Tales from Corfu

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

This taverna is a perfect place to just while away a few hours of the afternoon and relax - and that is what many people do there! There is something so peaceful about the place, especially if you are there mid-afternoon, after the lunchtime rush. The waiters don’t bother you, they actually disappear inside and play backgammon, and you can sit there as long as you want under no pressure to leave or order more drinks.

The food at the taverna is well worth a mention as well. The menu is extensive, especially in the peak summer months, with fish and traditional Greek meals as specialties. As is usual for Greek restaurants, there are plenty of choices for meat, but more so here for fish-eaters and plenty of veggie meals too (as long as you are adventurous – many of the veggie things are Greek traditional meals). If a snack is all that is wanted, then the choices, again, are extensive. A personal choice of mine (vegetarian) is the cooked, house-special feta – or something like that. Basically you get a huge lump of feta (goats) cheese marinated in tomatoes, onions, and other vegetables cooked in tin foil in the oven. This is very tasty, extremely filling, and only a few euro! We have eaten at Kouloura many times, and the food is always lovely. One of the highest reasons for going is that the taverna is very popular with Greek families. If the locals are eating there, then the food must be good! On the downside, although the food is very good, it is a little pricey. Starters go from around €2 to 6, and main meals are from €10 to 20. Snacks such as sandwiches are around €2 to 3.

We took all the advice and got a table right by the balcony rail, where we enjoyed a completely unblocked view of the mountainside, sloping down to Kalami and the beach, and Albania in the distance. We both had to agree that the view was as good as we’d been told, and it got better as the light faded and the sun set.

The menu was extensive and filled with delicious-tasting Greek and European delicacies, and although we initially gasped at the prices of the food, we resigned ourselves to having an expensive meal and proceeded to order whatever tickled our fancy. The starters ranged from approximately €6-8, and the main meals were approximately €14-24; we both turned down dessert, so I didn’t see the menu or prices. When the food arrived, however, we took back everything we’d said about the prices; the portions were huge and the taste delicious. My boyfriend had the steak, and he said it just melted in his mouth. I had the calamari (squid) and found exactly the same—not chewy at all.

Along with the food, we ordered a steady supply of drinks. I ordered the house wine, and he went with pints of local beer, and once we finished our meal, we lingered on over drinks until midnight, with no pressure from the staff to free up the table. When we went up to pay, we were absolutely shocked to find that our bill only came to €55 (for two starters, two main courses, and many, many, many rounds of drinks)! After checking the bill and finding it correct, we left a massive tip and merrily and tipsily made our way home.

The next day, with soberer heads, we worked out although the food was quite expensive (but well worth it), the drinks were amazingly cheap, thereby making this restaurant an extremely cheap way to enjoy a lovely, romantic evening and spectacular views.

My brother tried out the beginners’ skiing lesson and had great fun. He paid €30 for a lesson (half hour) and found it very entertaining and good exercise too – he was shattered when he got back to the beach! My mother, who can ski already did the ski tow (€22 per tow – 10 mins approx) and found it really challenging, which must be good. They also do beginners’ mono ski lessons for €25 and it is possible to get discount cards if multiple ski sessions are bought.

The ringos are more my style, so my boyfriend, my little brother, and I decided to try them out. We had great fun! I think with the ringos, the more the merrier, the three of us kept bouncing off each other and that caused more capsizing than the waves alone! The ride lasted about 10 mins, but my heart was still going about an hour later. I’d say it was well worth the money! The ringos cost us €11 each as there were three of us. A single ride (1 person alone) would have cost €18 and per person for a double ride it would have cost €13. Personally I think the triple ride is the only way to go. The boat drivers are very sympathetic to the age and confidence of whoever is in the ringos. For this reason they can be recommended to families as well as young adults. We saw children going on the ringos and they had such an easy ride compared to us!

