Category: Greece

GREECE TO SPAIN

Monday 14th December

We leave this camp and head to Igoumenitsa to get the ferry and the weather was sunny. We have a long way to go but make good pace. As if the rubbish is not bad enough we also pass a number of dead animals on the side of the road but mainly dogs and reflects both the number of feral dogs and the inability of the people to clear them whether through ignorance or will. Can’t understand it and very sad as life here is not revered for them. We decide on the coast road as we have a bit of time up our sleeve as we found out the ferry would be delayed for 3 hours which is a bit of a pain but out of our hands. We realise this may make things a bit tight for getting to Spain to see our friends Rob & Sue before they head off to England but can only do our best. We also decide to get our tickets from Italy to Spain when we are at the port in Cvitavecchia and not online which turns out to be the right decision.

The trip is quite good and scenery wise interesting.  We drive through an interesting area where the road is hardly wide enough for two vehicles with the vegetation having grown in on the side and no one seems to care whether it is cut back to enable cars to pass or not.  The road conditions in this part also leave a lot to be desired and we avoid pot holes whilst trying to avoid oncoming cars.  We arrive in Igoumenista in the early afternoon and find the ticket office. We sort of know the lie of the land as we saw this port on the way down and it looked quite nice so decided to embark from here instead of Patras. The office didn’t open till later on so we drove back up town, parked and walked down a bit to the town area and had a look around and a coffee. We then went back to the office and booked in then decided to drive the van into town to get a few supplies as we didn’t want to walk for miles with bags of groceries.

It was hard to find the store as it was very built up area narrow streets and for a Wednesday very hectic. We stocked up then found a better park on the main drag where we could take up a few parks without jutting out. Anything goes here obviously and everyone parks everywhere pretty much wherever they want. They even park right behind other parked cars to get coffee or have a feed and bad luck if you want to leave. The road here is 2 car wide so no problem with traffic flow. I can’t help but think the police would have a field day if this happened in Oz and the $$$ they would make but the police don’t do anything as it seems to work. There a heaps of eateries, cafes, creperies,  etc along the main drag and they are all open so must be a popular holiday destination and if this is how it is at this time of the year then god help what the summer is like. WEe eat a local salad and kebaby thing at a café which is cheap and really fills us up (we get far more than expected). We head back to the van luckily the parked car is not quite behind us so we can get out. We get to the port and find the entrance and try to work out where to go even though we know we have to end up at gate 12. A security guy lets us know which line to get into behind the trucks but then makes us go around the gate and stops us for a customs- police check. We are quite surprised as it is late but they make us open the van up and the storage area. While I am unloading all our crap out of the storage area we have to haul things out of the van as well. Vicki talks to the security guy who seems nice and chats with us. Apparently they are looking for drugs as Greece is a popular conduit for heroin, hash and dope from the Middle East, Ukraine , Russia and whereabouts. The other guy is not as friendly and acts like we are guilty as hell and starts pulling everything out of drawers, Cupboards, under the bed etc. He starts to try to pull our roof apart as, because of previous damp problems, looks a bit loose and Vicki says “Hey mate don’t destroy our roof it is only damp damage” but he just tells her to get out but thankfully moves on. I have to move all our stuff out of the storage area and I am trying to help but doesn’t want it preferring to just throw stuff everywhere. Prick and so OTT!!.

He finds some of our prescription drugs and starts quizzing us as if a packet of my Viagra makes me a drug addict and Vicki’s Panadeine with codeine in it a junkie. He gets over someone maybe a doctor who says nah just paracetamol so no problem. Good thing they didn’t find our other pill stash but shows how stupid the whole exercise is cos if I was bringing in stuff it wouldn’t be anywhere they looked (Maybe with the shit & piss in the toilet cartridge?? Or inside the spare wheel.) However they did say they caught a couple with a baby that had kgs of dope so it does happen. If I was carrying quantities I think would be travelling by road not risking a customs search. After half our stuff was everywhere the nicer guy did say they had a dog so I mentioned we would have preferred the dog sniffing out the van instead of the mess but no go. Then he says they do so many of these that they can usually spot the guilty ones after a few minutes talking to them and we didn’t fit the bill so go figure. I realise they are only doing their job but would be happier if they were searching for bombs or terrorists which does affect us or maybe they have a quota they have to search regardless. Anyway after an hour of searching we start putting things back and it takes us a while to restore the van as things can only go where they go as we have good system of storage. It is only later we see the foot prints on toilet and the face off the heater. The funny part was when they had a moment of panic when they saw all our runners under the bed and thought it was refugees hiding there! Anyway all good in the end we thanked them for their vigilance and parked up to wait for the ferry which we knew would be a while.

It started to get cold and we didn’t want to sleep so sat and read. At least we had gas for a cuppa. A ferry came in which we thought was ours but not to be and ours didn’t come in till 4am. Prior to this I went for a walk to get the stiffness out and noticed the cars had Trieste destination cards on their dashes and freaked that we were in the wrong lane and went running back to Vicki saying we must be on the other ferry as they were loading but then saw other cars with Ancona so stopped panicking. Anyway we board the ferry at last and luckily get to hook up the power to the van to our batteries and take our bags, pillows and blankets to our cabin which turns out to be the same as our previous one with noisy aircon but comfy and we are worn out so crash till lunch which was leftover greek salad from the café last nite so saved some $$.

