Crete

Sunday 31st May. Stavros 35.59159 24.09132

We are parked up this afternoon at the beautiful beach at Stavros which is almost the most northerly point in Crete. A tiny bay, one taverna and a couple of houses and that's about it. There is another beach around the corner and we may investigate that later.

We left Camping Gythio yesterday morning and drove to the port to park up and wait for the ferry to Rethymno. The ferry arrived on time and only a few passengers boarded; three motorhomes and a half dozen cars. By this time I had realised that the cup final was on Saturday and not Sunday so the first job was to locate the bar and a television. "Television has problems" I was solemnly informed by the barman so I purchased four hours of "high speed" internet for six euros and a few hours later settled down on the shady deck with a bottle of Mythos to watch the match. If you can imagine watching a screen through a fish tank you've got an idea of the quality of the picture. Somewhat miraculously we had a clear crisp picture when Sanchez scored his wonder goal and then it was back to the blur. Last year we watched the Cup Final in Hungary and the picture wasn't much better there. I wonder where we'll be watching it next year?

We docked at Rethymno at 11.30pm and our plan was to park up for the night on the dockside but the port was larger than we expected with a security presence and it became apparent that parking dockside was not an option, unfortunately we didn't have a plan B. We followed the traffic through the very busy roads circling the harbour and I noticed a few streaks on the windscreen that I thought were water, I put the washer/wipers on and the screen immediately smeared leaving me a small crescent to see through if I hunched down and squinted through the headlights of the oncoming traffic. Not only did we not know where we were going but we couldn't see where we were going! The traffic was crazy with nowhere to pull over and clean the windscreen and it was a bit scary on occasions but eventually we found ourselves in a small village where we pulled over into a closed service station, spent twenty minutes cleaning the grease, or whatever it was, off the screen and got out the maps. Once we determined where we were we couldn't see anywhere to stop for the night so headed back down to the main Northern highway and headed west. Eventually we came to a lay-by about the size of a football pitch and decided it was the best we could find. There was an artic trailer and we took shelter behind it from the road noise and fell into bed. This morning, with the benefit of daylight we found a small road leading to a headland which would have made a lovely stopping spot. We drove toward Channia and there were lots of good overnight places on the beach all the way along the road!!

Anyway, we are at a lovely spot now and I think we'll stop another day rather than drive through the bank holiday traffic tomorrow. We found a resource on the web where a couple of motorhomers had detailed all their stopping places when they over-wintered here a few years ago so now we have quite a few recommendations and some good looking places to stop.

Ferry with a busted Telly.

The beach at Stavros.

 

Pat

 

 

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Gefyra to Gythio and then Crete!!!

Friday 29th May Camping Gythion Bay 36.72795 22.54628.

We are parked up this afternoon on a campsite a few kilometres outside Gythion Bay. We stopped here last year for a couple of days, it has everything we need and the reason we are here will become apparent shortly.

Yesterday we drove from Gefyra but not until Phil had searched out a hairdressers. I have to say she needed one. While I did a bit of shopping and topped up the water the hairdresser did a wonderful job in giving Phil a 2015 Cilla Black look, very nice. I hardly recognised her as I sat waiting for her in a cafe enjoying a coffee and looking out over the harbour. However now the effect of the straighteners has worn off it's not too bad a haircut at all. We set off toward Neapoli which is almost the most southerly point in the Pelleponese but it wasn't really for us. A little bit "touristy" as our friend Bernd would say so after a sandwich and a coffee we headed north up the main road, diverting down to the coast wherever we thought there might be a pretty town or harbour to stop the night. Plitra looked good so we dropped down along one of the widest roads we had ever seen until we reached the harbour 36.68773 22.83889. Both ends of the town were basically a construction site where new drainage pipes were being laid but we parked up and spied a small, dark cafe. An elderly lady came out and I asked if she could make a couple of Fredo Cappucinos, our favourite coffee based drink. She disappeared and a moment later her husband came out asking what we would like. We explained that we had already ordered and he said they couldn't make a fredo as they had no espresso machine. No problem, one Greek coffee and one frappe please. Five minutes later two cold, in fact not cold but tepid, milky coffees arrived. It reminded us of Italy last year when we ordered two fredo Cappucinos and got tepid milky coffee. Anyway, we held our noses and drank the coffee and moved on. Plitra is another town that looks like it could be really busy during the holiday season. A small beach, a pretty harbour and half a dozen bars and tavernas. Unfortunately we are a bit early in the season and these places haven't really opened up yet.

