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This is now the point that we have to admit that, when promoting our Corfu years as a selling point in terms of wealth of experience and knowledge that the clock has been ticking and our mileage now adds up to nearly 50 years! (of course we both came here as babies!). So from this point please allow us the dignity of just referring to it as more than 20 years!
Another summer has whizzed by, and, despite superhuman efforts, we admit failure in not bringing out our new brochure before August as we had first intended, and having written the book of excuses, either one of us could explain why! We apologise to those who have been anxious to book for 2002 for sometime now, and thank you for your patience.
We did at least reach our goal of supplying sunbeds this year we hope you enjoy them! We think Ironing boards and irons should perhaps be our next one?
We are glad so many of you enjoyed our newsletter last year, it seems we have set ourselves a task in annually satisfying your curiosity. So, though we covered a few years in the last one, we will try and update those of you unfortunate enough not to make it out this year!
For those of you who have expressed an interest for the first time we hope that this newsletter will serve as a gentle introduction to our modus operandum!
Well, Carole’s daughter, Xenya’s idea of purgatory is not the printers, but another business lunch with Sue at the Skondros! They are lengthy, (there always seems so much to cover) and that makes them thirsty work. Eleanor, on the other hand, enjoys the freedom of all afternoon at the beach with ice cream bribery to ensure prolonged peace until the meeting can reach a conclusion!
Our website continues to do well and as promised we try to keep it interesting, we have added a guest book. If you have travelled with us then please add a comment that may help others choose their house or resort, or simply explain why our kind of friendly, personal service is hard to beat! We have added to our address book some addresses from as far a field as South Africa, New Zealand, and Norway it has been exciting watching Greece work its spell on them too!
Acharavi had a slightly quieter summer than last year, though those here in the first two weeks of August could be forgiven for not noticing. A new water and sports park has opened next to and part of the Gelina hotel, though a useful addition to the things to do in the area, its not a patch on the excitement of Aqualand which added some more adrenalin pumping slides this year.
The Lemon Grove bar now has a battery operated jeep track to help entertain youngsters.
Valentines on the beach opened a 2nd restaurant at the Pump.
The Palace Café near the pump now offers Internet services too.
IMPORTANT the bank has stopped giving cash on credit cards over the counter, cash withdrawals can now only be made locally at the ATMs so remember your PIN number! (Or face a journey to Corfu town to the bank where it can still be done on presentation of your passport.)
A 300 drachma shop opened at the Roda end of the village, just like a pound shop, (does that mean it will be a .88 Euro shop or does anyone want to lay bets on it becoming a 1 euro shop!?)
Yes, as of January 1st our official currency will be the Euro, some will have noticed prices displayed in both currencies this year supposedly to ease us in….did you take any notice? I didn’t, I’ll start paying attention on January 1st! Don’t worry you will be able to change any left over drachmas into Euro at the bank, at the rate which is already fixed at 340.75 drs to 1 Euro.
I am sure you will join us in giving our condolences to Athina, Vasso and Christos at the Maistro restaurant for the sad loss of their father Alekos, who died in July after a serious illness.
On a happier note, wedding bells!! Anna and Georgos of the Captain Aris Bar, and Natalie and Andreas of the Sonic Bar are to be married in the autumn…. Congratulations to them!
Well, we now have all the big International car hire companies in Acharavi as Budget and Europcar opened their doors this year, AND the Gloo Gloo is now a bike and car rental office! We must have more cars for rent per head than anywhere else on the island!
Kaminaki remains timeless, with Spiros and Sue still running the taverna under the ever-watchful eye of Elpida. The micro market is still open, but only in the mornings, (you still have to order your bread), and no new shop has opened to replace Costas gift shop. There is rumour of a pool being built just up from the beach… watch this space for further info!
On a more serious note, many people were concerned over the wash created by the Catamaran ferry. Action has been taken and petitions made, so hopefully we will see the benefits by next year.
Asterios has fully recovered from his accident last year, and Anna is happy to announce there are no new additions either to the family or fleet!
A little farther afield, in Nissaki, there is now a pool open to the public on the way down to Nissaki beach.
Two figures were sadly missed this year from Nissaki, Mitsos (from Mitsos Taverna) who passed away peacefully this winter, and Alexi from the "Loom' gift shop who died in hospital after a short illness. Both families continue to run their businesses with the children carrying on in their father’s footsteps.
Aghios Stefanos has seen more changes up on the hill side, the most notable being the shell of the hotel that has been there for the last 22 years has finally been completed! The new harbour is now completely finished and provides a good safe harbour for the fishing boats and caiques.
Michaeli (Anatoli) has replaced the travel office with a “kafeneion" (local Greek coffee bar) that has proved very popular with locals (Captain Christos amongst them), as well as visitors. Maxine has opened a charcoal grill restaurant next to the Nafsika, and the small Art cafe on the Arillas road still offers live, modern Greek music twice a week.
Spiros at the Nafsika is still single, (much to Theodora's dismay) but his girlfriend Katrina arrived from New York for a long stay to "test the water" …. we will have to wait and see! Meanwhile Abbey’s new baby daughter and lively son keep her busy and Eleni, her eldest, is now studying in Athens, where does time go?
Vangelis has returned to his roots, and is seen up early every morning to catch the fish, so the mini market remains closed, and also no one seems to have caught his eye yet, so is still an eligible batchelor! The good news is that Michaeli under went treatment for throat cancer last winter, and remains fit and well and can be seen enjoying the banter at the Kafeneion most afternoons. Manthos continues to watch the world go by from his spot and can still be seen dancing on the tables on his Greek night! And finally, for those of you who were kind enough to listen to the saga of Carole and Spiros’ house building, suffice to say, there are still no windows in, and floors not laid and...... don't even mention the builders!
We would like to reiterate our thanks to those friends who continue to recommend us to others. We appreciate your vote of confidence.
We know its boring and you’ve been before….. but please may we ask you to take the time to read our insert, we really want to help make your holiday a success . We must insist that you take out holiday insurance at the time that you book with us. Nobody likes to think the unthinkable that you may have to cancel, but if you do, at least you have protected yourself as far as you can for any financial penalties that you may incur either from us or the airline.
It continues to be our experience that flights seats are a better price when purchased well in advance, especially for those who want longer holidays. Do shop around; it is getting harder and harder to find independent information in the high street as so many travel agencies are owned by big tour operators. We thank this years’ guests who have completed our questionnaire on where they booked their flights, it is enabling us to advise others on the subject as we build a database of where you have all found the best flights. Peter Cookson is an ABTA bonded independent agent who, having lived here for years, has a soft spot for Corfu. Get a second quote from him to make sure you are getting the best deal.Sorry to have to mention this, but PLEASE do think carefully about night flights, arriving on one is easy, but departing is not always so easy. You may in high season, find yourself with a midday check out and no courtesy room available. We do our best to make it as painless as possible but sometimes there are many hours to “fill” entertaining lagging children before its time to go.
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