitable for themselves. I think it's definitely worth buying an icon here. Few people manage to visit such a pilgrimage tour to Meteora, and they are considered the second shrine of Greece after Mount Athos. Then we are taken for lunch. Prices are reasonable. A selection of several national Greek dishes as well as soups and salads. Then we continue our trip to Meteora. Now we are only at their foot. But you can immediately see how unusual and amazing these mountains are. They are not at all like any mountains that I have ever seen. The mountains are not high, with almost no vegetation. And they have an extremely unusual shape. They seem to be sculpted by some wizard. The stones are dotted with a bizarre pattern and many horizontal stripes. They are somewhat reminiscent of candles. Fire performs such transformations with wax. Also with these mountains. As if they once melted and flowed bizarrely, forming deposits, rivulets, ledges and depressions. This is a geological wonder of nature.
The first monastery is the monastery of St. Varlaam. 6 monks live here. We are told how the monasteries were supposedly built, they show the mechanism by which the monks went down and up. It's very cozy inside. Very small spaces, but there is a small garden, flower beds, flowers, balconies. We lit candles, kissed the icons, wrote notes. In Greece, in temples, all candles are placed in the sand. It is very convenient, even a child can light a candle and put it in the sand himself. All candles are worthless. You yourself put in as much money as you see fit and take the required number of candles.
Then we visit the observation deck, which offers a view of the entire Meteora Valley and five (six) monasteries. The observation deck is a flat rocky cliff, you need to be very careful here. But when you reach the edge, you will see an incredible panorama. On a flat plain, there are boulders cut off from each other. The bottom of the valley is overgrown with forest. And in the distance you can see a hilly ridge in a misty haze. The wind is very strong here. There is a lot of air and a lot of space around. There are monasteries on the tops of some rocks. They all have red roofs. And it seems that they themselves appeared there. Grown like mushroom caps. They seem completely unapproachable, as if there is no way to them at all. They float in the air. Like castles in the air in fairy tales that fit on the clouds. Also, the Meteor monasteries fit on the very edge of the cliff. It's hard to believe that this is the work of man. This is undoubtedly a great mystery and mystery of mankind, because Meteor monasteries are considered the eighth wonder of the world. When you stand on the edge of the cliff of the observation deck, you succumb to two senses at once. The first is admiration. You are surprised by the beauty of nature, mountains and unusual buildings of monks. And the second is fear. Incredible altitude and full flight experience.
Breathing in the wind, we begin our descent along the forest path to the nunnery. The path is quite shady, it is pleasant to walk along it and take a break from the excursion day.
Here we are in a convent. 16 nuns live here. There are more flowers here, there is a balcony with a beautiful view, there is a bridge and many stairs. We enter the temple, attach ourselves to the icons, put candles. And we go to the bus. He is waiting for us in open space. Here you can also take very beautiful photos of the meteor valley. But we have a very tiresome road ahead to the port of Igoumenitsa. About three hours. The day was very hot. Plus 37 degrees. Everyone, of course, was very tired, tk. I had to overcome an uncountable number of steps to go up and down to the monasteries. The guide tells us a lot about modern Greece, then they show a thematic film. From fatigue, even sleep does not go, I want to feel the sea coolness sooner.
The road from Igoumenitsa to Meteor and back is very good. This is a new federal highway. It starts to get dark, and now we are in the port. We get on the ferry. We go to a cafe, come to our senses a little. The sun goes down, but its bright rays fill the entire cafe with orange light. After finishing our coffee, we rise to the deck. The ferry leaves, and the sun is already completely sinking to the sea and goes to the mountains. The solar disk becomes hot copper color. The entire horizon and all the skies around are colored orange gold. The sight is simply incredible. Rare clouds like shiny candy wrappers from candy wrappers. Such saturated colors are difficult to find anywhere else. The sun has long disappeared behind the mountain. But its rays are visible on the entire horizon for a long time. The clouds are glowing with an inner sun. The whole sky is bright orange and very resistant to the coming of night. This sunset is more like the theater of a heavenly body. All gathered on one deck, and as from the auditorium he watches how the daylight hours ends. Birds fly to their places of spending the night, fishermen swim home with their catch, new islands and lands appear on both sides of the ferry. It's so interesting that you forget to turn around. And behind us is already a black night. Dark and enveloping, in which neither a light nor a reflection can be seen. But now the moon is already rising, and now we are all chained to the lunar path. The long-awaited coolness sets in, a cold wind is blowing from the sea. Everyone dresses in warm sweaters with hoods, but still no one wants to leave the deck. Everyone is waiting for the lights of Kerkyra. Here we are in Corfu. Buses take us straight to the hotel. We don't have time for dinner. We have a little snack and go to bed. Taking a break from a long day on the Greek mainland. Dreams take us back to the Meteor Valley. We soar over bizarre mountains, gaze into the hot haze of the horizon and feel the indescribable wind of the open plains.
Our next adventure in Corfu was a car rental for two days. We got a Seat Cordoba car. The rent was 130 euros for two days + 16 euros for insurance + 6 euros for rent of a child seat \u003d 152 euros. Plus gasoline. The machine went by no means new, but very well-worn. We immediately decided to go to inspect the island. Armed with maps, they sat behind the wheel. The first thing we decided to visit is, of course, the capital of Corfu - the city of Kerkyra or Corfu town.
