Corfu Capers by Joy Skye
Five people, three secrets, one planned proposal. What could possibly go wrong?
A holiday in a luxury villa on Corfu sounds like the answer to all their prayers but it will change their lives forever. A week in paradise might not be long enough…
After a long journey, the group finally arrive in Corfu:
As the fasten your seatbelt light pinged on and the small plane sank lower and lower, she took in the ridiculously azure waters of the Ionian Sea and marvelled at the remarkable greenness of the island below her. It was breath-taking beyond expectation. She smiled to herself and, all the worries she had about her and Scott’s relationship fading into the background, she gathered together her belongings eagerly, ready to disembark.
When they reached the exit, once again they were hit by a wall of heat and incredible light, causing everyone to fumble blindly for sunglasses as they walked down the steps of the plane to the bus waiting to take them to the terminal. It made her laugh as the building was only a few feet away and yet they still were made to cram onto the buses like sardines with all the other passengers, to be ejected a few seconds later and herded up the slope into the tiny building with a gaggle of locals and a few backpacking types to see the baggage reclaim belt immediately in front of them. Corfu airport seemed tiny compared to the gigantic building with its never-ending tunnels and security checks that they’d met at so many hours before.
As promised, there was a smiling driver wearing smart blue shorts and a white polo shirt and holding up a printed sign displaying Ms Delaney and Party – Sublime Retreats waiting for them as they exited the baggage reclaim. To everyone’s relief, all the suitcases had arrived in one piece.
The driver shook them all by the hand and introduced himself as Spiros, and then proceeded to skilfully lead them through the chaos; so many nationalities, so many families and groups of friends, all looking worried as they searched for their coach transfers or loved ones, and led them to the cool of their private minibus and whisked them out of the airport in no time. They all were grateful for the cold bottles of water thoughtfully provided for them, much needed in this sudden shocking heat, as they settled with relief into the comfortable seats.
The drive through town was a little hectic but they were distracted by the remarkable views that met their eyes when they pulled out onto the road that led along the seafront. The view of the Old Fortress, standing proudly, if a little corroded, out on a promontory and framed by the distant mountains took their breath away.
Spiros was a mine of information as they inched along in the slow-moving traffic; he seemed inordinately proud of his home and kept up a running commentary of each landmark that they passed. The Old Fortress had housed the original town and dated back to Byzantine times he told them, and, nodding in its direction as they rounded the bend ‘This is the Palace of St Michael and St George. It is from when the British were in charge here and is built with Maltese limestone.’ They admired the grand looking building as the traffic freed up a little and they passed through an archway and along the port road where several gargantuan cruise ships were moored up, ejecting bewildered tourists by the hundred.
As they left the city behind and started to drive up the winding coastal road the view became more impressive with each hair rising turn. Swathes of olive groves dominated on the left with the stunning coastline running in parallel on the right, the occasional small village perched precariously along the route making every bend a revelation. They were all dazzled by the lushness of the island and the intense blue of the languid seas dotted with sailboats gently making their way to their various destinations, made to look insubstantial by the larger ferries further out, steaming along with a purpose.
They were beginning to fidget and stretch out their legs when, an hour later, they turned off the main road and the minibus made its way along a rough, dusty, unpaved track until it arrived at some impressive ivory iron gates, which swung open after sticking for a split second, at the beep of the horn, and admitted them into the peaceful, walled gardens that led to their villa, their little slice of heaven for the next week.
Joy lives on the seductive island of Corfu with her four dogs and an embarrassing number of cats.
Her many years working in the tourist industry on this sunny isle and her love of all things literary inspired her first novel Corfu Capers which recently hit the #1 spot in Parenting and Family humour much to her delight.
She loves to cook, dance and drink wine, usually at the same time, and is currently working on book number two, due to be released later this year.
She also loves to travel, absolutely anywhere, and is looking forward to jumping on a plane!
Twitter: @JoySkye4
Instagram: joys.kye
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/~/e/B08S386CV1
