No worries in Nafpoli

Sunday 21 July 2013

We are spending a second night in Nafpoli, a lovely lively harbour which was briefly the capital of modern Greece. It boasts three forts, one out on a little island in the bay, and two high up overlooking the town. We walked around the one but to reach the other meant a walk up and down 999 steps. As the temperature has been hitting 38 degrees we decided to give that a miss.

The town has dozens of worry bead shops and even a museum dedicated to the ‘Komboloi’ but they seem to be a pretty chilled out bunch here. We have parked up in the main harbour car park for  2 nights along with a few other campers without any problem, unlike in Galatas harbour car park the other night where we received a polite – ‘Don’t park here’ notice on our windscreen the following morning!

Don't worry about a thing.....cos every little thing is going to be alright

We took a day trip today to Ancient Corinth setting off early to avoid the heat and the crowds. It’s an impressive site and the scene of many power struggles as it was a strategic location for controlling trade between northern Greece and the Peloponnese and between the Ionian and Aegean Seas. The ruins are split over two sites – the lower town and Acrocorinth, towering 575m on a rocky hill only accessible by a 4km climb. We didn’t make the exhausting trip to see the chapels, mosques, houses and battlements contained within the 2km fortified walls.

Temple of Apollo with Acrocorinth in distance

Instead we rambled around the ruins and the museum of the lower site which included the Temple of Apollo, fountains, a huge stoa, odeon, rostra and theatre.

Fountain

Amazing carved oarsman

More Do's & Don'ts, fences and locked gates

1908 - Not so fussy then about climbing on the ruins!

The museum alone was a little treasure with all manner of artifacts including mosaics, pottery, jewellery, bronze works, reliefs and statues. It has a much more recent history than the objects on display though – some of which date back to prehistoric times. In 1990 it was the scene of a robbery where the museum night guardsman was attacked and bound up whilst 285 artifacts were stolen along with 1,000,000 drachmas. The money was to pay the staff which beggars the question why that much cash was held on site and why a government organisation was still paying its staff in cash – but this is Greece and cash is king here.

It was the largest robbery from a Greek museum and unusual in that a secure museum with catalogued artifacts was targeted rather than an unprotected unexcavated site. The story has a happy ending though - 274 of the items including marble heads, pottery, glass and jewellery were recovered in Miami in 1999 and finally returned to Corinth in 2001 after diplomatic negotiations.

Last night as the sun set we watched the locals in Nafpoli sitting out with their fishing rods all along the harbour wall. 

Nothing was caught but we saw some big’uns jumping out to sea. So after a trip to the local angling shop Dave is now kitted out with a line, hook and bait - I have got some sausages in the fridge though if the big one gets away!

Fishing..... or feeding the fish????

Poros - picture postcard perfect

Thursday 18 July 2013

I'm blaming jet lag but we haven't moved much since arriving in Galatas yesterday lunchtime. After 3 hours sleep the previous night having picked Gareth up from Athens airport at 4am we have been catching up on some beauty sleep!

Driving right past the acropolis at 5am

 

Dawn and driving past refineries outside Athens

Yesterday we took the short 5 minute crossing on a tiny ferry boat across the small stretch of water between Galatas and the island of Poros and had a quick walk around. You can see why it is a magnet for the yachties. The busy 500m straight between the mainland and the island is busy with ferries of all sizes, hydrofoils, yachts and motor boats passing through all day long.

 

And how am I managing to update the blog so quickly - courtesy of Poros town free Wi-fi from across the water. Perfect!

Looking back at the van in Galatas through a mass of rigging on Poros waterfront

Thank you!

Memories

Wednesday 17 July 2013

My long term memory has always been poor. Dates, names, faces, places all blur a little over time. I wish I had kept diaries - I only have one which is in the attic at home and details our 6 months travelling in Australia and New Zealand in 1990. Funny how things come back to you, a few places we've been in the past week have brought the memories flooding back.

