If you didn’t start reading on Day 1, you might want to start from the beginning …
My original agenda for today had us taking a drive up the northern part of the island, up the mountain, and to the eastern coast and the “Mini-Riveria.” The thought of more driving, however, seemed to turn Mikayla’s face green. Her preference was to go back to Myrtiotissa beach and have an easy relaxing day. So that’s what we did.
We took our time in the morning, had an extended chat at breakfast, and then left late in the morning for the beach. I wondered all night if I’d drive down the steep hill again. The angel on the right shoulder said, of course, “Don’t do it.” The little devil on the left didn’t say a thing, just smiled a wicked grin. I’m sure you know by now who won.
My mistake yesterday was stopping halfway up, but even then, I still made it. I don’t have a good shot of the road but you can see the cars at the top of the cliff in the picture. I told myself we’d get a good run and make it out safe. Most people stay at the top. The few cars that drove down, I also saw drive back out. I told myself it would be fine. But I was more than a little nervous as we dropped down to the beach and the angel on my shoulder was so upset, he got out of the car and missed out on swimming because he sat in a huff at the top of the hill the whole time.
We spent more time here today, starting on the sandy beach. Mikayla read her book, “Wicked” for a while on the rocks while I listened to my iPod and soaked up some sunshine. We did some swimming, played in the sand, and lingered for several hours. The waves weren’t the cute puppy waves we had the day before. They were more like German Shepherd waves that constantly jump up to lick your face. Mikayla preferred these big brother waves and dove into them, rolled around in them, and let her free spirit play and frolic unrestrained. I enjoyed them too but preferred the smooth glassy water from yesterday. Actually, I would have loved if the Great Danes had come to play, the ones big enough to carry you around.
I tried to ignore the cliff behind us, but it taunted me. We drove back to the rocky beach and I was tempted to drive up the hill just to get it over with, but instead parked in its shadow and did some snorkeling. When it came time to leave (only because it was getting close to my scuba appointment) I gunned it from the bottom and we zipped up the hill no problem. The grumpy little angel up top almost got left behind and had to run and jump in as we zoomed past.
My second dive was a much different experience. I was grouped with another couple and Angeliki took us out to the reef. I was much more relaxed, enjoyed looking around, and didn’t at all feel the same apprehension from the day before. We swam through a little cave, saw tons of colorful fish, and even explored a sunken ship. (Okay, it was a tiny rowboat and everyone swam right past it without a second glance, but it still makes for a good story.)
Rather than feeling like it went on forever, the dive seemed to be over before it started. I could have gone right back in for another one. I was really glad I followed through because it completely changed my opinion of scuba diving.
I went back up to the room and tried to talk Mikayla into driving to an old castle with me for an evening excursion but she just wanted to take it easy. I thought of going by myself but decided to hang around with her. She’s been a great sport, following my aggressive schedule, hiking, driving for hours on end to see the historical sights…so I didn’t push it. I had just settled in when she said, “I guess I’ll go on the hike.”
We took the road up the mountain, through Krini, and then back down towards the water. The fort is built up on a ridge overlooking the ocean and I was excited to see it. We parked and had started up the trail when a guy coming down the trail shook his head and said, “closed!” I asked him if we could just hike up to it, to the gate at least and he said “it’s closed!” There was an obvious language barrier. I said, “Does that mean we can’t go in the fort or does it mean we can’t even hike up to it?” He got frustrated and threw out his arms, I suppose it was the Greek version of “Whatever.”
We debated hiking up and decided to go for it. We weren’t crossing any closed gates, nothing said “stop,” so what is the worst that could happen? It was a neat hike up but in the end, we found a giant iron gate securely locked. It would have been easy to climb up and over it, which I made the mistake of pointing out to Mikayla. She climbed up and I said, “I don’t want any part of this.” She didn’t go inside, but I think she enjoyed teasing me knowing she was doing something I didn’t approve of. Pick your battles, right?
We then went to the edge of the ridge, watched the sunset, and ate dinner; trailmix, bread, and honey. Then while the sky was a fiery red, we hiked back to the car and returned to the hotel and called it a day. It was sad to think our time on Corfu had already past. Each day seemed filled with so many activities it seemed to last forever in a sense. But now, looking back, the three days had come and gone like a breeze across the water: gone before we even had a chance to fully enjoy the cool air on our faces.
Continue to for Day 7…