To the very top of Greece

 Yesterday was relaxing so today we have to tour again as there are some places on the island which are on our must do list. The first is the oldest village on the island called Perithia which is set on top of a mountain and we aslo want to go to the very top of another mountain where there is an old monastry and this is the highest mountain in Greece.

 Breakfast again is ..... you all know that one - and after eating we go find Mr.Fearnley in his apartment as he is coming with us today. When he opens the door he is all dressed in his finest clothes and matching hat and is so excited to be going on a trip with us. We load the car and Mr. Fearnley opens the door for Rhonda to get in like a proper old gentleman. We drive out of Sadari along the coast for about an hour before turning up a mountain road which we have to follow for an hour.

 The road quickly becomes crazy steep and there are so many hairpin bends that the we cant get out of first gear.it is a slow, long climb but the views soon become incredible. Rhonda hates the fact that some of the turns have no barriers and shear 100ft cliffs off the side. She is panicking like crazy as we drive and old Mr Fearnley thinks it is so funny and laughs all the way at her. we keep stopping to snap pics along the way.

 the landscape changes andd the ground is now full of fantastic wild alpine flowers - and snakes. Glen gets out of the car to take a pic and suddenly dashes bak into the car slamming he door shouting "oh shit oh shit !" we look on the ground where he was stood and a huge snake is slithering out of the grass. he saw thiscoming towards him and ran immediatly lol. The snake comes all the way out so Glen reverses the car to leave - oops we run over the snake by mistake lol.you can see the snake in the pic (after we have squished it).

 we carry on and eventually we reach old Perithia. This is a mountain village which is over 3000 years old - the buildings in the pics are the modern buildings which are only 700 years old LOL. we help mr Fearnley walk around then we stop for refreshments - a bottle of Mythos beer each. At 83 he finishes his cold one before us lol.
We get back in the car and navigate our way from mountain to mountain along tiny narrow roads until we reach our second destination at the monastry.

 from the top here we can see 360 degrees around the island. The country of Albania is only a couple of kilometers across the ocean and from the mountain we can clearly see Albanian towns and villages across the way. We drive back down the far side of the mountain and head back to Sidari. This is a short blog but this journey has taken 6 hours total. In the evening Mr Fearnley invites us to dinner at his favourite restaurant and we meet him there at 7.30pm. Every restaurant owner in SAdari knows Mr fearnley as he has been coming here twice a year for 20 years. sat with him we get the royal treatment and we have pasta and swordfish for dinner. Mr Fearnley insists on picking up the bill to say thank you for the day trip we resist but he insists and he is so happy to treat us.

BAck at our apartments we have a MEtaxa brandy nightcap with him and we are treated to the owner and his freind doing a private fire throwing show for us. Was a good day today and we were very happy to bring a bit of joy to old Mr FEarnleys holiday. Tomorrow is our last day in Greece before we head back to London for a day then back home.    

Relaxing day by the beach in Sidari

 Well as we only have a couple days left in Greece and in Europe we decide to have a local day. We have been touring around every day of the trip so far and a day relaxing close to our home base is a welcome change. The village of Sidari where we are is on th e north coast of Corfu and the coast line here is made up of rugged cliffs and coves and rock outcrops. There is a foot path that winds along the cliff tops for about 5 km to the next village so we decide to put on our walking shoes and do that today.

 WE start off on Sidari beach and wind our way up the first cliff. Within minutes the views are just awesome and as we walk along we come across many different little bays and rock outcrops. The cliffs here are made of soft sandstone and the action of the waves crashing against the cliffs has carved out some wonderful patterns and shapes in the land. Rhondas foot is still a little sore but she manages to walk the whole way. At the far end of the walk we stop for lunch at a little beachside taverna. Rhonda has the traditional tzatziki, greek salad and pitta bread and Glen tucks into a charcoaled lamb shank mmmmmmm. After lunch we walk the clifftops back to Sidari.

 It is strange walking the opposite direction as the views are completely different this way. We get back to Sidari and relax on the beach for a while. At night we decide to go to the supermarket and we have a bottle of wine and some local dishes in our little kitchen/dining room in our apartment. Tomorrow we are off exploring in the car again and we are taking an old english gentleman called Douglas Fearnley with us. We met Doug in our hotel and he is 83 years old and amazingly well for his age, It is like being with an old grandad and we have really taken to him so we asked him to come out for the day with us. He has had 2 wives pass away and he comes twice a year on holiday to this hotel by himslef. HE is over the moon that we asked him to join us.

Wow Greece sure is freaking old - We almost get in an accident and Rhonda just escapes a prison sentence !!

