It’s been a lil sec since I last wrote. I’ve had a full-on, at times slightly stressful, couple of weeks at work and the days just flew by. I’ve been trying really hard to feel less and less anxious and overwhelmed at work – sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t, but I really had to learn this lesson back in late-August that it just isn’t worth it. It was all getting way too much for me then, I was working nights but often ended up also working days, I wasn’t sleeping well, I wasn’t switching off, plus I was very hormonal – I mean, it was just a mess. Things reached a crescendo when I almost burst into tears on the phone to my mentor because I was so tired. He’s of the old-school mentality (“sleep when you’re dead”), but he also sympathised hugely, and suggested I take some time off work.
And that’s how we ended up in Corfu. It was always going to be a risk travelling overseas in the middle of a global pandemic, but it’s one I’m glad we took. We stayed in the northeast of the island at the Katia Beach Hotel, about an hour’s drive from the airport and nestled away 15 mins on foot from Kassiopi – in the peace and quiet of the olive and cypress trees. The apartment was spacious and had a saltwater shower?? Quite the novelty! For thick and naturally wavy hair like mine, it produced curls with a level of definition I could never have achieved on my own.
We decided to explore the little beach that was signposted at the hotel. If you walk past the pool, down the steps, through the olive trees, follow the little rocky path to the sea and turn left, you will find a tiny stretch of beach that you can have all to yourself.
The water is crystal clear and the beach is pebbly, which makes it a bit painful to walk on if you don’t have water shoes. I didn’t have any so decided to just grin and bare it – the best way to do this is to just get in the water asap!
Shop my look – my bikini bottoms are sold out but these are the same style ð
We spent most of the day there, swimming and chatting away, having the nicest time. My brother is, it turns out, exactly like my dad in the sense that he’ll agonise over getting in the water for a literal half hour because it’s too cold. I promise, he made it in eventually.
I swam out to this little pier to admire the view. It was a little hard getting up there as these steps were on the wrong side, so I had to carefully (if not gracefully) step over some rocks to reach it. Only for my brother to already be there when I got up! He took the shortcut – up some steps leading up from the beach.
Eventually we dragged ourselves away from this little corner of heaven – it was dinner time. We ended up in the harbour again, this time at the charming Casiopia Greek Taverna, which I would highly recommend. I try not to revisit the same restaurants when I’m on holiday, but it was so lovely there we went again on our final night. The setting is beautiful, a courtyard full of white dining tables against a backdrop of roaming bougainvillea covering the blue and white walls; the food tasted just like my yiya’s; and they gave us complimentary dessert – orange pie, made by yiya who came over for a chat. And it’s right next to the church so you can hear the bells ringing for evening service. It doesn’t really get more Greek.
We pottered around the shops afterwards, picking souvenirs, bottled water and other bits and bobs – and playing with the friendly locals!
All in all, a really perfect day, and one that’s been on my mind this past week whenever I was starting to feel a bit anxious about work. I’m slowly learning that it’s much better to just breathe, gather my thoughts, ask for advice or help if needed, and roll with the punches. It isn’t sustainable to worry about every little thing and take everything to heart. I’d go as far as saying I had fallen a little bit out of love with my job in the weeks leading up to Corfu, but it was all in my head. Once I got out of that headspace where I felt like I was drowning under the pressure, I realised that life is so much better when you take each day as it comes and just try your best in everything you do. And, in the best way possible, when you care a little less.
