Susie’s Report No 50
Hello to all and Greetings from Greece. (Yassas).
This little blog will be all about Greece from September 1st till November 1st. We had 2 months of pottering and driving good distances to cover this fabulous country. There will always be so much more to see and do, but we had to start our journey back to escape the oncoming Winter climes approaching, plus most campsites are closing for the season.
Greece is a vast and varied country with its mountainous landscape, to the endless kilometres of stunning coastline, with really friendly, loud and passionate people and just about everyone has a relative of sorts living in Australia (Melbourne mostly). Their economic problems are a sore point, they have 24% tax on just about everything, 13% on fruit and veg etc, and bad roads (last on the list of priorities). Someone said to us, whatever you do don’t get sick or need medical attention in Greece, even the Hospitals, equipment and staff are suffering the pinch.
We saw a lot of ruins and they were not the Archeological type, but, many failed Businesses, and Housing abandoned, so many lost dreams. Employment is very difficult.
Our story begins:-
We crossed the Border from Bulgaria and my first blooper was to take a photo of the Customs area (as I usually do). Next minute the Officer approaches and says NO PHOTOS - DELETE !!! Which of course I did, and apologised. I thought this is not a good start as he was very surly and he went back to his booth, but next we heard the familiar sound of our passports being stamped - so with another inward sigh, H.H. drives on……
Coming around a corner and down a hill we spied the ocean, My God, we’ve missed this scenery, blue water and white caps, the last time we saw the sea was in Estonia. We’ve had withdrawal symptoms, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, all basically land locked. We don’t really like going inland as it limits you to what you can do, especially after my discussions (fright) with the Gypsies. You just can’t go off wandering around by ones self, and it’s also very hot.. And speaking of such, H.H’s air-conditioning decided to go kaput, so windows down, and a change of hairstyles, we get blown into Greece. I saw a signboard blinking at 34 degrees.
We pulled into our Campsite at Perimetriki, it was 100 metres from the beach, I left Terry back at H.H. trying to find some non existent Wi-fi and went for a walk/paddle in the water - Hellooooo Greece, this will do just fine.
We went for a walk, found a Pharmacy, and bought what tablets we needed, you do not need a prescription in Greece to do a re stock for the medical kit, Yeah…..
A lot of Bulgarians holiday here as its only really next door, so is Turkey, but I think we’ll give Istanbul a miss unfortunately, considering the recent terrorist attacks.
Well, our air-con is really really kaput, we thought it might be a fuse - not so, so now it is really is interesting hair do times, the wind blown look. We drive to Camping Alexandros on the Aegean Sea its just near “Kavati” and stayed 3 days and in it’s hey day it would have been very flash, but like the rest of us, it’s getting on a bit, you would have to say “RUSTIC”. Our spot is near the beach, rocks, stones and pebbles as usual.The water was warm and the average temp 30 degrees. H.H. is not so good in the heat, so our fan has been working overtime to cool things and us down.
Sunday night here, we were lucky enough to experience a traditional Greek Wedding held in the outdoor restaurant.
The guests arrived at around 8pm from the church and had their meals served and at around 10pm the Bride and Groom arrived dancing through the entrance way and were joined by family and friends. The musicians played the same song for about 15 minutes with traditional dancing. It was the longest song in history, then it settles down to some toasts and fireworks. Unfortunately the host/owner, Maria had her hair singed by a couple of misguided pretty firey bits. She came over to us and I checked her blouse and hair to make sure there wasn’t any melted bits or holes anywhere, then she then carried on doing her bit.
We ate our meal on the terrace overlooking the festivities, we shared plates of small fried fish, fried mussels, grilled octopus and of course a Greek salad, washed down by a cold beer each. We finally realised we had eaten far to much, couldn’t really move, bar groaning, so we sat on the wall and watched lots of dancing at the wedding.(that made us feel better).We left at 11.30pm, it was expected to carry on till 4 am. Back at H.H. we both had a dose of Eno’s, I put my ear plugs in, we could still hear the music.
