Leaving Albania for Greece
Bed number 45 of the travels was to be in another country. Leaving Albania for a country that has been firmly in Victoria’s sights even before we left Australia. Whatever was to come before, spending a few weeks in the Greek Islands was non-negotiable for her. Packing up and heading out of the apartment, downhill to the ferry port, I managed to get a final cheese burek for breakfast. Warm, fluffy and utterly divine. I was going to miss these. I thought. Turns out I was wrong. But back to the travel day.
We left Sarande, and Albania on the 10am boat to Greece. As we had on other parts of this trip we were going to cross an international border by boat. Passport control was a breeze and we all filed through and boarded. Corfu was our destination today and whilst I had spent a lot of time traveling in Greece and the islands, Corfu was to be a first for me.
Exploring Corfu Old Town
Arriving before our 3pm AirBnB check in we stored our bags in a luggage locker and went in search of a cold Mythos. Corfu old town was a hive of activity. On that first afternoon we had great fun wandering and getting lost in the warren of alleyways, plonking down eventually to lunch. A large serve of delicious pastitsio. Already you could feel the difference between Albania and Greece. It was visceral. Friendly service. Smiles. The Greeks know how to do hospitality.
Something that was borne out when we did check into the AirBnB. The owner met us to take us up and check us in. Me in the tiny, rickety lift with the bags, Victoria and the owner taking the stairs. The apartment was large and very modern. We had a complimentary bottle of wine waiting for us, together with water and juice in the fridge.
Greek Food is heavenly
That first evening was something Victoria had long looked forward to. And she made the most of being in her “happy place”. A dinner that included halloumi, pita bread, tzatziki, and moussaka. Rounded out with one of the famous Greek carafes of local white wine. The food was delicious. The setting dreamy, overlooking the sea. And she still had the rest of the Greek menu to explore over the coming days and weeks.
We had three days exploring as much of Corfu as we could. Being based in the old town meant we got to see a lot of the coast and the amazing sunsets. Why is it when you see a great sunset that you can’t stop taking photographs of them? No matter that you have hundreds of other sunset photos. No matter that you tell yourself just to stand and enjoy. The camera always comes out.
Exploring Sidari on Corfu Island
One day we took a bus from the “green bus station” to the northern coast. To a small town called Sidari. A town that Victoria had visited as a young girl on a family holiday. Sidari felt very different to the old town. Lots of hotels. Lots of English holiday makers. Lots of bars advertising “English breakfasts”. It was lovely to have a refreshing dip in the sea and we were glad to get back to the old town for dinner. After showering later, and checking my chest in the mirror, I certainly had to improve on how I apply my sunscreen. Resembling a lobster, I had a glass of wine and watched the World Cup Final (knowing it should have been England!).
Moving on from Corfu we boarded the boat to Paxos, or Paxi as the locals call it. We were here for four nights and it turned out to be such a great place to spend time. Our privately owned apartment had a great view of the small harbour. A view worth dragging our bags up the many steep steps for. Greeted by the owner, Mrs Theckli, she also knew how to host.
“Victoria, look in here,” she said, opening the fridge. “My favourite wine is here, a bottle for you. And for your husband, cold beers.”
We had a bottle of prosecco to celebrate our Paxos visit with. And the day after, when Mrs Theckli cleaned the apartment and took away the empties, she restocked the bottle of prosecco and the beers. If that wasn’t enough, she insisted on feeding us through our whole stay. She was constantly popping her head in and shouting, “Victoria, Victoria,” leaving us with fresh bread, olive oil, tomatoes and basil.
The piece de resistance was when she called around and Victoria was finishing up from a shower.
“Come with me,” Mrs Theckli barked at me. I didn’t dare argue. “Follow me.”
And this is how I found myself in her kitchen as she took a huge slab of freshly cooked pastitsio from the oven.
“You like?”
“I love it,” I replied as my mouth watered.
Walking back next door to our apartment with two huge portions of pastitsio I was like the cat that had got the cream.
Needless to say, I had to eat a slice whilst it was still hot. And by golly, was it good. Dinner that evening was a little lighter for me.
Is this what it feels like to live on a Greek Island?
We developed a relaxing routine whilst on Paxos. A breakfast of cheese pie. Yes, I had found my burek replacement. The Greek cheese pie became a firm favourite. A morning walk along the harbour and out to the port. An Espresso Freddo (Google it), a coffee that I discovered and couldn’t get enough of. Lunch, usually gyros. An afternoon dip in the sea. Followed by wine (and, or beers) on the balcony watching the boats of day trippers come and go. Slow days.
Days that ended with a traditional dinner, a carafe of house wine, and a final walk. Paxos is such a beautiful island and in the evening, when all the day trippers have left, it is an oasis of solitude. Harbourfront restaurants. Locals strolling along the water. Typical Greek Island life. Blissful.
It was on Paxos that we had one of our best dinners of the whole trip. Prawn saganaki for Victoria and I had a seafood risotto that will live long in the memory. Oh lord, even writing about it makes me want to go back.
One of the days we hired a scooter and spent the day exploring the whole island. Small as it was, we were able to see a lot of it in a day. New swimming spots. A great, secluded bar on the beach. As we knew we would, we were falling more in love with the Greek Islands with every passing day.
And exploring more Greek Islands was the plan. We didn’t anticipate how hard that would be, logistically, from this side of the Greek mainland. The distance to other islands on this eastern side of Greece was long and there were little to no ferries plying those routes.
En Route to more Greek Islands
After a long day of planning we landed on a boat back to Corfu and a flight to Athens, overnight near the airport, and then catch the train to the port of Piraeus for a ferry to our next island. Travelling back to Corfu from Paxos provided us with a show that had the entire boat enthralled. We had a pod of dolphins swimming alongside us. Clearly enjoying themselves, in the wake of the boat, they were jumping in and out of the water to a chorus of oohs and aahs from everyone.
Docking in Corfu we again stashed our bags in a luggage locker and went for dinner. A gyros plate. A huge gyros plate. Before heading to the airport on the local bus. A ride all of 10 minutes.
On to Serifos
Despite the short bus ride it was a long and tiring day, arriving at an apartment in the suburbs of Athens past midnight. A sleep, a breakfast of pastry and coffee at a local cafe, and we were in a taxi to the nearest train station. The train took us into Piraeus and after lunch at the port we were on the 3pm SeaJet to Serifos. A journey of two and half hours, and a new island for both of us. After a couple of long travel days we are looking forward to slowing down again.
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