Bangor University has an Easter break that is three weeks long and during this break many students, especially the study abroad students, take the opportunity to travel. The last week of this break I will be spending in Ireland as part of the program but this post is about my amazing first week of Easter break. I was lucky enough to find a really great deal and go to the beautiful island of Corfu, Greece for a week with my friend Rachel and it was absolutely amazing.
So cheap travel usually means you travel at really inconvenient times... our flight was not until 5:30 pm but the cheapest train to the airport was at 6am so we spent a good part of the day in the airport playing cards. But anyways, we land in Corfu at 10:45pm their time (Greece is two hours ahead of the UK) and we get on the shuttle to the hostel with a group of American study abroad students from London who are travelling during their spring break, some of whom we actually make friends with over the next couple of days. We pull up to our hostel, the Pink Palace, at around 11:30pm and as soon as we walk into the door we are greeted by what seems to be a giant frat party with a guy from New Zealand in a tiger suit yelling "Fresh Meat!!!" and picking up and spinning around one of the shorter guys from the shuttle. The receptionists gives us our keys and a shot of Ouzo and Rachel and I are just left thinking "what did we sing up for...?" The place actually turned out to be a lot of fun but that was quite a welcome. We spent the night talking to people in the hostel... I was slightly terrified by the guys banging their heads with cans and stayed in the corner talking to those who appeared sane and sober. We stayed there until about 1:30am and then called it a night.
Day 2 (4/9/2011): "Hey Melissa..." "yeah?" "We're in Greece!!!"
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| View from the balcony |
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| View from the door |
That became our mantra for the trip. We just could not believe we were actually in Greece! I woke up that morning and the first thing I did was go to the balcony of our room and it was stunning with the turquoise/blue water, the tree-covered mountain off to the side, and the sun shining everywhere. It was paradise. It was only made better when we left our room and saw that we were in a valley with trees everywhere. It was absolutely gorgeous! We went downstairs for breakfast and then it was off to the beach! Word of advice- buy your sunscreen BEFORE going to Greece because you will most likely only find it in your hostel or in a tourist shop and it will be extremely expensive (15 euros for a 150ml bottle). I guess the Greeks have a built in tolerance to the intense sun or something.
But anyways.. the beach. I was SO happy to be on a sunny beach! Tried to get into the water but it was a bit cold so I stuck the beach while Rachel went mermaid on me and played in the water. The sun felt amazing and I was just listening to the waves crashing and it was just the idea of perfection. We were joined by a very sweet, and very pregnant dog, which I loved. I really miss having a dog. The hostel actually has a few dogs that hang around it and they were super cute and fun to play with. Anyways, we spent about three hours down on the beach just marveling at our surroundings and then we decided to try and explore the town. We went up the hill first and that was an amazing view of the area but we wanted to wander around the town and see what there was so we went back down and explored. Apparently we had come about two weeks before season started and absolutely EVERYTHING was closed. There were some people airing out their businesses and doing touch ups but nothing was open so we just kept wandering through the town until we hit the beach again and walked down the beach and met up with the two girls who were on our shuttle the previous night. They were building a sand castle and Rachel and I, being like 10 years old inside, joined them. But it was soon time to go back to the hostel for dinner so we all went up and hung out in the lobby/ bar area until dinner was served. That night after dinner we learned some traditional Greek dancing which was hysterical and turned into a really fun mess. After that we all just hung out until bed. The Pink Palace is in kind of a remote area so the only thing to do at night was to hang out at the bar which was fine most nights. They generally had good music and cool people to talk to and it was usually a lot of fun.
Lesson of the day- double check that you put sunscreen EVERYWHERE! Two words: lobster boobs. I also had random burnt patches and a really bad burn on the top of my left thigh. Ouch!
Day 3 (4/10/2011): Toga! Toga! Toga!
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| Rachel and I |
Day three was another beach day. Again I tried to play in the water and though I lasted longer than the day before I still chickened out while Rachel went at the waves full force. We spent most of the day on the beach except for lunch time. It was just a really relaxing day. Later that night, however, the Pink Palace had a toga party! The togas were a pink silky material and I don't know why but somehow everything just seems more fun if you're wearing a toga. We even busted out some limbo! It was just a really fun night.
Day 4 (4/11/2011): ATVs!!!
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| the group for the day |
Rachel had had a very late night so she slept that day but some of the guys that we had met were renting ATVs for the day so I tagged along with them and it was so much fun! Granted I got stuck with one of the only 50cc vehicles and the others were 80cc so I was a little behind and going up hills sucked... but the guys went at the pace of my vehicle and we saw some really amazing things! We went through a village and all up into the mountains. I love the buildings in Corfu... they're just so artful and colorful and surrounded by flowers. There also seem to be lemon and orange trees everywhere! Amazing! I would love an orange tree... And then from the top of the mountain we could see the coast of the end of the island and some mountains off in the distance on the other side. It was absolutely gorgeous!
