Come On Greece!!!!

Sunday 29th June.

We are parked tonight at Camping Finikes, just outside Finikouda. We stayed last night again at our free spot just up the road but didn't want to outstay our welcome so have moved on to this campsite. We asked the Taverna owner yesterday if we could stop another night and she said we could but if the police came we were to say we were just parked to use the beach and weren't staying overnight. There are six campsites here in Finikouda and I guess they don't look too kindly on the local Tavernas allowing folk like us to park up for free.

This is a nice campsite though. We'd read good reports about it on other blogs and so far it's living up to expectations. We have a nice shady pitch with a long sandy beach just a minutes walk away through the sand dunes, we've had a lovely meal this evening in the restaurant and everybody we have met so far has been friendly and welcoming. Good facilities too, (hot showers with fixed shower heads). We are thinking we may stop here for a few days.

The only decision I have to make now is whether or not to go back to the bar to watch the Costa Rica vs Greece game which kicks off here at 11pm. We watched the second half of the Holland/Mexico game and I was disappointed to see Mexico go out; they were an entertaining, skillful team. The only decision I have to make tomorrow is whether or not to buy a couple of €9 beach umbrellas. The forecast is for another few really hot and sunny days so I suppose it makes sense.

I've been catching up on Glastonbury festival and have managed to watch pretty much all the stuff the BBC has put up to view. Arcade Fire put on a good show, De La Soul worked the crowd well, Lily Allen was - well, Lily Allen, one of the highlights for me. Kellis was great but - Jack White stole the show, nobody mixes genres so well and with a tight band behind him it was a great show.

Our beach for the last couple of days (but not our umbrellas)

 

Pat

 

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A close shave and a haircut.

We are parked up this evening in the car park of Taverna Lambes about three kilometres west of Finikouda. We left last night's campsite this morning and stopped at the coastal village of Petalidi for coffee. A nice village with a few harbour side parking places and we think we maybe could have overnighted there but it was too early to stop. Koroni looked like a nice place to stop with a couple of car parks so we headed around the coast. The main car park as we drove in to town was closed (?) and chained up so we drove on intending to park at the harbour but as the road narrowed a guy in a jeep coming the other way waved us down, said he was English and lived in the town and that we would really struggle getting the motorhome down the narrow streets. Mindful of yesterday's pantomime leaving Aghios Nikolaos, Phil jumped out, stopped the traffic in both directions while I did a seven point turn. Nobody got too excited and we parked up on the outskirts and walked back down to the harbour. We were glad we hadn't attempted to get the van down there, really narrow streets and tight corners.

I was glad we went though because I got a haircut, short back and sides for eight euros, a bargain. Next stop was Finikouda but, as expected, the car park we were heading for was rammed. Each day gets busier with Greek and other nationality holiday makers and car parking space is at a premium. We moved on to a campsite, nothing special but over €20 a night. We found a shady spot, parked up and I went back to the office to get the WiFi password; another €3 a day for WiFi! We haven't paid for WiFi on any Greek campsite so far so we drove off heading toward Methoni, again looking for a parking space but on the way we saw a couple of camper vans parked up here. We stopped and enquired if we could stop for the night and got the usual response from savvy Taverna owners "Of course, no problem, find a nice shady spot under the trees." This we did, and strolled down to the sea to find the best beach we've found so far in Greece. Clean soft sand and sandy all the way out, no pebbles, no boulders. There are people stopping in the posh hotel next door probably paying a fortune for the beach we have for free. We even get to use their beach shower! Oh yes, free WiFi too. It doesn't get much better and it couldn't be any cheaper!

The little harbour at Petalidi.

So now, after a quick cooling down shower, we'll say thank you by having something to eat at the taverna. I think we may even stay here another day. Tomorrow is Saturday and there will be no chance of finding any parking for the next couple of days I suspect.

Forgot to mention yesterday that I caught a fish with my new fishing tackle. Not a large fish. It may have fed a small cat. If the cat wasn't very hungry. But hey, I caught a fish!

 

 

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Still in the Mani

Wednesday 25th June.

