Sailing with Moondance : Easter -Corfu 2019

We timed our visit to coincide with Greek Easter -Corfu style. If you are interested - Google this event. It is huge, attracts many visitors, Corfiots return home, and has been celebrated since 1690. On our flight to Corfu, we were given clay pots to throw on Saturday.

Staying at the Atlantis Hotel again we found Wild Indigo to be suffering the effects of the Sahara rain. However, this is easily removed by pressure washing. Work had been done on the engine and the refrigerator overhauled. Just the stove to organise which required more work than anticipated.

Within 2 days we were ready to launch (minus the stove) but Easter got in the way.

Corfu Easter 2019

It is hard to have an original idea in Corfu Easter - 4 cruise ships were in port. (about 8000 extra tourists) Corfiots had returned home by plane and Ferry. Everything was full.

First day in town (Good Friday) we went in to town and observed all the clay pots for sale. Dinner again at "The Wall" Taverna. In the evening (from 10pm) there was a massed band march through the town.
The band members shuffle/marched/swayed very slowly as they were held up by the crowds. It took 2 hours for the parade to pass. It was quite a sight.

Second Day - (Easter Saturday) 9am Bands marched again with church choirs and congregations until 11am - when clay pots were thrown in to the streets to emulate the "earthquake" caused by Christs resurrection.
At 10pm 3 bands marched to the city park and at 12pm candles were lit by everyone in the crowd and the fireworks began. The fireworks were spectacular.

Sunday was comparatively quiet with suburban bands and congregations marching near their churches and preparations were made in the village for the traditional lunch of spit roast lamb.

During all of these proceedings there was a large media presence with cameras at strategic places and drones in the sky together with Chinese Lanterns.

We managed by fluke to get great positions to observe most of the proceedings.