The way to the city was found quite simply. It's hard to get lost. And now, literally in half an hour we are already in Kerkyra. There are a lot of cars in the city. All the streets around are parked, this makes them even narrower. The whole city is a solid traffic jam, the traffic is very, very slow. In the city, we did not orientate ourselves at all, but following the general stream we got to the center of all the attractions. Those. exactly where they wanted. And the first thing we naturally went to the Church of St. Spyridon. The main place that everyone should visit in Corfu. We were also very lucky. Our vacation dates coincided with St. Spyridon's day. August 11 and 2 more days after this date are considered a big holiday. On these days, the sarcophagus with the incorruptible relics of the saint stands all day within the reach of parishioners. On the advice of our guide, we decided to go on the last day of the holiday in order to avoid the largest crowd of people. But it was very difficult to park the car. Absolutely all parking spaces, as well as any roadsides and the smallest corners where you can leave the car were already occupied. But having driven into the nearest yard, we were able to leave the car. We carefully photographed every corner of our courtyard and tried to remember the place of our parking in as much detail as possible.
Getting out of the car and looking around, I was simply delighted. Kerkyra struck me to the core. It seemed to me that I was transported to the end of the 19th century or found myself on the set among the scenery. The city was built in the Venetian style. And it seems that nothing has been changed here since the construction. Everything grew old and destroyed under the influence of time. Here time can be seen and felt. You can imagine how each piece of plaster slowly fell off over the years, leaving a ragged mark. Like mold growing on the walls. Weeds appeared on the roofs, growing into whole bushes. In some places, bricks peep out from under the decoration. The doors fall off their hinges and barely hold in place. The bars on the windows were rusted years ago. The shutters have not known whitewash for a long time. The balconies will collapse. Laundry is drying everywhere. This is a special spirit. Present local flavor... The imagination draws how beautiful, majestic and magnificently decorated buildings they were. And sight shows what time has done to them.
Coming out of our courtyard, we immediately found ourselves on the embankment and saw the sea. It turned out that there is a city beach in Kerkyra. It is very popular with the locals. Lovers of the underwater world swim in the city even with masks. Walking along the embankment, we came to the palace of St. Michael and George. This building now houses the Museum of Asian Art. It is a stately building with columns, a monument and flower beds. But here, too, bricks have already fallen in places.
Go ahead. It's hot in the city. But fortunately, there are shady places, with well-groomed lawns and palm trees, as well as krantikas with drinking water. You can freshen up a little and move on. We get to Liston Street, walking a little along the cafe, we already see the spire of St. Spyridon. The bell tower with a red "cap" can be seen from almost every place in Kerkyra, because it is the tallest building in the city. A very narrow street leads to the church, all packed with souvenir shops. I liked everything, and I wanted to stop at every counter. But the day was approaching noon, and we had not yet reached our first goal. When we reached the church, we were a little confused. In our understanding, a church is a large free-standing building in an open space. But here we first saw candles on the street, then an icon and an entrance to an ordinary house. The house is no different from any house on this street. But looking up, we saw a red spire and realized that we had reached the place we needed. Upon entering the church, we found a long line of pilgrims. The church is quite small. The ceiling is decorated with many paintings and gilded frames. The walls are covered with brown wood. The ceiling windows are covered with curtains. Chandeliers hang from above, flowers stand at the altar. The church has an amazing atmosphere. Very quiet, cozy and calm. There are air conditioners inside, so it's nice and cool to wait in line. There are chairs in the center. Children can sit and chat. We had to stand for a very long time, more than an hour. When our turn came, we saw St. Spyridon. He stood in an upright sarcophagus. It is difficult to convey feelings after seeing the imperishable relics of a saint. We kissed the red shoes, which are changed every year. Because they wear out miraculously. It is believed that St. Spyridon walks around the world and helps people. They say that when St. Spyridon leaves, his sarcophagus does not open. The monks use the same key, but it does not fit, and the sarcophagus remains closed until Spiridon himself returns. Therefore, we were very happy to visit such an unusual person who became the patron saint of the island.
Leaving the church, we visited a shop with icons. We bought icons with St. Spyridon for ourselves and for all our relatives. It is easy to recognize him among all the saints. He is always shown wearing a braided cone-shaped hat.
Then we went for a walk along Kerkyra and its narrow streets. It was already lunchtime, so we sat down at a table in the first cafe we \u200b\u200bliked right on the street. We ate, of course, tasty, but more expensive than anywhere else. Here they charged us for sitting at the table, for bread, and for sauce, in general, for everything that is possible. The bill was twice as large as we expected. We, of course, asked how it happened. But we were kindly explained that this is done in all of Greece, something like a tax for each person. We were, of course, surprised, because ate a lot where, and never had anything like it. But they did not swear, why spoils the mood on vacation. Moreover, it is unlikely that something can be argued, they clearly explain everything. The feeling remained unpleasant. Therefore, I do not advise eating in Kerkyra.
Then we went for souvenirs. Souvenirs are much more varied here than in resort areas... And the prices are much lower. Therefore, I advise everyone to buy gifts here. Great magnets, quality cosmetics, summer clothes, local wines, fruit and vegetable breakups, paintings, bags and much, much more. In general, whatever your heart desires. All kinds of souvenirs, toys for children and grocery stores with local specialties. Everything is for you. You can walk endlessly and buy everything.
