I’m in Corfu this week, staying at a resort that overlooks the Straits of Corfu and Albania.
The weather, since you didn’t ask, has been magnificent all week. Sunny, gentle breeze, bright blue sky, temperature averaging 28 degrees (mid afternoon), falling to 17 degrees by midnight.
The Ikos Dassia resort is two years old and fantastic value for money at this time of year. It’s so good that we’ve left our ‘all inclusive’ haven just twice since arriving on Saturday.
On Tuesday we spent a couple of hours in Corfu town before we were driven out by the hoards of passengers who had disembarked from the five enormous cruise ships that were sitting in port.
(As a cruise ship veteran I know how galling it must be when several ships arrive at once, spewing thousands of visitors on to the narrow streets of some small Mediterranean town. Great for the local economy but not much fun for the tourists who are actually staying there.)
Yesterday we were given a complimentary Mini to explore the island. We headed north, and then west, but although some of the views were spectacular many of the roads were in poor condition and by mid afternoon I had grown weary of all the bumps and jolts.
Today we’ve returned to our preferred schedule. Breakfast at ten followed by several hours’ on lounge beds by the ‘adults only’ pool. Food and drink on demand plus a chance to read John Humphrys’ memoirs, A Day Like Today, reply to emails and catch up on the latest news.
It’s now 4.00pm and I am sitting on our balcony overlooking the sea. The rest of the day includes a wine tasting at 5.00 (3.00pm UK time), then a ‘sunset cruise’ to Corfu town and back in time for dinner at 8.30.
Earlier today I spoke to John Burton, a non-executive director of Forest who lives in London. He told me the city was experiencing heavy rain.
Sorry to hear that.
Update: I forgot to mention that I had to visit a pharmacy this morning because my right eyelid had become red and swollen overnight.
The pharmacist was extremely nice and gave me some eye drops and ointment. Apparently I may be allergic to the sun.
