Geckos, Mouse Island and Sidari Cliffs

Three things that will generally bring Corfu to mind for me...

Last night we had a gecko convention outside on the kitchen window. As everyone still had their tails, I figured it wasn't going to be a gecko war. (When they fight with any other beastie, usually the first thing to go is their tails. They DO grow them back but it's funny in the springtime to see so many geckos on the walls with tiny stubby tails!)

We used to get a lot more geckos inside the house but slowly- slowly as we remodel and repair things we close entrances that facilitated the migration of all and sundry wildlife. (I know because of the mice -that seem to now be gone or at least hiding VERY well... are still less than we had at the beginning of when we lived here!)

As we no longer have so many geckos in the house we also have many fewer bugs and crawly things. Screens on windows and doors DO make a big difference- poor T had to build ten doors, (of the SIX ways to get into the house, we have four french doors which required two screen doors each, instead of just one!).

So, yesterday, while I fixed the turkey, Jenny and Benoit went sightseeing with T. He took them to one of the most scenic spots on the island, just near the airport is Mouse Island or Pontikonisi and the tiny monastery of Vlacherna... a perfectly lovely spot to get a photo taken (so romantic!).

For sure it's a beautiful spot until an airplane has to land- then it's VERY noisy and the planes are pretty much at eye level from where you are standing!!

Last but not least T took them up to the north of the island to see the "Canal d'amour" in Sidari (as well as a trip to the cliffs of Peroulades!) From there you can see the Diapontia Islands of Corfu; Erikoussa, Mathraki and Othoni. (These are really lovely places to visit but not so easy to get to. There is a ferry that goes back and forth, but it's very dependent on the weather- at least in the winter! We were lucky enough to visit them a few years ago, on a weekend trip on a friends boat.)

T took the picture and did not include the islands. As he is troubled by heights, he was terribly brave to manage this photo from the "overhang" balcony of the taverna at the top of the cliff! (that or he has much longer arms than I'm aware of!)

Today the Belgian cousins and T are going to the Byzantine Museum, the Achillion and perhaps the Archaeological Museum. (At least that's what they said, when they left the house this morning. All will depend on the hours of each spot. These things have been known to close at strange times (the cousins tried to see the Byzantine museum at least once before...).

I, meanwhile, have nothing to worry about for dinner this evening, as there is enough turkey and fixings left over to feed all of us to the point of satiety for at least another two days! (that's the good news about making a turkey...)

So that's my current life and times and now I think the dog (who has been sighing profoundly and fidgeting for the last half hour) and I must go and play outside for a while.