Half an hour further up the road and we dropped down to Tigania Beach. A large restaurant with terraces leading down to a lovely long clean beach looked promising but "No Camping" signs and no lights on in the restaurant had us worried for a moment. But the restaurant was open, we had a lovely leisurely meal and the owner said we would be ok if we stopped the night on the beach 36.73863 22.81050.

 

This morning we set off with no real plans other than a stop at Lidl in Skala for a few supplies and once this task was accomplished we headed down to Gythio hoping we would find a parking spot on the harbour and then have a walk around town and a coffee. The town is always busy but we parked up ok and on a whim called into the ferry agents we used last year for our crossing from Greece to Italy and asked how much a ferry would be to Crete. She gave us a price and we went off to have a think. A proper coffee by the harbour, a quick chat and twenty minutes later we were back and we've booked it. Tomorrow at 3.40pm we set off for a week or two in Crete!! So we've called in at this campsite for some "domestics", Phil's washed all our clothes, the van's been cleaned and we're ready to go tomorrow.

We've been to Crete a half dozen times before but never in the Motorhome and we're excited at the thought of meeting up with folk we've met before and discovering places we've not seen. I just hope I can find a bar showing the Cup Final on Sunday.

Pat.

 

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From Plaka to Gefyra.

Tuesday 26th May. Zaraka Beach 36.97511 22.99082

We are parked up this afternoon on the beach just below the town of Kyparissi. We left Plaka this morning and drove into Lakonia over the Parnonas mountains, a truly spectacular journey. Unfortunately I took the wrong turning just after the village of Peleta and after a couple of miles the tarmac road finished! We carried on, uphill, through a track with deep ruts strewn with rocks and boulders. First gear all the way and plenty of heart stopping moments but we made it back onto the tarmac road - phew! We only drove thirty seven miles today but it took us two and a half hours. We had to slow down/stop a couple of times when we encountered herds of goats and then as we passed the village of Charakas we were driving through the clouds. We thought they would break up as we dropped down again to the coast but it's been overcast for the last couple of hours and now we have thunder and lightning out to sea and the occasional fat raindrop falling on the van (which I spent three hours washing a couple of days ago!).

The village here is beautiful with a lot of old buildings although there is only one very narrow road in. We only met a couple of vehicles on the way down and we managed to get here without incident but I'm not looking forward to the drive out tomorrow. At the moment we have the place to ourselves but from the number of small hotels and guest houses I would imagine that it's very busy in the summer months. We managed to find the only open taverna and enjoyed a lovely meal of fresh fish and boiled mountain greens (much more delicious than they sound) and now I'm waiting for the weather to ease off so I can go and attempt to catch a fish for supper off the rocks at the end of the beach.

Update on the fishing. No fish caught but I got caught on the rocks during a thunderstorm, great fun!

I mentioned a few posts ago about a luxury resort we drove through a few days ago. Here's a link to the website, check out the prices!!

http://www.amanresorts.com/amanzoe/abouttheresort.aspx

Here's a lovely photo of Phil at the taverna in Plaka.

 

Wednesday 27th May. Gefyra 36.686395 23.03937.

Tonight we are parked up on the harbour at Gefyra looking across past the causeway to Monemvasia. We stopped here last year and walked across the causeway to the tiny ancient town in blistering heat. Today it has been much cooler with strong winds although it's still warm enough. Last night's storms continued until about 2am and were spectacular. Like a firework show but brighter and louder. We lay on the bed with the blinds open looking across the sea to the headlands being lit up followed by the crack of thunder and big raindrops splatting on the roof. Good entertainment but I'd washed the van a couple of days ago and now it's covered with a film of sand, aargh!

The drive here today was as scenic as ever with wild mountain flowers of blue, yellow and purple set against a background of greens of all shades. After a coffee stop amongst wild thyme we drove to the only fjord in Greece - Geraka Port. Looking on the map it looked like we might find a mini-market and a cash machine, both of which we were desperate for, but no luck. The port is unusual and very pretty so we wandered around for a while and then pushed on to where we are now. We stocked up the wallet and the fridge and I thought I might do a little fishing but it's been windy all day and the sea is crashing against the harbour wall, drenching anyone who gets within three metres.

Fishing plans abandoned we've had a tasty meal, we're ready for a shower and bed and tomorrow we're off to Neapoli.

Pat

 

 

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Barracuda!!!

Friday 22nd May Camping Semeli 37.14962 22.89209.

