I had the chance to see and get to know Corfu as a student. Years passed though, and it was time for new beginnings. I should to say bye to this beautiful island. We were four friends and we were all leaving Corfu once and for good. We were ready for a semester abroad, so our last summer on the island should have been at least extraordinary. We should be doing things we never ever thought we would do.
With this thought in our heads, we rented a boat to see the other side of Corfu. Luckily there are many rent-a-boat kind of businesses on the island so we didn’t have hard time finding one. We chose the nearest to the Corfu town Center, the Corfu Town Boat Rental. The good with that business was that we could rent a boat without having a driving license. Of course Mike showed us how to use the boat and what to do in case of an emergency.
Tony, the owner of the rent-a-boat delivered us the boat and our journey started. They gave us a map and our little adventure started! It was still morning and the sun was not too hot so we decided to start heading upwards, and then the plan was to head to the south part of the island. And our adventure began from the North side of Corfu. We decided that our first stop should be Saint Stefano. As almost every beach in the North of Corfu, this one also combines sea and mountain. While approaching from the sea we saw a gulf with a huge sandy beach that was harmoniously hugging the foothills of the mountain. We could spot a few small shops and taverns but we didn’t go down from the boat because the place was very crowded and we were afraid to approach the beach.
Next stop was Nisaki. A wonderful beach, with crystal clear water and big rocks. The beach was small but once again we didn’t approach but we couldn’t resist the water, and thus we dived there in the open sea. The sea was pleasantly cold and the water so clean that we could easily see the seabed.
And thus, by exploring the Ionian sea with our boat we ended in Barbati, there we approached the sore, as we found a spot, with not so many people, we secured our boat and we decided to go grab something to eat and drink as the sea made us hungry. The Barbati beach has also a very particular beauty as it combines the imposing mountain with an endless pebble beach. And it was that time that we understood why it has been awarded a blue flag, as the waters are amazingly clean, and the locals take good care of the beach.
We boarded again and continued heading south. Next stop was the endless beach of Ipsos. A sandy beach, where one can find places with umbrellas and sunbeds, but also free spots. We went to the small port of Ipsos, and we browsed a bit through the sea side village and then headed again towards our boat, as the night was approaching and we had one last stop before heading back home.
The last stop was the beach of Dasia, which was maybe the most well organized beach from all that we had seen. It was equipped with umbrellas and sunbeds, and there was a small quay with boats, and there we found space to park our boat too. We relaxed on one of the sunbeds and we enjoyed the calm afternoon hours when there is not much people. But the night was approaching and we had to go back as we had rented the boat only for one day.
We went back and Tony was there smiling and friendly as always, welcomed us back and we gave him the boat back.
Later that night me and my friends were drinking our homemade cocktails on the terrace of one of us, and we were talking about this exciting day we had just experienced. We all agreed that it was surely an unforgettable experience that should have been repeated!