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| Old Fortress, Corfu Old Town, 2022 |
I'm not one for partying, so Corfu was a bold choice. I recall people looked at me funny when I said I was going to party-party land in the summer. But you know? I had one line of thinking: how do I know it's not my scene, I've never tried it?
Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly follow the motto of 'try everything once' but it's just a thing people know about themselves and I didn't actually know it.
We didn't go alone of course, we went with a whole crew of people. I believe there were 12 of us in total. Some I knew, some I didn't.
For €400 for 7 days, you have to wonder what you're getting yourself in for. Here's the answer: a beautiful beach, basic plumbing in your hotel, a series of bug bites (if that's what you're in to) and the most incredible night sky on that midnight beach.
Oh you're a drinker? Ah you'll fit right in. Me, not so much, but I did love my experience there.
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The journey began in Shannon Airport, a moderately small airport in Co. Clare. The majority of the 12 people going on the trip showed up at the airport and got acquainted. I didn't know everyone, like I said, but it was there I met a girl who would become one of my closest friends. We sat and waited for our plane, while hundreds of American soldiers flooded into the airport and hung out casually while they waited for their planes.
The flight itself was about 4 hours, making it the longest flight I had been on. I had a window seat, and spent the flight reading, and occasionally taking breaks to gawk out the window. At one point, I spotted the water was split into two parts, right down the middle. I have since learned this is where the fresh and salt water meets. I don't know what part of my brain didn't realise this was a picture-worthy moment, but if I took a photo, I have not been able to find it. We made it to the resort in Kavos, Corfu, at around 3am local time, and stood around waiting for the hotel staff to check us in.
Our hotel room was immediately behind the reception desk, so this was convenient for us. The most important thing you need to know about this trip is this: there is minimal modern plumbing on the greek islands ie you cannot flush toilet paper in the toilets AT ALL or it will clog the whole system. Keep that in mind for later.
We got settled in, the room was newly refurbished so it was very clean and had that new house feel. There was air conditioner, a small fridge and freezer and nice bathroom adjoining the main bedroom area. The bedsheets were literally a sheet, but considering the weather was in the mid 30 degree (celcius), it didn't matter much.
I was wrong however, and I was SOOO unprepared for this weather. I was not ready to be this hot, I was not ready to be so exhausted and I was definitely not ready for the mosquitos.
Up to this trip I had not had any encounters with mosquitos, Ireland doesn't exactly have the climate for them (thankfully). When I woke up the very first morning, a mosquito had decided to have a little feast on my legs during the night.
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Our first day there mainly just consisted in us getting our bearings. Some of us gathered in a restaurant across from the resort for breakfast. It was a two minute walk but as soon as I stepped outside the hotel reception the heavy heat from outside hit me like a train!
We headed out to the beach first chance we got. The beach was just outside the resort, and it was swarming with sunbathers and people swimming and doing water activities. Jetskis zoomed past in the foreground while sail boats sailed peacefully on by in the background. The odd kite-surfer flew up over the water nearby and went further down from our beach. Mainland Greece was visible up around, behind the sail boats. It was like paradise, it was so different than anything I had ever experienced before.
After the sun became a little too much, we all moved on from the beach in dribs and drabs. Shane went into the water swimming, while I hung out on the sunbed and caught some sun, taking in the wonderful atmosphere. We collected in a bowling alley and sat around chatting and having drinks, while playing a few rounds of bowling. Later, we all went to dinner and had a few cocktails.
There is a major difference between a trip and a holiday. This was a holiday, and possibly the first one I had ever taken. The days molded into each other even two days in. I found myself trying to balance the heat with short breaks, so I would stop what I was doing outside: hanging out in the bowling alley or bar, eating at a restaurant or cafe, or sunbathing at the beach or by the pool, and walk straight back to the hotel room to drink water, eat an ice-cream, shower and/or starfish on the bed.
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The second day, myself and Shane headed down to the beach and hung out on sunbeds, chatting and enjoying the sun. We did much of the same as the first day and had dinner with everyone again in the evening.
What was most noteworthy about this night was the drink I was served at one of the bars we found during a crawl around town. It was a non-alcoholic Sex on the Beach, and it was AMAZING! I have yet to drink something so yummy. I mean, Coca-Cola is the nectar of the Gods, but this drink was SOO GOOD!!
