Instructions about the cottage

Η Σκοτσεζικι Γονια(Scotzesiki Gonia)
Scots Corner, Pelekito, Perithia, Corfu, Greece

  1. Useful information
  2. On Arriving
  3. Living in the cattage
  4. Pressurising water supply
  5. The beach
  6. Night Life
  7. Tourist information
  8. On Leaving

Useful Information

The location plan on this site give you an idea of where you are and of the general location of the Villages of Perithia and Pelekito, also shown are the tavernas, beach, tourist office and the location of the Cottage you will be living in. The roads in Corfu are not very well lit, therefore it is advisable to have a flashlight handy at night. A flashlight is provided in the Cottage. The following information should assist you in finding your bearings. Once there a couple of days you will soon become familiar with the Greek ways. Have a good holiday!

On arriving

If you wish we can arrange for a taxi to pick you up at the airport and take you to the cottage. If you have hired a car, it is best to park it in the car park at the back of the house via the green gate, or in the road tucked in front of the garage door. If you do not have the key to the Cottage when you arrive, you will find it in the key safe box to the right of the front door. You will need the key code to access the box. If you are arriving at night the first thing you will have to do is switch on the electricity. You will find the distribution box on the wall, straight ahead of you as you enter, on the right. The main switch should be turned so that it lines up with 1-1 on box. This will allow you to use all the lights and power points. The other large switches are for the cooker, sink water heater and shower water heater, respectively. The cooker and water heater switches can be left on for the duration of your stay. You will notice that the amber cooker light glows when this switch is on. When the cooker is used the amber light will shine brightly. The gas bottle for the cooker is located in the store box at the back of the house. This will have to turned on by rotating the valve anticlockwise, before the gas cooker can be used. Be sure to turn this off when you leave. Both water heaters have thermostats, which operate a red light. The red light goes out when the water has reached the required temperature.
The water supply will have to be switched on. This entails opening one valve. The valve is open when the handle is in line with the pipe. The valve is located in the garden to the left of the veranda gate, under a marble slab on bricks, as you exit the Cottage. The system has been designed so that water comes directly from the mains when the pressure is high enough. If there is no water in the system, it means that that the pressure in the main is low or non-existent. In this case follow the instructions in the pressurising the water supply document section. Before using the toilet please make sure that the wire mesh is removed from the interception trap at the back of the house. See movie for instructions.
In order to use any appliances in the garage, the garage electrical supply will have to be switched on.
If there is anything else you need in the way of help or information, you can contact Stella, who lives not far away from you. Turn left as you come out of the house then walk up the road about 200m and turn right at the pink house in the square. Keep going until you find a small path on the left passing under an old stone arch. Stellas house is on left downstairs. Her tenent lives upstairs and may be able to help if Stella is not in. If you ask for Stella anyone in the Village will show you her house. She can’t speak much English, but is good at communicating. Otherwise you can contact North Corfu Travel (see tourist information section).

Living in the cottage

Once you have settled in you will have noticed that there is a washing machine in the garage, which you are free to use. You will find a clothes line on the veranda and in the back garden. Clothes pegs are in a basket in the kitchen. In Greece you get the occasional power cut and we have supplied some candles to help you cope with this. At night if you are going out it is advisable to switch on the veranda light. Feel free to use the stereo system in the lounge. The instructions for use can be found under the stereo.
Flies/mosquitoes can sometimes be a nuisance in Corfu. Flies can be zapped using Baygone spray. The window and door nets should be kept closed. At night it is advisable to close the outside wooden shutters of all the windows and plug in the mosquito machines provided, which use small blue tablets. If you do this before you go out for the evening you will have no problems with mosquitoes in the Cottage at night.
Garbage will have to be kept in the black bags provided. Halfway between the Village and the main road, you will find a large garbage bin. The black bags should be deposited in this bin periodically.
Provisions can be obtained at the garage (on the main road), in the shop at the Y-junction on the way to the beach or in any of the three shops in Perithia Village (see map). To get to Perithia Village, go up to the main road, turn right then take the first on your left.