We are parked up tonight in the little town of Aghios Nikolaos. We're in a small car park against the sea wall next to a small cafe. This evening we asked if it was ok to park the night - for sure, no problem. So we had a beer and an ouzo, they gave us the WiFi password and everybody's happy. We stopped initially at a small beach two kilometres away but the area was plastered with no camping, no motorhome signs so we moved on and spent our money in the mini-market and one of the tavernas here. We've only travelled twenty miles today but stopped a couple of times for coffee in small villages where we also bought some sage honey from an elderly gentleman who spoke a mixture of French, German, Greek and English to us - all in the same sentence! We also bought some lemon flavored olive oil from a small producer where they also had natural, organic, orange and ginger flavored. A young boy was looking after the shop and he wouldn't let us taste anything until he showed us by way of photographs the production process and had the opportunity to demonstrate his English language skills. Then he very formally sliced some bread and allowed us to taste the different flavoured oils. Just before we tasted the organic oil a fly fell into the dish, Phil stood with her slice of bread poised as she exchanged glances with the young boy who looked from Phil to the fly and back again before nonchalantly flicking the fly out of the dish.

Thursday 26th June.

We are parked up tonight on a campsite ten kilometres west of Kalamata. It's a campsite because we have a few domestic chores to do ( wash clothes, shave and empty chemical toilet ) not sure what I'm doing but Phil's sorted out anyway.

Great fun this morning leaving Aghios Nikolaos. The pesky little Garmin took us down roads that became narrower and narrower until we arrived at a bend with a high wall on either side that I just could not get round. I tried, in fact I tried so hard that it took fifteen minutes to get back from the "stuck in a bend with high walls" situation. Then I had to reverse for about five hundred metres back down the lanes with millimeters of space on either side. It took about twenty minutes and half the village was out enjoying the fun and offering advice. Most of the advice was in the form of an enquiry as to why we had even come down these lanes in the first place!! Eventually we got back to our starting point and took the main road out of town which is what we should have done in the first place. No damage to the van though which was a bonus.

As we drove through Kalamata today we passed a pharmacy displaying the temperature. 42deg!!! We can't hardly complain, we knew it would be warm here but 42deg is way too hot for us so I suppose we are complaining. We didn't think we would see these temperatures for a couple of weeks yet. Still, it's no great hardship to walk into the sea for five minutes and then stand under the beach shower. The hard part is stretching out on the sun lounger!!

Pat.

 

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Porto Kagio and Neo Itilo.

Monday 23rd June.

We are parked up tonight in the beautiful little harbour of Porto Kagio. We are running out of superlatives to describe some of the places we have been to but this place is absolutely stunning. It's picture postcard Greece. There is nothing here other than three tavernas, a couple of private houses and two discreet hotel/apartments. We had to drive across the beach to get to the parking spot we have. About a dozen yachts are parked in the harbour and half a dozen small fishing boats moored up. We are in Mani country, a land of blood feuds going back centuries. The folk here consider themselves Spartans not Greeks and didn't formally accept Greek rule until the middle of the nineteenth century and then somewhat reluctantly. The feuds between clans here were fierce and bloody, hence the word maniac and whilst things have obviously calmed down a bit there are still families who will not associate with other families and villages folk who won't go near another village with the wrong folk in it. A bit like Yorkshire I suppose.

We walked around the cliff today and stumbled upon a tiny church, no more than twenty feet square. The door was closed with a hook and eye latch. We went inside and were amazed by the sheer number of icons on the walls, on tables and on the tiny altar. It was a lovely little church and demonstrates the Greek peoples trusting nature and honesty.

Earlier we went into Gythio to book our ferry tickets. Unfortunately there were no spaces left for a camping car on any of the ferries from Patras to Trieste in July!! So we are going from Patras to Venice. It's more expensive, obviously, but still cheaper than driving through the Balkans. We sail on the 11th July at midnight and arrive in Venice at 8am on the 13th, camping on board on the open deck. Another adventure. And of course a chance to visit Venice.

We've just come back from a meal in the Taverna, we are parked in their car park so it's only fair that we eat there. A beer, Sardines, Tzatziki, vine pie, a carafe of wine and coffee for €30. Better than paying €16 for a campsite I reckon. The sea is like a millpond, not a cloud in the sky so we can see a trillion stars and there is not a sound to be heard; wonderful.

There are lots of little harbours and ports all along this coastline, we are heading for one tomorrow which is only twenty minutes away and if that doesn't suit us the next one is just another twenty minutes further on. No need to drive long distances in the Mani.

