28th May 2016
Today we should be celebrating our friend Christine’s birthday, instead we have scattered her ashes. RIP my beautiful friend in your favourite holiday place. Just under a beautiful olive tree, overlooking Arillas bay.
These were my flowers for Christine, she loved flowers, so this is my small tribute for her birthday. I laid them under the tree alongside her ashes.
This evening Phil and I were invited to dine with Christine’s family, Bob, Chris (Christine’s brother), Darren and Adam (her sons) and their wives. After the meal, we walked to the end of the jetty and sent two Chinese lanterns flying up to heaven. A perfect send off!
It is so hard to believe that only last June we met up with Bob and Christine again, while they were staying at the Marina. We took them to Bavaris for a meal one night as they had never been. Christine messaged me every morning when Dot took Poppy down to the beach for an early morning play, sometimes a photo taken from their balcony too.
We ended the day in the Rainbow for a nightcap and to listen to ‘The Worried Men’ doing their first gig of the season.
29th May 2016
Sun, sun and more sun today and lots of lovely heat. I took the car back early this morning and took Poppy for a swim. Never saw a soul that I know, that must be a first. Phil went off to watch the Grand Prix so Dot and I went for a stroll down to the Marina and watched the world go by. We sat in the garden after we came back, by which time the sun had disappeared behind clouds but it was still very hot. It is such a pleasant quiet spot to sit and read, listening to the water flowing down from the hills to the sea. Had a short visit from Eleni who came to prepare one of the upstairs apartments ready for some more guests tomorrow. Then we had a chat to our lovely neighbours Ann and John. Phil came back from watching the Grand Prix a happy bunny as Lewis had won in Monaco. This evening we went to the Rainbow, had a lovely welcome as usual, and a very tasty Sweet and Sour Chicken meal, washed down with an excellent Rose. Later in the evening our friend Rachel and family arrived, we had a good catch up.
30th May 2016
Cloudy start to the day and much cooler – I think we are in for a storm!
This is the little blighter that has caused all the Palm trees in Arillas to be cut back. It seems that it has been spread by the importing of young plants already hosting this destructive little creature.
The following is taken from Wikipedia –
‘The red palm weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, is a species of snout beetle also known as the Asian palm weevil or sago palm weevil. The adult beetles are relatively large, ranging between two and five centimeters long, and are usually a rusty red colour—but many colour variants exist and have often been misidentified as different species (e.g., Rhynchophorus vulneratus).[2] Weevil larvae can excavate holes in the trunk of a palm trees up to a metre long, thereby weakening and eventually killing the host plant. As a result, the weevil is considered a major pest in palm plantations, including the coconut palm, date palm and oil palm.[3]
Originally from tropical Asia, the red palm weevil has spread to Africa and Europe, reaching the Mediterranean in the 1980s. It was first recorded in Spain in 1994,[4] and in France in 2006. Additional infestations have been located in Malta and Italy (Tuscany, Sicily and Campania). It is also well established throughout most of Portugal, especially in the South.[5] Researchers also suspect that it has established in Morocco, Algeria and other North African countries, but there remains no official confirmation.[6] The weevil was first reported in the Americas on Curaçao in January 2009[7] and sighted the same year in Aruba.[8] It was reported in the United States atLaguna Beach, CA late in 2010.[9][10]‘
‘This weevil usually infests palms younger than twenty years.[11] While the adult causes some damage through feeding, it is the burrowing of the larva into the heart of the palm that can cause the greatest mortality of trees. The adult female lays approximately two hundred eggs on new growth in the crown of the palm, at the base of young leaves, or in open lesions on the plant.[citation needed] The egg hatches into a white, legless larva. The larva will feed on the soft fibres and terminal buds, tunneling through the internal tissue of the tree for about a month. The larvae can occasionally grow to a length of six to seven centimeters.[12] At pupation, the larva will leave the tree and form a cocoon built of dry palm fibers in leaf litter at the base of the tree. The total life cycle takes about 7–10 weeks.[citation needed]’
I was reading on the forum how people are worried about the palm trees, seems like we should all be worried.
Had a very lazy day today, in fact we didn’t even go out apart from taking Poppy up the lane for a run round the field. Done some washing, reading, Suduko, chatting to the neighbours, and cooking lunch and dinner.
31st May 2016
Another lazy ish day again, just relaxing in the garden This evening we went up to Mon Amour with our neighbours, excellent meal again and then finished the night off in the Coconut, listening to The Splinter band.
1st June 2016
The day started off lovely and sunny, but by the time we got motivated to do something, it turned cool and dull, looking like rain. So another uneventful day. We have been looking on the internet at campsites on Corfu – just an idea at the moment, may check some out for next year’s trip.
We were just talking about e-cigs – neither of us have smoked tobacco for over 2 years now but still like our e-cigs. We have tried quite a few different types, including cheap ones from ebay, but as with most things we have found you get what you pay for. Our favourite ones, are the ones we have set up an affiliate page for, yes they might be a little more expensive but they are reliable to use and the company’s customer service is second to none. We have found buying them in Greece is very expensive, including the liquids. So once again I will post the link. (Yes we get a small commision from it, helps to eek out our pensions)
http://www.ecigarettedirect.co.uk/242.html
Tonight we went to a Quiz at the Rainbow, not a huge turnout, but was lots of fun. There were 5 teams and we came 3rd. There was a prize for all entrants, so thank you very much for our Kumquat liquor.
2nd June 2016
Lovely warm and sunny today.
We did manage a walk down to the front for Poppy to have a swim today, she adopted a family with two little boys who were throwing her stick for her. We went to Sharons for lunch. Then met Dot, Sheila, and Keith in the Akti for a late afternoon drink. We stayed in tonight and had a Pizza and Greek salad, followed by Baclava.
3rd June 2016
So proud of my self drove all the way to top of Mount Pantokrator. Highest mountain on the island. All 2,972 feet of it. It was 27deg and a beautiful sunny day. Dot was a nervous wreck when we arrived, she praised my driving but said she never wants to go up again.
Mount Pantokrator (sometimes Pantocrator, in Greek) is a mountain located in north-easternCorfu. At 906 metres (2,972 ft), it is the highest mountain on the island. At the summit, the whole of Corfu can be seen, as well as Albania which lies a short distance from the island. On particularly clear days it is also possible to see Italy despite it being around 130 km (81 mi) away. At the top there is a café for tourists, a telecommunications station, whose largest tower stands directly over a well,[1] and a monastery. The first monastery on the site was Angevin, built in 1347 but then destroyed sometime around 1537. The current church on the site dates from around 1689, and the current facade was built during the 19th century. It is dedicated to the transfiguration of Christ. To get to the peak, you can either drive to Mount Pantokrator up a series of windy roads from the coast, or walk to the top. If you choose to walk, one of the best places to start is in Old Perithia, Corfu’s oldest village, where it takes approximately 2 hours round trip. The village of Old Perithia dates back to the 14th century and the ‘Perithians’ helped build the original monastery using local wood and limestone. The village of Old Perithia (and the now abandoned village of Sinies) can be seen from Pantokrator and with its 130 house and 8 churches Old Perithia is said to sit at the foot of Pantokrator, ‘The Almighty.’ The walk to Pantokrator is also part of The Corfu Trail, an established walking guide around the island of Corfu, although they fail to maintain the paths, so walks such as Perithia to Mt. Pantokrator are now nearly impossible to detect.
Thalassa tonight for our dinner. Wonderful as usual, Then a nightcap at Portofino with Dave and Steph.
Only 3 weeks left of our 2016 Arillas or Bust!