 Today our plan is to cross the mountains and head south to Old Corfu Town. There is an old seaport there and a couple of
really old fortresses as well as lots of shopping in the old town streets (so our guide book says anyway). Vasilia gets us
breakfast and we mop that up pretty swiftly. Rhonda now only has english bacon, beans and toast every day and she is dreading
getting back to Canada and not being able to eat this teehee. See the pic of how she neatly prepares her breaky before she
has even one bite - (teehee she will kill me for posting that pic).

We load the car and away we head off into the mountains
with Rhonda navigating with our little map (oh oh).

 We drive through mountain villages which are so pretty. There are a
couple of 1950's scooters lent against one wall at the side of the road - they are kewl !

 The road has hardly any straight runs and it switches back and forth as we climb higher and higher, the views are specacular.

 We see a workshop at the road side which is making all kinds of items from olive wood so we stop and have a browse. The owner tours us around the workshop and we see some amazing things he is making by hand. Bowls, dishes, forks , spoons, candle holders, hair ties, pencils, bird cages, clocks, chess sets, tables, chairs wow this guy is so talented and the olive wood has beautiful colour and grains.

 There are cacti all over this island, some are small and spiky and some are huge. The one Glen is standing next to in the pic is used in some local dishes as a vegetable.

 We eventually cross the mountain pass and we can see Corfu town with its huge, ancient fortresses in the distance. As we drive into the town the traffic gets really busy and of course everyone is honking
at each other for no reason. We approach an intersection where we have a green light and all of a sudden a car runs a red light right in front of us at high speed- as Glen slams on the brakes and we screech and skid Rhonda is so startled she yelps out and grabs Glens arm with a vice like grip. We stop just in time to avoid being hit then we carry on into the town. Glen looks down at his arm which is hurting now and he sees it is pouring with blood where Rhonda dug her nails in as the car screached to a halt - OUCH - GLen says he would have been less injured if the car had hit us teeheehee - we are shaken but safe.

PArking in this town is insanely impossible t find and we have
to drive around the narrow streets until we spot a tiny parking place. GLen doen an amazing paralle park job and we just fit into the spot. OF course as we park we hold up traffic and 30 cars are honking continuously at us grrrrrrrr so annoying. Still shook up from the near miss we hit a cute little street cafe right away and order a beer.

The streets here are so old and narrow and there are street cafes everywhere. We look up each side alleyway and in everyone we see peoples laundry strung between the buildings over the sidewalk, this is everywhere in this town.

 The streets are lined with shops selling everything from cast iron bath tubs to Gucci watches and everything in between. It is very interesting and Glen is actually enjoying the shopping.

 We stop for lunch at a restaurant right in the middle of the shopping district so we can sit, eat and people watch. We order a platter of mixed fresh seafood - OMG the platter comes and it is freaking huge - there is octopus, squid, giant shrimp, and all kinds of fish and it is all cooked on charcoal. The dish is so big it wont fit on our table so we have to take over 2 tables. Then the waiter comes over with a large knife and fork and he stands there and expertly fillets the fish
so we eat it with no bones, he slices the octopus, he peels the shrimps - we get to eat this lovely seafood without the mess of having to get all fishy on our hands - such awesome service.

 After lunch we walk to the old fortress which has been
protecting Corfu town for a thousand years. We have to cross a long bridge over the moat into the fortress entrance.

 WE pass some cannons which have the date of 1675 cast into the barrell.

Just inside the fortress one of the rooms has some old, old paintings on the wall. The guard in there isnt looking and Rhonda touches the paintings and Glen takes a picture with the flash on. The guard freaks out and points to a sign wich says "no photography" " touching the paintings is illegal and imprisonment will occur" - ooops good thing he didnt see Rhonda wiping her hand over the paintings which we notice on a

little sign are dated from 5AD - over 2000 years old !!! I see some smear marks from Rhondas hand right on the painting - that is worth a year in prison for sure if the guard spots it. I grab Rhondas arm and we rush out so they cant blame us for anything - jeesh close call - I would have hated to have left me sweety in a Greek prison (teehee).

 The fortress is huge and we spend a couple of hours exploring the
old tunnels, and arches and dungeons before we hike to the very top right up to the old signal tower. The views up there are
amazing.

 There are ancient cannons laying around on the ground everywhere -dozens of them just rusting away.

  After the fortress we walk back through old town towards our car. The place is a maze and we struggle to remember where the heck our
car is parked. Rhonda spots a kewl little blue car that she likes - a Citreon 2CV.

We eventually see some buildings we recognize and find our car. The drive back to Sidari is scenic and as we go over the high mountian passes we see the
sunsetting over the west coast - beautiful.