Forty miles long and 20 miles wide, Corfu is a mountainous part of Greece heavily populated by shoreline resorts. Italians, French and British rule preceded its unification 1864 with Greece. Like much of Europe and the Greek Islands, there are Byzantine churches, lots of whitewashed cement houses, old fortresses and temples. The streets meander.
Mentioned in Greek mythology, Poseidon fell in love with a beautiful nymph and stole her from her mother and they married. She bore him a daughter. I guess everybody lived happily ever after. Except for all the wars. From the time of the Ottoman Empire, fortifications were built in an attempt to not only protect the island but to have an impact over who could navigate the nearby waters. The Venetians defended against the Ottomans multiple times. Turks first pillaged the island taking 20,000 hostages as slaves and later were repelled but the British were not; they took over after the Napoleonic Wars. It was not until 1864 under the Treaty of London that Corfu was Greek.
When Italian fascism collapsed in 1943, the Nazis took over after bombing by the Luftwaffe destroyed the Jewish quarter Evraiki and other important neighborhoods and buildings. The Italians capitulated and the mayor became a known Nazi collaborator who oversaw the passage of several anti-semitic laws. But, at this exact time in 1944, the Allies bombed the island again as a diversion from the Normandy invasion. The Gestapo committed one final atrocity against the remaining Jews, rounding them up and imprisoning them at the old fort of Palaio Frourio. Many were sent to Auschwitz and few survived. A significant portion of the local population gave refuge to 200 Jews who escaped the Nazis. A prominent section of the old city is called Evraiki (Jewish Quarter) in recognition of the Jewish contribution then and now in Corfu City. One active synagogue boasts 65 members who still speak their original Italian language. Still, trouble is present: on April 18, 2011, the synagogue was firebombed but there was only minor damage and no casualties.
You may (or may not) recall that the 1994 European Summit was held here.
We were up early, at Cagney's on deck 13 for breakfast a bit after 7:00 and still waiting for our eggs at 7:35, tapping our feet because we were to meet Lisa and Paul at 7:45 in Star Bar (also on deck 13) and we wanted to chew rather than gulp our food. We chewgulped and made it in time to be escorted by Concierge Bruno Dentone via express elevator down to deck four. After scanning our "FreestyleCard" the computer acknowledged that we were leaving Jade and we were on a shuttle to go find our driver for the day, Spiros. When in Corfu, use him or his brother at First Class Limo and Taxi Service, dskordoscfu@gmail.com. Their website www.corfulimo.com will help you make arrangements. For €200, the four of us had Spiros and his Mercedes at our disposal for five hours.
All good. But don’t expect to see much. This is a mountainous island and there are lots of narrow curvy roads through small villages but if you were expecting ancient Greece, you’ll be disappointed. Yes, there is Agelokastro, the fortress guarding the coast and there is another old fortress in Corfu Town but, frankly, if you failed to go ashore, you wouldn’t miss much other than the hospitality of Spiros and his fellow Corfans(?) Corfuians(?) Kungfuians(?). Corfuscians say…
Corfu survives on tourism and there are trinket stands and small hotels everywhere you look. And if you are in the market for a fur coat, Corfu may be a stop that you don’t want to miss. Apparently fur is a big item for the Russian tourists. The other industry on the island is olive oil. You see olive trees everywhere along with trees bearing figs, peaches, oranges, lemons, and limes. No one would starve in Corfu, you can just pick from the trees all the fruit you can eat.
My favorite part of the day was at George’s Cellar about halfway through our morning where Spiros sliced some bread and tomatoes along with some feta cheese and we enjoyed a snack as we watched George hawk his homemade wine and olive oil along with ice cream bars (you could choose from Nico Status or Nico Scandal.
Sure, we went to the Monastery of Paleokastritsa but I wouldn’t call it a must see. Sure, we went to the overlook above the airport (seriously) but we’ve seen planes take off before (True, not necessarily beneath us).
The scenery from the various hilltops and lookouts was great but no match for what comes tomorrow in Santorini. As we finally headed back to Corfu City, B4 and I remarked that we’d like some fish for lunch. Spiros face lit up and he said we should see his friends (yeah, sure) at Porta Remounda Tavern at Moustoxidou 14 in Corfu City. We did. It was great. Grilled octopus, a Greek salad and a red snapper made a perfect lunch and it was, as Spiros had promised, scrumptious. It was also €52 but, hey, you only live (on Corfu) once.
At 2:00, we headed back to the taxi stand a few blocks away, confident that we had plenty of time to get back to Jade as it was moored only about ten minutes away.
One thing to know about travel is this: there may be no taxis standing at the taxi stand. In Corfu City, the taxi stand is about sixty yards long. Nobody knows where the “line” is supposed to begin or end so people simply walk to the curb at some point along that length. It quickly becomes clear that this is chaos and only those who are most aggressive and at the very beginning (rather than as it would be in the U.S. at the very end) of the taxi rank had any hope of getting a cab. Compounding this arrangement was one other quirk: there were no taxis. Or, should I say, very few.
At one point, a very concerned lady approached us—after we had been waiting for ten minutes or so and finally positioned ourselves to be most likely next for a ride—and asked if this other couple from the U.K. could go in front of us as they had been waiting a long time. Well, all of us had been waiting a long time. The problem was this couple was elderly and the woman was in a wheelchair and they had about them an aura of desperation bordering on panic. Almost.
Anyway, we shared with them and we all made it to the pier with 20 minutes to spare. Lines were long but the weather was nice and, once we cleared the “throng,” B4 calmed down from what can only be described as significantly mounting stress.
The day was fine but it would have also been fine had we simply lounged by the pool or, minimally, taken a taxi into old town for our lunch and come back to the ship.
The most interesting fact about the entire day, frankly, was when B4 received a text from a friend who, along with his family, was aboard the Regent Seven Seas Mariner moored across the pier from us. He said he watched our ship dock this morning after they had tied up. We plan on seeing them Saturday night in Venice but did not know that our itineraries would overlap here on Corfu.
We are wondering—as I write this it is time to sail—if anyone got left behind at that sparsely manned taxi point which would result in a delay for us. But no; all arrived as required and we sailed on time, headed for Santorini. It is a long journey; we don’t arrive until tomorrow afternoon at 1:30.
Dinner tonight is at eight at Teppanyaki. Showtime at 9:30 in the Stardust is the singers and dancers of the Jade. They compete with the Bee Gees Tribute with Carlos at Magnums. How Deep is Your Love (for the Bee Gees)?
One interesting fact: You know the TV picture from the bridge that is broadcast on your stateroom TV? The one that shows where you’re going? Well, check out our screenshot.
Corfu, Corfun, Corfubar, Corfu
Monday, June 15, 2015
Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece
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Comments

2025-02-06
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Andy
2015-06-15
Awesome photos - as usual!
CC & JC
2015-06-15
Wish we were there! However, your narration makes us feel we are!
Betsy Sears
2015-06-16
Great history lesson Paul.
I felt Beryl's stress!
I want some fresh feta
Cherry
2015-06-16
Great to see you both having such fun! Beautiful photos and article! Have fun in Santorini!! xo