Tuesday 24th June.

We are parked up tonight on the sea wall at Neo Itilo. Pebble beach, three tavernas, a church and that's about it. But we've found water at the end of the village so we'll top up tomorrow before we continue our tour of the Mani coastline. After leaving Porto Kagio this morning we stopped at Gerilomemas for coffee and a few groceries, then on to Mezzapos for lunch, then Areopoli for a cash machine and more coffee and then on to where we are parked now. We basically follow the main coast road and every time we see a sign that says "Beach" we follow the arrow, usually down single track roads and stop for a look around. There are worst ways of spending the day.

One thing we've noticed whilst driving around the Mani coastline is that despite the financial difficulties here in Greece there must still be a few euros about. Every village we've passed through has building activity, usually restoring houses in the traditional stone used in this area. There are lots of beautiful big houses here built in the style of mini castles and the quality of the stonework is really impressive.

A few photos from the last couple of days:

The little port of Kotronas.

The Church at Porto Kagio.

Inside the church.

Our parking place at Porto Kagio.

Porto Kagio.

Mezzapos.

 

Pat.

 

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Still in luxury with the bird dog on!

Music eh? For more than half a century I've listened to popular music. BBC Radio, the light programme, big bands, watered down jazz, nothing too offensive and then , Radio Luxembourg .. and then ..... Elvis, Buddy Holly, Eddy Cochrane, WTF!!! '62 - The Beatles ( I can still remember the first time I heard Love Me Do on a tinny tranny on Holloway Road) and then the Stones and then it got better and better. We all know the history of music from the '60's onwards and it was a fantastic journey. In fact it was a great journey from the '40's but..... I was born too late for that, I'm still catching up. The journey goes on.

I've enjoyed every minute of it. There never was a bad decade. There never was.

So.....now I'm listening to a C&W tape given away free by the NME maybe 20 years ago. It's called "The Tape With No Name". Country music eh, roll your eyes and laugh. And then take a slap round the head and listen again. Another slap, head cleared and now you're getting it.

Country Music - lyrically never been bettered. Really, it hasn't. Lennon/McCartney, Motown, Stax, Beach Boys, name 'em and they'll all acknowledge their lyrical heritage. Of course sounds came out of the blues and the immigrant music from England,Ireland, Scotland with a touch of German polka.

I don't really know where this is going but if you like Springsteen, Kraftwerk, Led Zeppelin, Jay Z then you're already a country music fan. You just don't know it yet.

Pat

 

 

 

 

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Still in luxury.

Sunday 22nd June.

We are parked this evening at the Gythio Bay Campsite. We had planned to leave this morning but yesterday I phoned the local shipping agent in Gythio town to see how much it would cost to take the ferry from Greece to Italy. It was considerably less than we had thought and we can travel from Patras to Trieste for €280 euros and that will save us about 1200 miles driving through northern Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary. With diesel prices here that's a saving of about €300, without factoring in the campsite costs we would have, so it's a bit of a no brainer really. So tomorrow we're off into town to book our tickets. We are thinking of leaving Greece in about three weeks before it gets too hot and too busy. We've been pretty lucky so far finding places to park up at night for free in harbours and car parks but that's all going to change when the holiday season really gets under way shortly. Whilst we didn't particularly dislike Romania and Bulgaria the roads were really punishing and we don't want to go through that experience again. Ideally we would have travelled to Greece through the Balkan Adriatic coast but our insurance wouldn't cover us for Montenegro, Albania, Kosovo, Bosnia Herzegovina or Serbia. I doubt the roads would have been any better but at least it would have been a shorter route. The only downside is that it's over thirty hours on the ferry!

We hadn't planned on spending time in Italy on this trip but I'm sure we can find plenty of places in the north to explore before we meander through France where we are planning to meet up with our daughter and her family in the Cevenne mid-August.

The last couple of days have been really lazy for us, sitting by the pool drinking iced Cappucinos and moving round the umbrella to avoid too much sun. Despite my best efforts I have some very rosy thighs. Sun cream is for wimps right?

Luxury by the pool.

Last nights menu. We went for the moussaka. Cock???