We are parked up this evening at Camping Semeli at Plaka in the Pelleponese. It's a lovely little campsite which was only opened last year by two cousins. It's 30 metres from a quiet, shingle beach and 200 metres from a harbour with a mini-market, a few tavernas and that's about it. It's the most peaceful place we've stopped at for a long time. No dogs, hoopie birds, traffic, trains, church bells, frogs, or aeroplanes. The silence is deafening! We stopped here last year for a couple of days when the site had just opened and the cousins were such welcoming folk, starting a new business and adventure, that we felt we had to come back again this year to see how they were getting on. They had spent a lot of money on this site, there are pitches for motorhomes and tents and, of course, toilet and shower blocks - spotlessly clean. But they also created communal food preparation and dining areas with fridge/freezers and hobs and ovens and electric points. When the site was developed they laid the pitches out around the existing olive, peach and pine trees. They've created flower beds and the perfume is wonderful in the evening. Talking to the cousins this evening I got the impression that this could be a make or break year for them and I do hope they are successful after all the effort they have put in to the site.

This morning before we left Napflion I watched the anglers on the quayside and looked at the techniques they were employing. One of them caught a tuna which must have weighed about 6lbs and so I went to the local tackle shop and bought a few more bits and pieces. When we arrived here this afternoon we walked down to the harbour and I could see a variety of fish! We came back, Phil settled down with a book and I set off back on my bike to see if I could catch our tea. A couple of local guys turned up just after I arrived and they offered advice and we swapped fishing tales. Sport commenced and after ten minutes or so - bang! I'd hooked a fish! I landed it and they told me the local name and said it was a tasty fish. It was a barracuda!!

Not this Barracuda!

This one!

I brought it home and Phil lovingly cleaned, filleted and fried it. Mmmm, delicious. I tell you folks, life doesn't get much better.

Some pics from Ermioni at dawn (!) yesterday.

 

And just as the sun came over the hill and bathed the town.

 

Pat

 

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Harbour life and an early start!

Thursday 21st May Napflion 37.56975 22.80110

We stayed here on the big car park on the harbour last year and nothing much has changed apart from a curvy metal fence in an attractive undercoat grey which has reduced the parking area by one third. I can't quite work out the purpose of this very expensive looking fence but I'm sure it will be nice when it's finished.

We left the pretty town of Galatas yesterday morning and after a short drive ended up in the even prettier town of Ermioni 37.38898 23.24832. Another working harbour with small fishing boats and a regular ferry service up and down the coast and to the nearby islands. We were entertained most of the day by the loading and unloading of a small freighter with a variety of cargo. First a variety of crates, boxes and pallets were unloaded by crane and forklift truck and at the same time as all sizes of vehicles came to collect these goods other vehicles arrived with goods to be loaded back on. At times the quayside was blocked with vehicles and accompanied by a soundtrack of horns blowing, engines revving and folk shouting. The forklift driver was doing his best whilst being cajoled and encouraged in equal part. The whole process took about six hours and was a pleasant diversion while I sat attempting to, again unsuccessfully, entice fish from the harbour with a variety of baits and lures. The coastguard officers and police wandered about smiling and being generally cheerful. "Yassus" said the coastguard. "Hello my friend" said the policeman. Which we took as a sign that it would be ok to park the night at the harbour, which we did.

The sound of banging, crashing and music woke Phil first at 6 this morning. Raising the blinds slightly we realised we were in the middle of the weekly market which was being assembled around us. Quickly throwing some clothes on I jumped out of the van and said I'd move it immediately which the tomatoe stall man thought was a good idea. I moved 50 metres further along the quayside and after a cup of tea and some breakfast we walked back to look at the market. The fruit and veg looked as if it had been picked that morning but although everything made our mouths water we only have so much room in our home on wheels so settled for a big bag of cherries. No doubt the coastguard and police "forgot" to tell us about the market when we saw them last night.

So an early start for us today and we headed off first to a tiny beach with no name on the west coast of the peninsular 37.36413 23.07507. A hair raising drive down some C roads got us there intact and on the way we passed the largest, most luxurious gated resort I have ever seen. Smartly uniformed security guards were at the gates making sure only the right people gained access and although the resort would have accommodated thousands there was still an enormous construction site extending the site still further. It was necessary to drive through the site to get to the beach, much to the amusement of the construction guys working there. We arrived at the beach thinking it wasn't much really but as we walked along and passed a fence we came upon another opulent area which was the water sports location for the resort we had passed a couple of miles back. We made a pot of coffee and speculated on who would stop at such a place and how much it would cost for a week or a fortnight. We came to no conclusions.

