Into the Heat of the South of Corfu

Three weeks on the beautiful Greek island of Corfu doesn’t mean only hotel to beach but also going around and see as much as possible.

That’s why one day my friend and I took the car to have a round-trip to the Southern part of the island. Of course with a lot of beaches but also to see places where other tourists prefer to go and to discover hidden villages.

We started in ‘our’ bay, Agios Gordis, on the Western coast of the island. Facing Italy in a way.

We had a look on the map how to go best to the south of the island. We took the nearly only road that is going straight to the village which is known as a touristic place preferred by English tourists, Kavos in the very south of the island.

The first stop we did was at Lake Korisson. The lake is the largest lagoon of the island, situated on the Western side and has a very small entrance by the Ionian Sea. It’s a nature reserve and has beautiful, white sanded beaches with sand dunes. It has its beauty by the wild and natural landscape with a lot of plant and animal varieties.

The beaches are flat though perfect also for children. There are no trees on the sandy peninsula but the possibility to put ones own sun umbrella and beach chairs. We had a cold latte macchiato at a small kiosk where it is possible also to get snacks.

There is also a historical ruin which is closed and can be seen only by outside.

Some of the photos in the collage are made on the beach at Korisson Lake.

We passed Agyrades and Marathias, going around Perivoli and then straight down to Apo Lefkimi.

We had a stop here to have a look around. It was already nearly lunchtime and no one in the small streets. The air was so hot (around 43°C in the shadow) that it was nearly sticky. But it was great to stay without tourists and we both don’t have a problem with summer heat.

Our decision was to go first to have a look at Kavos where we knew is a famous tourist place with a lot of restaurants. After only 10 minutes, we arrived. We parked the car in the street and walked a little around. It is a real touristic place with nothing else than shops, shops and shops and restaurants, restaurants and restaurants. I took a few shots of the millions of the most stupid souvenirs (from my point of view obviously) and then we left.

The tourists are all young – which is great – but also all in a party mood, already at lunchtime half drunk and not really what we like for holidays. We felt very lucky to stay in a place like Agios Gordis which is a tourist place as well but ha also local people living there and a more moderate life-style.

We took the same road back to Apo Lefkimi where we decided to have a nice salad for lunch.

The people did at this time what also cats and all the other animals do: siesta. The little kitten under the car was sleeping so deeply that it didn’t even open the eyes when I was taking a photograph of it.

After lunch, we tried the road to Molos where at a small port ferries are leaving and nearby should be a salt lake. We didn’t find it but the nature is wild here and very untouched.

We took the road back to Apo Lefkimi and Argyrades. Here we took the road down to Petriti and along the East coast up towards Corfu city. The road is all along the coast with beautiful views on the sea, nice small beaches and villages, very Greek.

In the village of Benitses we stopped for a walk and to have a look in the nice center and its shops. Definitely a place to recommend also as a holiday spot. So nice and ”cozy”. Definitely more people and more leisure possibilities than at Agios Gordis, maybe also more international. Especially for the evenings perfect to stroll around, have a look in nice and valuable shops and boutiques and enjoying a nice dinner in good restaurants with atmosphere. The beaches are great as well, but very different. Small and the water is deeper than on the other side of the island (I mean near to the shore).

We got back to our apartment right for the ‘blue hour’ and to take a photo of ‘our’ beach in the bay.

It was a great day in the South, to know other beaches and to see different tourist places. Our decision to the bay of Agios Gordis was the best we could do for relaxing holidays.