Tuesday,
August 6th 2002
Trip to the "Pantocrator" - the highest
spot on Corfu
Today we wanted to make good use of our little "Samurai" Jeep, as you will see further below. Our first tour on the Island had to go to the "Pantocrator" !! Why? simply because with its 906 meters it is the highest spot on Corfu and the ride is one through all kinds of (rough) nature. Secondly, I wanted to see what had become from the monastery, which was founded in 1347 on this bare and rocky peak, overlooking mainland and see. Below more on this aspect.....
Although we bought a map of Corfu (at least this one looked close to anything realistic...) we got lost after 5 minutes!! The positive side was that we had a nice tour among some very old Olive yards. The island is not so big, that one cannot find its way back again, so after ample time, we were back on track again and moved on to the bay of Pyrgi, where the road starts climbing the Pantocrator mountain. The nice views below were our reward, getting back on track !!
The first part of the road leads through Olive yards and endless curves, climbing the foot of the mountain......
Than finally, dizzy of all the curves, the top of the mountain comes in sight. The first thing which draws all attention is the fact that this monastery is spoilt by a HUGE television antenna which stands actually INSIDE the monastery and concrete relay station !!! Incredible that this is possible.....
Lets come back to the "see what happened to the monastery" I mentioned before; the first time I visited this spot was almost 22 years ago. No concrete roads, did the whole dirt-track road by scooter and was the only visitor. The Antenna was there, but the Monastery was a ruin. No monks no nothing. 5 years ago, when I visited again, I was surprised to see, that the Monastery was in state of refurbishment. Some work was done and there was an old monk again. And today ??? Well look for yourself...... Shops, terraces, commercial activities from the monks and a complete hard road to the top. Parking was still free though, hahaha !!!
Good news was the state the little church was brought back in. Really great job and wonderful sealing paintings and religious attributes
What (of course) also didn't change is the marvelous view over the North of Corfu, with Albania across the water. You can spot already the dirt-track, we decided to take as alternative route back to the bay.... Great fun with this little 4 wheel drive vehicle. No other cars spotted here and on the way a little ghost town made the "adventure" complete.....
Back in the bay, we landed in one of the most commercial and touristic parts of Corfu; the coast with the little tourist towns Ipsos, Dasia and Gouvia. We made a stop as well, to have some drinks, fast food and a few cocktails at the local Internet cafe, where Erik needed to work on his current running Internet strategic games (or something like that...). At the back the Pantocrator agian...
Back to the hotel late in the afternoon, tired and dusty, so ready for a dip in the pool !!
Tomorrow, we will go south to the Achilleion Palace. Built for the famous princes "Sissi" ..... Just check tomorrow again !!