Corfu and Katakolon Greece

 

Tuesday, October 29th, 2013

Yesterday, we were in Corfu on their Independence Day.  We took a tour to a monastery with a guide who was full of local and Greek-wide history.  She told us that her name translates to "fights with men".  She could bury the average man under mountains of facts.  With repetition just to bury him deeper.  We learned a lot from her.  After lunch, we went back into the town for the end of the parades and some window shopping.  Always fun.

Today, we are in Katakolon, the gateway port to Olympia, site of the original Olympics.  Having been to Olympia in the past, we decided to stay in port. Olympia is a site of collapsed columns and walls.  No more excavation is being done that we know of.  The town of Katakolon, really ignored or dismissed by the travel books, is quite a nice little place.  There are just two streets of shops, maybe 500 yards long.  Delightful, surprising, pleasant.  Great weather.

We haven't mentioned the fellows that have been in every port we have visited.  They carry small cases of large and gaudy watches that they try to sell as they wander up and down the sidewalks among the tourists.  We were once told that they were Somali.  They are very quiet, no pressure.  They really stand out in some places.  We have yet to see anyone buy from them. but they are so numerous that it must be profitable.  One of our tablemates did buy a watch ashore in Turkey.  It was one of the ones that are advertized as "Genuine Fake Watches".  A Rolex.  The second hand fell off the second day.  Ironic really.

Athens tomorrow.  We are going to take a 'Hop-on, Hop-off' bus around town.

Colleen & John