Out and About in Gouvia
Here I am in Gouvia where I’ll stay for 7 nights. I booked Hotel Omirico just a few days ago via b.com. The location is great not only for its close proximity to Corfu Town (and cheaper accommodation) but for the wide variety of excursions that run from here. After unpacking I head out to get a feel for the lay of the land. From the hotel, it takes just one minute to walk to the beach. On the beach is a memorial to mark the spot where 152,000 Serbian soldiers disembarked at Gouvia after being evacuated from the Albanian port of Avlonas in 1916. They had arrived on Allied ships during WW1.
Following the bay around to the right, there is what remains of the old Venetian shipyard or Neorio. The shipyard was built by the Venetians in 1716 as part of the defence against the Ottomans. Corfu had been under Venetian occupation since 1386 and their rule lasted for 400 years. Corfu was of strategic importance to the Venetians and the arsenal was built to service their naval ships. The bay at Gouvia is a safe harbour and nearby forests provided a rich supply of timber for boat repairs. The keystone above the arched entrance is unfortunately covered in scaffolding but I had read that it bears the name of the year (1778) and the initials of a captain involved in the building of the arsenal. In recent years steps have been taken to protect the site and establish it as a place of historical importance.
The outward-looking view from the beach is beautiful. Gouvia Bay is wide and the heavily forested arms at each end of the bay curve around and almost touch making the bay very sheltered. In the distance across the Ionian Sea is a thin sliver of Greek territory back by the mountains of Albania.
The beach at Gouvia is pebbles and stone. It is hard to tell whether this is natural stone or a stone that has been shipped in from elsewhere but there are plenty of sunbeds spread over the beach which when it isn’t raining is very popular with the tourists that stay here.
The village of Gouvia itself is built up around the back of the beach where there are some large cafe bars including the Iliada Beach Bar. This is a lovely place to come for a drink or something to eat from their extensive menu. They offer traditional Greek food along with snacks and desserts. I swung by one evening for a dessert of huge wadge of portokalopita (Greek orange pie) and a Margarita. I had intended to have the pie with a cup of tea but they only had green tea (Yuk!) so what’s a girl to do? A Margarita it was!
Next door is Kaktus where you can usually hear middle-of-the-road pop music playing. Inside the village itself is a narrow road that encircles the hub of accommodations. There are plenty of cafe bars and tavernas along both sides of the street so lots of choices are available. Whatever you want you will find here especially if you like that little touch of home – assuming that your home isn’t Greece!
Of course, the bars and tavernas aren’t all aboutfootball streaming and tribute acts. There are some very nice restaurants. So far I’ve eaten at Vergina and Food for the Soul. Both quite good but different propositions. Vergina with its elaborate decor based on the Unesco World Heritage site had the edge with the Bakaliaros and Skordalia, a delicious fried cod with garlic sauce. The starter of red pepper houmous was also a crowd pleasure. As it got busier though, I was forgotten and struggled to get anyone’s attention for the bill. Very annoying.
Food for the Soul, started off well. I didn’t mind that they didn’t have the Plomari ouzo as listed on their menu. The boy who served me didn’t understand what I was asking for and had to go and ask someone about the ouzo. He came back with another option which I hadn’t tried before so was happy to give it a go. I saw the koukouvagia on the menu and although I knew they weren’t serving owl, I asked if he could confirm if it was Dakos – more of a way of starting a conversation really. He didn’t understand me. I tried to explain what Dakos was and pointed to the description on the menu and he just looked at me blankly. I ordered it anyway, pretty confident that it was indeed Dakos as I knew it, along with chicken souvlaki. Both were very good. As far as simple food like this is, it was better than average. I noticed that other customers were being offered either a complimentary ouzo or dessert at the end of their meal. But not I. Not that I need a complimentary anything but I get very irked when as a solo traveller I get treated differently from everyone else. Dearest Dimitri from Spiros and Maria’s Taverna, please come and teach the restauranteurs of Gouvia how to do hospitality!
Just on the outskirts of the main hub is Cafe Moreno which does a fantastic selection of pastries and a very delicious bougatsa. It is a great place to swing by for breakfast. Now, I consider myself a bit of a bougatsa aficionado, particularly of the cream pie variety. I love it and like to sample it now and again (OK, a bit more than now and again!) and have noticed the bougatsa here is different to the ones I’ve tried in other parts of Greece. Not the pastry, but the filling. The filling here at Cafe Moreno is almost like a creme pat. It is like real custard and not as gelatinous as others I’ve always had before. It gets a 10 from me!
Not being one to lie on the beach, I decided to cast my net of the area a bit wider. I was intrigued by the little church I could see on the other side of the bay. The Church of Ypapanti is about a 30-40 minute walk from central Gouvia. Unfortunately, the walk initially is along the main carriageway where of course there are no pavements. Most of this section is along a layby just off the main carriageway but you still have to be conscious of traffic approaching from behind – usually at speed. After about 15 minutes (depending on which end of the village you exit) I take the turn off which is the main road to Dasia and Ipsos and eventually Kasiopi. The walk continues along a busy road for another 15 minutes or so. Eventually, I took a turn-off that brought me back down the sea. Here there are some large resorts including the Rodostamo Hotel and Spa but they are set back and unobtrusive. A narrow road lined with Cyprus trees led me along the water’s edge to the church. I’d timed it right as there was nobody else here.
The church was built in 1713 by Daniel Kombitsi, a member of the Cretan aristocracy. After Crete was defeated by the Ottomans in 1669 during the Cretan War, Kombitsi fled to Corfu bringing with him valuable works of art. These treasures were housed in the Ypapanti Church which was just one of several places of worship that he built another being the monastery of The Apostles St Peter and St Paul in the village of Kombitsi. Daniel Kombitsi is said to have died of insanity after the death of his son. The Church of Ypopanti was passed onto the Theotoki family and was then purchased by the Italian Scarpa family. The descendants of the Scarpa family showed little interest in the church and it fell into a state of disrepair. Thanks to a committee of committed local people, awareness of the church was raised along with much-needed funds for its restoration. Work began on the church in 1996, keeping it as close to the original form as possible. Now this beautiful little church sitting amongst the emerald green landscape and the still turquoise waters of Gouvia Bay is a sight to behold! It’s really worth the effort to walk there and you’ll definitely get 10,000 steps in!
To give an example of how changeable the weather has been since I arrived on Corfu, just look at the beautiful blue sky taken at the Ypopanti Church this morning. Soon after I arrived back at Gouvia, I sat on the beach to rest my weary legs. Within minutes, the sky began to cloud over and the first spit spots of rain began to fall. By the time I’d made it back to my room in time to recover my washing from the line outside, the heavens opened. This was no ordinary downpour. Zeus was back in true form and began to throw his weight around with a vengeance. He sent bright flashes of lightning and the loudest claps of thunder from the sky directly above. It was invigorating to watch this spectacle from the safety of my balcony. This went on for several hours. I’m sure the people who’d come on holiday for a bit of sunshine were pretty fed up. However, the farmers of Corfu must be praising Zeus, God or Nature – whatever they believe in for this gift to the land. Make lemonade people. Make lemonade!