After two and a half days here we are looking forward to moving again. We've got a list of little harbours and beaches we can stop on around this corner of the Mani. I eventually bought a fishing rod and all the tackle so I can't wait to get to a place where I can catch our supper ha ha.

Pat.

 

 

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Viglafia

Thursday 19th June.

We are parked this evening behind Andreas' Taverna just outside Viglafia. We had the option of parking on the sand dunes next to the sea one hundred metres away but there was no shade and the sun was relentless today. So we took the option of parking in the olive grove behind the Taverna and a twenty five metre walk to the big TV which will be showing THE GAME in a couple of hours. We have water and a cold shower all for free so we will thank Andreas by having a meal in a short while.

At last we have a sandy beach too as we look across to the island of Elafonisos. Apparently the island has the best beach in the Mediterranean and we intend taking the ferry tomorrow. The one campsite is outrageously expensive but we've heard that there is a Taverna we can stay at which welcomes motorhomes so we are keeping our fingers crossed.

Well, we've just come back from a meal and THE GAME which didn't quite go according to plan. Suarez eh? Coupled with some dogged and somewhat agricultural defending from their back four, a ref unconcerned with persistent fouling and an England team devoid of imagination. Uruguay out smarted us. Same old same old.

 

Friday 20th June.

So, moving on from the football ( I read today that hope is like a garden weed, you dig it up, burn it and still it returns). We are parked up tonight at Gythion Bay Campsite and very nice it is too. Sandy beach, swimming pool, restaurant and a bar with a happy hour. We missed the happy hour today (no, I don't know how that happened either) but think we may stay another night so it's waiting for us tomorrow. We didn't take the ferry today to the island of Elafonisos and decided to push on to the Mani area of the Peloponnese. There is a lot to see around here even if it does mean a lot of back tracking. Plenty of coves and tiny harbours, the Diros caves and the road from Sparta to Kalamata through the Langada Pass, rising to over 1500m, should all keep us occupied for a while.

Pat

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Nafplion, Plaka and Monemvasia.

Tuesday 17th June.

We are parked this evening on a campsite in Plaka, it has only been opened since Easter and two young guys are running it on their own. It's spotlessly clean, great showers, WiFi and free washing machines. It even has half a dozen fully equipped kitchens for folk in tents. To be fair, it wasn't our first choice today. We stopped at a car park above the tiny harbour of Sampatiki hoping to top up with water and maybe have a meal in the one taverna but we couldn't access the harbour itself and we were running low. Plaka is a few miles down the road and one of our books recommended a camperstop here with all facilities for €5 a night. We arrived only to find it closed and no motorhome signs everywhere. Our next choice was a car park in the town itself but again that was scattered with no motorhome signs. We parked anyway and walked back to this little campsite we had seen as we drove in. It's relatively cheap so it's back to luxury tonight (Showers with plenty of water). We spotted a few Tavernas as we drove in so we are going to treat ourselves tonight and eat out.

We parked on the harbour at Nafplion last night which was ok but pretty noisy. This morning we had a walk around the town which the Rough Guide describes as exuding a grand, occasionally slightly faded elegance. We thought it was very picturesque although some of the shops and restaurants were a little pricey.

We have eaten out tonight at a Taverna called Michael and Margaret, some of you will know the significance of the name and here's a picture just for you Paul :)

 

 

Wednesday 18th June.

We are parked up this evening on the harbour opposite Monemvasia

 

We arrived here this afternoon after a fabulous drive over the Parnonas mountains. The mountains are a protected area of specialogical interest and the wild flowers were beautiful. The smell of wild thyme was overwhelming and we had the area to ourselves almost:

We passed a couple of mountain villages and hardly saw another car, a great journey. Although we are parked facing the old fortress of Monemvasia, strictly speaking we are parked in Gefyra with the harbour on two sides and Tavernas on the other two. It's a pretty setting, we are the only motorhome in the car park and I don't think anybody will be troubling us tonight. We walked over the causeway to Monemvasia this afternoon ( no vehicles are allowed inside )and explored the walled kastro, which is accessed through a short L shaped tunnel so the town is concealed until you emerge into a maze of cobbled pathways. The main street, which is only a few metres wide is mostly taken up with cafés, restaurants and souvenir shops but once you turn off to the side paths it's fascinating as you climb steps and then follow paths next to rooftops and upper floor windows. We spent an hour or so exploring and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves although it was incredibly hot again today and we deserved our Fredo Cappucinos on the way back.