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On the third day, myself and Shane decided we would spend the beginning of the day together, and took a trip into other parts of Kavos. At the time, I really liked the idea but the immense dread and fear of heatstroke I felt was incredible, but when I think back on it, I feel like I fall in love with the feeling. It's bizarre. So what happened was, we got up same as the first day (my legs were even more bitten and super itchy), the sun was above us for what felt like the whole time we were outside at all, throughout the whole trip, so we didn't even feel like we went out and about at an unsuitable "sun at it's highest" time, you know? We took off, on foot, from the main resort and walked into the town, heading past shops and businesses, making our way to a place Shane could buy a kebab - I think that was our goal, or it may have just been a surprise that he wanted one and ended up walking into a place that sold them. We found a nice cafe in town that sold both doner kebabs and pancakes.
It was the trip down the road toward this cafe that I felt it. And just to be clear, I don't fall in love with the dread and fear of heatstroke, I feel a lot of joy from the silence and heat, it just felt like under all the feelings of being super hot, and all the surface feelings I was having as a result of that, I felt actual joy and comfort from the endorphins from the sun and the peace of the town, and just connection with Shane. When I remember this time, a feeling of warmth and love just sweeps over me, and I wish I was able to have felt it clearer at the time x
We walked back to the resort, and I popped into a shop to buy some sort of bite cream or antihystamine for the bites. I walked in and the staff in the shop did not speak any English. I also did not speak any Greek. I pointed down at the dot-to-dot masterpiece on my leg and the staff appeared to know what I was looking for. Both of them did a "Ahh!" moment to each other and agreed on what to do. One of them gestured me to follow him to a part of the shop. He brought me to a stand full of sandals. Face palm.
I went to another nearby shop and found two 'medications' on the shelf, with English words written in marker. One read "Sickness" and the other read "Allergy". I took out Google Translate and checked if the "Allergy" medication was an antihystamine, when one of the staff came over and picked it up, looked down at my legs and immediately gave me a big goofy thumbs up. No words, no questions, only answers.
After a much needed rest in the hotel room, we headed back to the bowling alley and hung out with everyone again. It was this day the additional 2 people from our crew of 12 showed up. I didn't know either of them but they were two girls that were friends with Shane's cousin's girlfriend, who was also part of the trip.
We sat around and chatted, getting to know each other. One of the girls that had just joined us seemed familiar to me, but I didn't know her name and believed I had never met her before. We spent some time exchanging pleasantries, before we both looked at each and realised we did know each other. I want to tell this story another time, so for now I'll just say the world became a little smaller that day, and I struck another of my Before 30 list items without the intentionality I believed I was going to have to put into it. What an incredible feeling.
We all met for dinner again and hung out a bit later to play at an amusement place, where I managed to win a (cheap) watch from the machine #winning.
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The next day half of us travelled into Corfu Old Town. This was approximately a 2 hour drive, and the island does not have any public transit system, so we took a taxi. Between the 6 of us, it turned out to be about 20 euro for transport each, which is insane considering this taxi driver waited around in Old Town Corfu for us until later that day.
The Old Town was definitely one of the highlights of the whole holiday. We made our way to the town and visited a museum, had lunch in the centre, ventured into the Old Fortress and then finished off the day shopping around Old Town, while the sun was setting. It was a wonderful day, the Old Fortress was incredible, definitely a memory I will hold onto for my life: the weather was incredible, the Fortress itself was interesting and the people were just fantastic. Good people make the whole trip x
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Our final full day was spent with much of the same: sun, food, bowling and general good times.
We spent some time hanging out in the water by the beach, fish circling our feet while the sail boats continued to drift by the distance. By almost the end of the trip I felt more comfortable with the sun and found my tolerance had increased significantly. This made the last day one of my best days there, because I wasn't rushing back to the hotel room to cool down as often.
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Some tidbits:
* The bowling alley we kept going back to was a bowling alley/bar, located just down the road from the hotels, so it was the most convenient place to go to. It was interesting, though, because it was located right at the road, and didn't have any doors, it was just open. The same as a market-stye shop is in the likes of Spain. Bowling balls would occasionally stray from the premises, out to the road, and there was a member of staff just standing around to pick them up. So bizarre!