We sat around and read , had a couple of drinks (wine snuck up from our room) and disembarked into Ancona around 6pm. We were going to find somewhere close but we had contingency plans and had sussed out camperstops at various distances from the city. I was driving and felt fresh so we decided to hit the highway and see how far we could get. We went left following a truck instead of right where the cop was directing  – whoops- never mind too late now and we are following our bibles direction so keep following the trucks as surely he is going where want to go. We get on the highway across the country and end up at a camper stop after a couple of hours in a cool place which is a popular caving tourist destination (pretty & colourful at nite with all the xmas decorations up) so we find the stop but it is a little bit out of town and deserted so head back to town and find a hotel car park that looks secure and park up for the nite. All is quiet that nite so we sleep quite well, have brekky then head off at 9.30am and it shows -1c so must have been -3c overnite. It is well worth making the effort to get away from the port last nite as the extra kms under the belt are gold and always makes the following days travels easier and less stressful.

The countryside across to Civitevechia is nice and varied and the villages even from the parts of the highway we are on are interesting, but then after Greece any countryside would be. There are villages nestled into the hills with castles and churches and our previous negative image of northern Italy is soon forgotten but we are reminded when we pass a bigger city and the smog and pollution is more obvious. We get to the port of Civitevechia and get a glimpse of the port which in the past was an important Roman bastion and you can still see some of the original walls as well as the relatively newer fort. We check out the ticket office that doesn’t open till 4.30 so have our again late lunch then head into town which is short walk. It is a very pretty town/city and we are glad we have an hour or 2 to look around. The walls are awesome and some great history with the large seaside promenade very popular with great outlooks over the marina, beaches and walkways. We walk up the promenade and back and then into the closer part of town and window shop while being serenaded by piped xmas music which reminds us that chrissy is just around the corner. We go to book with Grimaldi Line on the phone but for some reason it is 100euro more expensive than online even though the salesman says no way can that be the case. So we hang up saying we will get back if we have no joy. Online we get a junior suite with a window to see the sea and TV as well as king size bed at the much cheaper price so pays to shop around. We head back to the van and again have the wait to board the ferry. Even though we were delayed we are only a day behind our original time frame to get to Torrevechia so are happy to board around 8.30pm and departed around 10.30. Overall our estimation of Italy has risen from when we first saw earlier on the toll road past Milan and Turin and maybe a visit may happen one day.

As we sort ourselves out on the ship unfortunately I (Vicki) start to get severe pain in my side which reminds me of Switzerland.  I wont go into the whole gory details but this lasts the entire time on the ship and beyond which really spoils it for both of us.  I have some very strong pain killers which I have to take just to be able to manage a walk up to the café for the meals we ordered and paid for online.  I have no idea what is going on and at one stage I had the ships doctor give me an injection to help ease the pain.  Anyway the cabin was cool having a double bed, tv and a porthole to look out of.  It doesn’t really matter having a window but at least during the day if you are lying in your room you can let the daylight in and get an idea of what the time is. The time really passes slowly with what is happening, but Scot enjoys being able to watch some sport and news on tv whilst we wait to arrive in Spain.

We are early getting into port which is a bonus.  Rob and Sue leave in a days time so if we get ourselves halfway down to Torreveija (prounounced Torrebe ecka) we may see them before they leave. So off the ship we drive and then try to find our way out.  I tell Scot just to follow the truck in front which is what we normally do as that always seems to at least get you out of the port and onto a highway.  So off following this truck and on the map it is really difficult to figure out how to get out as the port is so huge.  It takes about 20 minutes of driving roads, roundabouts etc before we finally manage to reach the highway going south, so we are on our way.  Scot is ok to drive for a while so we get a couple of hundred kms down the road before we figure it is a good idea to find somewhere to stop.  We had flagged a couple of areas and we look for a campground or car park to park for the night.  This area is a bit different from others we have stayed and the narrow roads have no space to pull over on the side and even camps that are closed the gates are on the edge of the road so that is a no go.  We find a camp that has one gate still open but it looks like everyone is inside having a big party.  Scot parks in the middle of the road with hazards on and I go in to see if we can come in.  Finding no one really to talk to I find I can open the other gate so Scot drives in and eventually someone comes and we agree to just park out in the front car park for the night as this place is chokka block.  The party is a Christmas party with oldies having a ball dancing etc but we are both tired from a sleepless night that we don’t even notice the festivities and sleep.

We are up and gone the next morning – what a cheap campsite 7euro for the night, god we love Spain already!  We head out earlyish as we want to get down to Torrevieja as soon as possible.  We finally get to see some of the countryside we travelled past last night in the dark.  It is interesting with rather cool buildings in the towns we pass.  The countryside must be ok to grow a lot of stuff as Spain has a huge market share shipping veges and fruit all over Europe.  We make great time on the highway and get to Torrevieja about mid afternoon.  We easily find Rob ad Sues apartment they are staying in and knock on the door.  They are surprised we arrived at all as it was over 500kms down from Barcelona.  We had a great chat and Rob showed us some great freedom camping sites along the water front at Torrevieja before we headed back to their apartment and went out for an early dinner.  A lovely meal and very cheap.  They gave us free starters and a free baileys for the ladies and a liquor for the gents.  We had the van parked up in the side street so slept there for the night and met them for an early coffee before they departed for the airport.  We then made breakfast and drove off into the town to have a look around.

