EasyJet Flies In
This will mean big changes in the way that independent travellers can arrange their holidays. Those who do not wish to be tied to the weekly flights of the large tour operators will be able to take advantage of the flexibility offered by daily flights. And if booked well in advance there are of course considerable savings to made. One other point worth remembering is that charter flights don't usually begin until May, so this new service will allow tourists to fly directly to Corfu a month earlier! To visit the Easyjet website click here. We Are The Champions!
Congratulations to the Pelekas football team Megas Alexandros (Alexander the Great) who recently won the 4th Division of the local Corfu League. The club was founded in 1986 following the merger of the teams from Pelekas and the nearby village of Kokkini. | EditorialWe thought it would be interesting for those not familiar with Pelekas' recent past to write something about the history of tourism in Pelekas. Pelekas has always had two great attractions - the view from the top of the village and the beach at the bottom of the hill. The former has attracted visitors since the German Kaiser Wilhelm discovered it in the early years of the last century. The latter became popular in the '70s as an idyllic hideaway for groups of young travellers sleeping on the sand. At this time there were just a couple of small tavernas on the beach and some coffee shops and a bar in the village. In the '80s the number of visitors began to rise due to the increasing popularity of Inter Rail tickets which allowed young people to travel very cheaply across Europe by train. This influx reached a peak at the end of the '80s when it was estimated that at the height of the summer over 2,000 people were staying in rooms or camping for free on, or directly behind, the beach. This was a time of booming business. Both in the village and around the beach, new rooms were being built and bars, shops and restaurants were opening or expanding, Unfortunately the bubble was about to burst. Three things contributed to the downward spiral. Firstly Inter Rail changed their ticketing policy making travel to Greece much more expensive; at the same time long haul flights became more affordable, meaning that the sort of travellers who had spent their summers in Pelekas were going to Thailand or Goa; finally, with its membership of the EU, Greece was no longer seen as a faraway and exotic destination and was becoming simply another European country. This combination of circumstances meant that the young travellers who had once been the life blood of Pelekas came in fewer and fewer numbers. Which leaves us today with a completely different (and possibly much nicer) Pelekas. The roads to the beach which were constructed 10 years ago mean that it is now accessible to all. (Previously the only way to get there and back was to walk along donkey tracks!) The standard of restaurants, bars and accommodation is noticeably higher. Nightlife is much more relaxed and the clientele older and wiser! Pelekas has always adapted to change. From the Kaiser building the first road so he could be driven by car to watch the sunset to the "hippy invasion" of the '70s, the Inter Rail phenomenon of the '80s and the quieter, more mature present. We are sure it will cope equally well with whatever the future brings. House For Sale in Pelekas A property in Pelekas has recently been put on the market. It is situated in the old part of the village and would make an ideal holiday home. Full details can be found by clicking here. Easter 2008
Easter will be celebrated in Greece on April 27th this year. Corfiot Magazine Online The monthly Corfiot magazine is now available online. You can buy and download the latest issue, take out a subscription or access (free) archived past editions. For more information visit The Corfiot website. Some Useful Links
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John Waller trained as an IBM engineer, worked in New York where he saved money for some land in Greece, built a summer house in Agios Gordis in 1971, founded a computer company, was a Liberal councillor in Richmond for 17 years and three times parliamentary candidate for Twickenham.