Monemvasia.

 

 

Pat.

 

 

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Not welcome at Palea Epidhavros

Monday 16th June.

We are parked up this afternoon on the harbour at Nafplion. There is no shade and it's currently over 32deg in the van and obviously a lot hotter outside. We planned originally to stop at Palea Epidhavros, a pretty little town 40km or so south of Corinth. As we arrived in the early afternoon we saw three motor homes parked up in the tiny harbour and we were about to make it four when an officious little fat Greek policeman arrived and told us "No camping" and waved us on before going to speak to the folk who were already there. We drove round the harbour to a parking spot at the far end but he followed us in his car and as soon as we stopped repeated "No camping". So we drove back past the other three motorhomes, two Italian and one French and saw that they all had tables, chairs, awnings out and one of them had hung some washing in a tree. Now, there are a few points here. If we free or wild camp we are discrete; we are, in effect parking and not camping. We don't take anything out of the van and we don't put the awning out and we don't draw attention to ourselves. Consequently we've never, until today, been asked or told to move on. Putting out tables, chairs etc is, in effect, camping and it's taking the p**s. And it spoils it for everyone else. Whilst I could have argued with the policeman that we were going to park and not camp it is doubtful he would have relented considering the behavior of the other motorhomers. So we lost a great little overnight spot, which has been used before and tolerated according to blogs we've read, and the town lost the money we would have spent on a drink or two and a meal this evening. When we stopped at Galaxidi a week or so ago we parked on the harbour and nearly everyone who walked past greeted us and we responded accordingly. The next morning an elderly guy came over to us, explained that he was born in the town, had commanded a flotilla and was well respected. He told us where to get water, wished us Bon Voyage and said we were welcome to park in his town anytime. I doubt he would have been so pleasant had we turned the place into a mini campsite.

So, here we are now in Nafplion which looks like a pretty town with some narrow streets and houses with balconies jutting out above. Some expensive looking yachts in the harbour and some expensive designer clothes and jewellery shops to match. When it cools down later we'll explore further and I'm sure we'll find the cheaper end of town.

We left the Blue Dolphin campsite this morning after three peaceful and restful days which we both enjoyed. It's great travelling around and we're lucky to be doing it but it's also great to have few days off from driving and the opportunity to do nothing but take a dip in the sea when it gets too hot. The only downside of the three days was the Italy/England game and I don't just mean the result. The camp WiFi had been perfect until an hour before the game when it inexplicably went down. I saw the site owner who reset it for me and then with five minutes to kick off it went again. Then it came back, then it went. On, off, on ,off aaarrrgghhh. After about 35 minutes of the match I switched to 3G. I have a 500mb allowance which is obviously eaten up streaming a football match so for the last twenty minutes I had no internet and was relying on my son back in England to keep me updated. All very frustrating. I hope things are better for the next match, hopefully I'll find a bar with a TV.

After leaving the campsite this morning we went to look at the Corinth Canal which was pretty impressive, a deep channel cut through the solid rock linking the Ionian and Aegean seas. Over 6km long, 23m wide and the vertical sides tower 90m above the water. We viewed from a bridge near the north end and then went down to the southern end to see the submersible bridge. Rather than lift the road bridge when a ship comes through, this one is dropped into the water, when there are no vehicles crossing obviously, and then raised back to road level when the ship has passed. Ingenious and very unusual.

One of the advantages of parking in a reasonable sized town is I can usually find some free WiFi. For those people interested in these things I have this bit of kit iBoost Omni-Directional System | Motorhome WiFi parked here on the dockside my iPad didn't pick up any WiFi but once connected to the system it found almost twenty WiFi locations and the town of Nafplion kindly provides free WiFi.

Corinth Canal, looking South.

Looking North.

Nafplion.

Pat.

 

 

 

 

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Ingerland, Ingerland, Ingerland!!!!!!

Saturday 14th June.