It is Sunday today, the 20th and we found an open supermarket.  We have fallen in love is all I can say.  The veges are so cheap and a great variety and fresh.  The other food is cheap and the amazing variety of brands etc is awesome.  We haven’t had it this good since Netherlands I think.  The alcohol is also great and cheap much to Scots delight.  We stock up on a few things and then head off to the campsite we need to check out.  It is at La Marina and about 20kms up the road.  It is a 5 star campsite and has a huge outside pool complex, a gym, indoor pool, huge spa with great water jets and bubble beds, steam room, sauna, Turkish bath, citris pool and cold plunge pool.  There are heaps of campers here and there are few sites left.  We think we had better choose a place today as the ones left will not last long at all.  So we walk around and pick a spot that we think will have a bit of sun and be relatively quiet.  We book that in and leave to go back to Torreveija for the night to freedom camp.  We park up on a spot that Rob had shown us yesterday where there are about 8 other campervans along with locals fishing off the rocks.  It is a lovely spot in the sun close to the town.

We meet a lovely couple in the GB van we are parked alongside and Nina and Bill come from Isle of Wight, although Nina is originally from Slovakia and co-incidentally from a little town of Piestany that we stayed in and had the folk night in the pub with a brewery.  Such a small world considering we didn’t stay at very many places in Slovakia.  We get on well and end up having drinks in their van until it is dinner time.  We don’t leave our van to go for a walk here as one couple said they were broken into a couple of nights before but luckily they have an alarm that sends a signal to their phone so nothing was taken.

GREECE

Monday 7th December

Up relatively early as we are only going about 50km to Corinth which has ancient ruins and a village nearby which means we don’t have to go to actual Corinth which is a city and we don’t need that. We shop before we go at the supermarket down the road as they have the best Feta, Greek yoghurt and olives and we want to stock up. Half a kg of feta costs about $3aud so can’t let it go by. We are starting to get addicted to Greek salads with the local ingredients real easy & delicious even on the run. We drive up the windy roads and find the camperstop which is well signposted and well set out.

We find a sunny spot in the corner and meet the owner who we converse with more in French than English but that is ok as we are learning that anything goes with communication as long as everybody is understood and smiling. We settle in then walk into the quaint little village to look around. What we find unusual is that a lot of the homes have high walls, gates, dogs (and dangerous dog warning signs) and even razor wire around their properties. In such a quiet far away village where we would expect safety and no crime it is weird to see such security measures. Maybe there are people around that will exploit these places but we can’t see how.  We take the long way (which isn’t really that long!)to the ruins and end up at the main entrance but it closes at 3pm and we are too late to bother at 6euro but there is a museum so maybe tomorrow. But really we saw a lot of ruins over the last few days and we can easily see the Temple of Apollo nearby. The local dogs hook up with us and accompany our walk around and remind us of the local dogs in Rarotonga that adopt you on the beach until they get a better offer.

We look into the souvenir shop and the young girl comes over to chat and see if we want to buy anything. Not pushy which is nice but interested in where are from and I spot a Greece t shirt I like so say we will be back tomorrow. We stop at a corner café and sit in the sun having a wine and beer and playing with the cats and dogs as they scrounge a peanut off us. Back to the van for dinner and I buy a 1.5l bottle of the owners red wine (3Euro) and some of his veges for tea.  Very nice too. We are up to a lovely sunny day and walk to the village collecting a grapefruit on the ground and a few overhanging mandarins. The citrus fruit are everywhere but I am not sure if they are open season so have to be discreet. Mind you the ones in the city taste like crap real bitter but the ones in the country are really nice. We say goodbye to our friendly host who wish’s us bon voyage and head towards to Mani Beach about 200km away. We can’t believe the amount of rubbish that line both the highway and the other roads, it is never ending and we can’t figure out why the 200km of road we travel is like this. The toll roads are pretty empty but we are only on these for a short while before we head over the mountains to the central part of the island. It is very ordinary country and very rugged and boring. The main towns/cities are uninspiring and not the sort of place I would want to stop at let alone stay as a tourist. Cities like Tripoli and Sparta were very ordinary.

We go right through and over the ranges to the coast and through a town called Githio which wound around a bay and was quite picturesque. As we came upon the café area fronting the waterfront we noticed a crowd gathering in panic out the front of a café. There was a car in the middle of the road and it seems that we had arrived just as a car had hit a pedestrian. They were obviously trying to help the person and waved us around the site and it didn’t look good going by the look on their faces but we did the right thing and didn’t become gawkers. We did stop for lunch around the corner and it was literally ages before we heard the ambulance siren even though we actually passed their station 200m away from where the person was hit.   We think this would be a nice place to explore but travel on and find the Mani Beach Campground which even though it is closed for the winter is very untidy and derelict looking. The camp is sort of an olive grove with sites among the trees and the pitches which are unsuitable for campers as the trees are too low. There are no reviews for this camp and I can see why even in the summer I can’t see a lot of positives except for the beach. We find the manager (can’t see him being the owner) and find a sunny place near the beach. There are only a handful of campers here a French family, an older couple and the usual single retired men who stay because of the cheap price and the cheap wine!  We go to have a shower (which are filthy and incredibly ordinary) and chat to a nice chap from Holland and he says that they meet for a drink after 7pm so we will wander over after dinner. Meanwhile we go down to look at the beach and though it is windy it is still warm enough for me to have as swim in the Med Sea. The water is still quite pleasant and great to stretch out after a day in the van. We can’t figure out why these people would spend 3 months in a dreadful place such as this but when Peter says he pays 7euro a night that explains it all.

