There is a big difference between sitting in your nice warm home in a nice comfy chair judging distances on a map and considering those same distances after hiking 14 miles. That little line drawn on the map when fully rested and drinking tea contains different meanings than that little line viewed through weary eyes supported by tired legs. So . . . remind me again why we decided to stay at the hotel 2.5 miles off the Corfu Trail?
Enacting the plan conceived a few days ago, our taxi arrived at 6:15am this morning to drive us back up the 1500 vertical feet from Barbati to Spartila where we would once again set foot on the Corfu Trail, headed north. I have ridden in more taxis on this trip than in the entire rest of my life!
Our driver was talkative and a very good driver, getting us to our destination quickly while discussing his opinion that COVID is a political ploy by the British to economically bury the Greeks, an opinion expressed by many of the Greeks we meet (all in the service industry, all hurting very badly financially). As is typical, he stopped his car right in the middle of the road with no concern for other drivers, helped us unload our packs, gave us some advice, then calmly got back in and drove away. Of course, at 6:25am, there was no one else on the road, but make no mistake, he would not have changed his delivery method if there had been.
The trail wound up steeply through a neighborhood, squeezing between houses, angling up and to the right.
The mountain loomed above us, and we could see on the map the contour lines were tightly grouped together. It was steep. Luckily, whoever built this trail did not run it perpendicular to these contour lines, they made short switchbacks up the slope, making the ascent more palatable. All the way up we had magnificent views out over the water to Corfu Town and the middle section of the island. Of course, it was right at sunrise, so the lighting was magnificent.
We had about 1000’ to climb.
The trail was in ernest about getting their and before an hour was up, we had climbed the first 800’. On top was a small Orthodox Church in a state of near ruin. It was painful to see the inside.
There was no longer a roof, but there were frescos painted on the walls and behind the alter. Just a piano in an old building?
We still had a couple hundred feet to climb, but instead of tackling a steep rocky trail, we gained the elevation over a mile, climbing a little walking across a flat area, climbing a little more then more flats.
The brush was thick in places and it was hard to stay on the trail. We got off trail a number of times and had to consult the GPS to get back on track. Someone free ranges cows up here. We could hear the cow bells and heard dogs at a distance through the brush, but the biggest sign (and I mean biggest) were the cow pies everywhere and the flys they attracted. We were looking for a place to sit down and have a mid morning snack but the flys kept us going for at least 20 more minutes until we cleared their domain. At times the trail was on dirt and easy walking. Other times it was across angular and pitted chunks of limestone, some loose boulders and rocks, some solid bedrock sticking up through the grasses. These sections made for slow going as Sally cautiously and wisely picked her way through them.
The trail became a road and we road walked for a couple miles, imperceptibly sloped downhill. At this point my map showed the CT continuing down the road another half mile, then plunging over the side of the road as a trail.
But, clearly marked on a 4” diameter steel pipe sticking out of the ground was our yellow CT emblem pointing us off the road here. The way down off the road looked steep. Hoping for a easier trail, we opted to continue down the road. Not a good decision.
We found the trail down there thickly overgrown and obviously not in use for a number of years. We attempted to follow it, but Sally’s legs were getting cut up quickly with the abrasive vegetation. We retreated back to the road and walked the half mile back to the other turnoff.
It is amazing how much a wrong turn and a need to retreat deflates ones ambition. Before the retreat, we were feeling enthusiastic and upbeat, envisioning lunch in a Taverna just 30 minutes away down in Old Perithia. The half mile down and back, combined with flailing in the brush for 15 minutes set us back over an hour. We were hungry, now suddenly tired and mentally dejected. Once we were back at the correct turnoff we rested for five minutes, then started down the trail. The 50-100 feet next to the road is always the worst. It is steep, owing to the debris thrown over the hill when making the road cut into the mountainside. Once over the road debris the trail became less severe and we were able to pick up our pace a little.
Something happened in this section of trail that had not happened in the previous 80 miles-we met people on the trail. First a young German couple climbing the mountain and then a group of four men, two Germans being guided by two Greeks.
Once in Old Perithia we seated ourselves in Thomas’ Taverna. Sally downed a Coke and a beer. I downed two Cokes, then we had Greek Salad and a chicken pie thingy. Both delicious. But, as usual, we were the only ones in the Taverna.
The food helped revive our bodies and our spirits. Before the drink and solids talk was heard of a cab down to the bottom. After, we were all about walking the 5 miles down to the sea shore and then the 2.5 miles west to the room we had previously rented.
Much of the downhill on actual trail is very steep and usually gullied badly from erosion so the trail is more like a ditch.
Very difficult to walk in. Looking at the map and our descent to the sea shore I noticed the trail descended sharply over closely spaced contour lines, signaling another troublesome stretch of trail. To our delight, that portion of the trail was beautifully constructed, switchbacking down the slope with an excellent even grade and a wide tread. Whew! Further down we got off trail a few times and had to search for it on the steep hillside under the olive trees in the tall grass, but about 4:45pm we hit the main east-wear road across the north end of the island.
The trail continues across the road and follows the shoreline east for another three miles, but that would have to wait for tomorrow. Our room for the night lay 2.5 miles west. We set off to cover that distance.
Hitchhiking is not unlawful, but we had heard that no one would pick us up. We decided to try to snag a ride as we walked west to Acharavi and our hotel. It was about 5:00pm. There was a little traffic, about equal in both directions. We had to switch sides of the highway for safety; at times, the shoulder would get too narrow to walk along on the right side. We had not gone more than half a mile with a small car stopped for us, right in the middle of the highway. We scurried over to it. As I climbed in I was surprised to see a early 30’s woman in the driver’s seat with what appeared to be her daughter, about 5 or 6 years old in the passenger’s seat. With our packs in our laps, we were on our way. It is interesting how the Greeks feel totally at ease to stop in the middle of the highway, for whatever reason. Having watched the traffic over the last month I see that people consider the road a fluid pathway and know that people will work around anything, regardless of where the white lines on the road are.
I watched our progress on the GPS as we approached Acharavi. She spoke no English, but indicated she was stopping in town, about 1/2 mile from where we wanted to be. She turned into a parking space on the opposite side of the road in front of a grocery store. We thanked her profusely as we got out. She pulled back into the street long enough to back into a parking place in the same spot.
I went into the store to buy a drink and bananas while Sally sat on the steps leading up to the store.
When I came out, Sally pointed out her car. I walked over and slipped a 5 euro note under her windshield wiper and we started off down the road, pleased at the time and distance saved by the ride.
As we walked up the main road another 1/4 miles to our turn I spotted a bakery. Channeling Bill Caldwell, I made a beeline for it. Inside I found Baclava and bought two large triangular pieces, then continued on our way.
The main road is about 3/8 of a mile from the beach. We turned down a side road and walked to the small road fronting the beach, turned left and soon were at Sunset Rose Apartments. It was startling to see about 20 people hanging around the pool, all under the age of 30. We had not seen this many people gathered at a pool, ever. Hesitantly (on my part being self conscious about our dirty appearance and carrying packs into an obvious pool party) we entered and found the manager/owner. He directly us right to our room. Later I went down and arranged for a 6:00 am taxi pickup. We planned to be dropped at the end of the trail at Agios Spiridon Beach and then hike the last 3 miles backward around the northern point of the island, then another mile and a half (the same chunk of road as last night) back to the outskirts of Acharavi where we would catch the 10:00am bus to Corfu town.
Showers, a little clothes washing and Baclava for dinner and then a magnificent sunset over the Ionian Sea and day was done.
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