Previously when Terry checked in, the lovely lady owner, on learning we were from Australia said, “You should be at home, there are 40 Australians arriving tonight! They were 18—36 year olds on a Contiki Tour! He suggested that it might “not be a quiet night”, but she assured us they would. In fact they were camped just 10 metres from the Greek Wedding, so they wouldn’t have got much sleep at all! What a turn up.
Near us there was another reception area complete with Disco Mirror ball, and the ubiquitous plastic chairs. When not in use, there was stray dogs, stray cats, and stray children wandering around and riding bikes in and and around the table cloths, and low curtains.
It was hilarious to observe this. And speaking of children there were 2 boys (serial pests) in the bungalow near us, who insisted on coming over to us and sitting on our chairs, I lost count how many times I said to them SHOO!!!! SCAT!!!!! GO AWAY!!!! They even opened the door and came inside, I think they liked Terry. They spoke no English, they were not good on hand signals either…..
Next morning sitting on the beach chairs we were entertained by a fellow doing some Octopus bashing on the rocks, he’d been out snorkelling with a spear and caught two. This is the way to tenderising the flesh, he really gave it his best bashes, the technique was interesting.
Maria (owner with singed hair) came over to H.H. and asked us to have coffee with her before we leave in the morning, which we did, It was the strongest coffee I have ever had, Terry had the cold iced version, I thought we would be hyper all day. She gave us a souvenir tea towel, and we gave her a Koala Bear, and off we go…
We arrive at “Stavros” on the Sithonian Gulf, and park at the beach. I went over to re fill my water bottle and out staggered a baby kitten… me-ow ing and on very wobbly legs. WHAT NOW!!!! I ran back to get Terry and also to grab some food and milk, but, this baby was to young to eat or lap milk. O.M.G. the guys at the kiosk said “mother gone”. There are so many stray dogs in packs roaming around. Our thoughts were if there’s one, then there is maybe more, so back I go. The kiosk had closed, on my hands and knees, there tucked in beside the motor of a running bar fridge was another. I thought it was dead, but then managed to coax it out. They were both severely dehydrated, we managed to feed them milk and water with an eyedropper on demand.
They were so frantic trying to drink, their tiny claws were ripping Terry’s skin to shreds. They were so tiny, we think 3-4 weeks old. So with full tummy’s, and tucked up warm in a bucket with towels, they slept all night. We thought we’d be up all night, we kept a good watch to see if the mother came back, I even left cat biscuits where we found them, they were untouched next day. I cried my way around the Village trying to find a Vet, the lady in the Pharmacy gave me the syringe I wanted to buy to feed them for free, she directed me to a pet shop, but no help there. It was explained no body wants stray cats, there is too many on the streets anyway. So I turned around and cried all the way back to H.H. shattered, it’s all so unfair.
Terry was working furiously with phone calls, he used the wi-fi from the kiosk to skype animal shelters in the area but to no avail. One person suggested he call the Thessaloniki Zoo, “bring them in” a kind lady said. So off we go to “Thessaloniki” 100 kilometres away, the babies are in our washing up bucket, wrapped in towels and my woollen socks. Anyone looking in the window, must of thought that poor women must be car sick! She’s hanging onto that bucket with white knuckles. The kittens were also trying to get out, what a difference a little T.L.C. made to their ordeal.
Terry took them into the Zoo and thanked them profusely, he wanted to donate some money to their welfare but they said not necessary, so with so much relief, we drove off, emotionaly calmed, we could not have taken them with us. They were so cute and vulnerable.
Hopefully they will have a better life. Animals can humble us, they don’t ask for much, only a bit of
love and trust. Its so sad seeing wandering starving animals, its not their fault, its shameful on the community. I feel so angry…..no one seems to care…
“Thessaloniki” is Greece’s thriving second city, were the new and the old work well together. It was founded in 315 B.C.
At another stop South of Thessaloniki, we had some running repairs done at a Motorhome repair garage. New hatch springs bought and fitted, new locking fuel cap, the last one fell out somewhere on the rocky roads! You could also stay the night which we did. The premises were on a main road, under a flight path to the Airport and a car wash next door, with high pressure hoses, working till 7pm at night and a fabulous guard dog called “Weelie”.