Back down the C roads and we reached another lovely harbour and ship and boat building centre at Kilada. 37.41543 23.12640. Fishermen mending their nets, boats being overhauled and ladies in their finest returning from mass. The last day or so we've been getting low on water and yesterday we bought twelve litre and a half bottles to top up so when we called at the bakery this morning for some bread we asked the baker where we could find some water for the van. In northern Greece it's never a problem finding water, with taps and springs everywhere you look, but in the Pelleponese it's a bit harder to find a tap and nearly all the harbours have a credit card system for metered water and electricity. "Water to drink or to wash?" asked the baker. "To wash" I replied. Out of the shop he came, showed us his tap, gave us the key and left us to it. Another example of Greek hospitality.

It was still only mid morning so after the compulsory Fredo Cappucino we set off for Frachti beach 37.42881 23.13432 which is only just around the bay along some more narrow winding roads. The beach itself is pretty enough but the real attraction is the pre-historic cave 37.42258 23.13111 reached after a strenuous walk in what was now becoming a very hot day. Our friend Bernd told us about the cave and said we should visit if we had the chance. It was well worth the effort, thanks Bernd. The cave had been continuously occupied since Paleothonic and Neolithic times right up until the middle of the last century when it was still used by shepherds and goatherds. Discovered and partially excavated in the early 1970's it's about 150m X 50m and has a walkway through and around with descriptive information boards although the artefacts found there have been removed to other museums.

Back to the van for a sandwich and back up the coast road. Further stops proved to be a little disappointing but Kilada and Frachti made for a great day of exploration. We only drove about seventy five miles today but it felt like two hundred and seventy five. It's nearly eight o'clock now and we are both ready for our beds! These six o'clock starts take it out of you.

Pat

 

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Epidavros and Galatas

Tuesday 19th May, Galatas 37.49511 23.45531

We are parked up tonight in Galatas looking across the 500metres of sea that separates it from the Island of Poros. The island has the picture postcard houses in pastel shades built on the port and the low hill and a tall square church built on the hilltop looks sternly down on the town. Poros looks like it would like us to visit via the car or passenger ferries that cross the short stretch of water every few minutes but we're not falling for the pretty town's charms. It's built for tourists and I'm sure the price of a fredo Cappucino or ouzo will reflect that so we'll stay in Galatas which hasn't got the picture postcard appeal but has a more natural feel to it. Poros looks a bit too clean and tidy from where we are sitting looking across. And Galatas provided us with the three H's today! Some brass Hinges from the hardware shop which was liking stepping back in time to a hardware shop on Holloway Road in the 1960's and probably had stock from that period. "I have no bags" said the lady shop owner with a smile "So I wrap your hinges and screws in old newspaper and we save the planet". We saw a bakers shop selling meadow Honey and bought a jar, "Please, for you, my pleasure" said the baker's daughter as she gave us each a piece of gingerbread cake to eat on our way. The third H was a Haircut. Phil spotted a shop with the revolving barbers sign outside where the Barber was just finishing of a squirming young boy. "I cut some off and if you want some more off, you tell me" he said to me. He snipped away for a while in silence and then I said that when I have a haircut in England we talk about the weather and football and I asked what they chatted about in Galatas. "Ah, for five years now we talk about the economic crisis, nothing else. We discuss, we argue, we blame people, we still have an economic crisis". So I chipped in my two pennyworth and we put the world to rights in the time it takes for a pretty good haircut. I doubt I would have got the three H's in Poros.

The fredo cappuccinos here were pretty good too, served in jam jars with a complementary side order of smarties and mini chocolate eggs. After the shopping trip we called at the rough and ready taverna opposite our rough and ready car park. Phil had a beer and I had a couple of ouzos, each one accompanied by a little plate of meze; bet we'd have had to pay for the meze in Poros eh?

On the way here today we followed the coast road and took a chance and took a very narrow road which led to a tiny village or hamlet with a sea wall maybe a mile or so long. We parked the van and walked along the front and came to a lovely little building with double glass doors, the outside beautifully ornamented and a sea side shelter with tables and chairs and a few guys drinking coffee. I'd left my money in the van so went back to collect it while Phil waited. When I got back the guys had disappeared so I looked around a bit and was about to go into the building when one of the guys came around the corner. We greeted each other and he said "You like my house? You thought it was a cafe?" Much laughter and we bade him farewell with a handshake.