* While shopping in Corfu Old Town, myself and my newly made friend, Megan, got talking to the locals. One particular local was an artist, selling his paintings. I wanted to buy them all, they were so beautifully done, but we both walked away with one each. It now hangs in my living room as a treasured piece of my collection of framed memories.
* Food was fine there, I didn't eat anything adventurous but all-in-all I did find I was more comfortable eating there because it was a lot of breakfast-related food in the morning/afternoon and then pizza or something more casual for dinner. Good pizza too, Italy will have some competition when I eventually make my way there... hehe
* Shane is very good at bowling, so the days spent in the bowling alley were achievements for Shane, which was nice.
* I did go back to that bar where I was served that incredible drink only days before, and they were not able to replicate. Unfortunately, my friends, it was a one hit wonder. Too bad.
To reflect on the holiday, I was surprised with how many aspects of it I actually enjoyed. I went into it with an open mind, and just wanted to make certain this kind of holiday wasn't for me - the kind where you go somewhere just to party in the sun, I mean - and I guess I got my answer. The heat is absolutely terrible if you are trying to do anything at all except for be horizontal, so hot countries need to be used for holidays instead of trips. I need to keep that in mind for next time.
I mentioned at the beginning to keep in mind the plumbing situation on the island. On the morning we were leaving the hotel, I was in the shower, just turning off the water, when water started streaming in through the drain. I stepped out and saw the water slowly start to rise. We could hear some commotion outside our bedroom, and peeped outside to see the room next to us had completely flooded over. It's important to also note, the next room to us was about 2 steps downstairs, so we were next, for certain. We quickly grabbed the last of our luggage and left the room behind us. I can't believe we escaped a flooding disaster - and please believe me when I say we adhered to the rules of the TP flushing! (hahah)
Questions you may still have:
? Would I go back? Honestly, I don't think I would, but not for the reasons I originally thought. 1) the plumbing is just redonkulous, it's a first world country and it can't have decent plumbing? I mean I spoke to Shane's Mum, who visited Corfu about 30+ ago and they had the same level of plumbing then as they do today, that's just bananas, 2) I feel like there is more of the world to see during 7 annual leave days, and Corfu is simply a been-there-done-that scenario, you know? Besides I know now that I like the sun in moderation, and there are alternative places I can go to get this, and 3) the clientelle for this kind of area was already much younger than me or the group I was with, drinking a lot and huffing balloons.. Bar staff were offering us balloons with our drinks, and I just think that's bonkers. The whole town was littered with nitrous canisters, and I'm just not interested in that scene. Again, I can go elsewhere for the sun and good people, and Corfu, namely Kavos, is not one of them places.
? Did the "Alergy" medication work? You may not really care, but the answer is absolutely not. I found bite gel, bite cream, I had Sudocream with me and I took whatever this antihystamine (the "Alergy" box) was but nothing worked. The Sudocream helped me to bear the itch, and the eventual pain I started to feel, in order to go to sleep.
Megan had sprayed some bug spray on me and everything, and nothing worked to ease the itching or pain completely, as one would expect to happen with a bug bite after a day or so. I stayed clear of using any perfumes or scented lotions etc that might be attracting the mosquitos, but I feel like the damage was already done. I was absolutely riddled with bites when I got back to Ireland, and ended up developing skeeter syndrome from it. I had to take an oral antihystamine, two doses of steroids and a topical corticosteroid. It lasted around 8 weeks, with multiple trips to the GP and out of hours doctors to find an answer. My sympthoms went from general itchiness, to hard bites, oozing, large blotches of redness, increased swelling (even two or three weeks after the bite itself), and between my fingers and toes were red and severely itchy. Aw man, it was a bad time.
The medication did help, and essentially the doctors were only able to tell me it was skeeter syndrome because it was the obvious answer. I will never forget my antihystamine prep before I go anywhere exotic again!!
OOOOH, I forgot one of the coolest things that happened while I was there. So, one of the nights a couple of us were outside lounging by the pool, on the pool beds. The pool was closed for nightly cleaning, so we were all calmly chatting in low voices. Out of nowhere, and it was so bizarre, I spotted what appeared to be a rocket or a really large astroid zipping past in the sky. It happened so fast that I didn't get any footage, but it just left me speechless.
☐ Travel to 10 countries 🗺️ | 5/10
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