Mid 1994 and I arrive in Corfu to be greeted by Keith at the airport, the Corfiot airport in those days was a little basic but functional - I remember even though it was early morning when we got off of the plane it was so hot and humid - the staff were smoking air-side which was a surprise.
We got into Keith's Daihatsu van - one of those really small ones, I remember thinking 'How the hell did he drive this from the UK'..
It started to become light just as we left the airport - I though we were in a war zone as the place looked so rough, Plaster falling off of most of the buildings and general bad looking structures but I have to say the roads were really clear of rubbish and the general state of things was very good.
As we drove toward Sidari I was full of questions - remember though that Keith had just done a full nights work and was tired, probably a little drunk too as that's the way things went over there probably even to this day although I understand they do have breath testing equipment on the island these days, at least they claim to have it.
After an hour or so of driving over the mountain I was dropped off at my apartment and shown in, I went straight to bed.
Later that day I was awoken by birdsong - opened my shutters (after working out what they were) and went out onto the balcony, good lord.. what a breathtaking place I was in! Paradise, the place is STUNNING.
Green, fresh smelling and quiet - I was overlooking an olive grove although I didn't know at the time what it was.. I was most impressed.
An hour or so later I realised that I was sharing an apartment with a couple, Steve and Caroline:
It didn't take long to realise that these were nothing less than very nice people - they welcomed me and we always got on very well.. bloody hell - can things get much better that this? what a start.. heaven.
I had a day to settle in, met the locals - it happened that we were staying above a restaurant so of course I went to eat there at the first chance I got.. If you haven't sampled Greek food then you should - I urge you to make a point of doing so as it's probably the best, purest food you can have.
The owner was friendly as Greeks are, the beer flowed and laughter was often - and I am sure they weren't laughing at the Milk Bottle coloured Brit (me).
Next day Keith took me to Sidari to show me where I could work if I desired, I met the chap - here he is below:
And after deciding on money I immediately had to start work even though it was mid-day, it turns out that over there if you work for somebody then you do WORK for them - you have to work all hours, in my case I had to make signs in the daytime advertising what we were doing in the evening and that was no mean feat as we had to use chalk boards which meant we had to make new ones each day.. flaming hell - what have I let myself in for here I thought.
That night I started work at 21:00 which I thought was late but was I so wrong... 9PM was usual to start as we didn't finish until 06:00 sometimes.
So - I was a DJ in Greece and got the crowd moving very easily.. next thing was to think about getting a drink, I was nervous about even asking to buy a beer as I was not sure how they would take my drinking while working !!
Boy - when I think back about that I realise how 'Green' I was, not only do they encourage you to drink alcohol but they give it to you for FREE.. Yes FREE BEER.
That rule was not only when I was working at night either - it was anytime, the norm is not only free drinks but usually (if they serve food) free food too.. Hmmm, things are looking good again :)
My apartment was roughly £2 per night - free beer and food = Good Times.
I soon got to meet the local Ex-Pat's and moved onto to do a day job too on the water-sports 'Sidari WaterSports' with this chap:
He had been living there for many years with his other half 'Joe' and their kids - here's a pic of them all at their place in Avliotes:
As you can see - simple transport was the order of the day, just get on what ever works and go.. no worries at all.
Jan (Yan) used to drive the boat when taking water skiers, banana rides or Paragliding and the rest of us would do the other bits like man the platform guiding down people in parachutes:
At the end of the day job time we would pack everything and usually myself and Jan would visit the Barber/Fisherman 'Spiros' for a Brandy and a shave:
AND I mean a Proper Shave by a drunken fisherman :) Seriously he was a fisherman as well as the barber and as far as being drunk, I don't think he was ever too bad when taking a razor to anybodies skin - i never had a bad shave from him.
Incidently I could at that time get a proper shave and a hair cut for DRX500 which was about £2.20
North Corfu Van Trip.
I used to enjoy taking people on trips around Corfu, my particular favourite was the Mountain - the highest point on Corfu called Padokratoras which is 905 meters in elevation.
Usually I would encourage people to hire a bike, normally a DT 125 or something of the same ilk due to the hard terrain we would be covering but sometimes when I had a family to guide I used my trusty Transit so we could all make the trip in relative safety and comfort.
The downside of this meant that we had to take the easy route up which was mainly 'Made' roads which weren't as much fun as the 'Unmade' tracks consisting of a boulder surface which is certainly not the the inexperienced rider.
We had to set aside a whole day for this trip but it was well worth it for everybody I had taken to the top. Once you get to the foot of the mountain you are faced with a Martian type landscape made up of volcanic rocks, the air gets clean and fresh very quickly and if the sun is out (which it usually is) you are guaranteed to get a good tan or severely burned unless you take obvious precautions.
There is an abandoned village on the way up called Perithia, there are some people living there of course - there are a few Tavernas where you can take a rest and fuel up on beer and food should you wish.
Unfortunately more and more people are moving back into Perithia which spoils the atmosphere somewhat. I would strongly urge anybody to visit this village soon before it becomes like Sidari has in recent years and become commercialised thus losing it's former charm.
Corfu
Morocco Trip
