Lazing around in the Greek Islands: Corfu The journey to Corfu took place on an overnight ferry. Leaving the port town of Brindisi around 8pm, we travelled to Corfu, arriving an hour earlier than planned at 4:30am the following morning. The night on the ferry was spent first eating dinner then having a chat on the deck and enjoying the coolness of being on the water. I crashed early, around 10:30 and am very glad about this seeing as we were woken at 4am, instead of the 5am we'd been told. The waking was a rude shock as the stewards on the boat came around, knocking on people's doors and shouting in Greek that we had to get up and out of our rooms (well that's the consensus on what they were saying since we couldn't understand!). So it was a very tired and confused group that waited on the deck to disembark in Corfu. My first view of Corfu was of darkness and lights as we drove to our hotel overlooking the water. Due to being there so early, we spent the next 2 hours in chairs in the foyer, trying to catch up on sleep, something I failed to do, as the chairs were so uncomfortable. And yes, despite the early hour, I was very excited about being in the Greek Islands so sleeping wasn't really an option. When the staff arrived at 7am we were able to have breakfast in the eating area on the roof, looking out at the calm waters of the Mediterranean. Checked into our room and this one would have to be the best room of the tour. It was old and the décor wasn't the best but with five of us sharing, we had a 3 story unit. Dan and I slept downstairs, where there was also a kitchen; Jane and Bec were upstairs where there was a bathroom and the balcony; and Andi was up in the little loft. We then headed into the main town in Corfu, about 20 minutes away. There we were given a few hours to explore before we could catch the bus back to the hotel. The town was very cute with lots of little stores selling clothes and souvenirs. Walked around for a while before we decided to treat ourselves to a nice greek lunch. Here I was introduced to the Greek dip tzatziki, which became a staple of my diet over the next week. After eating a wonderful meal of greek meatballs, and a selection of desserts, walked around a little more before returning to the hotel. I remember lying down on my bed for a moment, intending to get up again in a few minutes and the next thing I knew it was 6pm and time to get ready for dinner. So I spent my first afternoon sleeping, not quite what I'd planned! After dinner went for a walk down to the nearest beach (5 minutes away) and I was disappointed to discover that it wasn't sandy as hoped. It was a cross between sand and pebbles. But regardless of that, the water looked inviting and I'd definitely be going swimming there tomorrow. Walked back to our room and we had a few drinks with some of the crowd. That night we were having a toga party in the bar area and as there were 3 contiki groups staying there, a lot of toga wearing people went wandering past, prompting us to call out "show us your toga!" and other comments. I hadn't made up my mind about attending the toga party but when a few of our group dropped by, dressed in their sheets, I decided that yes, I definitely wanted to go. So aided by fashion designer Natalie, I pulled the sheet off my bed and she dressed me in a classy looking toga. Leaving the girls I was rooming with on the balcony yelling at passing cars and people, I headed over to the party where I had a great time and managed to get to know a few more people. The one thing that amazed me about the toga party was that every girl there had her toga tied in a different way. There were sophisticated, slutty, funky and many other kinds of togas. A very fitting fun night to our first night in Greek I thought. Woke late the following day, so late I missed breakfast and then decided that I couldn't really be bothered doing much other than going for a swim and relaxing on the balcony. So I headed down to the beach I'd visited the night before and spent a few hours swimming and floating around in the water. Was joined at various stages by others but enjoyed the total relaxation of the calm water. Actually was out there floating when this man asking where our group was from approached me and as I was telling him about our tour, I discovered that he was actually from Cleveland and had helped to build many houses in Raby Bay (that's a place near where I'm from for those who don't know). Small, small world isn't it? Had a late lunch at a café overlooking the beach and then headed back to the room where I spent the next few hours catching up with my journal and writing a few postcards. Of course, I spent more time staring at the water than actually writing anything but it was very relaxing just the same. By then it was time to start getting ready as we were going out for a greek dinner. The Greek dinner was another great night, with great food and wine. On arrival we were given a shot of Ouzo, the famous Greek drink which was very strong. Had a lovely 3 course meal with live greek music and entertainment. Lots and lots of fun and it was a shame when it was all over and we had to return back to the hotel. Had a drink in the bar before going to bed. Our third day in Corfu was spent on Georges boat, doing a cruise around the island. Now George is famous in contiki circles as he is a dirty greasy old Greek man - but highly entertaining. Our first stop allowed those of us (like me) who weren't doing any of the water sports to lie on the beach for a few hours while other water-skied and did other sports. It was highly relaxing lying on a deck chair and taking a few dips in the water before coming back to lie in the sun and dry off. While doing water sports, Mark our driver had the first of his bad luck on the trip by pulling his hamstring. He was in a lot of pain and spent the rest of the day lying on top of George's boat. We had lunch by the water - more tzatziki, bread, salad and cold meat. Yummy! Then we boarded the boat and began to cruise around Corfu for the next few hours. Our second stop allowed us to dive overboard and swim in the most beautiful green/blue water. It was cold but just wonderful. We re-boarded the boat and George got us all singing our national anthems and a famous song from our country - yes, of course he played Down Under for the Aussies. Then the real George emerged when he started encouraging the girls to flash the other boat - some did and some didn't. And I and many other girls tried to dodge him and his habit of rubbing up against the girls - and never, ever bend over! Our last stop for the day was at hanky panky island where we were encouraged by George to go swimming topless and bottomless. Once again, some did, some didn't. But one of the funniest things was when 3 of the girls emerged from the water naked and turned to flash everyone then run up the beach! I think I almost drowned laughing over that one! And then there was Heath who took off his boardies and tried to moon Dan and myself as he dove under the water - and we were in hysterics cuz his butt was so white! Of course, we couldn't help teasing him about that one! All in all, lots of fun and we arrived back on land tired but having had an absolutely fantastic day. Had dinner at the hotel that night and I who was on dinner duty was given a nice treat at the end - a double shot of ouzo. Wow did that burn! Poor Hitomi kept patting her cheeks and saying "so hot, so hot." She certainly felt the affects. We were all exhausted so crashed early as we were going to be heading out relatively early the following morning. My 3 three days in Corfu were lovely and while it is beautiful island, I probably wouldn't go back as there are so many more islands to see. It reminded me of a pacific island, not the way I'd imagined a Greek Island to look. All the same, I left feeling refreshed and looking forward to arriving in Mykonos the following day for some more R&R.