* * * * *

On the Pelion Peninsula we wild camped outside the pretty village of Chorefto. Watching a family fishing we realised we were parked next to their ancient vehicle which was a 2 seater Toyota Liteace. When they came to leave father and son sat in the front and wife and daughter-in-law piled onto a mattress in the back. We knew the feeling – we bought exactly the same little van in Sydney all those years back to drive around Australia. It was dwarfed by our current luxurious camper.

Ours was white with 'roo bars' on the front

We were slumming it then – we slept on a thin foam mattress in the back and had a 2 burner petrol stove and a cool box, no shower or toilet facilities!  Dave fitted some netting to the sides to hold our 2 rucksacks worth of clothes. Food and cooking utensils were stored in 2 plastic boxes and we had a hessian bag for water that hung off the front of the van working on the ‘evaporation causes cooling’ principle. We had 'roo bars' on the front but the van would probably have come off worse had we hit a big’un. We had a brilliant time and probably clocked up about 7000 miles travelling up the eastern coast from Sydney to Cairns, across to Darwin before following the road train lorries south through the outback to Ayres Rock and onto Adelaide and Melbourne. I clearly remember sitting in the back of the van doing the pregnancy testing kit we bought from a local chemist unable to fathom out why I was being so sick. At the end of the trip we sold the van in Sydney making a bit of a profit on it – result! The other ‘result’ of course is Gareth – the test kit proved positive!

* * * * *

A couple of weeks ago we drove through Volos, a large town which sits at the top of the Pagasitikos Gulf in an almost completely enclosed bay. To the east lies the Pelion Peninsula and to the north the stunning monasteries of Meteora. I had been to Volos before but can’t remember much of the town itself which is home to a population of almost 150,000. It is an odd mix of busy streets with smart shops and a flashy yacht lined waterfront, but also a massive cement works, large industrial areas, a commercial port and graffiti covered derelict buildings – all laid out in a very geometrical grid pattern. 

Fishing boats with hotels and yachts in the background

It was in the late 1970’s when together with a group of school friends, the very same ones I met up with in Dubrovnik this May, we arrived here on a cruise on the SS Uganda. We had a great time and it felt luxurious at the time but in reality it was like travelling steerage – kept out of sight of the full fare-paying passengers, sleeping in dorms on metal bunks and eating off prison like food trays in a smelly canteen.  The Meteora monasteries stand atop massive rock pinacles and were featured in the closing scenes of the Bond movie ‘For your eyes only’ in 1981. Dave and I decided to bypass them on our current trip - Dave wasn’t too bothered as there would be lots of walking up steps on a painful foot and I had been there before and have the scar to prove it!

Tiny scar now but it hurt like hell at the time!

Going up the many steps to the monasteries I tripped over my clumsy size 7 feet. They still cause me trouble now and I still don't understand how come my twin sister Sue has petite size 4’s? Anyway back at the ships hospital my chin was stitched up with thick black nylon thus ending my hopes of scoring with any of the lads from the other schools.

* * * * *

Today we drove the camper van over the Corinth Canal – an engineering marvel which was finally competed in 1893 after many years of financial and building difficulties. There are no locks and it cuts a swathe in the rock between the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf. At 4 miles long, 300ft high and 80ft wide it saves a round trip of about 430 nautical miles. Most of today's modern ships are too wide to fit through and it is mainly used by yachts and small motor vessels.

I'm scratching my head to remember the year again but I'm guessing it was 1986. Dave and I had been working all year on the yachts in Turkey and Greece and were about to spend a few more months delivering a yacht through the Mediterranean and across the Atlantic. In need of a bit of a land break we were 'dropped off' south east of Athens and we made our way by bus to Zante where we were going to rejoin the yacht. We took a few days off and then started on our onward journey. As we were crossing the bridge over the Corinth we looked down below and were staggered to see 'our' yacht beneath us. There were so many variables, weather, waiting for a time slot time to enter the canal, our bus times, but there they were - what a sheer coincidence. Sadly today there were no buses going over the bridge or yachts going through the canal to recreate the scene, but it is still an awe inspiring view. 

