Corfu
The island of Corfu (part of Greece) is just across the water from Saranda & was a quick 40 minute ferry ride from Albania. I cleared immigration and exited the ferry terminal looking for the local bus into town. At the end of the large parking lot of the ferry terminal, I see a city bus fly into the lot and go past the bus stop & quickly leave. When I get to the bus stop I realize the bus only goes into town once per hour & was supposed to arrive after the ferries do. Obviously there is something wrong with the bus schedule since the ferry arrived on time, but no one could get on the bus.
A German couple with a child in a stroller that were supposed to be on the same bus had decided to walk into town to the bus station. The German guy said if the bus gets into town in 10 minutes, we can make it in 20 minutes. If I would have thought about that for a few seconds, I would have not followed them since the bus probably travels at 25mph & we traveled at 3-4 mph. After a long walk on narrow sidewalks & streets in the midday sun, almost one hour later we arrive at "the bus station" (which was the wrong one for me). Fortunately when I called my Airbnb host, she was able to come pick me up in about 10 minutes.
The Airbnb apartment that I rented was nice, although a little outside of town. The lady that rented me the apartment had very warm and friendly personality. There was a bus stop across the street with buses running into town once per hour. After changing clothes, I took a bus into Corfu town. The old town was interesting, but very crowded with tourists (with quite a few from the U.K.). The prices were much higher than Saranda & it was much more touristy. After walking through the town, I found a decent place to eat for dinner & then headed back to my apartment. Unfortunately it was very warm & the apartment didn't have AC or even a fan. It would stay somewhat comfortable with windows open, but was very noisy from the constant traffic on the nearby road. I didn't sleep much during my 2 nights there.
I took an early bus into town the next day to try to see some of the sights before it got hot & crowded. I visited one of the fortresses in town and walked along the seafront to a nice park. I then headed back to the apartment in the early afternoon. After taking it easy in the afternoon, I went back into town to take some photos and eat dinner. I had a very nice dinner and headed home.
I was hoping to take an inexpensive taxi to the airport the next morning for the 7 minute (2 mile) trip. When my host called to arrange the taxi, they wanted $10 which was ridiculous. I had to leave earlier in the morning, but instead took the public bus for just a few dollars.
Corfu is a big island with lots of nice beaches and little towns, unfortunately without a car they are hard to reach using public transit. In retrospect, one day in Corfu would have been enough and I should have added an extra day in Athens instead.
A German couple with a child in a stroller that were supposed to be on the same bus had decided to walk into town to the bus station. The German guy said if the bus gets into town in 10 minutes, we can make it in 20 minutes. If I would have thought about that for a few seconds, I would have not followed them since the bus probably travels at 25mph & we traveled at 3-4 mph. After a long walk on narrow sidewalks & streets in the midday sun, almost one hour later we arrive at "the bus station" (which was the wrong one for me). Fortunately when I called my Airbnb host, she was able to come pick me up in about 10 minutes.
The Airbnb apartment that I rented was nice, although a little outside of town. The lady that rented me the apartment had very warm and friendly personality. There was a bus stop across the street with buses running into town once per hour. After changing clothes, I took a bus into Corfu town. The old town was interesting, but very crowded with tourists (with quite a few from the U.K.). The prices were much higher than Saranda & it was much more touristy. After walking through the town, I found a decent place to eat for dinner & then headed back to my apartment. Unfortunately it was very warm & the apartment didn't have AC or even a fan. It would stay somewhat comfortable with windows open, but was very noisy from the constant traffic on the nearby road. I didn't sleep much during my 2 nights there.
I took an early bus into town the next day to try to see some of the sights before it got hot & crowded. I visited one of the fortresses in town and walked along the seafront to a nice park. I then headed back to the apartment in the early afternoon. After taking it easy in the afternoon, I went back into town to take some photos and eat dinner. I had a very nice dinner and headed home.
I was hoping to take an inexpensive taxi to the airport the next morning for the 7 minute (2 mile) trip. When my host called to arrange the taxi, they wanted $10 which was ridiculous. I had to leave earlier in the morning, but instead took the public bus for just a few dollars.
Corfu is a big island with lots of nice beaches and little towns, unfortunately without a car they are hard to reach using public transit. In retrospect, one day in Corfu would have been enough and I should have added an extra day in Athens instead.
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