Mount Olympus & Vergina - Home of the Greek Gods and Royal Dynasty

We are currently parked up at Camper Stop Thessaloniki (N40.50258 E22.97035), which is in fact a motorhome repair shop but has all the facilities for motorhomes to stop on.  We have electric, fresh water, Wi-Fi, chemical toilet disposal and waste disposal all for free PLUS use of a washing machine for FREE!  I couldn’t believe my ears when the owner said everything here is free for you to use, even the washing machine.  So I didn’t need telling twice – 2 wash loads of bedding, towels and clothes and everything we owned was nice and clean again.  There is even a washing line and seating area.

Little seating area, with hammocks and a washing lines!

We are parked between a Brit couple (Linda and Peter) and an Italian couple (Tino and Cerritino) and we all sat out last night drinking and talking until the early hours.  We even got to see a Greek partial eclipse.

The downside is it is on a flight path, so it was earplugs in last night and we had a great night's sleep - think all the wine and beer we had drunk that night helped as well!

Before getting here we stopped another night  at Herefto, as it was such a lovely spot on the beach. We have since found out that they did some of the filming for Mama Mia, just down the way from here.   We are not surprised, as it is a beautiful and unspoiled area with lovely clear sea water.

We took a scooter ride up in the mountains 6kms to the village of Zagora - renowned for its apples (Zagorin).  The winding road all the way up is lined with apple trees.

They are diversifying as well and growing Kiwis.  We had never seen them growing before in the fields!

All the houses are built in traditional style and most have wooden carved ornamental windows and doors.  I loved the door knocker on this one!

The water supply here flows down off the mountain into the little square.

Mel found a big old tree to cool down in!

Agios Georgios, one of the four churches in the village built in the 18th century.  It was so ornate inside but unfortunately, no pictures were allowed to be taken inside this beautiful little church.

The next morning we set off for Vergina and going back around the Pílio Mountain we passed through a village with a water tap that we could connect our hosepipe too, so we topped up!  We have found that most of villages in Greece have fresh water taps. 

We climbed to a height of 1800 metres and came across some ski lifts going across the road.  They looked so old but think they still use them in winter during the skiing season.

Looking back to the road we have just come up.  Temperatures weren't dropping much, it was 37°C this high up but quite hazy.

From here we headed for Mount Olympus (highest mountain in Greece and mythical home of the gods).  Passing through one of the towns on the way we did a double take when we saw a Marks & Spencer sign - not sure where the shop was though!

Around Mount Olympus we saw lots of Bee Hives on the side of the road.

Mount Olympus

From here the Sat Nav decided to take us on a cross-country road, where we met a few sheep and goats crossing the roads.

And then the road virtually disappeared and had more grass/trees growing on it than tarmac!

We parked up in Vergina on a motorhome secured site (N40.48509 E22.319552), that had water and electric for €6. Vergina is the site were the burial chambers of Macedonia's royal dynasty and treasures were discovered in the 1970s.  Macedonia is a Greek region and different to the Republic of Macedonia and apparently there is an ongoing dispute going back to WWII over both sides using the name Macedonia. From the outside all that is visible is a low hillock covered with plants, trees and grass and a long ramp leads you underground in a climate-controlled bunker.  Inside we were amazed at all the treasures on display from the site and the tombs. The tombs of Philip II, father of Alexander the great and Alexander IV, the son of Alexander. There was also a great video to watch with English subtitles, which brings the archaeological finds to life. Unfortunately, no photos were allowed to be taken.  We are finding this is becoming a common theme in Greece - not sure why when there are so many images on the internet!

Outside the Vergina Tombs

Having driven through Thessaloniki, which is a very big built up town we took in some of the sights but decided not to drive back in and take a closer look around this time but move on to Lake Kerkini (Kerkini wetlands) - home of some extremely rare birds and wildlife.

Sally x