So this week it was blue Monday, the most miserable day of the year. The day we all realise that things are so much better when we aren’t paying Christmas off, weren’t feeling full of turkey and cheese, when we were all wearing open toed shoes and high heels, and for anyone else other than the postman, those happy long, bright warmer days we can wear shorts. Every year I get a delightful blog, from a certain Mr S Wilson, who can’t keep himself away from the smell of hot tyres and the thump of a diesel engine (and I’m not talking about the cruise ship, SW!), so after a few happy days at the start of the holiday, when the novelty of family time is still in full flow, SW starts leaning back towards the day job, the passion ad the hobby, so I start getting the holiday photos come through. Yes the holiday photos, exactly the ones you I really want to see………the trucks of the Mediterranean on the various ports the cruise ship stops at on its meander around the clear blue seas of southern Europe.

As its mid-week, pull over, pull the curtains round, get a cold beer out the fridge if you have one (but no more, you’re driving in the morning!), fill the passenger foot well with some soft warm sand and pull up a sandbag while Mr Wilson tells us a story. Just picture the scene, warm sun, lovely gentle breeze, great views (even better than Gretna Services), the quiet slosh of the waves on the shore and perhaps, just perhaps the odd big old classic truck tootling around the docks……..now we are all chilled out and slouched down in our chairs………..I’ll pass you over to Simon Wilson (yes he of HC Wilson fame)………..

On a recent Wilson family visit to Corfu, we had a fabulous view from hotel rooftop bar looking east towards the evening lights of Igoumenitsa on the Greek mainland.
After several nights sipping the local Mythos brew, I was fascinated watching the ferries crossing over to Igoumenitsa, along with the occasional passing cruise ships. So I decided it was time to take the ferry to have a look.
So I jumped on a Green Buses coach up to Corfu Town, then walked 1km down to the ferry port. €11 bought a foot passenger ticket & I walked in the bow door of the immaculately clean Agios Spiridon, along with other foot passengers, and several car passengers who climbed out & walked up the steps while the cars’ drivers parked further inside the car deck. A Scania tanker, a MAN tipper and 4 Volvo’s reversed up the front door ramp which was then raised and away we reversed off the berth, with the rear anchor being hauled in as we manoeuvred out. The Greek method of pulling up bow first and dropping ramp on the quayside has always fascinated me, with 1 rope pulling each way and rear anchor dropped approx 100m before the stopping place. But it seems to work well.

Most passengers went into the air conditioned lounge / snackbar for the 90 minute crossing, while I toured the upper decks enjoying the view of the mainland coast.
A large Anek Lines ferry & very small local freight ferry were in Igoumenitsa as we pulled up to the dock & dropped the front door. UK safety bods would go ballistic if they witnessed the exit of cars, trucks & foot passengers all at once, without a single hi-viz in sight! Only the loading officer is given a white polo shirt to signal who is in charge.
I walked 50m across the quay to buy another ticket for the return leg. Organised chaos ensued for around 30 minutes, with other trucks pulling in for a smaller ferry to Lemkimmi in the south of Corfu. Several trucks went via the port weighbridge before reversing on the ferries, amongst the suitcase pulling foot passengers! A local car rolled up at the last minute to drop a brown paper parcel off in the luggage room near the front door.
Soon we were off again heading back to Corfu Town. There are 3 ferry companies plying the route, so around every 30 mins there is a departure just like the Dover-Calais route.

The wildlife show then began. Some seagulls showed me their in flight bread catching skills from a lady 1 deck below me. Then 3 dolphins completed a few posing jumps as we slowed in towards Corfu port.
Volvo FH16’s and Scania V8’s appear to be the favoured trucks, always left running to cool the driver! Some trucks still wear the the signwriting of their previous owners.
Soon the ramp was dropped again in Corfu Town. Car passengers walk off down the ramp, then stand on the quayside amongst the disembarking trucks waiting to rejoin their cars as they roll off. And so the sequence begins again!
All in all a great sightseeing trip, then back on the Green Bus to the hotel just south of Benitses in time for evening meal & Mythos.