This island off Greece’s northwest coast in the Ionian Sea is known as the "Emerald Island."  Arrived in the harbor enjoying the balcony views of the town.

The town is flanked by the imposing New & Old Fortresses rising into the sky.

                                PALEOKASTRITSA & CAVES EXPEDITION 
Ship Excursion:  4 hours 10:45-2:45 Enjoyed the scenery and a bit of history along the half-hour bus ride.  Corfu is thought to be the island mentioned in Homer's Odyssey. Shakespeare used Corfu as the setting for the play "The Tempest."

Paleokastritsa is one of the most scenic parts of Corfu and one of the best beaches in Greece.  Archaeologists have identified this area as the site of Homer's city of Phaeacians. According to legend, this is the beach where Odysseus washed ashore and met the princess Nausicaa after the sea god Poseidon turned his ship to stone. Wow, it is gorgeous with "rocky promontories cloaked in pine and cypress trees and sandy bays embracing turquoise waters." 

Boat Tour--local  guide took groups of about 10-15 people to 3 Sea Caves (San Nicolas, Blue Eye, Nausika) for an up-close look at this unique grotto scenery with its spectacular water colors and underwater rocks. At Nausika cave, the guide was in a hurry and didn't wait for another boat to come out of the cave so we didn't get all the way in. 

Beach for 1-hour; can't wait to get into this amazing, crystal clear emerald water. The beach was so jammed with people, it was hard to walk between groups. Was it ever refreshing on this hot day. Nice to have a shower on the beach to rinse off the sand before heading to the beachside restaurant for a Greek country salad. 

Lakones a traditional village on the slopes of Mount Arakli. Short bus ride, 20-30 min, climbing up and up a narrow, winding one-lane road with hair-pin turns. The driver even had to back down the hill to allow another bus to pass. One of the all-time crazy drives! Worth it for the breathtaking views high above the Ionian sea and Paleokastritsa.
Castellino restaurant for Greek appetizers--tzatziki sauce, cucumber, tomatoes, bread, another dipping sauce; good.

Drove back through the mountain country side and Old Town Corfu. At least we saw a few of the key sights since it was too hot to walk around on this 95-degree day: Viacherna Monastery, medieval Old Fortress built in 1546, Saint Spyridon Church with its 1580's red-domed bell tower, and the New Fortress built in 1577.

The ship left Corfu with up-close views of the Albanian mountains.

Another beautiful sunset to top off this picture-perfect place!