Greek Walls

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In 1966, John Waller takes a break from a stressful career to visit the island, accompanied by his Danish wife. In the days before charter flights and package tours, Corfu is heaven on earth and it quickly enchants the young couple. Taken under the wing of George Manessis, member of an influential local family, they explore an island which has few proper roads and no development, swimming off deserted beaches and eating simple food in a handful of tavernas. Further visits cement their relationship with George and with Corfu, and at the start of the 70s, though a military dictatorship rules Greece, they buy a plot of land above undiscovered Agios Gordis on the west coast. The building of their own modest summer home parallels the construction, encouraged by the Colonels, of large prestigious hotels, among them Georges own venture at San Stephano near Benitses, and both parties discover the sometimes high financial and emotional cost of possessing Greek Walls. The book also chronicles with some regret the development of tourism and the changes it brings to the island.