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"There's always a plan, but unexpected things happen and we just go with the flow. Though I do believe that fate and destiny often play their part"
sailing blog
So, here we are some seven weeks into our Greek Odyssey and I think I can safely speak for both of us when I say we are really loving life in Corfu. After an initial period of being exceptionally lazy, in full holiday mode, we've now ventured out to sea and explored some of the beautiful small bays up in the north east of the island. However, it was not all plain sailing as the beaches tend to slope into deeper water quite quickly here and we found that our 30 metres of anchor chain wasn't quite enough - for the benefit of non-sailers you need to put out three times the length of chain to the depth, as a bare minimum. Personally, I like to use a ratio of four times, so trying to sit in ten metres of water meant we were caught short so to speak. A trip to the local chandlers and several hundred euros later we now have 50 metres, plus another 20 metres of rope. On one occasion, before we got the extra chain, I anchored in 5 metres, reversed back and ended up with the stern of the boat practically parked on a sun lounger on the beach, much to the annoyance of a greek gentleman who started shouting at us. I'm guessing it was a tirade of abuse and expletives as opposed to "hello and welcome you gallant English sailor" Anyway, I up-anchored and moved on with a thumbs up and thankfully he smiled back. It was a close call but I think I've restored friendly Anglo Greek relations once again! In the past, I've often waxed lyrical about how wonderful giant Mediterranean prawns are. Indeed, I'm still very partial to a plateful now and then, but my current preference is Calamari - grilled, fried or baked. We've now frequented quite a number of Tavernas (slight understatement) and naturally I compare one dish of Calamari to another, which obviously has a strong bearing on repeat visits. At the moment the rather unassuming little shack on our local beach is winning hands down. The picture above of their delicious offering speaks for itself - "squid heaven with a twist of lemon" I call it! The middle picture tells a different story. Our great friends from Malta, Jane and Nathalie, have been staying in a villa nearby for the past week and when they first arrived, very early in the morning, I considered doing a bacon and egg fry up on the boat to welcome them to Greece. Then I remembered, this was Jane and Nathalie on holiday we're talking about and the party would have started at Malta airport before they even took off. Suffice to say I came to my senses and bought the ingredients for a stiff Bloody Mary breakfast instead and I must say it was very well received by the gals. I had one (two actually) myself and I certainly understand the attraction! The picture on the right is very special. Jane, bless her, brought over as her hand luggage an electric gridler, knowing that our last one packed in. It allows us to have BBQ style food on the boat, which we absolutely love. The recent tragic deaths in Greece caused by wildfires emphasises why there is a blanket ban on charcoal or gas BBQ's on beaches, or anywhere else on land for that matter - and quite rightly so - but now we can do the next best thing - thank you Jane. Taking advantage of Jane and Nathalie's hire car, we all ventured off to the rugged west side of Corfu to a scenic little bay called Paleokastritsa. The journey took us through beautiful wooded mountains and when we got there the view across the coastline was nothing short of spectacular. From here we took a boat ride to a secluded beach, only accessible from the sea, called Paradise Beach. OMG - talk about clear blue water - you can see why it's named what it is! The pics above were taken as we arrived for a day of swimming and chilling - not to mention a sumptuous picnic, complete with chilled white wine from the well stocked cool-box. Just a few snaps of our relaxing day - the one in the middle shows the interesting rock formations created by layers of sediment laid down millions of years ago. If only that person hadn't walked past as I was lining up the shot you would have a clearer view! Paleokastritsa bay as seen from the top of the steps leading down to the beach. Easy going down - somewhat exhausting coming back up in the heat, but thankfully the cool box was somewhat lighter by now. This pic was taken on the evening of 26th July, as we were sharing a farewell fish supper with Jane and Nathalie at a gorgeous waterside Taverna. This cloud formation bubbled up in-front of us as it was getting dark and I promise you I've not tinkered with the shot in any way. This is exactly how it was - pretty dramatic don't you think!
It's now just the two of us again and we shall set sail once more over the coming week to do some more exploring, primarily along the east coast. I haven't mentioned yet that we had a day and evening in Corfu Town, which was really interesting given its Venetian history and architecture. We're going back tomorrow and I'll take lots of pics ready for a blog all about the hustle and bustle of this busy, but beautiful place.
1 Comment
Will
25/9/2018 09:21:59 pm
Interesting rock formations....
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A FEW PICS OF COMINO Click a photo to enlarge and use side arrows to scroll through. COMINO IS CURRENTLY HEREDID SOMEONE SAY SEAFOODOn our journey from Portugal to Greece we enjoyed amazing seafood almost everywhere we stopped. Finding the local fish market was always a priority because seafood was so plentiful and so reasonably priced. And, the displays were a feast for your eyes.
Locating a market sometimes meant pounding the pavements in searing heat, but if you kept your eyes peeled, you often came across a little clue. The pic below was a rather less than subtle advert for a fish market - it was eight feet tall.
Freshly cooked onboard, a plateful of giant prawns, baked in wine and garlic, washed down with a few glasses of local vino, was like heaven. Watching the sunset on the boat eating a meal like that was the epitome of "living the dream".
Now we're in Greece we've another favourite to savour. I'm talking about fried Calamari. It's usually good, but every now and then it's off-the-scale fantastic. At Natalie's Taverna on Kontokali Beach in Corfu, it was nothing short of epic.
We're based in Lefkas now and It's been a bit of a mission to find somewhere just as good. And we have. Rakias is a mere ten minute walk from the marina and this little fish market, with its very own taverna attached, is quite sensational.
Oh...and it's also worth mentioning that, on occasions, a bit of barbequed Octopus is on the menu at some of the tavernas we frequent. Can I resist....no. SUNSETS AND DRAMATIC SKIESNo filters, or any other monkey business, have been used to enhance these images.
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