Igoumenitsa to Corfu

 I’ve been on the run since leaving Rome and today I arrive at my destination. Probably. I woke up with no bookings for the day, time to relax and get on Greek time. Over breakfast at the hotel I snagged a room on the island and a ferry sailing. Easy peasy. Now to figure out what to do there. It’s a big enough place that I shouldn’t have problems with that at least. Also, I’ve finished my supply of books and need to restock. It seems the island may be able to help with that. Renting a scooter or motorcycle for the day is also definitely in the cards.

Traffic

The boat pulled in and after a 90 minute puddle jump I found myself on the island. Corfu is an odd place, Ionian but it was occupied by the Venetians for some time. They left their mark on the local cuisine and architecture. It is Greek here, but there are fingerprints from Italy everywhere. 

Old Venetian fort

My host, Spiros, is helpful. Maybe too much. When I arrived I got a 30 minute guide to everything I could or should do on the island. The room is well-appointed but something he said bothered me. “If you want hot bathing. *turns on breaker* For forty minutes only. *turns off breaker* Then is safe for bathing. Hmmmm

His lunch recommendation was spot on. A local spot that specialized in Corfu’s own cuisine. I asked the waiter for a specialty, cod in a tomato sauce. He said they ran out and suggested something else. Ten minutes later the waiter came back and offered me another dish since they’d run out of that. Silly but all the same to me, I just wanted a specialty. Pasta with chunks of veal and oilve oil. Heavy and fantastic. Since my eyelids felt heavy and it was starting to rain anyway, I took a nap.

When I woke up it was time to buy more books. I got to the end of 2001 on the ferry and there are definitely more boat rides in my future. There is a bookstore in the city with a limited supply of English books. I bought two and left two behind. 

Signs here are hard for me to navigate but most of the locals speak English, a sign that in the summer this place will be crawling with British tourists. For my evening, I wandered the city and popped into a few bars to people watch. Lunch was massive so I was still full. Excited to see tomorrow what this island has for me.