We did, however, have some technical difficulties. One guy, Sam, got a flat tire and couldn't get his engine to start. We had to call the Pink Palace and wait for someone to come and find us. We eventually got Sam's engine started and were all going to go and wait for the guy at a lookout point not to far away but then we could not get another guy's engine started so three of them went ahead to the look out point and the other three of us waited in the woods for about an hour and a half. The guys were cool so it wasn't too big of a deal and it actually was really amusing. We had some pretty hilarious conversations. So anyways, the guy from the Pink Palace came and started Sawyer's engine and put Sam's ATV in the truck and drove him back. Most of the group was too frustrated and didn't want to keep going but we still had almost two hours left on the machines and so me and two other guys kept going. I also switched ATVs with one of the guys who wasn't going and it was so much faster! It was a blast. One of the guys I was with kept trying to steal it when we would stop at lookout points. We went through a nearby village called Sinarades. It probably was a bad idea on their parts to let me lead because I did not know how to get back or where I was going in the first place.. but we found our way back in time. It was really just an awesome day. The island is really beautiful and I just soaked up every minute of it. It was the last night for that group we came with on the shuttle which was kinda sad because they were really cool people but it was fun while it lasted and we added some of them on facebook so we can talk later :)
Day 5 (4/12/2011): Corfu Town
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| On the way to Corfu Town |
Rachel and I decided that we wanted to see the main city on the island and getting there and back was really half the fun. The closest bus stop to the Pink Palace is in Sinarades, about a 5km walk up the hill and it was a really lovely walk. The sun was shining, there was a light breeze, and again everything around was beautiful. The area is covered in wildflowers and beautiful buildings and so many trees! I loved it. The town uses the public buses as school buses so we did not actually get into Corfu town until about a half hour later than we thought we would but it was fine... we were just confused as to why the bus driver was driving all around the little village until we looked at who was getting off at every stop. So we get into Corfu town and what is our first stop? An ice cream shop. We had both been wanting ice cream for a couple of days and boom! There it was right when we got off the bus so that was a good start to the trip. Then we just walked through the town and looked around. It was really a beautiful town, mostly filled with souvenir shops and restaurants, with the Old Fortress at the end of the main road. We weren't able to go in because it was closing but it was really cool to see. After that we popped in a couple more shops and I bought a couple of small souvenirs, only souvenirs I've bought since coming to Europe other than a small Welsh flag, and then it was time for food because we were hungry and dinner wasn't going to be until 9pm. We found a small gyro shop and oh my goodness are gyros amazing. I'd never had one before coming to Greece but it is definitely one of my new favorite foods, hands down. By the time we had finished eating, however, it was almost time to leave so we looked around a bit and then started to try and find the bus station. We took a few wrong turns but eventually found it and were on our way back to Sinarades.
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| German Shepherd on the Roof! |
We took our time going back to the Pink Palace because the day had cooled off considerably and the walk seemed much more peaceful. When we were almost to the Pink Palace we passed a building and heard some barking, looked around, and there was this large German Shepherd on the roof of this building running back and forth. It was so funny! I was so confused as to how he had gotten up there but then I remembered that the building was on a hill and felt kind of silly... but it was still a funny sight. After we got back we cleaned up and went downstairs to hang out a bit and we actually met a Canadian guy who, when wearing his sunglasses, looked like Tom Cruise. We talked to him until dinner and then after dinner he gave everyone his rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody which was just extremely entertaining with his added in comments... I think he was a bit tipsy. All in all another great day in Corfu!
Day 6 (4/13/2011): Wandering Around
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| Rachel on a Rock |
Rachel and I decided that we wanted to explore the entire beach, not just the area designated for the Pink Palace so we spend a few hours doing that. We climbed over some rocks, found a couple of caves, and just enjoyed a really nice walk. We would have kept going but we got to a certain point and were ambushed by five barking dogs so we thought it best to turn around. I picked up some cool, small, funky rocks along the way for my step-sister.. those kinds souvenirs are the best kind I think. It's rare now that I find souvenirs that I think are worth buying.. a lot of them just seem tacky or meaningless or way overpriced.. just my ramble of the day. But anyways we went back to the Pink Palace portion of the beach we decided we were going to try and chill there for a bit but it was really cold and windy so we went back up to the room for a bit to wait for the wind to calm down. I read a little bit and wrote a couple of post cards but then I got really sleepy and fell asleep for about three hours and by then the sun was starting to set. I couldn't believe I had slept the rest of the day away! At least it wasn't our last day there. That night ended up being lame for a while. Some new guys, ironically from Austin, Texas, got everybody playing drinking games and since Rachel and I were both broke, as well as I'm not a drinker..., we sat out and were extremely bored for a while. So then we went to go bug the night receptionist and he was really cool. His name is Armando and he is from California and he's been travelling around Europe for two years, jumping from job to job at different places he wants to go and just learning languages. Sounded like an extraordinary life. So we talked to him for a while and that was fun but we made that night an early one and went to bed around 12:30 or so.
