Wednesday, probably...

Today, we go south. That was the agreement. So the very first place I drove to was East, towards Corfu Town itself. I was actually traveling in hope of finding an internet café, and had spotted a potential source of information in a small parade of shops opposite Gouvia Marina. Oh, and there was an off-license there as well.

First things first, the Cava Barrellas. Nice, modern shop, with lots of familiar brands on display, and a welcome variety of Corfiot and Greek wines too. On previous trips we had encountered a label called Xatsimichalli (it looks more exotic in the original Greek), the products of which are simply sublime. We picked up a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, and turned to find the price. Nothing on the bottle. Nor on the shelf. In fact, no prices anywhere. Turns out you had to take your considered purchase to the large central control desk, where one of the two ladies behind the counter would proceed to spend a significant amount of time on the computer trying to find the figure you want. Not a simple process, and I have to wonder what would have happened if I wanted to browse wines by price and not style? You’d be there for weeks. Judging by the antics in the car park outside, several of the patrons already had, and had been quality checking their purchases in the process. Think I’ll just stick to the local stuff, a litre and a half for $2.50, filled into recycled mineral water bottles and still labeled as such.

Next, the internet shop. All I want to do is send a couple of emails and check the weather forecast. Nothing too technical. And this place billed itself as an Internet Business Centre. Fine, except they had no internet connection, couldn’t tell me where there was one exactly (“you could try the main square in Corfu Town, I think there’s some there”), and I drew a straight blank when suggesting using a bluetooth and the mobile phone. That’s one for when I get back.

Actually, being beyond the reach of technology I take for granted has been a revealing experience, and suggests a number of business opportunities. If every café on Pataya Beach or on Goa can have a connection and provide free wi-fi in exchange for regular purchase of coffee or beer, why not here? There are tourist facilities at every single beach, tavernas on every bend, rooms in every villa, so why not a little satellite hub in each location? More homework.

Still means we haven’t seen or heard a news story in over a week. No TV. No radio (at least, none in a language I can figure out). No internet. Nada. The only thing to read is books. Now there’s a concept – pay for content once and it’s always available, you can share it with as many people as you like and it works all over the world…