After completing shopping, we returned to St. Spyridon again, lit candles and went to Spianada Square, which is considered one of the most beautiful squares in Europe.
The square is about 600 meters long, i.e. there is where to walk. I cannot say that there is some incredible beauty here. The square is more like a park. There are many lawns where you can relax. Trees with a dense lush crown create a dense shade. It is very cool under them and it is pleasant to walk on a sultry afternoon. There are toilets and drinking water fountains. Most of all we were struck by a huge cactus, probably 4 meters high. You can see these in pots at home, but here is such a giant.
Then we go out to the embankment, admire the seascape, pass the old fortress and head towards the car. We already stayed in Kerkyra longer than planned.
The next point of our excursion for today was the Achilleion Palace. It is not very long and not difficult to drive from Kerkyra. But the palace is located on a mountain, and an eerie mountain serpentine was waiting for us. Here we fully felt all the narrowness and steepness of the Greek roads. I have never seen such terrible blind 180-degree turns with a blank flat wall. It was so scary that it was beyond words. I wished I had brought a diaper with me. It's good that we climbed there in the evening, and did not meet a single sightseeing bus. And they take everyone here. This place is also considered a must-see in Corfu. Barely reaching the top, we easily parked the car and went to the palace. The entrance cost as much as 7 euros per adult. To say that I did not like it there is to say nothing. Not only are they taking pictures of you at the entrance, but at the exit they are trying to sell you these photos. So also the palace itself is nothing interesting. It is small, inside is the most ordinary furniture. There are several sculptures in the yard. And the two most important: Achilles the Triumphant and the dying Achilles. There are two parallel alleys covered with ivy. Poor sea view, everything is hidden by trees. Maybe the Austrian Empress Sisi liked living here, but it is completely incomprehensible why this place should be considered such a sight. Take any of the Moscow or Moscow region estates, then in comparison with them Achilleion is more a gatekeeper's house than a palace. Those who were, for example, in Kuskovo, Achilleion cannot impress. There is nowhere to walk, a very small courtyard. There is no unusual beauty here. The entrance costs a lot of money, with this money we could have lunch. I am generally silent about the road up. Moreover, the exit from the other side. You have to walk pretty much along the road to the parking lot. Maybe someone will disagree with me, but Achilleion is a waste of money and time.
But the day was already approaching evening, and we still did not swim. Descending from the mountain, we found ourselves in the villages of Benitses. And when they saw the nearest inscription "beach", they abandoned the car and rushed to the sea. Here we found ourselves on the other side of the island and swam in the Ionian Sea. The beach here is very unusual. Small pebbles, and instead of umbrellas, huge reeds, which have covered the entire coast. The water is very warm, but also unusual. Directly hot parts of the water are mixed with ice streams. A very strange effect is created. I didn't really like it, but everyone else loved it. Although it was so nice to swim anyway after such a hot day in the city. After a bit dry on the beach, we hurried to the hotel, because it was already getting dark, and we did not want to wander in the dark along unfamiliar roads. But we arrived at the hotel quickly and safely. In the evening, we began to make plans for the second day for our car.
On the second day, immediately after breakfast, we went to explore the surroundings of our Paleokastritsa. The first step was to climb to the top of the mountain, which we see every day from the balcony of our room. This is the small village of Lacones. The road to it is also terrible. With very sharp turns, a sharp drop and a high rise. But once in this village we were stunned by the incredible atmosphere around. We seemed to be in fairyland... There is not a single person here. All residents left their homes to work in other parts of the island. Incredible silence reigns around. Ancient olives with bizarre trunks grow here. Bunches of grapes hang from the roofs of houses, and several varieties are tightly woven with lashes. Huge cacti are entwined with blooming ivy. In the gardens there are bright red tomatoes with completely dry leaves and trunks. Thorny weeds are breaking through the concrete parking lots.
We left the car and just walked through the narrow streets of a tiny town on top of a mountain. We met a cat with kittens walking in single file along the road along the curb. The walls of the houses here are also badly shabby, in places small weeds and plants break through. The windows are filled with boards, and quite carelessly and unevenly. The doors of some entrances opened by themselves, and inside there was a dilapidated staircase to the second floor. On the road, two cars cannot part way. Between the two houses we found a narrow path on which there was a sign - to Paleokastritsa. Those. we could walk to our hotel along this "secret" path. Here you feel like in a fairy tale. I would like to take a lot of unusual photos. The handles on some doors are shaped like a lion's head. The roofs of some of the homes burn with bright, lush colors. It seems that in this place you can walk all day. Absorb the spirit of true Greece. Consider the dwellings of ordinary people, squeeze between houses that are very, very close to each other.
But despite all this, there is a lot of modernity here. Local residents have excellent summer kitchens in their yards, there is a post office, and motorbikes stand at the gates.
But it wasn't for Lacones's sake that we climbed the mountain. Many of the magnets depict a landscape where Paleokastritsa Bay, where our hotel is located, is shaped like a heart. We really wanted to find the point from which we can see it ourselves and take beautiful photos. Here we stumbled upon the Golden fox restaurant. We only went there to buy water. And the daughter asked for ice cream, sat down at the table. And we went out to the balcony and saw. This is our bay. And she's really heart-shaped. The view from this restaurant is simply amazing. You can see the whole Paleokastritsa, all the bays. An incredible blue sea can be seen. And also a fortress called Angelokastro. We went there further.