We are still parked at the Blue Dolphin campsite near Kiato. We thought we deserved a break from travelling and it's a friendly place we are at. It also has the benefit of decent free WiFi so hopefully I can watch the England vs Italy match tonight although I suspect that Itv Player will be buffered within an inch of its life. I watched some of the Greece vs Columbia game in the bar tonight hoping they would keep it open till 1am just for me but no chance. There are no Italians on the site here for me to wind up pre-match unfortunately. There are plenty of Dutch who I managed to irritate for 45 minutes last night but obviously ended up with egg on my face at full time. Today they've just been smirking at me.

So, a late night last night and a teeny hangover this morning so I decided to wash the van this morning (Paul are you noting this?). I chose the hottest day we've had so far and after three hours I could be compared to a wet lettuce. But, I have the smartest van on the site now so I'm pretty pleased.

Considering we probably won't get to bed until 3am tomorrow (1am kick off here!) I doubt we'll move tomorrow so we'll spend another day here and then move off on Monday to have a look at the Corinthian Canal. Then we have some free camping spots lined up for a few days as we travel south toward the Pelepponese.

No interesting photos today as we haven't been anywhere, just a Greek sunset for you.

 

One question for one of our followers - Bernd, how's the ankle? Are you match fit yet or watching from the stands?

Pat.

 

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Warm sea

Friday 13th June.

We are parked this afternoon on a campsite near the town of Kiato about 15 kilometres from the Corinth Canal which we are planning to visit tomorrow. Last night we stopped at a campsite near Akrata, we needed to do some washing and planned to stop a couple of days but they charged top dollar and the showers were rubbish so we've moved here to the Blue Dolphin campsite, the hammock is strung, the washing is on the line and I'll report back later on the showers!

 

Yesterday we took the ride on the narrow gauge railway which was pretty good, plenty of ooh and ahh moments as we travelled up the Vouraikos gorge with our heads sticking out of the windows and then abruptly pulled back in as we entered a tunnel with the stone walls just inches from the carriage. The smell of wild jasmine and thyme as the train climbed up through the gorge was amazing. I would imagine the journey would be even more impressive when the river course we followed had more water crashing down but even at this time of year there were a few small waterfalls.

Heads in, here comes a tunnel,

And another.

And a bridge.

We are parked here right next to the beach which, unfortunately, is shingle and pebble however it was so hot this afternoon that I went for a dip in the warm sea. With my sandals on, of course, being British I am unable to walk on pebbles barefoot without taking about twenty minutes to cover five metres or so. It's a case of looking an idiot splashing about in sandals or looking an idiot trying to walk barefoot. The former idiocy is less painful. I think this whole coastline is much the same and we won't see sandy beaches for a while yet. Despite that it's very pretty here and to prove it I have the inevitable "blue boat on a beach" photo for you.

 

One of my priorities over the next few weeks is to be near a TV or have a decent wi-fi signal so I can watch the World Cup, especially England's games. I managed to watch the opening game last night on the iPad (it was never a penalty) and it's a good signal here so Spain vs Holland is on the agenda tonight after dinner. I don't miss work at all but I do miss the sweepstake action on major sporting events and the drama of the fantasy football teams. The other thing I need, or want, is a cheap fishing rod, one of those retractable ones. We've stopped at so many places where I could have fished and, no doubt, caught our supper but all the gear I have seen so far in the shops has been expensive. I should have bought one from Aldi before we left home. I got chatting to a Greek guy on the beach last night who had caught a Dorado. I complemented him on his fishing skills and in return he gave me an apricot, nice eh?

Just back from the showers and I'm giving them a 7/10. Plenty of power and hot water but not the cleanest I've been in. Last night's only managed 2/10 so this is an improvement.

Pat

ps After not meeting any English folk for weeks, last night we parked next to a couple with GB plates, got talking to them and it turned out they lived at Oakworth, about seven miles from our home. Today we met another English couple on the campsite here who are from Leeds, about twelve miles from us. They're like buses, Yorkshire folk, you don't see any for ages and then two come along together!

 

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Diakofto

We are parked tonight on a short promenade next to the tiny harbour of Diakofto. As we look across the Corinthian Sea we can see the twinkling lights of the wind farm beneath which we slept last night at Galaxidi. We are in the province of Achaia now after crossing on the ferry from Antinio to Patras, we could have crossed on the new bridge for €20 so we took the ferry for €11 which gave us a good view of the impressive bridge.

