It was with a certain trepidation that I boarded the plane bound for Corfu, returning for the first time after 25 years to the place where I lived for most of 3 years, and had so many memories. It seemed a life time ago, and here I am returning with my 18 year old son, who was curious to see the place I had spent so much time.

Corfu Airport, I noted, had obviously expanded to incorporate the growing arrivals of tourists over the years, and still not big enough, but parts of it were recognisable , especially the surrounding area of the airport. The taxi ride to Kanoni took us along roads I couldn’t quite remember until the actual approach to kanoni, with its one way system and narrow roads. We passed the apartment block where I rented an apartment, now looking a little old and jagged round the balconies. Sam’s scooters, which was a thriving business opposite, looked closed, as was Jimmy’s Bar and Taverna adjacent to it, and the café bars underneath the apartment block were no long in operation and were dilapidated. Once was what a lively and popular resort seems to have faded away.

As Corfu has developed over the years, tourists have moved away from Kanoni to other areas closer to beaches and to more modern hotels and facilities. The resort is mainly occupied by Greek visitors now, with the exception of a few Italians, Germans, French and British.

The Ariti Hotel, once used by the company I worked for, still looked exactly the same, and opposite was the Corfu Holiday Palace, which I remember as the Hilton, where we were to stay for the duration of my `trip down memory lane’. It is still a lovely hotel with an impressive marble lobby area, and the room we had was spacious, clean and nicely furnished. There was a large balcony area and the view over Corfu, out to the tranquil seas dotted with little boats, and Mouse Island, was serene and beautiful, one of the best views there could be. I almost felt a lump in my throat as I remembered old times.

Looking around the Ariti Hotel, which was one of the first ports of call, I noted there was very little change inside as well as the outside, and the furniture and decoration were still on very familiar lines. On talking to the receptionists, it materialised that Sophia, the older of the two, was the receptionist there all those years ago, and it dawned on me who she was, as I dawned on her when I told her who I was, especially when I showed her some old photographs . Sophia had never married and had children, and had worked at the hotel for 29 years! She surprised me when she told me that there were one or two more staff who were still working in the hotel, and whom I would remember.

Indeed, I did meet Tassos again, who worked behind reception, and Nikos, who worked as a waiter. All of us were similar in age, and all of us now had families. It was so good to talk to them and be reminded of all the old places and people who had been part of life then. Pedro, the Manager of the Ariti, had died at the relatively young age of 47, Zorbas Taverna, which was so popular at the time, and was the taverna that Roger Moore and the crew had frequented often during their stay when filming `For Your Eyes Only‘, had closed, Zorba being now very old. I was amazed at the amount of Greek I was able to still able to communicate, and which seemed to rise to the surface with ease. I learnt that a boyfriend from those times, Nikos, now drove a tourist bus, was married to a Greek girl and had young children. My curiosity has been satisfied!

I met up with Mary and Spiros Lemis in Greek Skies Travel Agency, and who gave me and Callum the warmest of welcomes. It was great to talk about the `old’ days and people we knew. One of the drivers was still there from those days, Artemis who worked in the office and made everyone tremble when she raised her voice, was married and had 2 children. I had news of two Dutch reps who I got to know very well in those days. Sadly, Spiros Lyknos who was Spiros Lemis’s partner in those days had died.

Corfu, it seems, has caught up with the modern world. Whereas at one time it was impossible to get goods and commodities, it now has `proper’ shops, and strange as it may seem, older people are more modern now, probably as result of tourism. Corfiot dress and black dress which was worn by so many, is now probably confined to the small villages. I couldn’t quite get my head round McDonalds with Bazouki music piping out , however, and although the days of mobile phones and computers have reached everywhere, somehow a smartly dressed man in shirt and trousers, using a mobile phone on an old rickety bus probably taking him to the office, doesn’t quite fit either!

Although our visit was purely to see Corfu town, Kanoni, Alykes area and Benitses, places I remembered very well and had spent time in, we also visited the very old part of the village of Viros, a place where time has stood still, absolutely charming with the narrowest of streets, where cars almost touch the buildings, with the tiniest of windows and shutters. The rest of Viros was hardly recognisable, having been developed over the years. This was a village where electricity had not long been introduced and milk was delivered on a mule!

It was disappointing that the San Stefano Hotel in Benitses is closed for this year, as I remember it being built and going to the opening ceremony., but these hotels that I remember and are still operating, are 25 plus years old, and now need renovating and reconstructing. If I ever see the Ariti again, it will be completely different because another two floors are being added and the lobby and lounge areas are being redesigned.

Worth a visit is the beach at Mon Repos in Kanoni, which is tranquil and not crowded. It costs just over a euro to use the beach with use of an umbrella, and sun beds are 2 euros, and you can come and go all day long if you wish. Captain George’s Taverna in Kanoni is a good eating place. George used to be head waiter in what was the Hilton years ago, and is trying to keep the old traditions going.

Generally, what I saw was basically still the same. As my son put it “the shell is the same, but the flesh has changed”. Corfu has caught up with the modern world. There are more people, traffic is heavier, prices are higher, plumbing has improved, but the Corfiot hospitality has not changed. I will always have a soft spot for the place that was once was my second home, and which reminds me of my young days!