Yesterday we visited the jumble of stones at Epidavros but as it was international museum day, or something like that, we didn't have to pay. Strangely, instead of giving the ticket office staff the day off, the poor souls sat there all day repeating the mantra " Its free today" over and over again. Now, call me daft but looking at a few five thousand year old stones in an imperfect rectangle does not convey the image of a bathhouse or dormitory or dining room to me. So here's a thought. Why not put a few more stones on top (they'll be five thousand years old too won't they?) A door, maybe a roof and then it'll look like a bathhouse or whatever instead of a jumble of stones with weeds and grass growing everywhere. Maybe just do half the site. This is what's left and this is what it would have looked like. Incorporate the bits of pillars and friezes and statues and whatever else they've unearthed and the place would look the part. Anyway it was free and the ancient theatre was still pretty much intact and impressive.

We parked in the car park outside the Archealogical 37.59685 23.07435 site and shortly after we returned to the van an elderly English couple in a Motorhome turned up. "Bloody Hell" the guy said "You're English. We're lost and we can't find a campsite".

"Never mind" I said, "You're at Epidavros and it's free to go in today".

"Yeah, we came here last year" he said. We scratched our heads and lent him a Camperstop guide book.

 

The view from our coffee stop on the way to Epidavros.

The ancient theatre.

Poros by day.

Poros at night.

 

Pat

 

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Blue Dolphin

Sunday 17th May Blue Dolphin campsite Corinth 37.93528 22.86583.

We've been here at Blue Dolphin campsite for 4 days now not doing very much at all. Just sitting by the sea and relaxing. It's a medium sized site with half a dozen prime pitches facing the beach and we were lucky when we got here and nabbed a good one. Plenty of space to spread out and listen to the waves lapping against the beach. Not to say we're not getting any exercise, it's a two and a half mile walk up to the town of Lecheo where we found a little cafe with delicious Fredo Cappucino at a mere €1.70. On the walk back we stop at a swish seafront bar where we buy have another one for €3.20 but they do include a small piece of cake as well.

Some excitement this afternoon when a couple of guys came tearing into the campsite in their car, leaped out and ran on to the beach with worried expressions on their faces. They returned a half hour later carrying a canoe and with a young lad, maybe eight or nine years old, trudging behind them. Asking the locals we discovered that the lad had been in the sea further around the coast, almost at Corinth, and been unable to paddle back to shore. The wind and the current had taken him around the bay and his dad and his pal had been driving frantically around the bay trying to rescue him. Anyway, all's well that ends well.

So tomorrow we set off for Epidavros, the heart of medicine and healing, which I'm hoping won't be another jumble of old stones. (Full report to follow.) From there down to a little finger into the sea which, I think, is called Argolida because we've not been there before - have I just split an infinitive?

Pat

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From Thermopylae to Ancient Corinth

Wednesday 13th May Ancient Corinth 37.91145 22.87921.

We are parked up this evening at a Camperstop site in Ancient Corinth. We decided to stop here because our friend Bernd recommended the site, it has all facilities for €10/24hrs and it says in the Camperstop book that there is a washing machine available. Well, there is a washing machine but it's not available for use by us motorhomers which is a shame because we haven't been able to do any washing for over a week. Don't worry, we're not smelly and still have a few clean clothes yet but the situation is getting a bit critical! Fortunately the Blue Dolphin campsite, where we stayed last year, is only about twenty minutes away so we'll head off there tomorrow and probably stay for a few days and relax. The campsite is right on the beach and the owners are lovely people.

When we left Thermopylae on Monday we headed for Galaxidi, a small picturesque harbour where we stopped last year 38.37522 22.38762. On that occasion an elderly guy with a sea captain's cap got chatting with us, told us of his exploits in the navy, showed us where to fill up with water at the facilities reserved for yachts and said that we could stay anytime and if anyone told us differently we were to tell them he said it was ok. When we arrived this time we parked up in the same place, went for a walk around the harbour and ended up in the fishing tackle shop. I was chatting to the owner and mentioned our friend from the year before. "Oh yes," he said "he's going back into prison tomorrow". We asked why and he said that the old boy makes a nuisance of himself, falls out with the harbour police, things get out of control and they lock him up for a few weeks or months. "He quite likes it" said the tackle shop owner, "he gets three meals a day and it's nice and warm. He meets his old friends and generally quite likes it". The next day we went into the small town and there was our old friend, I must say looking a little worse for wear. "Hello," he said "come back and see me here at four o'clock" pointing to the small police station.