He is the nightwatchman dog, who is a big softie by day, and he gives the occasional bark at night just to let you know that he’s still on duty. We had fun with him ball throwing, he loved Terry scratching him, he didn’t think much of the cat biscuits I gave him. Oh well!!!
The landscape here is very rocky, not unlike Croatia, we are heading N/E along the Aegean Sea. We spend a lovely morning driving along the coast and arrive at “Areti Camping”. Its about 30 degrees, so I head straight to the beach and into the water. There are lots of Palm trees, Oleander bushes and Olive trees in abundance, along with Geraniums of all colours.
At sunset we take a wine and an Ouzo and sit on the fold up chairs on the beach and watch the fishing boats manoeuvre about and the occasional yacht sail past. We were the only people on the beach.
Next, the guy from the Taverna further along, comes over and says we cannot sit here as these chairs (fold up) are reserved for the people in the Bungalows (boo hoo!) How childish was he, so we finish our drinks and back to H.H. who is parked directly behind us. I think he was just pissed off we didn't buy a drink from him. We left the next day.
With more stunning coastline we arrive at our campsite, but prior to that Nigel (tom tom), takes us down an unpaved road (we should of twigged) when we were finally able to turn around, we couldn’t get traction on the soft dirt, horrible road, it was up an incline. I was starting to get really nervous, H.H. and Terry worked really hard to get us there.
I’m glad I took my B.P tab. Sometimes I just want to throttle Nigel, but then he also gets lots of praise, especially when we ask him to avoid tolls and he actually does….
Unfortunately we had a TOLL DAY TODAY, there was no way around this other than going hundreds of klms out of our way, we were a captive audience. It ended up to be 35.00 euros (not impressed) some were 9.00 euros for such short distances and especially when it’s still on very shitty, pot holed, and parts of the road missing. The problem being Greece charges you for height NOT length. If you are over 2.2 metres in height you get charged truck rates, other countries, not, we are only 6 metres in length, so normally it’s not to bad. Unfair I say…….
Another beautiful area was Koutloumoussi Beach (try pronouncing that one), we stayed 3 days and I managed to find a secluded part of the beach, so I could do my exercises, (in the water) without looking too deranged to the other swimmers (this can be very difficult) but I really love it.
I spend a a lot of time in the water and also on a cracked old plastic beach chair, without getting stabbed by the broken bits. Terry joins me later, we have to keep moving the chairs around to stay in the sun, there are huge mountains getting in the way.. We battle on, then go back to H.H. for showers and sunset drinks…
I was only thinking the other day about my phobia with shower blocks, and what it really boils down to is, the locks on the doors of showers and toilettes, they can be really scary especially when they just keep turning and nothing happens, and its dark, and the light sensor turns off, it’s nightmare stuff…
On entering Greece we noticed there are literally thousands of Shrines on the side of the road, some are very elaborate and some very simple, these can be seen out in the middle of absolutely nowhere.. and all over Greece, it had us intrigued for a while.
They apparently mark a road accident (Strewth)… or are in remembrance of someone who lived nearby who had died.. Also there is a hell of a lot of rubbish strewn in the verges, shoulders and gutters of roads, I think people just throw it out the windows as they drive along.
Moving along and our next stop is Ouzouni Beach - near “Moudania. We were spoilt with the location here.
Out the gate onto the beach. There are “no sea shells on the sea shore” here, only round rocks and pebbles, it’s also very slippery. Watching people go in and out of the water is like watching people walking on hot coals, arms and legs going in all directions, it hurts, really ouch!!! We wear our fake crocs, some wear neoprene reef shoes or whatever gets you in, and you don’t fall over looking like a real goose.
I digress, Ouzouni Beach was non rustic, quite the opposite, the owners Dimitris (Greek) and Paula (English) were such friendly people we ended up staying 5 nights. The facilities very modern, but they still have those mind boggling stand up toilettes, what does one do - endless squats (good exercise), really just a hole in the floor with a cistern. ANYWAY !!!!! This campsite had to be split in two… the result of two brothers feuding, they put a road and wall as a divider. One brother got the restaurant and the shop/market, the other, Dimitris built new facilities, and had the larger land size. He would stop by us, doing his rounds and checks every day and have a chat.Terry helped him with his Camper Stop App, by putting a stunning sunset shot on the update.
