Tuesday, September 29
Corfu, Greece
Had breakfast in our room since we had to leave early on our panoramic tour of Corfu - a Greek island in the Ionian Sea.
The island is only 60 miles long by about 20 miles wide with a few surrounding smaller islands. The guide told us that the primary economy is olive oil, wine, and tourism. Olive trees were everywhere and the guide explained that the government had at one time paid the people gold coins for each olive tree they had on their property. You can imagine that they planted the trees in any location possible.
The drive to the highest point of the mountain was a little frightening with hairpin turns and lanes barely wide enough to accommodate the width of the bus. The towns were quaint and colorful, but had stop lights at each end of town - not for traffic, but because the main street was only wide enough for one vehicle at a time. The view from the top was spectacular! Beautiful blue, clear water and, green valleys full of olive trees, a stone monastery out on one of the smaller islands, and an old fortress on the highest hill. Back down in Corfu Town, we stopped to take pictures of the port with the clearest sea water I have ever seen. We then drove through the narrow streets, past two more stone fortresses and back to the ship. What a wonderful day!