Angelokastro is the ruins of a 12th century fortress. First we stopped on the road to take a picture of the Angelokastro panorama. The castle stands as if in the middle of a steppe with spikelets. Then we continued our route to the fortress. The entrance costs only 2 euros. An olive grove lies below. But we need to strive up many rocky steps. Climbing higher and higher, you see more and more beautiful and unusual landscapes. First, you are surrounded by the steppe, then a steep serpentine road appears, which winds like thread after needle, trying to rise from the sea to the very top. It is very interesting to see from a height the whole area that we rode and which surrounds us every day during our holiday on the island. Further, having overcome the fortress lattice, you find yourself in the fortress itself. There is a shady chestnut tree, under which there is a fountain with water. You can wash and take a breath. Although the rise is not high, but in the heat, you need to make a little effort to overcome it. Walking to the very edge of the fortress, you will see the most stunning view that you could ever see.
You will see the vast expanse of the sea. Feel what an incredible color water can be. At the coast, it is completely transparent. Like a perfectly clean topaz. Then it acquires a more saturated shade, shimmering from dark blue to almost black blue. But even at such a height, one is surprised how much reading the water in the Adriatic Sea is. You can see every pebble at the bottom. The wind is strong here. The salty sea breeze blows you from all sides. It is impossible to look at such panoramas. You can look at this sea all your life, but the whole world will not be enough. How to embrace the whole landscape with your eyes, how to capture in memory every piece of this picture. It is very dangerous to walk along these cliffs. There are no fences here. The stones are sharp and unstable. And the emptiness is near. When you take a picture on the steepest rock, it seems that it is about to collapse under your weight, and you will fly into the abyss. But the stone block is very powerful, it is not for nothing that this impregnable fortress has survived for so many years. Here you want to be and be, watch and watch. But it's time to move on. Discover new places in Corfu.
Angelokastro is a must-see place, to see the amazing sea space and to feel all the power and beauty of the Adriatic Sea.
Traveling further to the north of the island, an incredibly beautiful bay opened up to our eyes. In the shape of an even crescent. This is Agios Georgios Bay. We certainly wanted to swim here and started descending the mountain.
But on closer inspection, everything turned out to be not so beautiful. The sea is dirty here. A bunch of seaweed is driven into the bay by waves. And the entrance to the sea turns into a black mass of the remains of marine plants. Not very nice. But the water is very warm. The sea here is quite shallow, you need to walk decently to the depth. But then a gorgeous wide strip of yellow sand. True, it gets very hot in the sun and you don't look barefoot. The beach is well equipped. There are a lot of sun loungers, umbrellas, there are wooden walkways, showers. There are several hotels, a shop and a tavern right next to the beach. Here we stopped for lunch. We chose the table closest to the sea. Everything is very tasty, served very quickly. And most importantly, it is cheap enough. Here we dined at the lowest price. Three came out less than 20 euros.
In general, the area is quite beautiful. An interesting bay, there is where to walk, there is all the necessary infrastructure for recreation, but again, we liked our Paleokastritsa much more.
But we move on. The next point of our road trip was to be the famous Love Channel. The road led us through the countryside. We decided to stop by one lawn. A flock of wonderful sheep was grazing there. We really wanted to take a closer look at them and take a photo.
Seeing the turn to the beach, we decided that this one was very similar to the one we were looking for, and decided to scout. Because on the map and signs it was not entirely clear where exactly to go. This turn was perhaps the most successful of the day. We got to the most amazing and amazing beach. I have never seen anything like this.
This beach is called Logas The Sunset beach ... It is located in the town of Peroulades on the very promontory of northwest Corfu. We leave the car in the parking lot at the top of the cliff and go down the concrete path, which is surrounded by steppe grasses. Gradually, a huge panorama of the sea opens up to our eyes. As far as the eye can see, the sea surface is everywhere. But where is the beach? We go down below and see that on both sides of the narrow staircase there are absolutely thin strips of sand and stones, and everything else is flooded with water. We choose the left side, and walk along the plates, which are already partially flooded by the sea. We go out to the narrowest beach I've ever seen, leave things on the rocks and run to swim. It is difficult to convey in words what you feel when you are here. On the one hand, you are surrounded by sheer cliffs made of clay and laid in layers, sometimes overgrown with moss. On the other hand, there is an endless sea for the entire horizon. The rocks run in a completely uneven ridge, but in ledges, creating small coves. Those. the beach is very, very long, but some parts can only be reached by sea. The waters near the shore are about knee-deep. Therefore, it is quite possible to explore most parts of this beach. There are very few people here, so you can find a completely secluded place. And enjoy only the sea and the sun. Nobody will disturb you. This is an absolutely amazing feeling. Here you are at the edge of the world. The road leading up to civilization is not visible at all. Here you are alone in the world. Only sheer cliffs behind and the endless sea overflowing the horizon. Even to look beyond the adjacent rock ledge, you need to enter the sea. And the sea here is quite shallow, no matter how hard we tried, but we never got to the depth. The sea is very warm. But the water is not clear. There is clay in it. You can find a stone at the bottom that will dissolve in your hands. We even took a piece of this clay with us. We had never seen such a pleasantly warm sea in Corfu, so we frolicked in this water like enthusiastic puppies. We completely rested, enjoyed the sea, the sun and did not see the way back. I wanted to stay here for a long time. Sitting on a narrow coast near the rocks and watching the day change to evening, how the sun goes down, how the sea goes to sleep. Here you feel like a tiny person who is in the center of three elements: water, air and earth. And it seems that there is no escape from this beautiful corner. But dreams bring us back to reality. It's time to move on. We examine another part of the beach, to the right of the stairs. There are more people here, the beach is slightly wider and equipped. There are some umbrellas and sun loungers. We go up to the parking lot, and once again admire the incredible picture of the end of the world. The camera catches beautiful sunbeams in the frame. The cliffs replace each other, creating a bizarre steep coast of strong winds and beating waves. There is a cafe at the top of the cliff. By far the most beautiful sunsets here. Only we cannot stay until evening. We need to keep going.