Day 7 (4/14/2011): Our Last Night
After breakfast we tried to go down to the beach and play in the water but the wind and waves were so strong that we couldn't even get past the breaker waves. So then we tried to just lay on the beach but it was too windy so we went inside. Rachel ended up going back outside to lay on the sun deck.. something she later regretted.. while I stayed inside and read for the rest of the day looking out the window. Rachel got a massive sunburn because she had forgotten to put sunscreen back on before going out and was out there for a few hours. The Greek sun is either the same as or more intense than the Texas sun... she was extremely red. I felt so bad for her! That night was a lot of fun, though. At around 6pm we went downstairs and sat a table with a couple of new people, Brandon and Tahnee, that we had met. They were also from Canada and had been travelling around Europe for almost two months and they were really cool. They were both hilarious and just a lot of fun to hang out with. Later on the DJ kept putting on all of these major sing-a-long songs and old dance songs like "Summer Lovin'" and "Dancing Queen" and people actually danced! The whole week we had been there nobody danced and that is what I like to do!...even if I may look like an idiot doing it sometimes... I was so excited and had a blast! Armando asked me if I was drunk because I was so goofy and happy (I was completely sober...) but I was just having a really good time. It was probably the most fun night of the week for me.
Day 8 (4/15/2011): Kayak Safari and Saying Goodbye
So our last day the sea was finally cooperating enough so that we could do the one thing we had really wanted to do the entire trip: kayak safari. It was so much fun! They were two-person kayaks and I got paired up with the Canadian Tom Cruise, Steve, and Rachel was paired up with a Scottish man named Johnny and it turned out we were really lucky for that. Steve and I were team "Top Gun" and Rachel and Johnny were team "Nessie". Apparently Steve is some kind of martial arts master and was extremely strong and Johnny was runner up to a rowing team that was going around the world... so we were pretty ahead of the game and because of that we got frequent breaks in order to let the others catch up which my arms were extremely grateful for. The water was unreal and it seriously looked fake. It was extremely calm and clear. We must have been in a place that was at least 50ft deep, if not more, and you could still see the ocean floor. The water had made this wavy pattern in the sand and it was amazing to see. And the color was something that pictures would not do justice. It was almost the color of Listerine... maybe a little more turquoise. It was beautiful. We started off going to a small island with a monastery and ate our lunches. The legend has it that you ring the bell at the monastery once for love, twice for money, and three times for happiness and almost everyone rang the bell three times.
Then it was back in our kayaks over to a private beach. Steve decided it would be a good idea to ditch his swim shorts so Rachel stole them and put them on a rock further up the beach which gave everyone a show when he decided he wanted them back. Only in Europe. Everybody got in the water for a little bit but I felt near hypothermia when I got out because I could not get warm. I ended up burying my legs in the warm sand and that helped a little bit. Then we were back in the kayaks and on to our last activity of the day: the cliff jump. The rock we were jumping off of wasn't too high so it was still fun... my fear came mainly from having to jump back into the cold water. But, alas, I did it and I even stayed in the water and swam for a bit. It wasn't so cold that time for some reason.. maybe because I was already shivering when I jumped in. I felt warmer getting out of the water than I did jumping in. One girl had a waterproof camera with her and I hope I can find her on facebook and get some of those pictures from the day. I was scared of bringing my camera because I didn't want it to get wet. After we had all jumped off the cliff it was back in the kayaks to head back to the pink palace and I can definitely say that my rowing speed slowed down a bit. My arms were hurting a bit after a day of kayaking.. but I had a lot of fun. We got back to the hostel around 6 and our shuttle back to the airport left at like 7:30 so Rachel and I changed in the bathroom, no showers because we had already checked out, and just chilled in the common area with our new friends until it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes and got on the shuttle waving goodbye.
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| Us with the Canadians we had met |
We got to the air port around 8:30 and checked in but our flight wasn't until 11:45 so we had to wait a while. The flight landed at 1am in Manchester and the next train back to Bangor was not until 5:50am so we ended up spending the night in the train station. Apparently, if I'm tired enough, I can fall asleep on my own lap. Who knew! By the time we got back I don't think I had ever been so happy to see my flat. I passed out for a good five hours.. would have been longer if I hadn't set my alarm. This trip, however, was worth everything. It was absolutely amazing, a ton of fun, and I'm glad I got the chance to visit a new place. I hope one day to go back to the Greek Islands and see more of them. Well, until next time!
<3 Melissa
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