Last year we wanted to visit the Maritime museum at Galaxidi but it was closed but on Tuesday morning we went and it was open and one of the best small museums we've ever visited. We discovered that Galaxidi was the second largest boat and ship building port in Greece until the introduction of steam ships in the middle of the nineteenth century at which time it failed to adapt from the change from sailing ships and the industry withered and died. The museum shows the development and decline of the shipbuilding activities and the bonus was that all the descriptions and explanations of the artefacts were in English as well as Greek. Additionally it holds the largest collection of maritime related stamps and covers in the world. Collected over many years by a wealthy Greek ship owner it was donated recently to the museum and was absolutely fascinating.

We set off yesterday morning thinking that it was too far to drive to Corinth in one day and looked for places to stop on the way. I have to say we drove through some of the least interesting countryside on some of the worst roads. The taverna we planned to stop at no longer existed as they had built a flyover next to it and it had closed down. We pushed on and for reasons we still don't understand ended up at Porto Germeno 38.15038 23.22572 which doesn't really have too much to recommend it to the motorhomer. A few cafes and tavernas which were all closed and a couple of mini markets but by the time we arrived we were too tired to drive any further. There were plenty of low rise holiday apartments and a lot of very large villas, the later either being expensive holiday rentals or second homes for wealthy Athenians. This morning we drove around the coast and discovered that Psatha would have been a better choice for us but it's one to remember for next time 38.11282 23.21841. We followed the coast road to the lake at Heraion which is a salt water lake connected to the sea via a narrow causeway and which affords some spectacular views over the gulf of Corinth. From there it's only thirty minutes to the Corinth canal. Near the lower end the canal is bridged by the main road to Athens and the railway line but at either end are the hydraulic bridges which rise and fall to let boats and ships pass through the canal. We decided to take the upper of the two bridges and had to wait for twenty minutes while a couple of boats passed through but it was worth the wait to see the bridge rise up out of the canal, still dripping water as we passed over.

Pat.

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Leonidas

Sunday 10th May Thermopylae 38.79736 22.53684.

Two and a half centuries ago the Persian army led by Xerxes and numbering some 1,700,000 troops advanced in Greece. Three hundred Spartans and seven hundred Thracians led by Leonidas halted their advance here in Thermopylae for three days. They were only defeated when a traitorous Greek showed the Persian army the back door to one of the gates the Greeks were defending. The Persians told the Greeks to lay down their arms and Leonidas' reply has gone down into Greek history - "Come and get them!" So, quite rightly, Leonadis is a Greek hero and I wonder if now Greece is looking for another hero? Will Alexis Tsipras say to Angela Merkel,the ECB and the IMF "You want my euros? Come and get them". I doubt it but I suspect many Greeks wished he would. There is to be, in all likelihood, a plebiscite here in Greece to decide whether or not Syriza will make the u-turn, reform pensions and increase taxes to release further IMF funds. Rocks and hard places. I can only think that life was simpler for Leonidas with his war cry - "Come and get them!" Better to face overwhelming odds on the battlefield than the international banking community perhaps.

A Greek hero!

A Greek hero?

 

We arrived here today after an interesting drive. We programmed the Sat-Navs for "no tolls" but the tolls on the E75 extension are new so on exiting we had to pay. Fair enough, but the b****y Sat-Navs hadn't picked up all the new junctions so we wasted half an hour going up and down the motorway and paid again for the privilege. Eventually we found the road we wanted and here we are now, parked up beneath Mt Taygetos where Leonadis' Spartans made their last stand.

Last night we stopped at Kato Gatzea, a small harbour with a few tavernas, 39.30820 23.09899. We met two sisters from Germany a few days ago who said that the Pelion peninsular was the most beautiful part of Greece and they had stopped at one of the two campsites just around the bay for six days but we have an aversion to campsites unless we need a washing machine so took a chance and parked on the headland. No one bothered us and we had the best night's sleep for days; no traffic, no owls, no trains, no aeroplanes and NO BARKING DOGS. Just the gentle sound of the waves lapping against the beach to send us to sleep. Tonight we are parked between the motorway and a trunk road but if this place was good enough for Leonidas it's good enough for us.

Pat

 

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The Pelion peninsular.

Friday 8th May Chorefto 39.45474 23.12080.

