39 37.4 N 19 55.7 E 

Mandraki Yacht Club Corfu 

We left Paxos on
Friday 24th of May and enjoyed a swift passage to Corfu, albeit the seas
were a bit lumpy after the strong winds of the previous few days. Once
in the shelter to the east of Corfu island the water was turquoise blue
and much calmer. We arrived off the small marina of Mandraki about 1400
and managed to get a berth (bow too unfortunately) next to Limanimou our
Dutch friends. 

Getting off the boat was perilous and we were very
thankful when China Blue arrived and berthed next to us so we could use
their very safe bow steps to get on and off! The setting of this marina
is sublime as it nestles under the towering fortress dating from
mediaeval times. It is a short walk through the fortress and its walls
and across the moat into the old town of Corfu. We went for an evening
stroll that night and enjoyed seeing the lovely architecture and
esplanades along with the narrow lanes full of bustling shops. We
stopped for a coffee at a lovely bar on the Liston, an arcaded street
which was designed and built by the French architect responsible for the
Rue de Rivoli in Paris. It looks out onto the esplanade where people
'parade' in the evening and children ride their tricycles etc. 

The
following day we hired a car and went to the Port Police to check out of
Greece as well as a trip to Lidl and a local large supermarket to stock
up with products for our journey to the Adriatic. We also took the
chance to go to see the large marina at Gouvia and found the excellent
chandlers, where we managed to get several useful things. We have their
card as they can order us the Semco product we use on our teak decks; we
will call in there in September on our way south for the winter lay-up.
We had a lovely meal at the small restaurant in the yacht club after pre
dinner drinks on board Mariah with Anne, John, Margaret and Tony. Off to
Montenegro tomorrow.