Some mad fools bungee jump off this - no thanks!

And now we are parked up in Galatas opposite the beautiful island and town of Poros and I know I have been there before, but I can't for the life of me remember when or who with! 

Looking over to beautiful Poros town

Taking it easy on the eastern coast of Greece

Tuesday 16 July 2013

Looking at the overall map of Greece it has come as a surprise to calculate that in just over 2 weeks we have clocked up nearly 1000 miles. It’s been such an easy trip.

Some days we haven’t moved an inch, other days we might have driven less than 20 miles further down the coast and found another idyllic bay. Greece has been a bit of an eye opener – we weren’t sure what to expect really. The outside media portrays a country in deep recession with a population struggling to make ends meet. Our own memories are of cruising the busy but barren Greek islands in the 80’s. Outwardly life goes on here quite normally.

Fish restaurant in Cherefto

Fishing nets at Makri

 

Sunset at Toroni - Halkidiki

 We have been captivated by the beautiful lush countryside, the picturesque coastline, the spotlessly clean sea, the miles of sandy beaches and the friendliness of the people. We were worried by the ‘Wild camping is forbidden’ notices and expected it to be a problem as we hit high season but the country is huge, the population well dispersed and there’s very little in the way of mass tourism on the mainland.

Sarti - Halkidiki

Lambinou cove on Pelion Peninsula

Lush gorges on Penion Peninsula

 

The weather has thrown a few curve balls with some spectacular storms, the occasional overcast and rainy days and some very high temperatures, all adding variety to the trip.

Storm watching from Agiokampos beach

Sunset at Porto Germeno

It’s quirky and different to other countries we’ve been through to date, wanting to be modern but still hanging onto its traditions.

Nea Kalikratia

Evening stroll in Alexandroupoli

It’s very much a cash society  - credit and debit cards are rarely seen or used. Whenever I have tried to pay by card for shopping it means me having to traipse over to the supervisors desk and plenty of head scratching whilst they try and remember how to use the EPOS machine. Can you imagine that in Sainsbury’s on a busy Saturday morning? There are notices everywhere saying you don’t have to pay unless you get a receipt! And don’t even think about trying to buy petrol on a card. I handed the attendant a €50 note which he added to a huge wad in his pocket – I’m guessing he had about €3000 in cash all neatly folded up and in the correct denomination order.  I got no receipt from him strangely! 

The only thing that has been a disappointment has been the ancient ruins – over priced, over protected and mostly underwhelming. Some are just foundations, some are predominantly concrete reconstructions and some are closed for renovations that have stalled. We’ve been spoilt in Turkey.

Foundations at ancient Olynthos

Driving around has been challenging – although we think we have now worked out how to avoid the motorways. The road signs are in Greek lettering first and Roman lettering second, normally right on the junction you need to turn off at resulting in lots of ‘U’ turns. Most road signs are completely illegible anyway with graffiti being a huge problem everywhere on buildings and signposts – most of it ugly with a few exceptions.

Derelict buildings in Volos

Graffiti in Nea Anchilos

We’ve found plenty to laugh about including the van overloaded with topiary trees, the beach sellers in Asprovalta and the lazy cricket hitching a ride on the wiper blade. In a tiny village on the Pelion Peninsula we had to stop for about 10 minutes whilst two old boys, the driver of a bashed up vehicle and a local, chatted in the middle of the narrow road. A polite toot from Dave after 5 minutes waiting brought glances but no movement. The driver then got out of his pick-up, staggered to the bakery to get some bread, gave us a look and drove off. A modern country with a twist just like the topiary trees!

Tomorrow we cross the Corinth Canal and see what the Peloponnese has to offer.