Got out of my bunk – the top one of a double decker – at about eight o’clock. Not a very good night possibly due to the incessant throb of the ship’s engines. Distastefully, I cleaned out the sink after a fat Greek who is sharing the cabin with us. Obviously, cleanliness is not his strong point. Washed, shaved then went up on deck to “dig the scene.” We were just passing a mountainous island – don’t know the name. It can’t be Ithaca – that is next.
11.10 am. Past Ithaca now. It is a beautiful little island although inevitably mountainous. When I was young, I used to read all the myths I could get my hands on, all those wonderful stories. Greek, Roman, Norse, Persian and possibly some I have now forgotten. But never in my life did I think I would get to see the island home of one of them, namely Jason and the Argonauts. Corfu will be our next port of call after Ithaca. This whole coastline is dotted with islands, some large, some small but all of them rocky. We are hugging the Greek coast all the way. When seen from the sea the mountains take on a different character. They are still bleak but in the bright morning sun, they may even be described as beautiful } again. Perhaps we were spoiled by the Alps, and again someone else might have a different opinion of the Greek landscape. But the “Glory that was Greece” will always remain in my memory the Acropolis, even if all else fades.
The sea is so blue here, so very blue. Not even Jersey can compare. The sun is hot – perfect cruising weather I should say.
Time for lunch. A well cooked, very nice four course meal. We really needed that one. Now we are able to note that the boat seems full of American tourists, all on extended visits to Europe. I don’t know how they do it.
One of these tourists was who was seated at our table had been away since August. He was due back in February after visiting twenty-one countries. At least it wasn’t a case of “It’s Thursday today so it must be Belgium!” He informed us that when the Greek general elections are held, everyone must return to their place of birth in order to be eligible to vote. That accounts for the number of rough peasants on board. It has to be seen to be believed.
A dirty, young peasant girl has been constantly bothering the passengers by trying to sell trinkets which no one wants. This time, she was going around openly begging for money, not even trying to sell her wares. Eventually she was given a good smack, and sent packing by one of the Greek passengers. Maybe it is the only way to deter them, but the situation is not entirely of their making.
4.30 pm. The boat is now docked in Corfu harbour. Seen from the sea, Corfu is quite picturesque and the vegetation is much more lush than the mainland. A short distance across the water can be seen the hills of Albania, a country which is closed to the outside world. Unfortunately, just before we landed, dark clouds began to sweep across the sky, severely limiting the view.
Nearly all the peasants have disembarked. The deck hands now have the repulsive and mammoth task of cleaning up after them.
The boat was still behind schedule and will only stay for a short while in Corfu. Nevertheless, we took advantage of it and went ashore to be met by the now familiar “You buy souvenirs?”
The main town is Kerkira – Greek for Corfu. Doubtless, being a popular resort island, there are some nice places to – Stay, but none that we could see in Kerkira. Dirty and ramshackle, the people poor. Enough to eat(?), a roof and a few clothes to wear seems to be all they have, and can expect to have.
We climbed a hill affording a good view of the harbour below, and simply lay in the grass, waiting and watching the activity.
Three quarters of an hour, that’s all we had before embarking once again. Before leaving, the customs officers made a perfunctory inspection of the passengers’ passports. Everyone was cleared. We cast off:
At these latitudes, the night sets in much quicker than at home… The ship seems to be moving much faster now that we are finally leaving Greece to its history. The lights of – Corfu gradually faded, and the lights of a small Albanian town came up on the starboard side. They too quickly faded. We went below to change for dinner. For the first time since leaving Jersey, I am wearing a white shirt and tie. Luckily, the other inhabitant of the cabin got off at Corfu. We now have it to ourselves – bloody marvellous!
Dinner was absolutely first-rate. Soup, followed by fish, followed by steak and chips, served with shredded raw cabbage. There was also dessert and half a bottle of wine. One of the best meals I have had and such a change on this trip. ) Thus sated, we gravitated towards the second class bar for a beer. The girls we had met last night were all there, seemingly in good spirits (pardon the pun). It was in this very pleasant atmosphere that we got into conversation with a Greek gentleman who spoke fluent French. Of course, Allan speaks the Jersey “patois”, needless to say, he had very little trouble. Surprising myself, I found that with a great effort I got on extremely well in the conversation, which lasted over an hour. I was quite proud of myself.
One of the amusing things that emerged from this little parley was typical of the very cosmopolitan ship. Opposite us on the table was a loud Greek personality whose foreign language was English. He told us a story. The other Greek who spoke French asked us what was being said. The Greek/English was then translated into Greek/French, the French-speaking Greek not wanting to ask the other Greek in his own language what had been said. What a roundabout way!
10 pm. Bedtime. The company broke up. The boat is now rolling much more now that we are in the open sea. I sympathise with those on deck although apparently they had a better night than we. I must be developing sea legs; for the first time ever, the rolling does not affect me. However, there is time for that yet. Goodnight.