Let's go further in search of the Channel of love. We turn onto the next road leading to the sea. There is also a similar beach here. But he's not that wild anymore. There is a small cove, there is an impressive strip of sand, umbrellas with sun loungers stand in an even row. We decide to walk a little along the path leading from the sea. And we see a huge forest of reeds, probably 8 meters high. We felt like we were in Jurassic Park. It seems that now a dinosaur will emerge from them. Compared to such huge grasses, a person seems to be an insect.
We return to the car. Let's go further. We find ourselves in the city of Sidari. There are many shops, cafes, houses here. Here is very big beach... But to be honest, we didn't like it here at all. I didn't even want to swim. For some reason reminded our black Sea resorts... The beach is open, shallow, there are a lot of people, some incomprehensible drains lead to the sea, housing is immediately rented, rows of souvenir shops. Here the Greek flavor disappears.
According to our map, the Channel of Love should be somewhere nearby, but we can't see it anywhere. We returned already on the highway. We are driving, driving and we can’t understand anything. We decided to stop and ask the locals. They explained to us that there was an error in our map, and the channel was located in a completely different place. Tired and disappointed, we turned back. We decided to find him after all. It turned out that we had passed by this place several times already. The sign is completely inconspicuous, and the road there is so narrow that it seems that the car will not pass. Which in general turned out to be practically true. You can get there from a busy intersection. As soon as we decided to enter as someone began to leave. Two cars will not disperse in any way, and a bunch of mopeds will scurry around. In general, we are worn out. Already tired while driving in. It is simply impossible to turn around there. Parking spaces at least. Don't put the car on. The heat is in full swing. We lost a hundred sweats while we tried to get out of there. As a result, when we got out, we were glad that we carried our legs away without incident, did not scratch anyone and did not collide with anyone. It turned out that we just spent a lot of time looking for the channel of love, but didn't really see anything.
The day was approaching evening, and we were in a hurry to see the east coast of the island and again swim in the Ionian Sea.
We returned to the track. We drive past Roda, Agios Spyridon and find ourselves in the villages of Kassiopi. A very nice and quiet place. Having seen the beach and parking place, we go to explore the surroundings. We found a wild beach. There are huge boulders of white pebbles. It is very painful to walk on them, even in shoes. But amazingly pure water. Such incredible transparency can be seen, perhaps, only in the source. There are very few vacationers here. Only those who arrived in their own cars. But nobody was swimming. Well, we didn't. It was time to be on the road again.
We began to descend down the map, driving through the entire eastern part of the island. We are already pretty tired, and the road is mountainous and difficult. It is very narrow, meanders, near the abyss, sometimes you come across traffic lights.
We pass Kalami, Agni, Nissaki. We really wanted to see the last town, because originally wanted to choose a hotel here. But there is no time to stop, although I think we would have liked it there too. We are already driving past Barbati, Ipsos and Dassia. I liked Ipsos very much. This is a city beach. There is a large street of shops and restaurants, behind it there are many residential buildings. And across the road is a large strip of beach, which is well equipped. The sea is clean. Although such a vacation is not for everyone.
But we are already turning towards our Paleokastritsa. It's getting dark and it's time to go home. Unfortunately, we were not able to swim on the east coast, as the road from Sidari to Dassia took us more than two hours.
We handed over the car keys to the reception and went to the room. Here is such a long and eventful journey we got in 2 days. We were not always lucky, we did not always get what we expected. But it was all definitely worth it. We discovered many new places, had an incredible experience of driving and navigating through difficult mountain roads, saw the simple life of local people, explored other beaches and got an incredible boost of emotions from such an adventure.
But the most important adventure is reserved for the end of the vacation. We thought about the whole vacation, and still decided to rent a motor boat. Price - 160 euros per day plus petrol.
So, in the morning we were taken to the port. It is literally 5 minutes drive from our hotel. There we were met by a captain named Spyros. He gave us a briefing in English. He gave us a bit of a try to navigate the boat within the port, gave us a map and phone number for communication, and sent us on an independent voyage.
The boat was at our disposal for the whole day, and we went out to sea. It was very exciting, because, firstly, we never managed the boat ourselves, and secondly, we ended up in the open sea on a small boat.
