“Revenge travel” became a global phenomenon once the travel restrictions were finally lifted after two years of lockdown. People threw caution to the wind and blew their budgets to celebrate escaping the confines of the pandemic. At the time, I received a once-in-a lifetime “revenge travel” invitation from friends who had rented a villa in Corfu, Greece. “Why don’t you join us for a week?”, they asked. This wasn’t just any old villa, but one perched on the highest point of the island, complete with tiered gardens, an infinity pool, sundecks, and spectacular views of the Mediterranean. It would have been rude to not accept.
Getting to Corfu from the southern tip of Africa is tricky. The 24-hour trip consisted of two layovers – first in Istanbul and then in Athens – before catching a small propeller plane to the island. Breaking the return journey seemed like a sensible thing to do, so I opted for a two-night stopover in Athens on the way back. It felt like a good dovetail: same culture, but a bustling urban experience to counterbalance relaxed island life. It turned out to be the perfect combination.
Corfu, I discovered, is different to the whitewashed Greek islands you find in the Aegean Sea. Situated off the western mainland of Greece in the Ionian Sea, very close to Albania, it has a chequered history which gives it a unique micro-culture. In Medieval times, the island was regularly attacked, raided, and occupied by Goths, Saracens, and Normans, and most notably occupied and ruled by the Venetians for four centuries, giving it a distinct Italian history and architectural aesthetic.
Today, there’s an omnipresence of the British Durrell family, brought to life most recently in the 2016 comedy/drama television series, The Durrell’s of Corfu. Living in Corfu from 1935 to 1939, the family’s experience was chronicled by Gerald Durrell, the youngest sibling, in three semi-fictionalised memoirs known as The Corfu Trilogy – the most famous of which is My Family and Other Animals. The books and subsequent television series have ensured a steady flow of tourists to the island, all keen to follow in the footsteps of the family.
The Durrell’s’ house, known as the White House, is situated in Kalami on the northeast coast of the island, and in its restored state, now operates as a restaurant. I spent a day in the Kalami cove, and it quickly became obvious why the family fell in love with this island. It’s small, but vertiginous, and is covered with more than four million olive trees, interspersed with tall, thin cypress trees and surrounded by crystal clear waters.
The geography of the island encourages interesting day trips to the various coves and beaches that differ depending on the side of the island: lapping waters and pebble beaches face the mainland and robust seas and sandy beaches face the Ionian Sea.
While you can make these trips by car, hiring a small boat and going from cove to cove in search of the perfect lunch spot is the ideal way to do it. Each restaurant has its own landing pier where you are eagerly waved in and assisted with docking, but once docked, you are obliged to eat there – so choose wisely!