Half my life is gone, and I have let
The years slip from me and have not fulfilled
The aspiration of my youth, to build
Some tower of song with lofty parapet.

Not indolence, nor pleasure, nor the fret
Of restless passions that would not be stilled,
But sorrow, and a care that almost killed,
Kept me from what I may accomplish yet.

Though, half-way up the hill, I see the Past
Lying beneath me with its sounds and sights, -
A city in the twilight dim and vast,

With smoking roofs, soft bells, and gleaming lights, -
And hear above me on the autumnal blast
The cataract of Death far thundering from the heights.


Almost Forgotten Verse, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


This is from when I was in Corfu. We visited a village called Old Perithia in the Pantokrator Mountains. About 50 years ago the village would have been populated by a few hundred residents. When the tourist industry became a major source of employment in Corfu almost everyone left Old Perithia to work for new tourist companies. This "exodus" means that now a mere 6 people live in the village!

It's a wonderful place, extremely peaceful and atmospheric, full of fantastic buildings in a state of ruin. I dared not go further into this place for fear of falling through the floor!

I thoroughly enjoyed Old Perithia and found it very interesting. If I ever visit Corfu again I'll definitely been going back to Old Perithia.