It is prohibited to sail outside Paleokastritsa by boat. But to swim around our entire area and see all the interesting beaches and places, the day is definitely not enough. So, we decided to immediately sail to the farthest beach and start consistently exploring the seacoasts of Paleokastritsa. Our water area ended with an island in the sea, which was visible on the horizon. We set a course for him. While we were sailing, we studied the boat and practiced handling. My daughter loved the boat incredibly. She was not in the least afraid. Easily looked overboard. Moved around the boat. Lying on the bow, playing with my cars in the seats. I was a little afraid. Most of all, I was worried that I would develop seasickness, which inevitably covers me at the slightest pitching. But while everything was fine, a light breeze blew across our face, the boat evenly cut the waves and carried us farther and farther from the shore. The boat has a roof, so we didn't suffer from the sun. Amazingly, wasps pestered us in the sea. They bothered us on the shore. But going out to sea, wasps constantly flew on the boat and tried to board one of us.
So, after a while, I myself have more or less mastered the management of our ship. I put in the terminals, started the engine, switched gears, steered.
An island began to appear in front of us. It has an uneven shape. The island, of course, is quite small. But how the breed lay on it is simply amazing. One can see even layers of stone, which are now arranged to each other in regular waves and descend down to the sea, at a certain angle. This is the first time I've seen such a cut of the breed. Above, the island is slightly overgrown with weeds. Having swum from the opposite side, we first swam in the open sea. And then they took turns swimming with a mask. Misha swam first, said that there is a cave inside and it is very interesting to swim into it. There was another boat with us, where a very brave man found a ledge and began to climb to the top of the island. Now it was my turn to snorkel. When I swam to the island, I realized that you can stand there. The rocks are spreading in ledges, and in fact you can stand in the middle of the sea. When I dived at the foot of the island, I found myself in a wonderful world. These undulating rock layers look quite extraordinary under water and are much more interesting than on land. In some places they are overgrown with different algae, among them small fish swim, which a little resemble coral. They have iridescent leopard spots. Only in steppe cats this color is orange-yellow, and in fishes it is light green-blue. The sun breaks through very shallow sea waters, and the underwater rocks are colored with a bright yellow light. This is an amazing world, bathed in the warmth of the sun and created by the undulating rock of the island. Having seen enough fish, I decided to also explore the cave. As soon as I began to swim away from the shallow waters of the island, I began to quickly feel how the rock breaks abruptly, the sharp edge of the rock is already visible, the light fades, and I saw it. An absolute black abyss. Incredible deep cavethat absorbs everything into itself. There is no bottom at all. It's just crazy depths here. I saw emptiness. Viscous, dark, absolutely cosmic and attracting to itself. It's not just fear. This is a real genuine horror, which is stored in everyone in the farthest corner of the subconscious. You have just bathed in the yellow sunbeams, and having taken a step found yourself in the pitch darkness of a terrible abyss. You feel like a small grain of sand of the universe, you hang in a huge airspacewhich has no floor or ceiling. It is impossible even to realize how many meters, kilometers, tons of water are under you. This is more than scary. It must be felt and seen.
I spent only a second there. And then she pushed back into the world of people and sunlight. I returned to the boat with a very strong impression. We decided to drop the anchor, we had a long rope, but the anchor hung in the water column, there was no bottom.
After spending some more time on the boat, I began to feel seasick. We decided to swim to the nearest beach. He was the eighth and last in a row. And it's called Paradise. This beach can only be accessed from the sea. Therefore, all the people are there with boats. But, of course, there are not very many of them, only 2-3 companies. The beach is perfectly white pebbles and an incredibly turquoise sea. Very similar to Davey Jones' stash from Pirates Caribbean... This is truly a heavenly place. We dropped anchor off the coast and the three of us sailed to the beach. My seasickness was gaining momentum. I already had chills and fever. The sea water got colder. Despite the fact that it was about 12 noon, the sun was very hot, and I could not get warm. All my belongings remained on the boat, and I was sitting in a wet bathing suit on hot pebbles and shivering in the hot sunbeams. While everyone was exploring the beach, I buried myself in the hot stones like a blanket and tried to keep warm.
The beach is really very beautiful. Perfect picture. Untouched by man, deserted, with crystal clear waters of stunning color. After staying here for a while, we decided to return to the boat. Climbed aboard, began to drag the anchor, and he caught on the stones. As the saying goes: pull, pull, but we cannot pull! We decided to try to pull it out with a boat, guided it in different directions, but the anchor did not want to get out from under the stone. Then we decided to dive. One dives, the other directs the boat. Under water, you know better where to rule. We had already changed places, now I dived and watched the process through the mask, but the anchor was sitting tightly in the stones. Having tried all the options, we decided to call for help from the shore. We had to wait for our rescuers for about 15 minutes. During this time, a wasp managed to bite me on the leg. Only this was not enough for me. It was not enough for me to be seasick, so also the wasp bite began to burn. As a result, I wrapped myself from head to toe in a large blanket, and turned into a cocoon shaking in a chill.