On leaving he gave us a bottle of Retsina, he said every time I come past, your wine glass is empty (really, how does that happen….??) try some of this …Well, I’m glad he didn’t give me a taste test prior - what a shocker, its like Pine /Tar disinfectant plus…..he said it’s also good for hair growth (his joke) WHAT!!!!! ..He also said please tell people when coming down the road, turn right into HIS camp not left into his brothers camp! They are very hard working delightful people.
Another hefty toll day, Air-con still kaput, hot day on the road, we arrive at a campsite, it’s closed!!! Back on the road again, windows down, hot air, we arrive at “Sikia” near Volos. Parked on the top of a hill, thank goodness for the breeze. I walk to the Village and buy a Spinach/Feta Filo pastry for Terry (when in Greece…..) do as they do…..
At Camping Venezuela at Serafim we ran into an old friend, a Tasmanian Blue Gum, looking resplendent for us, swaying in the breeze.
It was slightly mangled, in Europe they cut the limbs to within an inch of their life every year. We are not sure why, but they seem to grow back. O.K. The owners were impressed we were from Australia, and doing what we are doing, she gave us a bottle of her own Olives to take. They also had other Gum trees, Walnut, Persimmon, Apple, Fig, Chestnut, Quince and others I couldn’t name. This was an old couple trying to do their best, the campsite was a bit run down ( very rustic) she said the 24% tax was killing them.
After 3 days we head off to “Delphi” for a look at some really really old ruins, there are Archeological sites all over Greece. Greece is the oldest civilisation and is the cradle of modern civilisation along with the ancient philosophers, it’s an amazing country. It’s sad how its been battered by the bureaucrats in Brussels (EU), the poor are getting poorer.
“Delphi” in ancient times was famous for the God Apollo-Zeus etc, now in modern times its famous for its Bauxite mining. We stayed at a campsite on Mount Parnassuss with a view overlooking “Itea” between the mountains and the sea.
We caught the local bus to the Museum and Archaeological site, 12.00 euros each entry and off we go. According to legend, Delphi was the geographical centre of the World (the navel). The main deity worshipped here was Ge (earth). Delphi took shape with the first stone temples built dedicated to Apollo and to Athena, these were built at the end of the 7th century B.C. Some of the remains are still visible at present day, they are between 373 and 330 B.C. ….. OLD !!!!
We then go into the Museum - Terry was scolded twice for touching with his finger an “Old Column” on display, and the other for taking a photo of me and a larger than life nude statue. All of a sudden this women comes over yelling “No Posing” - No Posing, and delete, delete, she stood there and made him delete his photo’s, but in the meantime the people behind us were taking advantage of the ruckus and taking the same photo’s and selfies, ha ha !!. Terry calmed her down by taking a photo of “HER”.
This was allowed with the 2 nudes, with their bits snapped off, we continued on (no more strife) wandering around.
We saw enough old ruins, so we walked back to the campsite via one of the Ancient pathways from Delphi, about 45 minutes and all down hill, it was very rocky, and lots of loose stones. Thankfully we didn’t twist our ankles, as we wouldn’t be found for days in amongst the olive trees and wild herbs. I did pick a few but decided to throw them in case they were poisonous. (just my luck).
Terry was busy rushing down the path as he needed to listen to the “Swans v Western Bulldogs” game via radio, we made it back in time, he listened and I went for a dip in the pool.
On leaving Delphi, Terry passed his ultra, ultra driving test today, we had to go back up through the town of Delphi. I just shut my eyes, and opened quick enough for a photo, people do not care where or how they park their cars, it’s incredible the streets are so, so, narrow, we made it unscathed and side mirrors intact.
Greece is a very mountainous, with some really scenic countryside, the only problem is the Greeks have a really unique way of recycling rubbish, its just thrown on the side of the roads, plastic bottles, cans, building materials, etc, and shredded tyres everywhere. Such a shame…..
We end up bypassing Athens, its just to hard for us to get near the city. The campsites do not get a good rating and they also a very expensive (captive audience once again), we looked at the train fares and they were just as bad. The people we talked to about this said, they were very underwhelmed by Athens. Oh well……
We bypassed the Capital and headed for another Ancient town called “Epidavros”, the campsite was right on the beach called Bekas and a delightful place.
