Day 21 - Preveza

The team bid farewell to Corfu and after a pleasant 1 hour 15 minute Ferry trip over calms seas the team were met at Igoumenitsa by the President of Preveza Rotary Club.
The team were taken to Parga and enjoyed a brief walk around town and stopped off to enjoy a quiet coffee.

Next was a visit to the Sanctuary of Nekyomanteion (oracle of the dead) located in the Nomos County of Preveza on the north bank of the river Acheron. This sanctuary dates back to 300 BC. In ancient times visitors would come here to communicate with the oracle and see ghosts. In the 18th Century AD the monastery of St. John the Baptist was built on the ruins.

After a short drive, the team arrived at Ammoudia and had a delicious hake fish lunch with all the trimmings. Then, the team were taken aback when it was suggested that a boat trip would follow! The Captain took the team out to sea and around the cliffs to get a very close view of caves, then turned round and headed back inland to an inlet. The boat then made way up stream through a narrow channel for about a mile. At one point, the captain yelled out “water snake!” but no one else actually saw it.

The team thanked the captain then, exhausted after the drive to Prevasa, checked in to their penultimate hotel, Hotel Preveza-City.

Day 20 - Corfu Town and Island

Today is Europe Festival day on Corfu. A beautiful Saturday morning with a light breeze off the water but warm sunshine and views way out towards the mainland and Albania's snow capped peaks.

We are to be treated to the sounds of marching bands, children's choirs and street musicians. The visitors disembarking from the P&O cruise ships are escorted on guided tours but we are lucky enough to have President Nikos, Rtn George and his wife Irene as our special guides to the beautiful old town of Corfu.

The children's playground has been refurbished thanks to the Rotary Club and is enjoyed by many children.

The fine buildings of the Governor's residence and Royal Palace now house collections of art from Asia. Alexander the Great jouneyed to India and later Greeks brought back treasures from the East.

We are introduced to the Island Prefect who is enjoying the music and the sunshine on his promenade along the 'Liston'.

At noon Kostas arrives to take us for an island drive. This must be one of the world's most beautiful islands. Shaped like a crescent the bays swing round to the North. Small villages nestle by sheltered harbours, backed by steep rocky hillsides. Kostas is able to tell us about the islands history and his time in the navy on National service. We are treated to a lunch sitting by the sea before travelling on to the Western side of the island and visiting an old monastery.


This evening will be our last on this island. We have come to love everything about it and will hope to return one day.

Our sincere thanks to the Rotarians of Corfu. We will take away long lasting and happy memories of our time here.

Day 19 - Corfu

Tonight we attended the Rotary meeting of Kerkyra (Corfu). We gave our presentation to a group of approximately 40 Rotary members and our words were kindly translated by Andreas. Eye contact, gestures, pace and pause...we did it all!

"Vlasis is a great driver!"

Manchester's skyscraper

Thank you Andreas!

Nikolaos kisses the girls...

But not the boys!

Day 19 - Corfu (Rich)

Today I visited the offices of Notary Konstantinos Giannakouris, in Corfu Town. Konstantinos, introduced me to his staff (who include his wife) and I was shown around his busy offices. The important role of a Notary was explained to me. I was given real life examples of cases that Konstantinos was working on and I got to meet two of Konstantinos’ clients, and other solicitors who he had dealings with. I send my best wishes to Konstantinos and his staff and thank them for taking time out of their day to explain their jobs and Greek legal process to me in such fine detail.
Richard Hambleton, 8.05.09

Day 19 - Corfu (Jon)

My day was spent with Rtn Vlasis. Firstly we toured the outskirts of Corfu Town, looking at the fishing bays, the airport runway and the coasts to the north and south of the capital. We got around by motorbike and I was able to appreciate both the touristic and suburban sides.

The runway

Vlasis is a photographer, as well as an insurance broker, and I was given a personal tour of his current exhibition in the catacombs of the fortress. The photos were of marching bands form Corfu island.

Afterwards, we walked the old town (even stopping off at the house of his birth) and called into the fish, fruit and vegetable market. I was able to see inside the Municipal Theatre and see its auditorium and stage.

The Municipal Theatre:

I thank Vlasis for the detailed tour of this beautiful city and for focusing on its culture.