They started a bit late but there was the Greek manager (GM) and   the Dutchman Peter and a pom Dave. GM was slitting olives for the owner (Then they are soaked in water for 20 days then in salty brine for a week before put in oil. They were nice large juicy kalamata ones. In fact it is only after travelling through all the different areas we see how much the olive is king along with the citrus fruit. Literally the whole countryside is covered in olive trees and they are intensively harvested. In all the villages we pass through there are factory’s that the locals take there 50kg bags to. We are not sure if there is a main man or they are coop owned amongst the growers but they are evidently the cash crop and have been for hundreds of years.) We find that we get a free red wine each for staying as a thank you from the owner which is a nice gesture which is followed by a local Mythos beer and an Ouzo which is a generous measure and Vicki has another local red. We all chat amicably and learn a little about each other. GM calls it a nite by 10pm as Pom Dave will drink red wine all nite, Peter will beguile me with his tales of travel which are very interesting and I will drink too much ouzo and Vicki will feel like shit tomorrow with the wine.

We have the typical camp cats hanging around in the morning and Vicki feeds them with some yoghurt she isn’t going to eat along with some bread to fill them up a bit. Some of them are friendly and some are terrified but Vicki has most of them coming for a pat by the time we leave.

We leave early enough and travel towards the coast as this is where the sights are and we know by now that all we will see on the highway is dullsville and the payoff for the scenery is the uncertainty of the roads. All of a sudden the total dynamic changes completely and it is beautiful and accepting with lots of towns and villages hugging the coast and inlets. There is no or very little rubbish in this part and the coastline is inviting and though we are not sure where we are going other than towards Kalamata we hit the crossroads and though we were going to head back to Tripoli and across the country to Kalamata but at the last second we say f**k it lets take the uncertain coast road and bugger the consequences and we are so glad we did. It is beautiful though rugged land, the hills are not too bad and easy enough for our van, Vicki is driving so I can take plenty of photos and take in the sights. We pass some lovely little towns and want a coffee but there is not always anywhere to park a car let alone a van, though that doesn’t seem to stop some people as rules don’t seem to apply in Greece! Finally we go through one that is exceptionally cute and inviting and we get a park near the bakery and café. This is called Kardamyli and is to be our home for the next 5 days and best of all we end up right on the beach 1km out of town free of charge.  This village is where Helen of Troy left to fight with her armies so has a significant history.

We have a couple of cups of coffee and after asking a local if it is ok to park along the beach front for the night. We find 3 other vans along a bit further so stop close to them as it seems to be the spot.  It is warm enough for us to have a swim so we plunge in the crystal clear water that is cool but very refreshing.  You can see everything it is so clear.  There are some little fish swimming around – a little like those we have seen on Lady Elliott island that are quite territorial and I get one bite me on the leg giving me a fright.  It would be me and not Scot that the sea creatures seems to like to gravitate to.  After a swim we sit and read and Scot decides he will ride into the village and get a couple of things at the supermarket.  Funny, he stops at the local café for a beer and meets up with a couple Zak and Nicki who are actually from Woody Point but have moved over here to Greece to live as it is too expensive In Aus for them to live off the pension.  They are building a house up the hill in Agia Sophia.  They tell us some of the incredible challenges they have come up with here in Greece where the corruption is rife.  Payoff seems to be the only way around things but it doesn’t always work.  It is interesting to hear that people don’t pay taxes/rates (the same thing) until they actually finish building their house/business/unit block etc.  So Greek people have learnt that in order for them to not have to pay taxes they never finish their homes even though they may be living in them.  They leave a few pieces of reinforcing sticking up from their roof and this is considered to be incomplete.  The Govt need to change their laws as everywhere you look there are unfinished homes where people are getting away with not paying the Govt anything (hence rubbish that cannot afford to be collected).

If you have money in a Greek account here you are not allowed to take out more than 60euro a day no matter what your problem.  So god help you if you want to pay someone cash for something, you can not do it.  Tourists are different, we can withdraw what we like.  Zak and Nicki were saying that one week they got fined for something and because the police wanted cash they were unable to buy food that week as they couldn’t withdraw any more money.  There are 2 atms in this town but one is closed for the winter.  Go figure. Of course locals don’t need to withdraw money from it over winter, they can live on olives….lol.  There are still a lot of people here who are unfriendly and appear to look at us with contempt.  I can’t figure out why as we are spending money here and not causing any problem which I thought they would like since there is little money coming from outsiders at this time of the year.

Anyway I go back with Scot to the café and meet Zak and Nicki and we end up having a couple of drinks with them until they leave and we stay for pizza for tea.  The standard local cats come around our camper for anything there is on offer which isn’t much.  Scot ends up biking into the town the next day to get a bag of cat biscuits as these cats are really hungry and I can’t bear to see them like this.  We are told the locals hate tourists feeding the cats as they want them to catch the mice and rats (likely that the rubbish brings around), but the cats are also destroying their bird and reptile life here which I don’t think they care about.