This is also the first time in a long time that we can ride our bikes, so off we go and come to an Ancient Amphitheatre and Archeological dig site, this area was a wellness and spa centre, it was reputed to be the birthplace of Apollo’s son “Asciepius” the healer.
Its October 1st, so we have been at the campsite 14 days, its been one of the best, riding daily into the village for supplies. We tackle another market up a rather steep hill, ended up pushing the bikes, gasping and mission completed, now its all down hill, how exhilarating. I just have to be careful as I have MY nectar of the gods (wine bottles) in my panniers. We make it back - Life is good. At sunset we light one of our garden candles, it has a rather large flame, just have to make sure we don’t burn the tree down (that wouldn’t be a good look).This site is full of Orange trees, it’s a shame we don’t have a juicer, and the village if full of Pomegranate and Olive trees. Also so far, Greece has the best Tomatoes for flavour and size we have ever had .
Time to leave this site and say goodbye to our menagerie of Cats we were feeding, also the little stray dog we called “Macho Man” he just loved company, but he wasn’t to fussed with cat biscuits, he did like bread though, with a bit of butter and Vegemite.
We left via the Ancient Epidavros Ruins, this is another site further out of town, the larger one. The theatre here is used today for dramatic performances, seating 14,000 spectators. It was built in the 4th century B.C., originally 34 rows of seats. The Romans decided to upgrade and put in another 21 rows. This was the great healing centre of the classical World in the 3rd & 4th centuries B.C. Now…in 87 b.c. it was looted by a Roman General and in 67 b.c. the same, by some nasty Pirates, honestly it never stops…….in 395 a.d. the Goths decided that they would have a go at reorganising things ….
We toddle off and we are in the Peloponesse area, this is the S/W, close to the 3 arms on the map. We have a great drive along 30 klms of extremely winding road with spectacular mountain and coastal scenery equal to anything else we have seen.
You don’t see this in the glossy brochures.
This is where we celebrated my Birthday in little “Plaka”. We walk to a Taverna for lunch and end up feeding some stray cats bits of Calamari, Bread and Yeros under the table.
Some of the cats looked suspiciously like the ones were feeding at the campsite just down the road. Also, on leaving we feed a pair of old moth eaten looking Ducks with leftover bread.
I have had three birthdays since away, the first in Italy, the second in France and the third in Greece, We’ve been very luck to experience all this.
I digress again..,This site has an ancient Olive tree on the pathway, they think about 400 yrs old, you couldn’t hug this one..and of course we feed the local stray cats and an old dog they were trying to find a home for.
This town is also where we find a bargain, 5 litres of “Dry red table wine” for 7.95 euros it was O.K. so I thought I’d stock up, go back the next day and its all GONE !!!! Some yachts came into the little harbour, so I think this was on there re provisioning list!
On leaving Plaka we head off into the mountains and wind our way again through some stunning scenery with our brakes burning again even in the lowest gear, we then head back down again on the coastal road, H.H. likes these flat, but meandering roads. We go to a campsite at “Githeon Bay” which is a renowned wind and kite surfing area, and of course there is a pitch black cat with one eye guarding our pitch, obviously his patch, and probably thinks… “here’s my next bunch of suckers” but he was really lovely and a bit beaten up, so we let him sleep on our chairs, on an old towel.
But prior to this, winding around and up these skinny mountain roads out in the middle of nowhere, we spend quite a bit of time dodging around orange cones in the middle of the road, marking new road lines which had never been painted before. It was impossible not to run over the new paint as the roads were so skinny. After quite a few kilometres we come across a truck with men doing the white line markings. And YES you guessed it, we have obviously run over some of the lines, the roads are so narrow but we didn’t think any more about it till we stopped at the campsite and said something like O.M.G. but worse!!!!!!
We had sloshed thick white paint, all up under H.H.’s left side, lockers, undercarriage, mud flaps etc….We had to snap all the dried drops of paint off, it looked like icicles hanging down. Some looked like dried waves. It gives H.H. a bit more character with his white underneath, but its only on his left side. I guess we’ll have to find some more line markings for his right side. I don’t think it will ever come off, we’ll have to spray it black. Poor. H.H. ……..
