Corfu is the western most point of Greece today. It is considered the capital of the Seven Ionian Sea Islands. The former colony of the ancient city-state of Corinth, Corfu was also part of the Roman and Byzantine Empires. Today, the small island produces 12 tons of olive oil annually and supplements its agricultural economy with spring and summer tourism. Corfu is also the birthplace of Prince Phillip, husband to Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
Along the western side of the island are the two islets below. The white buildings in the center make up the Monastery of the Virgin of Vlacherna which is connected to the Kanoni peninsula with a small bridge. The smaller islet behind it is called Pontikonisi. It contains the 11th century Byzantine church of St. Panteleymon. There is a legend on the island that the islet is actually the Phaeacian ship that brought Odysseus (from Homer's story) to Ithaca and was petrified by Poseidon in his anger.
Below is a view of the Old Fortress of Corfu from the western side of the bay.
The walk back to the ship from the old city was a bit windy. The rain held off with only a few sprinkles, but the wind and the clouds were a bit ominous. The port was under construction, so walking back to the ship from customs was necessary, but it gave me a view of our ship eclipsed by a Princess Cruises ship that was easily twice the size of ours. That is way too many people and accounted for the crowds we had today that we had not seen in the past.
These are the first white cap waves I have seen this entire trip, but we have a few hours before the ship sails.
When we sail tonight, we will will take all day tomorrow to sail around the "heel" of the Italian peninsula. Tomorrow is my day to sleep in and relax before reaching Naples!
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