Kalimera from spectacular Arillas! I thought I would share a post I put on the Corfu Forum Facebook page. For those of you that are pondering whether to come this year.
I wanted to post about our experiences this year on Corfu (Arillas to be precise) as I know that people who are thinking of coming are nervous and not sure what to expect.
We have been visiting this gorgeous island since 1995 and each year we are even more excited! Family and friends always took the Micky out of us repeatedly visiting year after year, well that’s until they came for themselves and quickly understood what has repeatedly drawn us back time and time again.
So after the truly awful few months we have been through, the thought of not coming this year, a time when we needed a break more than ever was heartbreaking. Usually I do a countdown on my Facebook page, much to the extreme annoyance of my friends but this year I didn’t bother, so sure was I that we wouldn’t be here.
Our first flight was cancelled but I had the option to change it to a day later so this is what I did but thinking that would just continue to cancel. My son was joking with me saying are you going to keep rebooking until you only have 2 days left?😂
My husband was really not comfortable about coming and every time we discussed it we ended up arguing and he kept saying unless Boris and the Greek government tell us it’s safe to travel there is no chance. So when they finally did, I felt like there may just be a glimmer of hope. A very small glimmer.
So I basically dragged him kicking and screaming lol and he had his first argument with someone five minutes after entering the airport! (A man brazenly walking around with no mask when everyone else was being brilliant about wearing them). He was definitely in the minority. We flew from Manchester and it was eerily quiet. I won’t lie, it was stressful being on the plane. Not because of people not adhering to guidelines I think it was more about being in such close proximity to so many people after so long of doing the exact opposite! There really is no real way to social distance on a plane let’s face it.
Anyhow the flight went very quickly. There was a drinks service that’s all. (EJ). When you land you are not allowed to vacate your seat until the previous one has gone, it was all very civilised. Then we got on the bus to the airport building which I wasn’t expecting as had read that you walked on the tarmac. That was a bit stressful.
Then we started queuing for passport control, again all very civilised but everyone looked a little shell shocked I thought! Almost like we had survived something together lol. I did think at that moment are we mad doing this? Was my husband right? Then the dreaded ‘QR’ code selection was upon us! This was the bit that I was most dreading. We knew that my husband would probably be tested as his started with a 1 and true to form when we got to the front he was sent one way along the side of the luggage carousel and I was sent to get the cases!
What we had done at home was get tested a few days before so that we could be reasonably sure that if we were tested we would be ok. The thought of going through all this to then be sent to the dreaded quarantine hotel for two weeks was awful!
So after his test which was very quick we made our way to the waiting taxi. Again, we certainly weren’t feeling the usual excitement and were now dreading him being one of those people who are a-symptomatic! We arrived at our apt’s all was as perfect as ever.
When we woke up to the beautiful sunshine we couldn’t quite believe we had made it. It really feels like you are a world away from Covid here. That’s not to be complacent because nobody is. All staff wearing masks etc. The hardest thing is not being able to kiss and hug old friends as we have always done but let’s face it if we can do that with our close family we can do it here.
It is sad to see restaurants so quiet and I know they will welcome you with (virtual!) open arms from the moment they see you. It’s the best decision we have made! Oh and his test was obviously ok because we haven’t heard anything so feel we can truly relax now. Jump on one of those cheap seats and get yourself over. It’s heaven!
Topic: Should you come to Arillas? (Read 3085 times)