A Bridge Too Far

Saturday 7 September 2024

Since leaving Shrewsbury just over 2 weeks ago we’ve done about 4000 miles and, by and large, Apple Maps has served us very well. Until today that is. We’re now in the Western Macedonia region of Northern Greece having left Sithonia, the middle peninsula of Halkidiki and its stunning coastline behind us.

Avoiding the toll motorways often means taking slightly convoluted routes but we’re not in any great rush and we don’t want to miss the beautiful countryside of this region. Road signage in Greece can be a bit frustrating at times - the first direction signs are always in Greek lettering so you wait for the second sign with recognisable place names and hope it hasn’t been shot at too many times or isn’t covered in graffiti. The brown tourist attraction signs are few and far between.

En-route today we visited the archeological site at Vergina which contains the tombs of King Philip II and other members of the great Macedonian dynasty. It is a Unesco World Heritage monument and was one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 20th century. When opened in 1984 some of the tombs were largely intact and had not been looted. To enter the museum you go underground and once your eyes have adjusted to the dim light you can’t help but marvel at the intricate gold and silver items displayed in carefully lit cabinets.

What should have been a short final section of the days’ driving turned out to be 2 hours of head scratching, map checking, bumping along dirt roads and endless hairpin bends. In Apple Maps I had entered Aziz Aga bridge - Dave’s not afraid of unmade roads but when the dirt road became a track only suitable for 4x4’s we felt we were beaten. Even on Google Maps (Dave’s preferred map app) it was suggesting we continue on that route which involved an hour and a half walk and meant crossing a river somehow - with no bridge in sight, ancient or modern.

I’d set my heart on finding Aziz Aga bridge and I wasn’t going to let this setback beat us. We drove back to the main road and went at it from the other side of the valley. About 40 minutes later we arrived at the impressive 300 year old narrow, high arched bridge standing 15m above the Venetikos river. 

Quite a difference between the cloudy evening skies and the warm glow of the early morning light.

It feels like autumn is setting in here and the oak tree leaves are turning brown and falling to the ground. They reminded me of the intricate fine oak leaves of the gold wreath found in the tomb of King Phillip II that I had photographed earlier in the day.

There’s supposed to be another stunning bridge in a gorge within 1/2 hours drive of here but that one could definitely be a bridge too far. Watch this space!