Before crossing from mainland Greece we stopped at Nafpaktos, a busy little town where we thought we might stay the night but we checked out the recommended spot which was on a shingle beach just outside town jutting out to the sea with no shade at all. Too hot! So we drove back into the town, had a walk around and did a bit of shopping. We parked outside a cafe where the staff and the customers started waving their arms, indicating that we maybe shouldn't park there. But we're going to have a coffee I said. Ok, no problem just move back a few metres and it's fine. A couple of Fredo Cappucinos and we could park there no problem while we walked into town. There is a tiny walled harbour with cafés and restaurants around the edge, very pretty, and then massive hardware shops and builders merchants just a few metres away. A busy, busy town with a narrow one-way system which was a challenge on occasions.

The Harbour at Nafpaktos.

 

We drove on to Antinio but the campsite we had on the Sat Nav had disappeared so we crossed on the ferry and the free parking place we had on our list in Patras was, again, with no shade and next to a building site putting the finishing touches to the bridge. Off we set again down to where we are now along fourty kilometres of roadworks.....Aargh. But we're here now and the reason we have come is because there is a narrow gauge rack and pinion railway here http://www.odontotos.com/index-en.htm which tomorrow will take us up through the Vouraikos Gorge through some stunning scenery. The line ends at Kalavrita, a town which has a tragic history, too sad for this blog but I urge you to google the town and read for yourselves.

So after the trip on the railway we head into Korinthia, then Argolida and then into the Peloponnese.

Meanwhile, for those of you interested in this kind of thing, we have travelled 3799 miles since leaving home 45 days ago, we've stopped overnight at 36 different locations of which 15 have been free; 9 out of 16 free in Greece. We're averaging 31.5mpg and we're having the time of our lives!!

Pat.

 

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Galaxidi

We are parked up tonight on the quayside in the little harbour town of Galaxidi. It's possibly the most idyllic place we've stopped at since leaving the UK.

We arrived here this afternoon after visiting Delphi this morning. I'd like to say that the oracle told us to come here but unfortunately the oracle wasn't saying too much today.

After leaving Nea Anchialos and the wedding parties on Monday morning we drove to the campsite nearest the ancient site of Delphi. Over mountains, up and down switchbacks, past bauxite mines; a great journey. The campsite wasn't the best we've stopped at and it was expensive but it was the nearest to Delphi. We set off early this morning before it became too hot and before there were too many coach parties. Despite our best efforts we still had to squeeze our way past a lot of overweight Americans with expensive cameras, a group of sulky French adolescents, a bewildered looking German coach party and a group of Chinese/American with a very apologetic tour leader. Don't get me wrong. This tourist/traveller thing is a bit of nonsense as far as I'm concerned but it is irritating when you can't get near the exhibits in a museum for forty folk and a screeching tour guide. Anyway I wasn't too impressed with Delphi. Earlier this year we visited Volubis in Morocco, the furthest outpost of the Roman Empire and despite, or maybe because of, the lack of overt preservation it was very impressive and you had a feel for how the town was over two centuries ago. Sheep and goats wandered about the site, the mosaic floors and archways were just as they were two thousand years ago. By contrast Delphi, as far as I was concerned, was a load of stones, some pillars and an impressive theatre and stadium.

The museum was much better and some of the artifacts recovered were breathtaking but I couldn't help but wonder if they couldn't have been returned outside and placed in their original locations. Anyway, Delphi is a world heritage site so what do I know?

We left after a few hours and set the Sat Nav for a supermarket in the coastal town of Itea a few miles down the road. Parked outside the supermarket, shopped in the local green grocers, bakery and ciggy kiosk and used the supermarket for beer and water. Wandered into town for a coffee and checked out a parking spot for the evening on the dockside. By now it was baking hot and there was no shade so after a quick lunch we set off to check out a couple of spots recommended a few miles around the coast. We arrived at Galaxidi mid afternoon, everybody asleep except us and found a spot to park on the quayside. And what a spot this is. Think romantic, think pretty, think traditional, think unspoilt. That's where we are.

Last nights sky.

Apollo's Temple - no it isn't! says Phil it's the Athenian Treasury - she's right, of course.

The Stadium.

A couple of dudes and two fat guys.

The Melancholic Roman.

Galaxidi.

 

Galaxidi sunset.

 

Pat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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