Sakis Watersports was very safety conscious, which was obviously good. The prices all included insurance. They spent time checking that each person was wearing the correct sized safety jacket and that it was correctly fastened. All their equipment looked new and in good condition, as did their boat (by this I mean I saw no jackets with rips or skis with broken bits).

I highly recommend everyone to have a go water skiing or on the ringos, even people who are not competent swimmers should consider it – with the safety jackets, there is no need to swim anyway!

Sakis have a Website: www.corfuboats.gr and their phone no is 26630 91646 (don’t forget the Greek international dialing code: 0030)

Although the entire bay and headlands are privately owned, the public is allowed to use the beach and obviously the taverna is there to be used as well! The beach is a lovely place to relax if an empty beach and some peace and quiet are wanted. There are no sunbeds and umbrellas for hire (although the trees lining the beach are good for shade), or pedaloes or manic watersports disturbing the calm of the bay. The water is as clear and clean as anything, and, as the bay has a rocky bottom, it is brilliant for snorkelling and scuba diving. One warning though - it’s a good idea to wear sandals or other shoes into the water, as we did spot some of those spiky sea anemones lurking around the place, and, apparently, they can give a nasty sting.

The little harbour is as quaint as it is practical. There is a harbour wall that juts nearly halfway across the mouth of the bay and then comes back around, so that the harbour itself takes on a horse-shoe shape when looked at from the road above. The harbour wall acts as a breakwater during the winter storms and protects most of the bay from the storm waves. Thankfully, the harbour is too small and shallow for the larger tourist cruiseboats to dock, which means that even at the peak of the summer, the peace and tranquillity of the area is never ruined.

I’ve been to Aqualand on two occasions now, and had a great day both times. The first year we went, it was raining, and the park was a bit less crowded, but the second time we went, it was a beautiful day and the place was wedged! There were good points and bad points about each visit. On the rainy day there were no queues for any of the rides, but it was a bit chilly waiting to go down them. On the sunny day, there were really long queues, but at least it was nice and warm while waiting! I think in general though I preferred going on the rainy day though; we got far more turns on each of the rides, although next time, we’ll take twice as many towels!

The park is massive, and there is so much to do. There are rides for all ages, from paddle pools for toddlers to kamikaze rides for the mad teenagers and young people and a lazy river and huge wave pool for those who prefer a slower pace of life! The park is very well monitored by life guards, who seemed to be everywhere, but at least you knew you were safe in the water. The kiddies pools especially seemed to be well looked after.

The water park is laid out in a garden fashion, with the slides spread out between areas of lawn and patio areas, perfect for sunbathing. There are hundreds of sun beds and umbrellas spread around the place as well, should you need a breather. On busy days, though, it can take a while to find vacant beds!

The park opens from May to October from about 10am to 6pm, and although is a bit pricey, is well worth it for a day out. It works out to about €18 for the whole day (€13 if you turn up after 3pm) for those ages 13 to 65 and less for children (€13 for the whole day, €9 for the half-day) and then food, drinks, souvenirs, and other extras on top. These prices were right for 2004 (I think). The park can be contacted on 0030 2661 052963 or emailed at info@aqualand-corfu.com for up-to-date prices.

It is possible to keep the day a bit cheaper though, by bringing packed lunches and lots of outside drinks (Once in the park, you can leave and get back in again, as they stamp your hand, so lunch can be left in the car until needed). If you feel like spoiling yourself, however, there is a fast food café and a salad bar that sells food all day. Also, scattered around the park are small booths selling chips, ice cream, popcorn, and more, so food is easy to find. There are also bars and booths selling cigarettes dotted around the place as well.

The souvenirs are cheap and tacky and should be avoided as better, cheaper versions can be bought outside the park. Also, they take pictures of you going down certain slides. These are really pricey to buy (you don’t have to though if you don’t want to), but we took it in turns to take pictures of each other and got exactly the same results!

Lockers are provided (€5 a day) and are well worth it for storing cameras, money, and valuables. We had some great days out at Aqualand and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a change from siteseeing or beach worshipping!