At last night's dinner, our waiter turned out to be Bernardo who, with Marius, had taken 

care of us for our Panama Canal cruise. We had seen lots of crew we knew on the last couple

 of cruises, but had not known what happened to him. He had been troubled when we last saw 

him several years ago, with an ill wife and young twins and we felt he might have left the 

ships for a job close to home in the Philippines. But everything seemed to work out and 

there he was with a promotion and a smile.

Morning came a little too early today. Losing an hour and being in the first group to 

depart the ship at 8:00 a.m. can be a tough combination. We had a light breakfast and 

headed down for the bus assignment tickets. This was our last excursion in a small group 

and small we were, a group of 10. Again, we tried to get ahead of the rest of the busloads

 of others who were following the same itinerary, but our calculations did not take into 

account that an MSC ship (the only Italian-owned cruise line) had arrived when we did and was 

larger than us and packed with a Russian Amway group who had chartered the whole ship and 

who we also had to contend with. With our guide, Katerina, and driver, George, we cut 

across the island to Paleokastritsa, on the beautiful beach area somewhat more north and on the 

west coast of Corfu. The coast is lined with small bays and the villages were historically 

built up on hillsides rather than on the shore. Now, of course, there are hotels and inns

 all along the shore with swimming pools and terraces. Since it was Sunday, the area was

 pretty quiet when we arrived, but 1 ½ hours later the cafes and hotels were much more

 active, although we did not seem to be in full tourist season yet. Katerina verified what

 we all knew from the news, that things are difficult for most people in Greece. It was

 the same story we heard in Venice, Dubrovnik and Kotor.

We had about a half hour at the Monastery in Paleokastritsa. The 6-10 monks in residence 

at this Greek Orthodox monastery built on the cliffs overseeing the sea were celebrating 

a service elsewhere, but we saw their many, many dogs and cats and first heard the goats 

clambering up the rocky paths because of the bells around their necks and then saw them 

chewing on the shrubs as they moved around. Katerina explained much about the Orthodox 

Church which is the faith of 98% of the folks on Corfu and showed us the interior of the 

chapel, etc. until we were inundated by 2-3 busloads of other travelers and opted to move 

on. Katerina was a great source of information and had something to say almost every moment. We 

took a different route to a photo stop at Kanoni where we saw the water view from a 

different angle, but the crowds were even worse, so we headed back to Corfu Town for a 

walking tour which included the most important church and the commercial shopping area. We 

then had free time before meeting at the bus for the return to the ship. While the town was

 very attractive and rivaled Venice for the narrowness of many of its streets, the Russian

 group (most of the men were wearing white captain's hats with gold braid) was so pervasive

 and pushy that we all headed back to the bus in plenty of time.

We joined the ship in time for a light lunch and noticed another MSC ship coming into port,

 so we were glad not to be competing for space on shore. We liked Corfu and enjoyed our 

time as a group of 10, but found the crowds a little off-putting.

We are enjoying time to read and watch the sail away at 4 p.m. before dinner – back to the 

Jacques Pepin restaurant this time as we rotate through the available choices.