Bonnie Bee and Yond: Corfu

We had a time change overnight, losing an hour, so it seemed like an early start to our morning. We got down the gang plank early though and had to wait for our bus. Ricky found a perch in the sun.

I'm looking down the pier towards our ship.

The Viking tour guides were waiting in the shade with their lollipop signs. We were the first to board our motorcoach.

This beautiful sailing ship, the Star Clipper, was moored in the cruise ship port.

There were 4 large cruise ships docked today. The Norwegian Pearl makes our Viking Sea look small. One reason we love Viking is the smaller ship.

We headed inland to the Ropa Valley.

Eucalyptus trees were introduced from Australia.

We passed vineyards on our way.

This is our guide, Lola, who is at least my age. She is Dutch and came to Corfu when she was young. She met and married a Greek and stayed on the island.

The Theotoky Estate is 300 acres of pine trees, vineyards, and olive groves. They are an organic producer of wine and olive oil. The Theotoky family is well known and highly respected.

Lola handed over the microphone to Stephanie who led our tour while we were on the estate.

She explained their wine making process.

Wine press

We got to see the Cellar where wine is stored and aged.

Stephanie showed us a short film clip from the James Bond movie "For Your Eyes Only" where Roger Moore insists only Theotoky Estate wine will suit his palate.

We sat at long tables and were served bread, fresh tomatoes and olives, cheese and salami, all bathed in the Estate olive oil. We were served two varitals of white wine. The tomatoes were out of this world delicious!

Even the water bottles were elegant.

Estate olive groves.

I assumed this is the residence of the Theotoky family.

A classic bucolic landscape surrounded us.

This seemed to be a grand entrance but the doors were locked. I learned later the Estate has a museum and library.

Stone steps

We left Ropa Valley and drove up some impossibly narrow and twisty roads. I don't know how our driver, Nico, navigated the hairpin turns. Ricky gave him a hefty tip. There were times we were all gasping for air.

We drove through a small village and the road was barely wide enough for our bus. A traffic light was times to allow traffic to take turns driving through.

We drove up to Palaiokastrista to "Bella Vista" (beautiful view.) There is a fortification on this highest point called Angelokastros (Venetian: Castle of the Angel.) The period of building is not known, but first documented evidence is 1252. It never fell, although there were many attempts. It afforded a vantage point from it's high perch.

The view is indeed beautiful!

Corfu is said to be the mythical island of the Phaeacians, and Palaiokastrista bay is where Odysseus disembarked and met Nausicaa for the first time.

I enjoyed a piece of walnut cake, a specialty of the area.

We had our pit stop to enjoy the view and have refreshments here at the Golden Fox.

This is supposed to be the oldest olive tree on Corfu, estimated to be 1000 years old.

After we got back to the port, Ricky went back to the ship and I took the shuttle bus into old town. This is the old fortress, built by the Venetians in the 15th century and used for 4 centuries to protect their maritime trade in the Adriatic.

The Venetian controll of Corfu is evident in the architecture. The island seems more Italian than Greek when looking at the homes and buildings.

Old town is a mixture of partly Venetian period architecture and more modern buildings.

Another view of the old fortress.

German general Matthias von Der Schulenberg, 1661-1774, the last great general of the Serenissima Rebublic of Venice. He organized the defense of Corfu from the last Turkish seihe in 1716.