Friday June 26, 2015

Photo: The Byzantine Castle at Angelokastro was built on this particularly precipitous and rocky terrain, 1000 feet above the sea. The exact date of its construction is not known but there is documented evidence of it existence in 1272. This castle on the NW coast of Corfu is part of a defensive triangle of castles that include Gardiki on the S coast and Kassiopi on the NE coast. We visited Kassiopi Castle on June 16th. Angelokastro never fell despite frequent sieges. During invasions it sheltered local peasant populations. It is considered one of the most imposing architectural remains in the Ionian Islands, along with Kassiopi and Gardiki, and the two Venetian Fortresses of Corfu City, the Citadel and the New Fort.

We powered one mile from our anchoring spot in Kammeno Bay to our berth in Gouvia Marina bright and early at 0810. We joined Heather, Chris and Wes at the pool for a swim and lunch before they had to leave for the airport. Paul rented a car to take them to the Corfu airport and for us to use for a road trip. It is obvious that we have thoroughly enjoyed having them aboard!

We traveled to the west coast of Corfu, first to the harbor at Palaiokastrita and then to the nearby Palaiokastrita Monastery on a high promontory overlooking the sea. Lots of people at the beach. The monastery was probably part of a fortification built in 1225. The name, Palaiokastrita, comes from the word for ‘old castle.’ The monastery was destroyed and rebuilt several times. What exists now is not more than 200 years old. There is a small museum with Byzantine icons. The view is spectacular and the sea was being whipped up by strong, gusty wind.

The roads thru this mountainous region of NW Corfu are narrow with lots of switchbacks. The village of Makrades has a single lane thru it and a traffic light that changes every 8 minutes. After Palaiokastrita, we drove to Angelokastro. We could see other people who had made the climb to the fortress so I charged up before loosing my courage. A strong headwind made me wonder if I would be “pushed” downhill on the way back. The views from the top were amazing but in places I could barely stand up against the wind.

The best part of our road trip was the stop in the tiny village of Krini, at the altitude of 310 meters and a population in 1991—266. The village center is tiny—just a road around a large old tree where elderly Corfiot women in traditional dress sat on a bench. We had a wonderful traditional Greek dinner at the Sunset Restaurant. The view is to the N and NW. We could see the islands of Othoni, Erikoussa, Mathraki and Dhiaplo. They are much larger than we expected. When we were searching for wind in the Brindisi-Corfu race we thought we would go to the west of Erikoussa but a windshift, if you could call it that, kept us to the east.

We saw a hazy sunset and then drove down more windy narrow roads back to Gouvia. Thank goodness for GPS!