Rescuers rescued us literally in a minute. They took the rope from us. We twisted it a little and took out the anchor. We went on. We had 7 more beaches to explore. Meanwhile, the daughter herself covered herself with towels, and quickly fell asleep. The boat rocked her, and she slept almost until the end of our boat trip. Healthy baby sleep in the fresh sea air. Now I was driving the boat, and Misha dived into various caves and grottoes. I tried to look at the horizon, concentrate on steering the boat, and it became a little easier for me. But I flatly refused to go into the water, I was very cold. The places around are amazing. One beach is better than the other. We are convinced once again that Paleokastritsa is the most beautiful area of \u200b\u200bthe island. There are a lot of boats. All are rented by large companies and sail around the neighborhood. Seeing it with your own eyes is very cool. And snorkeling is an incredible pleasure. We swam to one of the caves. Misha managed to find ledges in the water and climb inside the cave. Further more and more beaches with perfectly clear water awaited us. We looked at the pitfalls, wondered how the water beautifully changes color depending on the bottom and depth. We were very lucky with the weather. The sea was almost not agitated, and we were able to swim into every bay. Someone swims to wild beaches on a catamaran, someone even on kayaks. Everyone wants to enjoy such magnificent natural beauty. We took very beautiful photos on the bow of the boat, looked at our hotel from the sea and returned to the Blue Eye Cave, which we explored from the catamaran at the very beginning of our vacation. Here Misha was already frozen and did not want to go into the water anymore, but my seasickness had subsided and I was ready to dive. This time there were just an incredible amount of fish in the cave. They froze in a huge flock at the entrance to the cave. As if they were floating in the air at the same distance from each other. I've never seen so many fish together. I took an underwater photo and video. A very beautiful sight. In ecstatic feelings, I returned to the boat. We swam a little more along our coast and decided to turn to the port. The daughter had to be woken up, she did not want to wake up at all, and slept very soundly, swaying on the waves. At 5 pm we handed over the boat to our captain. After swimming the whole day (from 10 to 17) we completely forgot about lunch. Feeling severe hunger, we hurried to the hotel.
We liked the port very much and we even decided to return here the next day. There are a lot of small fish swimming among the boats. We fed them with bread. Also there is interesting excursion... A yellow submarine with a glass bottom. You go down under the water and watch the fish through the glass. But we didn’t manage to swim on it, tickets were sold out several hours in advance. The port was close enough to our hotel, about 20 minutes walk. There are restaurants and souvenir shops nearby. It is very interesting to walk there.
So our vacation has come to an end. Having bought a huge number of Greek souvenirs, we began to get ready for home.
We really enjoyed our holiday in Corfu. We really rested here. We enjoyed the peace and quiet. Admired nature, made a pilgrimage tour to the continent, traveled around most of the island by car, discovered boat management, bathed in the Adriatic Sea, marveled at the openness and good nature of the Greek people, appreciated the local cuisine, fell in love with Kerkyra, felt like residents of the island, saw a piece of Europe and kept in their hearts the warmest memories of the greenest island in Greece.
) - in the Ionian Sea is the second largest.
Despite the large number of interesting sights, the island has another feature that attracts tourists from all over the world - a large number of beautiful beaches.
Greek beaches, including Corfu, are some of the best in all of Europe. There are many beaches along the island with clean coastline and water.
In every Corfu town you can find an exotic bay, and the most modern hotels are located on the coast. The infrastructure of the island is very well developed, so the entertainment is varied, as well as water sports.
In the east of Corfu, a tourist can find many coves that are isolated.
And the trees are approaching the beach itself. This area is considered the most lively, it is here that the residential elite area of \u200b\u200bKommeno and the largest village of Dassia are located. It is noteworthy that the infrastructure is the most developed here.
-
Dassia
This is the place where you can find both sandy and pebble beaches. They are well-groomed, well-equipped and cozy here. The beaches of Dassia are the perfect relaxation for the whole family. Despite the fact that the prices are high, there is plenty of entertainment for all tastes. Restaurants, taverns, concerts, exciting conquest of water sports and other no less interesting entertainment includes the village. This is a great place for those who like to walk. Dassia is located 11 km from Corfu town. And it is possible to get from the city to blue busesthat run every 30 minutes. But, as a resident of Corfu said: "It is cheaper and easier to get to your desired destination by car or taxi throughout the island." -
Ipsos
A pebbly beach that is quite long. It is unlikely that you will be able to relax here with your family, as it is one of the most populous resorts on the island. Lovers of bars, nightlife is the place here, they will not be bored. Ipsos is located 14 km from Corfu, near Dassia and Barbati. -
Nissaki
Small pebble beaches, located 22 km from Corfu on the north-east coast at the foot of Mount Pantokratoras (Pantokrator). This "small island" is located on the road that leads to Kassiopi. For a quiet family vacation, this is the most ideal place. -
Gouvia
The most inexpensive resort for active young people. In the past, there was a small fishing village here. Now there are picturesque pebble beaches, a small bay, trees that are very close to the water. There are also other campgrounds, restaurants and small hotels. Gouvia beach is located 8 km from Corfu town. You can get to it both by bus and by car.
Sandy beaches of Corfu
In addition to pebble beaches, there are a lot of sand beaches in Corfu. In addition to the pure white sand, the beaches are famous for their picturesque places and the purest sea. The terrain on the northern coast of Corfu is flat, so the mountains are far enough away.
-
Is a resort that includes 6 beaches: Agia Triada, Ampelaki, Agios Petros, Agios Spyridon, Alipa, Lagrotta and Platakia. This resort is an ideal place for families with children and for diving.The first choose the beaches of Paleokastritsa because there is good sand and a gentle entrance to the sea. The latter, however, prefer to rest at this resort because of the heavily indented edges of the coast, the many bays hidden from the waves and the colorful underwater world. The only completely sandy beach on Paleokastritsa can be called Agios Spyridon. The rest of the beaches are pebble or sandy-pebble. It is convenient to get from Paleokastritsa, both to Corfu, and to the beaches anywhere, the roads lead in different directions. The resort is located 25 km from the city of Corfu.