This is where we are today, next to the beach and 25 yards from a taverna with free WiFi. It doesn't get much better than this.

 

We arrived here yesterday after driving over Mt Pelion having stayed the previous night at Nea Anchialos in the car park next to the harbour. 39.27646 22.82099. We stayed there last year on a Saturday night and shared the car park with two wedding parties holding their receptions in the hotel next door which was great fun. This year we had the car park to ourselves and the only entertainment was supplied by the local dogs. We have never been anywhere with the number of stray and semi-stray dogs as there are in Greece. I have no doubt that other countries may have more but Greece is tops for us. The dogs aren't vicious or aggressive, in fact they are mostly quite nervous, but friendly enough once you pet them and introduce yourselves. The entertainment comes from their car chasing antics. The dogs will lie or trot along by the side of the road (sometimes in the middle of the road) and numerous cars and motorbikes will pass by and the dogs will take no notice. Then suddenly a vehicle will go past and whether it's the colour or the engine pitch or whatever but something causes the dog to chase the vehicle, barking and snapping at the tyres. We've never seen a dog hit by a vehicle yet although we do see plenty of dogs that have been run over by the side of the roads; I suspect it's not the "chasers" that get run over but those dogs that haven't yet learnt any road skills. Anyway, it's good fun watching the dogs chase the vehicle for 25 yards or so and then trot back and lie down again.

I think in my last post I mentioned that we were going to visit Thrace for a week or so while Zampetas got a part to carry out the repair on our leaking shower however they have made a temporary repair and we'll have a full repair carried out on our way home around the middle of June. So, on Wednesday morning we set off in a southerly direction and as we felt we had "lost" a couple of days, despite the fact that we don't have a schedule to keep, we used the toll roads to make up for lost time. The charges on Greek motorways are a mystery to me. We would seem to travel quite long distances for just a few euros and then a short section of motorway would cost €10, very odd. In total we paid just over €30 for 150 or so miles. We have now set the Sat Navs back to "avoid tolls".

Yesterday we were up bright and early to visit the city of Volos which, as I'm sure you all know, is where Jason and his fifty mates set off from aboard the Argo to find the Golden Fleece. Our hero returned some time later with the Fleece after a few adventures but unfortunately lost a few pals during his search. We were told that parking in Volos would be a nightmare but we were a bit sneaky and parked in the passenger ferry terminal probably in the same place that Jason parked his chariot all those years ago. We didn't get clamped or towed away and I'm guessing he didn't either. One of the reasons I wanted to visit Volos was because it has a Brick and Tileworks Museum (which made a change from an archeological museum) so our first stop was the tourist information office to ask where the Museum was and to enquire what else we might look out for in Volos. We followed the signs to the information office which had a sign on the door saying they had moved with directions to their new premises. Not very good directions and after wandering about for twenty minutes or so in circles a guy shouted out "It's over there!" and pointed in the general direction. How he knew what we were looking for is still a mystery but his directions were most helpful.

Many years ago I worked for a company that manufactured clay products near Burton-on-Trent so I was eager to visit a clay Tileworks in Greece. The nice young couple in the info office were pleased to see us, gave us lots of leaflets, a map and directions to the Tileworks. Unfortunately the young girl had problems differentiating between left and right so a bit more time wasted but eventually we found it. Although Phil wasn't as keen as me to visit the Museum she perked up when the guy on the gate told us admission was free to us as pensioners and apart from a group of six or seven year old school kids we had the place to ourselves for a couple of hours. The brickworks was founded by the Tsalapatas brothers in the mid 1920's and operated for some fifty years. At its peak it employed over 250 people, it's three coal boilers had an output of 300hp and between 8-9 million assorted pieces were produced annually. Of course you all know how the Hoffman kiln revolutionised clay product firing from the middle of the nineteenth century and the one in Volos was preserved in its original condition. What was remarkable about the museum was not just the way the place had been preserved but the conversion into a cultural centre,complete with conference rooms,demonstrating the role of the factory within the industrial traditions of the area. Even Phil was impressed by the end of our visit.

Hoffman Kiln.

 

After the museum we visited the Greek Orthodox Cathedral which had one of the largest chandaliers I've ever seen.

Fisherman in Volos selling their catch from the quayside.

Volos was a busy, vibrant city and well worth a visit. We didn't stay too long as we were a bit worried about the van's location and early afternoon we set off to cross Mt Pelion, home to the Centaurs. We didn't see any, they must have been hibernating or resting or maybe busy somewhere deflowering virgins which, apparently, is their forte. We climbed the western side of the mountain through a series of hairpins passing a few villages but with nowhere to park and up to about 1200 metres. The road was good and the journey was pleasant and afforded some great views back down to Volos.

