In September 2015, I travelled with my partner Ella to Corfu for a month of holiday and herping. Our original inspiration for the trip was of course My Family and Other Animals, and the other books by Gerald Durrell set on Corfu—these had played a particularly important role in my youth, and I had recently introduced Ella to them. We found the island every bit as enchanting as Durrell had described, and had a great time travelling around the winding roads and rocky wilderness. We even managed to see one of the famous Durrell houses (the Daffodil Yellow Villa)! It was an idyllic month. Here are some photos from that trip!
Lacerta trilineata
Yours truly in beach mode
Photo by Ella Lattenkamp
Photo by Ella Lattenkamp
My first european tree frog! Hyla arborea
A gecko on some graffiti at night.
Corfu is full of cats. I believe there are four in this picture alone.
Ella in central western Corfu
Lacerta trilineata
Corfu has many different habitats. This area in the north was dominated by grasses, strange tall flower stems, and bushes. There were a lot of Lacerta trilineata as well.
One idyllic evening in the north of the island, the sunset coincided with a patch of rain, leading to the most spectacular rainbow over our little Airbnb
A hawkmoth caterpillar. These were extremely abundant on the island’s highest peak.
Ella 🙂
Praying mantis are common-ish but not easy to find.
The mountains of northern Corfu have a bizarre geology that forms a beautiful landscape
Ella holding a European glass lizard, Pseudopus apodus
Bizarre mantises stalk the dunes of the south of Corfu
Eurotestudo hermani
Ella retrieving a tortoise from the bushes
Lacerta trilineata
Hi Mark,
Thanks for sharing your photos from Corfu- the collection is thoughtful and I’m glad you could pend time there, even if I have not yet been. Ella’s a pretty good photographer too!