The second day we are here we take a hike up to Agia Sophia to see Zak and Nicki’s house building location which is right up one of the gorges and has a lovely ocean view in between the hills.  The hike up is about 1km up a very steep rocky narrow pathway on the side of the gorge.  It is interesting and we get great views as we climb up.  It is a beautiful day but by the time we get back down the hill to the camper about 3 it has cooled down and a swim is out of the question.  We sit and decide dinner is best at home tonight.  The cats congregate around for theirs and it’s like I now have 5 cats of my own to look after.  The littlest one is hardly more than a kitten but I am sure she is pregnant.

It is raining the next day so we sleep in and end up going in to the village for coffee and free wifi on the laptop.  We have lunch in the café and see Zak and Nicki as it is too wet for them to be working today on the land.  Eventually we finish up and head back to the van.  It is a very cool day so we snuggle up in blankets on the bed and read.

Saturday dawns as a clear day so we decide we should stay another day here and enjoy the sunshine.  Most of our day is spent sitting reading and we have a swim at the warmest time of the day.  A camper near us tells us that the guy whose place we are slightly parked in front of doesn’t like people parking where we are and may tell us to buggar off, but this doesn’t happen so we are fine.  Late in the day we head into town and have a drink and pizza for dinner and go into another little bar near the waterfront to have one drink before heading home.  We have decided that we need to leave in the morning as we need to have a shower, charge the battery and empty the toilet, plus we have washing that we need to do since it’s been a couple of weeks.

Sunday  13 December

We head away from our lovely seaside campspot and I say goodbye to the cats.  It is another nice day and it would be so nice just to stay put but we really need to leave Greece.  We travel north along the coastline up to Kalamata.  There are lovely little villages down on the water front from the road we are driving along.  This part of the coastline is still mostly free of litter but only until we get to Kalamata.  We stop on the esplanade and have a coffee before continuing on our way up to a camp ground about 60km south of Patras.  As we reach the road on the west coast the rubbish is becoming the most horrendous thing we have seen and there are piles and piles of rubbish strewn all over everywhere.  There is definitely a problem here as there is more rubbish than we have seen and one can only blame the Govt for not doing what it needs to, to keep the rubbish at bay.  This is a recipe for disease and there are cats scavenging and I can only imagine the rats and mice this rubbish is breeding.  The smell is dreadful and we are really shocked.  We have to buy a couple of things from the supermarket and we feel we are in a very unpleasant part of the country and can’t wait to leave with our groceries. We pass up to 5 of these dumpsites in something like a 100m. Just so sad and unnecessary.

We continue to travel until we reach the campsite at Ionion beach which is a pleasant surprise.  It is clean, well maintained and the facilities are not only great they are clean.  Nice for a change.  We need to do washing and the guy promises to bring us tokens for the machines, but we see nothing of him until we have to go back up in the morning to remind him we need tokens.  There are only a couple of us staying here so there is no excuse for him not remembering us.  Anyway we decide our washing is more important than leaving so get it all done and hang it up all around the campsite to dry in the sun.  We balk at paying 5euro to wash and again to dry our clothes, it is a ridiculous price to pay. Our campsite resembles a gypsies camp on washing day and we are happy that there is no one here as probably not a good look for relaxing campers but we save 10Euros and the clothes dry with healthy sunlight instead of a machine. We read all arvo then have a walk along the beach but it is a bit ordinary and again rubbish everywhere and looking like it has been there for a while and not recent. Couldn’t be bothered swimming either as not overly inviting as our previous beach and also not as warm today. Funny enough we see no cats anywhere which is a first. We settle in for a quiet nite as we want to be away early tomorrow as we have about 330kms to go to “Eatallmypizza’ (Igoumenitsa) to get the ferry at 1am Wed morning then a full days drive across Italy to ‘Civinoceva’  (Civitoveccia) to get the ferry to Barcelona – our 25 country. Three countries and two ferries in three days. We will look forward to relaxing days in the south of Spain and we are also looking at a trip without the van to Morocco for a couple of days as everybody raves about it and very cheap for a B&B so will see what happens.

ATHENS

Friday 4 December

Actually after further reflection on the Schengen rules I realise we have breached more than 4 countries.  We have done 24 countries but only 14 have signed with NZ to allow us 3 months in each regardless of how long we have spent in other Schengen countries.  The other 10 countries are either non Schengen or do not allow you in if you have already spent 3 months in other Schengen countries.  So the list of those we should never have gone into start with Estonia, onto Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Switzerland and Slovenia and the non-Schengen one we were ok in is Croatia.  I did read last year that NZ had an agreement with all Schengen countries and it was on a Govt website so someone got it wrong which meant we ran the gauntlet in all the above countries and are lucky we didn’t get caught.  We are ok from here in Greece, Italy and Spain.

Breakfast is done and we go to have a shower but there is no hot water.  We were really looking forward to one this morning and we are both a bit pissed off.  Scot says the fella inside is a bit grumpy so maybe it is the guy we met on the way in who seemed a bit cranky yesterday.  So we get dressed, pack up and are about to leave when the lady comes out and says there is now hot water.  We are ready to leave so say no but instead she insists we come in for a free coffee before we go as I think they feel bad.  So we go in for coffee and have a good chat to the people who live here and there seems to be a few of them.  The grumpy buggar is ok once you get talking to him it seems that it is just his manner and perhaps he has a lot on his mind.  Summer saw less people staying than normal so maybe they are struggling a bit.

