Corfu, Greece: Paleokastritsa Beach

This was my first experience ever laying on a beach in Greece. Well, sort of. We waded into the water on a resort beach in Mykonos a few cruises prior, but this was our first true beach day on a Greek Island. After finding the best bird's-eye views of Paleokastritsa Beach from above, we finally made it full circle and spread out our beach towels on the shell-laden sand. It was a hot day. Hotter than I expected Corfu to be in mid-May, but much welcomed compared to the chilly days we had still been having back in Germany during that time of year. The beach was small, just a cove maybe a fraction of the size of a long stretch of North Carolina beach line. But that water! The prettiest turquoise blue I had seen in a long while. That in itself was worth the whole cruise! This little beach cove was perfectly Greek...the fishing boats, the tanning locals, and beautiful scenery all around. Even a quiet seaside restaurant serving fresh seafood, gyros (my favorite!) and generous slices of homemade baklava. We spent a good bit of our afternoon in and out of the water and in and out of the restaurant noshing on local wine and spanakopita. It was one of those experiences you feel lucky to be a part of the whole time you're experiencing it. Do you know that I mean? I kept looking over the water thinking, "I'm not sure what I did to deserve to be here right now, but thank goodness I am!" Greece is definitely a favorite of mine, forever and always.

If you find yourself with a few hours (or days) to kill in Corfu, make some time for a lazy beach day. Paleokastritsa might not be the most hopping beach town full of bars and water sports, but it's just sweet enough to make a weary traveler thankful to be traveling.

The Path to Paleokastritsa

White-washed walls, blooming bougainvillea, sea breeze wafting through the streets...these were the Greek Island gems that greeted us our first moments in Corfu. We departed the ship early, really early in fact, and headed straight for the car rental office to pick up our teeny-tiny Aveo for a day of island exploring. Having been to Mykonos and Santorini on previous cruises, I was familiar with Greece and its incredibly beautiful towns. But this day was devoted to finding prime beach real estate. It wasn't a surprise that we were rewarded with gorgeous scenery all along the way.

We had our sights aimed on Paleokastritsa, a sweet seaside village on the Northwest coast of Corfu. Its most notable attributes? Steep slopes of olive groves and citrus orchards, ocean caves, and turquoise coves lined with seafood restaurants and resort life. It's no wonder Paleokastritsa has long been considered one of the most beautiful areas of Corfu, and we were dying to see every square inch of it! But before we could dip our toes in the Ionian Sea, we had to make our way through some perfectly Greecian hillside villages. With just an arrow pointing to the "Path to Paleokastritsa," we began our journey.

I honestly have no clue the name of this small village (still kicking myself about that one, although it could be Makrades, maybe??), but it was just about as quaint and rustic as Greek villages come. There was a woman sweeping her front doorstep who started up a conversation with us as we made our way along the stone streets. Her words were all in Greek and we understood next to nothing, but she was full of smiles and seemed happy to have new faces exploring her quiet town. She pointed us towards the town's museum, a building with one room covered in old photos of every event the village had ever held. The pride in her eyes as she pointed to this photo and that photo, explaining each as quickly as she could. Even though the language barrier had us struggling to express our own thoughts, it wasn't hard to understand how important this village is to her and her family. The slow days, the simplistic living...it made me ache for a small village life of my own. 

We spent a good hour just wandering around, snapping photos and chatting with our new friend. As our tummies began to rumble, we quickly decided that instead of walking the whole way down to the beach, we should hop in the car and park closer to the ocean. Ease of travel was wisdom we gleaned from our time in this serene island village. In our final moments here, we experienced another awe-inspiring vista of Paleokastritsa and its beaches, making our count a whopping 4 stunning vistas viewed in just a week's time (with 7 more days to go!). Collecting those "pinch me" moments...there's nothing quite like it! 

More from Paleokastritsa to come!

The Athenian Coast & Cape Sounion

One of the most unique parts of our visit to Athens was the opportunity to drive along the Athenian coast to visit Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon. We had the option after roaming around the Acropolis to shop on the Plaka (which fortunately we also got to do later) and visit a few history museums, but being a non-museum goer (D and I only enjoy a few select museums, we're not big history buffs) we chose to go see another part of the extended city and enjoy some time by the sea. The drive from Athens to Cape Sounion was a little over an hour long. Normally, that would have deterred us from going, but the views along the coastline drive were too gorgeous to miss. While the rainclouds still lingered around, we were still able to get a good feel for Athenian beach life. From the numerous opulent homes resorts we passed on our drive, it's safe to say the economy is alive and kickin', at least where coastal life is concerned.

As we got closer to the Cape, we could see the Temple of Poseidon standing high atop a cliff. It was as if the temple commanded over the entire cape, sea, and villages below. Very appropriate for a temple dedicated to the god of the sea. We drove up a winding road to the cliff where the temple was perched to find that not a single soul was there. Just one woman in a tiny hut selling entrance tickets for 2 euro. You can imagine my excitement when I realized I was going to be able to experience this ancient temple in all its glory without a gaggle of tourists ruining photos. It was like a blogger's dream! We spent about 45 minutes taking it all in...the mythical temple, the gorgeous sea views, the tiny partridges that were running willy-nilly across the rocks. I couldn't have been happier that we chose to escape the hustle and bustle of Athens to see a bit of history by the sea.

You can find more from our Athens cruise stop here and here.