50 Shades of Weather – Agios Stefanos Avliotes!

My first day in Agi Stef (BTW this is not my husband’s nickname for me!) was balmy. After the storms the day before I arrived, the atmosphere was humid – according to the weather app more than 70%. Even at 9 o’clock in the morning it’s very warm with a bright sky. Whilst sizing up the weather from my terrace, I heard the sound of a plane, or rather several planes. At first, I couldn’t work out the direction they were coming from but as I turned towards the beach I could see a formation of 9 aircraft making their way across the sky in front of me. I didn’t have time to grab my phone to capture it. It turns out that this was Daedalus, the Hellenic Air Force T-6A Texan II Demo Team. It was brief but it was magnificent – and so unexpected!

My first mission yesterday was to walk into the village and speak to San Stefanos Travel about their predictions for the boat trips to the Diapontians. A very helpful young lady was there to answer my questions but it wasn’t looking positive. Despite it being warm with a gentle breeze, the trip due to depart that morning had been cancelled. The weather was set to change during the afternoon. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t know until the weekend if any other boat trips will go ahead. I asked about their bus trips but at that moment they were all fully booked. My time here in Agios Stefanos is running short but it will be what it will be.

I decided to walk to the port of Agios Stefanos. If one of the boat trips does run, I want to gauge how far would be to walk to the boat. Besides, from my terrace, I could see the road snaking its way around the corner of the village so I was keen to see where it led.

I followed the road out of the village, passing the little church that gave the village its name. Further along, there is a pontoon for those who prefer to sunbathe away from the crowds.

As I continued to walk further along, I caught sight of the harbour wall of the small marina. The road dropped down into the small port where a string of fishing boats were moored. Amongst them was the boat Pegasus, the trusty vessel that takes visitors to the Diapontians. But not today.

I turned around and headed back up the hill and rested a while on a bench overlooking the bay. Looking out towards Mathraki, I could see a weather front heading this way. It had an ethereal presence. It was as if Zeus himself had taken on a life-form of the storm itself. The voluminous clouds were bulging with the wet stuff, and it had already begun to dump its load. It was hard to tell in which direction it was moving in but it was fascinating to watch it slowly glide across the sky. I’d better head back before it arrives here.

By the time I arrived back at the hotel, the incoming weather front seemed to have moved across the sea and not inland – at least for now. I took the path from the studios down onto the beach and walked its length and back. Agios Stefanos is a sand beach set in a shallow bay. It offers just the right amount of organised facilities – enough sunbeds and watersport options but still leaving plenty of natural beach left to appreciate.

The rest of the afternoon was spent sitting on the terrace overlooking the beach just taking everything in and slowly acclimatising myself to the gentle rhythm of the island. I didn’t think I’d realised until this point how tired I was so the best option right now is to relax. And relax I did. It had taken me years to learn the art of slowing down when travelling. In the past, I was always on a mission to get around to ‘see’ as many places as I could instead of stopping to actually ‘feel’ a place. Nowadays when travelling, I want the essence of a place to be absorbed into my soul. Once it’s there it will stay forever.

Later that evening I decided to stay local and eat at Spiros and Maria’s again. It is such a friendly place that I really couldn’t go wrong. As I left the studio, there was another ominous-looking cloud looming over Mathraki. Quite a stunning sight. Being a two minute walk away, I didn’t see the need for a jacket to walk to the taverna and besides, the storm clouds looked miles away.

I took a table under the pergola and was presented with the menu and a “welcome back”. Within minutes of perusing the menu, a few spit spots of rain began to drop onto the canvas covering the pergola. The spit spots turned into a steady spatter of water and then a heavy pounding. Everyone else under the pergola ran for cover inside the restaurant. I was the last man standing. How bad could this be? It didn’t take long for the wind to pick up and it was so strong it blew the running water from the edge of the pergola inside onto my table. The paper tablecloth was saturated and to finish it off, the wind swiped in and ripped it to shreds. Time to move!

As I launched myself into the restaurant a bright flash followed by a loud crack of thunder signalled that I’d made it just in time! Everyone was in high spirits after the excitement of the storm and we were all looked after amazingly well by the owners. A simple meal of tzatziki and beef stifado washed down with retsina from the barrel was perfection. I couldn’t have asked for anything more.

By the time I’d finished the meal, the rain had stopped and I returned to my terrace to watch the twinkling lights of the village and listen to the music and the cheers from a Greek night at one of the nearby tavernas. This place has life and it has soul. Yes, it also has all the trappings of a small tourist resort but it is low-key and it’s there if I want to dip my toes into it. Though it isn’t obligatory.

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During the night the rain made another appearance. I was awoken by a heavy downpour pounding onto the terracotta tiles of the roof above my room. The high pitch of the timber-clad ceiling acted like an echo chamber but the rain was shortlived. The wind continued to rattle the furniture on the terrace into the early hours of the morning. By daylight, everything felt calm and still but I could see an eerie yellow light being cast through the voile curtains. At that moment there was a loud crack of thunder. I wanted to see this so I pulled on some clothes and flung open the doors to the terrace. I have an almost 3/4 view from my studio and from one side of the terrace I could see a dark and ominous-looking cloud rolling in across the sea. Once again the wind picked up and the time between the flashes of lightning and the rumbles of thunder shortened. The storm is now above us.

Despite, the dramatic skies and the exciting light and sound show, there was very little rain. Corfu needs rain. The hot and dry summer has left its reserves low. Oh come on Zues! If you’re going to throw you lightning bolts around, at least send some rain with it!

Again this display was short-lived and the sun was able to burn its way through the clouds and brighten up the morning. With more rain forecast for later that day, I nip down to San Stefanos Travel again. I’d read on an Agios Stefanos Facebook group that there may be an additional coach to Kassiope tomorrow evening. As the boat trips were going to be off-limits for the next few days, I’ll be in with more of a chance on a bus tour. The helpful young lady took my number and said that she would send me a Whatsapp message before midday to confirm whether the second bus would get enough interest. Fingers crossed then!

After visiting the agency, I walked down onto the almost deserted beach. A bulldozer is doing some storm recovery work, scooping up seaweed and driftwood that had been washed up overnight. The sand is wet making it easy to walk along. It is still very windy and the white-crested waves roll in onto the shores with thunderous crashes. It’s invigorating! I stay for a while taking it all in.

By the time I arrived back at the studio, I had received a message from the agency to say that the trip to Kassiope would be going ahead tomorrow evening. That is something to look forward to! I was going to Kassiope anyway at some point but this is an easier option. Why make life harder than it needs to be!

There was another short-lived spurt of rain today and the wind has been a constant throughout the afternoon but it has brightened up considerably. The only thing that we haven’t had in the last 24 hours is snow!