We leave and head towards Athens.  There is an amazing mix of different houses as we drive, from the well maintained, expensive homes to the run down shacks that you wouldn’t put a chook in, but unfortunately people do live in them.  Like Croatia and some other countries we see many buildings that have been started but it seems just never finished.  Or there are some buildings where people are living in one part that is semi finished but the rest of the building is still open to the elements with a lot of work to go.

As we near Athens we can see the smog from the city hanging over it.  It is a nice day with a great weather forecast to come.  The entire road from Patras to Athens is virtually completely under re-construction as a two way highway but thankfully they are doing it so that we are not held up all the way like we experienced in Latvia.  We are grateful we are early as we don’t want to get caught up in the hectic Friday afternoon peak hour traffic.  The countryside continues to be just the same scrubby rocky landscape and is really nothing to look at.  As we head into Athens we hit a 4 lane highway which I quickly realise is the road I thought was a small suburban road that runs right past the campsite.  We are in the midst of traffic that is insane.  Trucks, buses, cars, motorbikes are all weaving, ducking and driving insane speeds.  The road rules are the same as in Poland whenever the road narrows to one lane – you are expected to move over as much as possible to let everyone pass and they do regardless of what is coming towards them and regardless of whether it is safe.  On this 4 lane highway we watch the crazies as we stay in our safe slow lane on the right.  This road houses a lot of small industry and we see car and bike wreckers, not with large yards but with all the parts stripped off the vehicles and housed in low level apartment buildings that have no windows or doors.  The buildings are small and narrow.  There are many different types of small businesses, but the most obvious thing here is the rundown state of everything and the rubbish that is strewn all over.  It look like pictures I have seen of Delhi and what I imagine it would be like there.  Scot says it reminds him of Fiji where everything is filthy and in tatters.

I am amazed and horrified I guess all at the same time at how this place looks.  People are parked and stopped everywhere and they don’t care.  We find the campsite and park up.  We saw a carpet place down the road and think maybe we can find a remnant to replace the carpet in the van to have something fresher, so we take a walk down the street.  It is a scary feeling as there is little place to walk that seems safe with the footpath littered with vehicles and all sorts of other things people have parked there.  The carpet is a no go and we decide to cross the road to the other side.  This sounds like a simple exercise, but in this country it is putting your life on the line.  People do not like to follow any rules here and so even through the light may show red and the traffic must stop, there are those who do not.  If you do not watch out they will just run you down.  It is quite a scary process and we cross back via an underpass but are confronted by motor bikes that think they have right of way there as well. Motorbike riders here are required to wear helmets by law, but from what we have seen most don’t.  They are travelling on this road outside the camp (with a speed of 60) without helmets, without any kind of gear and they are doing speeds that appear to be well over 100km.  You can watch in amazement as they weave in and out of traffic at high speed without a care figuring it won’t be them that has the accident.  Or you hear them from the van winding the throttle right out at full speed.  We have seen them on bikes with little kids in the front and on the back without helmets or any kind of protection either.  Life is not held in any esteem here.  It also appears that most don’t wear seatbelts again even though they are compulsory.

We head into a local supermarket to buy a couple of things and get fresh feta, olives and tomatoes for a Greek salad for tea and Greek yoghurt for my breakfast.  So delicious and cheap.  Back to the van for dinner.

Saturday 5th December

Off on the local bus in the morning at 9am.  We are told they go every 10 minutes but we wait over 20 so they obviously don’t run on time.  The buses here do not pull into bus stops they just stop in their lane and everyone has to walk out on the road to get on, so you often see people standing right out on the road waiting and watching for their bus.  We get ours and it is often a challenge to know which is the right stop to get off.  It is much easier in other countries but when things are in Greek it is a challenge.  Some things are in our alphabet as well but not all.  We get off at a stop that most other get off at and I am not sure if it is correct so I ask a couple.  No it is the wrong stop but is still ok as from here it is easy enough to get the metro to where we are going.  We have decided to do the free walking tour today to have a look around so we get off the train and head up.  Our first introduction to Athens as we stand on the side of the road is 3 African fellas doing a drug deal in plain sight of all and then a couple of minutes later on the steps to the first Greek style building we looked at there is a fella sitting on the steps with his tourniquet on shooting up.  Holy shit, I am now a bit concerned about this city and even more so when we walk to the end of a nearby mall and there are police with machine guns standing around.  I am not sure if Athens is still on any kind of alert after their bombing a couple of weeks ago, but our tour guide reckons not.

We meet up with our tour group which consists of about 25 mostly young people from many different countries and we head off having a look around.  It is cold in the wind but as we head out into the sunshine is quite a nice day.  The tour guide takes us past a few important buildings and we see a few ruins from a distance.  We walked through their botanical gardens (ex royal palace gardens) which the guide thought was very nice, but for us it was a very badly kept excuse for a garden.  Very overgrown and unkempt, sad really as I imagine they would have been very nice when in royal possession.  We walked around the bottom of the Acropolis which we will see properly tomorrow.  He took us through an interesting area of little narrow walkways and whitewashed houses which for me depicted what you imagine the islands in Greece would be like.  This guide doesn’t get paid by anyone and the tour is free but they say that if you enjoy it then they would be grateful if you paid money.  The guide, like tour buses, had his little haunts that he took us past.  One was a yogurt shop where he was given a free smoothie and we had free samples in the hope we would buy more.  We did buy yoghurt with cherries which was lovely.  We also went past a few other places he wanted to promote on the way.  As we walked around there were many stray dogs that up and followed you around the streets and there are many stray cats as well.  The dogs looked a little worse for the wear but unusually the cats were in better condition than we have seen them in other places.  In a few places though we saw the cats eating biscuits and tinned food, so someone is feeding the cats and possibly dogs around the city.