Day 19 - Corfu (Becky)

Ian and I were met by Rtn Andreas at 8.30am this morning for a vocational visit. Our first appointment was with the General Director of Primary Education of Corfu and the Ionian Islands, Stephanos Anastasopoulos and two councelors: Anastasia Liveri and Nicholas Mpakas. We discussed the structure of the English education system, including performance management, targets, progression and testing. It was clear that our current systems are at opposite ends of the scale and for each country to achieve their aspirations a movement towards the middle is required by both.

We moved on to the 12^th Primary School of Corfu and met with Marilena Koskina and Angela Bouziou. It was interesting to discuss the differences in our curriculums and daily timetables. We also talked at length about specialist teachers and the difficulties in teaching foreign languages. Angela invited us to join her 6^th Grade class, where Ian and I were questioned by the children about life in England. We were very impressed with their knowledge of the English language and their ability to ask and answer questions in fluent English.

Beneath the 12^th Primary School is the 1^st School of Special Needs in Corfu. The School teaches children aging from 7 to 14 and is the only Special Needs School on Corfu. We met with Head teacher Panagoiotis Panxgiotou, who explained how the children were taught and supported in their learning. He explained that from next year, children with Special Needs will be partially integrated into mainstream schools.

Attached to the school was also the Kindergarten, catering for children with Special Needs up to the age of seven. We met Head teacher Konstantina, who guided us around her school. She enthusiastically showed us examples of her impressive curriculum, showing us photographs of the children developing a wide range of life skills.

We ended our morning with a visit to the Afternoon school at the 2^nd and 3^rd Primary Schools of Corfu. We met with teacher Efi Pantazi and English Advisor Marianthi Alexandropoulou who explained why Afternoon Schools had been introduced into the Greek education system and the difficulties involved in providing a comprehensive curriculum.

Day 17 / 18 - Ioannina to Corfu

Last night we were escorted by Anna to an art exhibition of works by young people. We talked with the artists, discussing the meaning of their paintings and their inspiration.






Sadly, we said goodbye to Alex, after he treated us to a delicious meal of crepes and, later, ice cream!

Alex cleaning ice cream off his shirt!

Rich on our ferry!

The team has transferred to Corfu via taxi, bus and boat. We are very excited to be in this beautiful town and have already been warmly welcomed by the past, present and future Presidents of the Rotary Club of Kerkyra. Some images of our journey and arrival are shown:

Day 17 - Ioannina

If we were to attempt to choose the most busy day of our GSE trip so far, it would be hard not to shortlist this one...

First thing this morning we all went along to the Greek History Museum of Pavlos Pan. Vrellis. This is a wax museum showing historical events which took place in the area. All of the wax sculptures and scenes were created by Pavlos Vrellis personally over a 12 year period. We were all impressed by the museum’s design, location and originality.




Vocational trips:


On 4th, 5th and 6th May I was lucky enough to meet with a local, recently qualified solicitor Kalliopi Rousaki. She took me to the local civil/criminal combined court; land registry; Law Society and her law offices. Kalliopi explained the work she did. In court, I learnt about the different types of court hearings and procedures. In return, I shared information about the English legal system. I was surprised by the number of similarities between the two systems.
Kalliopi took me to her offices, this was a compact set-up run by father and his son. We discussed the role of lawyers in Greece and England. I was fascinated to learn about the regulation of lawyers in the fact that though their Law Society, lawyers were afforded a pension and free health care!

On 6th May, I met also with a fellow lawyer Iliana Papailia. I would like to personally thank Kalliopi and her colleagues for their time and kindness.


Richard




______

Today, I was welcomed once again at the University of Ioannina by Katerina Plakitsi, accompanied by Jon. This was my second visit to the Department of Science Education in Early Childhood Education. Today we saw a lab session where experienced teachers were developing skills in teaching practical science activities. I was interested to learn that after 5 years, teachers have the opportunity to take time out of the classroom, over a two year period, to receive further training. I discussed with colleagues the differences in our science curriculum and the ways in which the curriculum is delivered. It was a fantastic opportunity to share our experiences in teaching primary science.

Becky

______




After our vocational trips, the team were taken by Rtn Kostas to the island on the city's lake (Pamvotida). We had a great journey their by boat and an enjoyable walk around. We ate the island’s best known cuisine of frog’s legs, eels and trout! We actually visited one of the houses used in a scene at the wax museum this morning, and were amazed by the accuracy of the recreation we had seen (compare below image to the one from the museum, above). Finally, we were shown up to the monasteries by Kostas but got caught in a heavy shower on our way back to the dock...

Lunch!

Rain!

The team take in the views from the island.