Paleokastritsa - The Return

 

Kalimera! We returned home on Saturday morning after spending a week on the beautiful Ionian island of Corfu, sweltering in record-breaking heat. On Friday it was 44°C!

 We flew out on Friday 18th July, walking to Walsall station and catching the direct train to Birmingham International. With it being the start of the school holidays, the airport was insanely busy but, with only carry-ons between us, we passed through security surprisingly quickly. Our Jet 2 flights were delayed by an hour and a half, the first time we've known the airline not to run on time, but everyone in the queue was in great spirits & there was no moaning. I couldn't resist snapping this photo as we passed over The Alps....as a mountaineer, my Dad spent two years living under canvas and climbing them (HERE).

On arrival at Corfu airport we passed through passport control with ease, bypassing the huge queues at baggage reclaim and jumping in a cab bound for our beloved Paleokastritsa, where our host, Elisabeth, who I'd messaged before we'd left the airport, was waiting to hand over the keys to our studio apartment at Aphrodite. 

How fabulous to have a pool on our doorstep! Every morning we'd get out of bed, leap in the water and have a 20 minute swim before breakfast.  

We first visited Corfu in 2017 basing ourselves in Paleokastritsa on the North West of the island. We've been six times, most recently in September last year. 

We loved the mountain view from our balcony.

Acapulco is one of our favourite daytime hangouts. Owned by our friends Spiro and Georgia who also run the Elia Taverna, it's Paleo's best-kept secret, a pool bar hidden away in the olive groves with access to the sea. As long as you spend a minimum of €10 on food and drink, you can while away the hours, jumping off the rocks into the sea, lounging on sunbeds or on hammocks slung between the trees or eating and drinking in the breezy bar - there's a pool for those not quite brave enough to throw themselves in the Ionian or fit enough to negotiate the seventy-one steps down there! 

Twice a day I'd swim to Liapedes beach & back (on the left of the photo below) and sit on the sand waving back to Jon - although he did accompany me a couple of times this year. 

I can't tell you how much I love jumping off these rocks - I look forward to it all year! The waters around Paleokastritsa are said to be the coldest (and deepest) in Corfu, teeming with fish and impossibly turquoise.

There's lots of beaches and hidden coves in & around Paleokastritsa, the sandy Alipa beach is next to the tiny harbour. It's not the closest beach to us but it's sunbed-free, popular with the locals and the 3.5km walk to get there is spectacular.

Are we nearly there yet? Yes...look! 

We usually get there for 10.30am, which coincides with opening time at the beach cafe, so we cool down with a frappe before prostrating ourselves on the sand...much as I love the sunbeds at Acapulco, I can't be doing with them cluttering up beaches! 

Normally Alipa is pretty quiet by day but we were a week later than in the previous years we'd visited in July and it was peak holiday season for Italians (Corfu is closer to Rome than Athens) and after a chilled morning we were joined by hundreds of young Italians on a party tour. I can't compare it to the old British 18 -30 holidays - these kids were a lot more beautiful and far better behaved. I know, I went on one!!

Paleo nights are low key and chilled. Paleokastritsa doesn't have a tourist strip or a village centre, it's basically a long, densely-forested road cut out of the mountain with a handful of tavernas, shops and apartments dotted alongside. By day, tourists from all over the island flock to see what's widely considered the most beautiful views in all of Corfu (and many say in all of Europe) but most leave before sunset as there's no real nightlife. 

Elia Taverna was next door to Aphrodite - very handy for drinks or dinner...or both.

The food is always delicious. One night we shared roasted red peppers, feta baked with honey and herbs, gigantes and dolmades (Elia's are always the best of any we've ever eaten in Greece) with ice cold pints of Mythos, of course!!

Their veggie pizzas are pretty special, too! 

Elia used to have an outdoor disco but it closed down in the late 1980s. I can never resist posing for a photo when we walk past. 

Cactus is Paleo's one and only late night bar. Owner George has the most incredible collection of rare vinyl and the soundtrack is always outstanding. Chatting to him last year it turned out that he's a huge Charlatans fan so Jon brought him a first pressing of Some Friendly (which he insisted Jon signed) to add to his 1000+ collection.

In return George gifted Jon a limited edition sealed copy of Armageddon by vintage Greek space rock group, The PLJ Band.

Cactus is the only place in Paleo where, by prior arrangement, you can watch televised sport - C'mon, Lionesses!!!!

As well as some bostin' cocktails, Cactus also serves food. I highly recommend the vegetarian gyros. 

Spiros is another great place for dinner and the staff are lovely. It became favourite with Ralph Fiennes when he was here filming The Return in 2023. 

Despite it being famous for its huge meat dishes, there's some great vegetarian options including this delicious beetroot linguini with roasted vegetables and yemista - rice stuffed peppers and tomatoes. Jon had lamb on the bone and spit roasted pork. 

A trip to Paleo isn't complete without visiting the legendary La Grotta which has been attracting tourists since the 1960s. It's not for the feint-hearted, there's the 147 steps you have to negotiate to reach it.

During the day you can snorkel in the crystal clean waters and laze on loungers drinking cocktails accompanied by a lively Europop soundtrack. By night the crowd has thinned out and the soundtrack switches to mellow groove.

I could sit and watch these crazy people all night long!

Nerieds is a short walk from La Grotta - but feels a lot further after you've climbed the 147 steps back to the road!

This year we sat on the terrace and had a bird's eye view of the diners.

We went for a platter of vegetarian mezzes, olives, flat bread and dips...it was too hot for a big dinner.

There's traditional live music and Greek dancing a couple of times a week.

Our evenings often ended with us sitting beside the pool with a rum and cola listening to the strange mechanical cry of the Scops owl (HERE) under the starry skies.

Due to the extreme temperatures we needed to pace ourselves. Unlike previous visits, on this trip we didn't follow the Corfu Trail through the olive groves and along the ancient donkey paths to the neighbouring mountain villages of Lakones (HERE) and Doukades (HERE), it was all about the swimming and the chilling. However, it would have be a crime to travel to Corfu and not do a bit of sightseeing so stay tuned for our day of exploring the island in 40°C heat.

See you soon!