As the tour winds up he takes us through the market area which is an area with hundreds of little stalls all crowded in narrow streets.  All selling different stuff, from souvenirs to flea market style stuff, to clothes, food – really anything went.  We finished late and I was getting really tired.  He took us through all these back streets that were unbelievably dodge and I was thinking holy shit what are we in for here.  Half of the tour group had dropped off on the way and there were only 12 at the end.  He took us to a hostel where he said they had a great view over the city which was partly true.  It had a great view over a few other buildings in the area, but the city, I think not.  I was a bit cranky as we were in the middle of nowhere in a dodgy setting and I had no idea how to get back to the metro.  Athens is the first city I have felt that maybe we could be done over or pickpocketed due to the amount of people here.  Athens houses half the population of Greece – 5 million people and we can believe it from the throngs that we are seeing here.  We leave the hostel where we have literally been dumped and try to find our way out.  It is chaos and there are masses of people everywhere.  I am tired and feel a little uncomfortable where we are.  We end up in a main shopping street that is jammed packed with people and they are not even tourists.  Most here are locals out for the day.  I would hate to see this place when it is packed with tourists.  We manage to get past all the masses and out to a major cross road that I work out is our road back to the metro.  One thing that is really obvious and in your face here is that everything and I mean everything is covered in graffiti.  They even tag beautiful historical buildings and ruins.  It seems that nothing is exempt and the city does nothing to remove the graffiti.

On the way back we stop at a phone shop and get a sim for the tablet.  I doubt somehow that the coverage is going to be good as I doubt Greece cares very much if the other half of the population outside Athens gets phone coverage on not.  We find the metro, travel two stops and get on the next bus going past the camp.  We get back and we are both unbelievably tired.  We have done quite a few cities but don’t remember when we were both this tired.  We lie down and rest up for a couple of hours before dinner.  We were both feeling like maybe we don’t want to go back into that horrendous bustle of a city and battle the crowds as we were so glad to get out, but we haven’t seen the ruins up close so that is really a priority for tomorrow.

Sunday 6th December

Up and off on the same bus as yesterday.  We change to the metro and head to the Acropolis.  The mass of tourists won’t be there this early so hopefully it will be a more peaceful experience.  We walk up to the ruins and what a blessing, today it is open for free.  Great stuff no payment.  We head in and are really quite in awe of such magnificent structures.  They have scaffolding on most of these ruins as they are trying to stabilize them and stop them deteriorating further.  Some parts have been removed and preserved in the museum and replica parts put in their place that are identical.  You wouldn’t really know the difference.  In some places they have had to insert newly made pieces to help keep parts together but it’s ok as they help show you what these places were like.  There aren’t masses here so its good that we get some people free photos.  The views over the city are amazing here and the city stretches out for miles in every direction.  Most buildings are white so it’s difficult to see where one starts and another finishes.  As we walk around we see what appears to be a building on fire.  Thick black smoke pours out the top of possibly an apartment block in the distance and we wait and watch and listen for a siren, which doesn’t happen for at least 20 minutes.

We run into a couple of the American girls that were on the tour yesterday.  Scot wishes he was 30 years younger and single as they are both really lovely girls.  They are studying at Uni in Amsterdam but must be finished for the year as they are due to fly home next week.  We spend quite a bit of time here at Acropolis and looking at the Parthenon as they really are quite spectacular and they are really the only reason we came to Athens.  Personally I wouldn’t have come here for anything else as it is not a city I would care to return to.  After these ruins we head away to find a large area where there is another temple – temple of  Hephaestus and Ancient Agora plus multiple ruins that you can walk amongst.  After these ruins we head into the market area where we walk past multiple cafes and into the throng of market shops that really I dread to be amongst.  Scot spies a leather jacket store and as we finish off a pita bread he heads in to see what they have.  He has wanted a leather jacket since we started travelling so he checks out what they have.  He finds one he fancies and the salesman is keen for a sale so he discounts by 30% and he gets himself a sale.  He reckons it is made in the UK but I am a little wiser and doubt very much it is made anywhere near the UK, more likely Romania or Bulgaria where a lot of goods are made with cheaper labour.

It is time to head away.  We don’t want to be in this city after dark, I am uncomfortable here and do not like the looks we are given as we walk the streets.  We find a metro station and know we can travel one stop and get on another line that will take us to the bus station.  This train is already jammed packed and there are many people needing to get on so we all squeeze in and when I say squeeze I mean just that.  I have no room to move and as I stand squished between many people I feel my bag move.  I grab for the zip and it has been partly pulled open.  There is nothing I can do to look for who may have done this and I do not want to try and open it further to see if they have managed to take anything so I hang onto it as best I can with the crush and we get out at the next stop.  A lady beside me has apparently said something to a fella behind me who throws his hands up like ‘what, it’s not me’ and she said something to me but it’s in Greek so I have no idea.  I think she knows what was going on.  Outside the train I check my bag and my wallet is still there but I reckon it was close.  I did have partially hold of my bag but just not quite where the zip was and I had been holding onto my pocket that my camera was in but shit these people will try anything.  I am happy to be out of the squash and the next train isn’t so bad.  We get off and wait for the bus.  Now I am double suspicious of anyone that stands or sits near me.  I really can’t wait to leave this city which has not impressed me one little bit and head out to the countryside.  I only hope it is better  away from here or I think we may be heading away sooner than not.