We ended up driving straight through the city of “Kalamata”, we didn’t stop as it was pouring with rain, so we decided to keep going. We ended up buying some of the black Olives elsewhere. We also noticed huge palms trees in lots of towns were either dead or dying, the reason being a red Beetle and its larvae had infested the trees and are killing them all over Europe. C’est la vie, such a shame.
Next stop is 5 days at “Messinia Finikounda” overlooking the beach. Our walk back from the Village was via the local goat track, but what a view from the top and a scary trek down the cliff through the bush onto the beach. On returning, we mentioned this to the person who suggested we try the scenic route coming back, only to find we took the wrong pathway. Bloody hell, trust us…..
All we needed was some bread and more cat biscuits. We had to leave some very entertaining cats and kittens behind, hopefully they’ll make it through the winter months. This site is open all year round, its a tough call as there is so many of them trying to get a feed.
Our last campsite in Greece is at “Glyfa” the Ionian Beach Campsite. This one is very UNRUSTIC with a huge swimming pool with fountains and very modern facilities at 20.00 euros a night.This is our last hoorah for Greece!!!!. We have had rain for the last 2 days, sun’s out, we are off for a walk, my last expedition was in the rain, having got slightly lost, I made it back to H.H. looking like a drowned rat. And of course the local campsite cats seemed to seek us out.
I do digress again…..Our walk……Terry and I set off with the sole purpose of buying our daily bread and some MORE cat biscuits . Entering the small shop, my first words were yassas and do you speak English - answer… a little, so I ask for Cat biscuits… a blank look, O.K ? So into a game of word association, um? … Me-Ow, Me-ow, Puss Puss, Ow-Ow, Purr-Purr, Kitty Cat,… AGH!!!!! Recognition and off he goes into the back room, he says something to the girl at the counter, probably like ( who are these idiots?) and comes back with a scoop of biscuits - “Yeah” we say, I’ll have 2 kilo’s please, that done and many thanks off we go back to H.H.
Meanwhile out the front of the shop there are 2 stray dogs sparring with one another and people yelling at them, we high tailed it outa there…….back to the menagerie..
It’s now Oct 31st, and we head off to PATRA to catch the ferry back to Italy, I tell you those cats are very canny, soon as the chairs and the awning were packed away, they were off to find there next victims/friends, they didn’t even wait to paw us goodbye.
On we travel and come down the hill into Patra, It is a huge, thriving prosperous, touristy Port town. We saw a fair amount of the town as we were getting caught in traffic jams. We took a wrong turn and ended up seeing more streets, and dock area. The Ferry was boarding at 5pm for a 7pm departure so we had plenty of time. I went for a walk and happened to watch the Coast Guard Police on their motor bikes chasing Refugees climbing the fence, and then running away. These people were all men, and youngish, I wandered back to my little piece of security.
Boarding time, and it really was organised chaos, we’ve never seen anything like it. You had a sticker on your windscreen for either Ancona or Trieste.
'
This is the Grimaldi/Minoan Line, they were now running 1 hr late boarding, it's dark and the police are still chasing the refugees out of the Port. Everyone is in together, massive trucks, motor homes, caravans, cars etc, some facing tail to tail, some nose to nose, extraordinary watching this, the staff worked really hard directing us all into position.
Our cabin was the size of a matchbox, by midnight I woke Terry, we could feel a few bumps, and shudders, and then the engines stopped, and I said that I have to go on deck! I felt a bit panicky, what we didn’t realise is the ship stopped at another port “Igoumenista “to take on more of everything, by 2am we were off again, the weather was good so we had a calm crossing. On arriving some 21 hrs later we had to do a 10 point turn to exit the ferry, normally everyone just drives off.
So we say Adio to Greece, a country we really loved exploring and enjoying. And the cats we have known and fed. Maybe we should by shares in a cat biscuit company. So it’s now it’s Italy to Spain and Portugal, on the road again.
We wish everyone a wonderful, happy Christmas and and a really really good 2017.
Love and best wishes,
Susie, Terry and of course our indefatigable H.H. x x x