-
Kalamaki (Apraos) Is the most popular tourist destination in Corfu. It is located 40 km from the island between Agios Spyridon and Kassiopi in the northern part. Kalamaki Beach is a sandy shore one and a half kilometers long and 33 meters wide. Due to its shallow depth, the beach is popular for families with very young children. From Kassiopi you can take a cruise to this beach every morning. This beach has been awarded the Blue Flag for its crystal clear beach and water, which is presented annually by the European Union.
-
Roda - The beach from Corfu town is 40 km, next to the beaches of Acharavi and Sidari. Since the beach is shallow and sandy, families with children often spend their holidays here. Roda resort is considered the largest in the entire northern part of Corfu. You can get there both by car and by bus. -
AcharaviIs a resort that is open all year round. Its tourist area is very lively. Acharavi also includes the beach of Almiros, which is located 2 km from it. The beaches are quite similar to each other. This is a sandy beach, taverns, sun loungers, which are located next to the beach. Regular green buses travel to Acharavi from Corfu. You can also get there by car. -
- this is another beach marked by the European Union as the cleanest. It is located 16 km from the city of Kerkyra on the west coast. The beach itself stretches at the foot of the hill of the village of Pelekas. The beach strip is large both in length and in width, with amazing beauty of green century-old trees and golden sand. The beach is loved by both couples and young people. The first pleasant factor here is the presence of clean and soft sand and shallow water, and the second is the annual BeachParty. You can fly to Glyfada directly from Moscow in 3.5 hours. -
- the beaches are located 20 km from the capital. These are villages with a gorgeous view of the sand beach, 4 km long. On the coast of the Moraitiki-Messonghi beach, clear water and secluded coves, clean sand. The beach is crowded, the infrastructure is very well developed. The rest will be of interest to lovers of water sports. Near the beach, you can fish in the nearest river that falls into the sea. The river is a kind of border between the villages of Messonghi and Moraitika. -
Agios Georgios (Pagos) - the resort is located 30 km from the city of Corfu. Here, even in summer, the water is cold in the sea. The beach itself is a fairly long sandy coastline. The northern part of the beach is popular with nudists. Here, like nowhere else, there is such an opportunity to bask in the sun for 14 hours in a row. The breeze in the afternoon is a good companion for surfers. All kinds of active sports acceptable on the seas are relevant here. In addition to recreation for young people. Pagos beach will be interesting for families as well. -
Paradise Beach Is one of the few beaches that cannot be reached from the shore. To visit this beautiful beach it is necessary to hire a taxi boat in the nearest Liapades or Paleokastritsa. Rocks of unusual shape white sand and the seclusion on the 1 km long beach is a real paradise for tourists looking for some privacy. The main thing is to agree on the return to the island with the boatman.
How to get to Corfu?
There are several ways to get to the island of Corfu:
By plane: There are no regular direct flights to Corfu. Only in summer there are charters from Moscow. In winter, it is possible to get there only by transferring in Athens. From the center of Corfu, a few minutes walk is international Airport Kerkyra.
By ferry: There are regular ferries from Patras and Igoumenitsa. To Corfu by water can be accessed from Brindisi, Ancona and Venice.
The most practical way to get around the island is by car. Therefore, it may be better to take care of the car rental in advance. If it is not possible to rent in advance, then it will not be difficult to do it directly at the place of work.
What to take with you to the beach?
Going to rest on the island of Corfu, there is no need to take special things with you.
The annual temperature averages 22 ° C.
This temperature is quite comfortable for tourists. In summer, the thermometer shows no higher than 32 ° С and not lower than 20 ° С.
The most necessary things will be:
-
Goggles, headwear, jacket for night walks.
-
But when packing your suitcase, pay attention to medications tailored to your needs. Medications for heart and blood pressure problems can be helpful. Although all medicines can be purchased locally, even without a prescription.
-
Greece as a whole is a country where the wind can be quite strong and frequent. This is why a moisturizer may come in handy for long excursions in Corfu. It will prevent chapping and its consequences - flaking and redness. You can also put hygienic lipstick in your suitcase.
-
Cosmetics for women will rather be superfluous, as it can "float". A matting cream will be more practical.
-
Sunscreen, which has a protection level of 30-35 points, is also useful before going to the beach.
-
Family care cosmetics (creams, gels, scrubs, deodorants) do not need to be taken - you can buy them on the island. Everything is made from natural ingredients, in particular olive oil, at reasonable prices and of excellent quality. Only shampoo or balm to soften hair may come in handy, since the water on the island is hard.
-
There are many mosquitoes on the island, it will be good to stock up on insect repellent. Although as said local: “Corfu has a humid subtropical climate, so there are a lot of mosquitoes. You can buy funds from them on the spot or take them with you. There are no midges on the island. But in September wasps already appear during the grape harvest.
What should a child take to Corfu? The set of things for children is the same as for any other vacation at sea. Warm clothes, sunscreens and, of course, swimming accessories can be useful.
Remember that you should not take a lot of luggage in Corfu. Thus, you can restrict your movement. Indeed, in addition to beautiful beaches, the island has a lot of architectural and natural attractions.
Even if you are not going to make excursions, believe that when you arrive at the place, you will certainly have such a desire.
-
