In 1855 Lear arrived on the island of Corfu, where he based himself on and off for the next three years, although he continued to travel extensively throughout Greece, the Middle East and Albania. In April 1857 he embarked on a three week trip to Albania. In a letter to his sister Ann he wrote 'On the 1st I go across, with Edwards (Mr Lister Turker's godson) & George, to Yannin, by Delvino: I can do nothing with that magnificent lake without having seen the mountains with snow on, & so go I must' (E. Lear, The Corfu Years, Denise Harvey , Greece, 1988, p. 107).