Unfortunately the descent down the eastern side was a little more dramatic, the road is much narrower with plenty of potholes, subsidence and an unexpected amount of traffic. But we squeezed down and were relieved when we arrived here and rewarded ourselves with a cold Mythos and received a warm welcome from the Taverna staff.

Pat

 

 

 

 

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Meeting friends and a setback.

Thursday 30th April. Agiokampos 39.68074 22.88747.

One of the things we hoped to do on this trip was meet up with Bernd and Annie from Germany. We'd exchanged comments on the Wild Camping forum, www.wildcamping.co.uk, and had a few few email chats over the last year or so. Bernd and Annie have travelled extensively through Greece and we've followed their adventures and stopped last year in a few places they'd recommended. They've been in Greece for a couple of months now and are heading slowly back to "the Northland", we're still heading south and we had arranged to meet them here in Agiokampos. We arrived here today early afternoon after setting off from Litochoro, driving along the coast road and parked up in the harbour. It was a beautiful sunny day and a couple of guys were fishing off the quayside, I didn't need much encouragement and soon joined them in what turned out to be another "no fish for supper" day but then Bernd arrived walking his dog and after the introductions we moved the van next to his a couple of hundred metres down the road, parked the chairs on the beach and settled down for a beer and a chat.

Well, what a lovely couple they are, full of local knowledge and a love of Greece and Greek people. They also had a bottle of 32 year old Tsipouro which was a vast improvement on the "tourist" bottle I bought last year which was really only suitable for cleaning the van's engine. The local campsite opens tomorrow on the 1st May and they know the owners well so we're heading off there tomorrow where we can spend a day or two relaxing and picking Bernd's brains before we head off further south.

Friday 1st May Aegeas Camping, Agiokampos. 39.70678 22.86875.

We set off for the campsite this morning and Bernd warned us not to expect luxury, this was a "Greek" campsite. Ok, the site could do with a bit of a tidy up and a lick of paint (two young lads with chain saws and a lawnmower would have this sorted in a week) and we've stayed on sites with better facilities but we've never stayed on a site with such generous and hospitable owners. We had only been here an hour when we were invited to share a bar-b-q with the owners and their family. We joined them and enjoyed a delicious meal, wine and conversation. More food than we could handle, just enough wine and plenty of laughs. Lovely, lovely people.

Today is a public holiday here in Greece and yesterday and this morning all the beachfront bars and tavernas were getting ready for the visitors. Furniture was being washed, glasses polished, plenty of sweeping and as I cycled to the bakers for fresh bread nearly everybody greeted me with a cheerful Kalimera!! We've just been down to the beach and it's really busy down there with folk enjoying the holiday and some gorgeous weather. When we came through here last year it was grey and miserable and didn't look like a place we would come to again but the transformation today was incredible. So we'll stop and relax here for a few days.

Monday 4th May Zampetas (again).

A week ago we called at Zampetas to see if they could fix the leak we had in the kitchen area. Sure enough, they replaced the leaking tap and sink waste and for the last week they have been as dry as a bone. But..... we still had water on the floor in the same place so yesterday I just about tore the van apart trying to find the source and discovered that the waste outlet in the shower was broken. Unfortunately it was something I couldn't repair, aargh. So, back to Zampetas. We were heading south to the Pelleponese and the Mani but we've turned around and headed back north again. When we arrived Alexander had a look, said he could fit a new waste outlet but it would need the whole shower room taking out, at least one full day's work and due to the number of jobs he had already nothing could be done for a week. Then, after further investigation it turns out he doesn't have a fitting the same as mine and it's going to take fifteen days to get one!!! We begged, we pleaded and phone calls were made. All fingers are crossed and we're waiting for responses from suppliers. Meanwhile he's glued the old fitting in place but it's only a (very) temporary repair. The best scenario is that we can have the work done next Monday and I don't even want to think about option two.

But hey, shit happens and there's not much we can do about it. We've got to get things fixed so it just means we'll set off to a part of Greece we haven't been to before, Thrace. Not a touristy area so we'll be like explorers and southern Greece will still be there for us even if we get there a week or two later than planned. No good getting stressed and worried eh? We'll stop the night here just outside Thessalonika and then set off exploring Thrace tomorrow.

Pat.

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