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

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

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.

 

Posted with Blogsy

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

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

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

 

Posted with Blogsy

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

 

Posted with Blogsy

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

 

Posted with Blogsy

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

Posted with Blogsy