Pressurising the water supply

A pump is located in the garage. When switched on it is designed to activate when the water mains pressure is low or non-existent. However, for the pump to operate the water tank must have water in it. The pump gets water from the tank and pressurises the water mains up to 2 bars. If there is no water in the tank the pump should not be switched on, as this could burn out the pump’s motor. The sequence for operating the pump is as follows:

 Make sure that the tank is full of water and the pump is switched off.

If the tank is not full of water set the valve as in the storage tank valve open photo and leave overnight. Usually, you will get some pressure in the mains overnight and this should be enough to fill the tank.

When the tank is full and there is no water pressure set the valves as in the pump with valve open photo and the storage tank with valve closed photo.

Switch on the pump in the garage. There is a red switch on top of the pump | is on 0 is off. When the pump switches on it will run until the pressure on the dial reaches just under 2 bars. This should occur within a minute or so with all the taps in the house off. If the pump does not switch off check the valve positions and taps in the house. Letting the pump run indefinitely with no water will burn out the motor.

If everything works OK the pump should only come on when someone uses water in the house. This decreases the water pressure and the pump kicks in to maintain the pressure. There is 1 cubic meter of water in the tank and this should normally last about 2 days.

Every evening before going to bed the valves should be set as in the Pump off photo. Note the pump does not have to be switched off. This will ensure that the water tank fills up overnight.

When using the water pump, water should not be drunk directly from the tap, as it may have been lying in the tank for some time. It is suggested that you buy bottled water or fill plastic bottles when you have mains pressure.

When leaving the house remember to set the valves on the storage tank and pump to the closed position and switch the pump off.

The beach

The beach can be accessed in two ways. If you are walking it is best to take the path shown as a dotted line on the map. The path can be found by turning to the right as you leave the Cottage and then turning left around the last house in the Village. This will take you onto a track which leads onto the road going to Spiridon Beach. The other way, if you have a car is to drive back to the main road, turn right, then take the next road on your right down to the beach. On the way the way to the beach you will pass a taverna with a swimming pool called Karboures. On the Beach you will find another Taverna called the Lagoon and a café bar called Finikas. Sunbeds and umbrellas can be hired on the Beach. There are other quieter beaches along the coast such as Yaliscari and Scala. They are worth exploring.

The night life

Most of the night life in the area revolves around Perithia Village. There are two Taverna and one Kaffeneo in the Village. A whole evening can be spent eating and drinking in one Taverna. The food is reasonably good and not too expensive. You can also go down to the beach to eat and drink. The Pyramid offers a good dining and bar experience,
If you think Perithia in general is too quiet, then you can go a little further afield. Kassiopi is about 7km away and Acharavi about 4km in the opposite direction. These places are much more touristy and have much livelier discos and restaurants. For instance there are very good Italian eating places in Kassiopi. If you wish to visit old places then there is an interesting village called Old Peritia, on the way up to the mountain of Pantokrator.

Tourist information

You will find North Corfu Travel Tourist Office on the main road opposite the turn off to Perithia. They will be able to sort out any problems you may have. The office is open from about 9.00am 12.00noon and from 5.00pm to about 9.00pm. The office will change money, organise boat trips, hire cars, bikes or scooters, arrange taxis and make telephone calls or send/receive Faxes. The boat trips usually leave from Kassiopi and they will organise your transport, if you don't have any. If you need transportation to the airport you can have them arrange the return taxi.

On leaving

When leaving the Cottage, Please make sure that you do the following:

Switch off the main electricity

Put removable objects inside the Cottage

Switch off the water and gas valves outside the Cottage

Make sure all the rubbish is put into the rubbish bins

Lock the front and back doors

Leave the keys in the key safe box outside the fornt door

Finally we know that you will leave the Cottage in the condition that you found it and in order that other visitors are not inconvenienced we would also ask that you replace anything you use or break.

© Copyright 2017 Jim Blackstock - All Rights Reserved

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