Stripes

The temperature had eased a little into the lower 30’s and our time in Corfu winding down. We had heard of Afionas where land juts into the Mediterranean dividing the water east and west. Great for swimming and views and we had some unfinished business with Agio Georgious nearby. Early up and a walk to the bus stop where we found that there were no connecting buses directly to the west coast. We would have go through the central Corfu exchange 36 klm away. Over a tiny R60 cup of coffee at a local bakery we found that Taxis were not available and hiring a 4-wheeler bike not reasonable at R1200 for the day. The bus arrived so decision made we headed south to the terminus to catch a bus north to our planned destination. As is the way the bus stops and starts through narrow roads and it takes 2 hours. The overwhelming impression as you drive through the many villages is of an older generation clinging to a previous life, buildings locked in time,while the Younger people have moved on. A three hour layover was spent walking in Corfu, people watching and shopping, we did visit a small stall, that squeezed fresh oranges, twice. The bus trip to Gergious was through the olive trees forests past abandoned buildings and up windy roads. Agio Georgious is a very pretty bay with one side being the peninsula that is Afionas. It was hot and the sand burnt our feet so We dived in to swim in the clear cool water. We planned to walk home in the late afternoon about 16 klm but only when it got cooler. The walk started with a climb up to Afionas. A small village with beautiful views cobbled paths and smart looking stores selling olive oil, sweet Greek seeets and wood carvings. As usual there were lots of Taverna’ s. Our walk home was very bumpy up and down, we passed many small holdings and villages and saw more abandoned buildings. The country side had olive and fruit trees and folded into small homesteads with old buildings. We explored a deserted half built house, it had frayed curtains still hanging and all the appearance of the planned grandeur the builder seemed to have wanted but now lying unfinished. Our walk took several hours and when we got home footsore as we had covered 25 klm our longest day so our stripes earned.Read more