We have only been in Greece 3 days and have
fallen in love with the country already.
The 19:30 Anec Superfast Ferry took us from Bari
Port to Igoumenitsa, arriving at 5.30am (Italian Time) - 6.30am (Greek
Time).
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| Being escorted out of Bari Port by a little tug boat |
On board camping was quite an experience. Hook-ups come down from the ceiling to plug
your electric in and then you use everything like you were parked up on a site. Gas is forbidden to be used for
safety reasons. We had a good place with
a sea view for the evening and a lovely cool sea breeze with the motorhome door and windows open.
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| View from our Sonny (the motorhome) for the night |
The Italians behind us decided to take the
‘camping on board' a step further and got out their camping chairs!
Security was very lax getting on and off the
ferry. There were no passport checks
either end, we only had to show our tickets to get on and
then once into Greece you drive straight off the ferry and you are away. No wonder there are so many terrorists coming
through this way!
When we got off the ferry it had been raining and was a cool 23°C. We certainly were
not complaining having endured temperatures of over 40°C the last few weeks in
Sicily and Italy. We filled up with fuel
and LPG, as there was a station as soon as you leave the port. Fuel is so much cheaper in Greece than in
Italy, only €1.20 p/litre and in Italy on average we paid €1.30.
We only have 3 weeks in Greece before travelling
into Bulgaria. It is such a big country
so we have decided to just explore the North and Central parts of Greece in and
around the mountains.
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| 7.30am and we are in the mountains |
Enjoying our first coffee/breakfast stop in Greece up in the mountains.
Driving down on of the winding roads we had to
swerve to avoid this tortoise crossing the road.
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| Road sign says beware of cows crossing, but we think it needs a 'beware of tortoises' crossing! |
Greece isn’t really geared up for motorhomes in
the way that France, Italy and Germany are, as nobody owns them in this country. They have very few campsites and the ones
they have are mostly on the coast. Some
of the towns have recently put in motorhome parking spots but they are very
basic and only a few have fresh water taps and somewhere to dispose of your
waste. We have discovered that Tavernas
let you park on their site and provide you with all the facilities for free if
you take a meal in their restaurant. So
that’s what we will be doing a lot of!
Armed with a Greek phrase book we have been
practicing some basic phrases but so far the Greek people we have met speak
better English than the Italians so that’s good! The alphabet is a bit like the Cyrillic alphabet - so glad I remembered most of it from my Bulgarian days!
Our first stop leaving Igoumenitsa was the
lakeside town of Ioánnina.
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| Lake Pamvótis |
It is associated with locally infamous Muslim Albanian hero/villain
Ali Pasha (known as “the Lion of Ioánnina”.
He frequently attacked the Ottoman authorities and engaged in appalling
acts of savagery against his Greek subjects but for some he is remembered as a
defier of Istanbul, the common enemy. There are some stone-built mosques and Ali
Pasha’s citadel.
Our first night was spent 850m above sea level
overlooking the beautiful Lake Pamvótis and Ioánnina in a little village, Ligkiades (N39.69065 E 20.88856).
Time to add the Greece sticker to the map on the back of the motorhome! Our 10th country/principality visited in 7 months.
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| Map showing where we have travelled with Sonny, the motorhome. |
From here we headed towards the Pindhos
Mountains, known as the Zagóri and visited the Vikos Gorge. It is the world’s deepest canyon and made
its way into the Guinness Book of Records in 1997. With walls almost 1000m
high in places.
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| Vikos Gorge |
Mel decided to take the risk to head on
deeper into the gorge - I didn't!
Leaving the gorge we spent the night at a
motorhome stop in Kalpaki (N39.88535 E20.62354)
Mel loves this country because every time you
order a drink in Greece you get some free food - meze style.
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| Enjoying a beer in Kalpaki |
Or you can take an alternative motorway route (Via Egnatia
expressway) through 60 tunnels!
Metsova is a small touristy Alpine town, with lots of wooden souvenirs made from the Olive Tree wood.
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| Via Egnatia expressway |
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| Some 'old men' carved faces in trees |
and a reminder on this tree that we are in ‘brown bear country’!!
We are currently parked up outside a Taverna 1,390 metres in the Pindos Mountains
Tomorrow we head to Kalambaka and to see the Meteora.
Sally x
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