Greek Journal Part X

Greek Journal: 5/13/2005-6/8/2005

Summary: DenveràLondonàAthensàLeptokaryaàLitochoroàMt. OlympusàLitochoro àKalambaka (Meteora) àIguominitsaàCorfu TownàCorfu TrailàIguominitsaàZorganian Villages, Vikos Gorge and Mt. AstrakaàAthensàLondonàDenver

5/30/2005: On the Corfu Trail, Corfu: It was so nice in Ermonas and my foot was so sore that we decided to spend an extra day beaching it and checking out the local scene. Swam, slept, read, wrote and ate. It was a full day. At night decided to take in a magic show at the local restaurant which turned out to be the highlight of our stay in Ermonas. Every trick was performed on a solid marble floor in the middle of this small outdoor restaurant. Every illusion was presented in four languages, Greek, English, German and French, which by itself was worth more than the price of admission ($0). The most amazing thing about the show was that his illusions were, well, magic. With no fancy props or back up band, he had his assistant disappearing and reappearing in the blink of an eye right in the middle of the diners. After an hour of tricks and food we left baffled and satiated.

5/31/2005: Today our goal is Liapades: Back tracked to Vatos and found a CT Trail sign leading us in to the flat lands of the Ropa River Valley. The valley is about 2 miles across and split by a slow moving stream that is surrounded by flat agricultural land. We walked along the right side of the river until it became so overgrown that travel was difficult. We then crossed a small foot bridge to the left hand shore line and followed a more defined, but still very rough trail. The temperature was in the mid 70’s with crisp blue skies. On the hill sides small clusters of orange tile roofed houses could be seen. Portions of the fields had been freshly mowed giving off a fresh cut grass scent and wild flowers were prolific along the shores of the river.

Walking through the Ropa Valley

Small hillside village along the Ropa Valley on Corfu

Like most of our nine days of trekking, there were no visible trail signs today. When we came to the north end of the valley we just veered toward the most likely gap in the hills hoping to locate the trail back over the coastal range to the beach and Liapades.

On a post between a couple of small houses saw a yellow streak of paint. Since this was the closest thing we had seen to a CT trail sign we headed up the road until it became a track through some ancient olive groves. The path was peaceful and the gnarled old olive trees provided shade from the afternoon sun. As the trail crested the hill we could see the orange roofs of Liapades tucked in to the west coast of the Corfu shore line. As we entered the town we were immediately struck by the combination of colors and smells. The walls of the building were old and earthen, but the buildings were draped in a variety of flowers including roses of every color, daffodils, carnations, oleanders and bougainvilleas. The town itself was a combination of well kept mansions, narrow streets and walkways.

One of the flower draped building entering Liapades

After walking through the old part of town we headed for the beach area and found a lovely spot 50 ft from the beachfor 35 euros. The beach was beautiful and clean and right on the sand at the end of the beach were large lime stone boulders that were ideal for bouldering. In our book, Liapades bumped Myrtiossa out of the running for most beautiful beach in the world.

View from our bungalow on Liapades Beach

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