Florida November 2010

Manitoulin Island August 2010

last day

Today is our last day and we are packed up and enjoying the last few hours in the sun. Corfu is an excellent place to come and hike!

Site Seeing

Between hikes and during days off from hiking we take in the local sites on the island of Corfu. Corfu has had a long ancient history so we've seen castles, palaces, forts, monestaries, churches and museums. We have also been out in boats twice to get a closer look at the coast, the caves and in one boat we were able to go down below into a glass submarine and watch the fish. Very enjoyable!

On the Corfu Trail

We have been on 6 hikes so far and have 1 more to go. In total we will have hiked 96km. Besides spectacular views, fresh air, interesting foliage, donkeys, cats, dogs, birds and pleasant company, the hikes are physically challenging. Usually we start by going up hill, with some relatively flat lags, then when reach the peak we have lunch, then head back down via a different route. One hike our leader called "the buns of steel hike" but I think that they all are in this category. The trail itself is sometimes flat, sometimes along a road and other times is very rocky and difficult to navigate- you need to have alot of agility -especially if the rocks are wet due to the rain. Occasionally we have had to "bushwack" our way through and a few times we have had to help each other through tough spots (see photo above - with my group leader waiting to help me down an 8 foot gully). So far I have only fallen twice and both times I automatically shot my right broken wrist straight up into the air and did not land on it!

Greek Food

The food here is pleasurable - alot of my favourite flavours: lemon, olive, feta, yogurt, honey, tzitki... plus the best prepared meats, fish and poultry. I even tried lamb and liked it. When we hike we take in the aroma of lemons, oranges, and thyme, and see olive trees everywhere.

Paleokastritsa

The group has travelled to the west side of the Island of Corfu and changed hotels (only a 20 minute drive). We are now in a small beach communmity and all of our rooms overlook the sea. The pictures above are taken from my room and outside the hotel. It is absolutely stunning here- the many shades of the green and blue ocean, lava rocks, cliffs everywhere and interesting lush vegetation. We will be spending the next week here doing 4 hikes up and down the hills and visiting local sites. I am going to enjoy sitting on my balcony and watching the Ionian Sea.