Back at the van and we run into the French man who is parked beside us.  He was on our bus.  We have a part English, part French conversation and discover that he spent 3 months in NZ and 3 months in Australia a couple of years ago travelling around.  He is on his own and I always feel sorry for anyone I see travelling in a van on their own as I reckon it would be a rather lonely journey.  I often wish we had seats and a table that we could invite people like him in for a drink but I could not handle pulling the bed down everyday only to have to make the bed back up at night before bedtime.  Plus, there is nowhere to put our bedding really.  Anyway back to the van, dinner and an early night.  Tomorrow we are off somewhere a little nicer and quieter than the city.

Actually as we sit watching the news tonight we see a lot of rioting that appears to be happening in Athens as we watch, so I check out the internet to see what is happening.  The train stations were locked down this afternoon and we had to go to a different station as our ones were locked down ones.  We wondered why, but it was because protests were happening on the anniversary of some teenager who got killed years ago.  The fire we saw burning earlier today was in fact the start of the riots not far from where we were and it was close to where we walked through yesterday.  The protests got out of hand and Molotov cocktails were thrown and teargas was put amongst the crowd.  I am glad we are leaving here tomorrow as the city screams of very unhappy people and unrest.

SPLIT, SLOVENIA AND THE FERRY TO GREECE

Thursday 26th November

Wow 12.30 check out so a whole half day of luxury so we make the most of it. Vicki is into the gym by 8.00 and, because my back is still sore, I get to the pool at 8.30 and Vicki joins me after her workout. After a swim, sauna, shock pool and aroma steam ahhhh we are scoffing ourselves as if this is the last breakfast for a while which it probably will be. When we check out the price of the room has jumped from 717K to 792k so we argue that we had established the price and they say that maybe 717k sounded like 770k but this doesn’t gel cos it still doesn’t sound like 792k! So we get our way with no hostility as they really are a friendly hotel. We retrace our steps from the way up and make our way back to Trpanj along the coast but this time I am driving so Vicki can admire the scenery. We are travelling along the inside of the road so nowhere the edge so she is more comfortable. Even though we have been this way and recognise it is still feels different and you see different things travelling in the other direction. Along the way where there are wineries we see grapes still on the vine but not enough to harvest and make vino so even though I want to stop and taste them we can’t find a safe spot and any way it might be seen as stealing. (later on at a market in Split we see where they are selling slightly over ripe grapes sort of like plump raisons so maybe they weren’t ready for harvest and keep them for this). We arrive at the ferry port of Trpanj just on dark and it was rainy and blowing a gale. We were going to stay at a closed camp out of town but the town is safe and there is a good park next to a truck right next to where everybody lines up for the ferry and we are sure there will be no worries. We have a coffee at a small café with a fire going but everyone is smoking and for us not a great atmosphere so move on to a little bar just opening so no one has arrived so I have a beer with a clean atmosphere. Back to the van and watched the ferry come in and take away the last passengers for the nite. Early next morning the ferry wakes us (sort of) coming into port and we are loaded and away by 6.45am. A hot coffee/cappuccino for brekky  with a croissant and an hour later we are at Ploce.  It is cold and rainy and we enquire at the ferry office about getting the ferry from Split to Ancona. She says that the reservations are full but not everyone has paid so we should be able to get on. We ask if we can go on a reserve list but no. She says the best thing is to go to the office in Split when we get there. It won’t let Vicki do it on line so we hope for the best but we don’t really have a choice. We again drive the same route back to Split but it does feel different.  It is really blustery and we see small waterspouts out on the sea. The weather is clear so visibility is real good and the view is fantastic. The sight of huge rocky islands rising out of the sea is dramatic and it is what this part of the Adriatic is famous for. We stop at a new café/bakery and from inside we see the van rocking and rolling in the gusts outside and hope it doesn’t take of haha.

We have made good time and get into the campground around midday, park up in a place closer to the sea even though it is not in the sun and we get two loads of washing done. It is always a relief to do this and though Vicki I know is tempted to do it tomorrow as stripping the bed , washing, drying etc can take up a couple of hours for a change I say get it done then we have tomorrow with no plans other than to suss out ferry tickets.  When we were checking in a couple who were on the internet say hey is that an aussie or kiwi accent?’ We reply that we are kiwis as this has become a standard answer travelling but do say we are kiwaussies. We get a laugh and find they are from Northern NSW so we figure they are nearly Queenslanders. Vicki was later chatting to Garrie and found out they are also travelling for 12 months but have just started so she mentioned we had some maps we didn’t need any more so we took them over to him and his partner Julie along with books that we have both read as we know that it is neat to get English books. We ended up chatting till midnight with a couple of coffees and chippies and had a great chat. It is fantastic when you can meet people for the first time and hit it off as if you are old mates. I think we all have friends that remind us of other friends and being from the other side of the world we have a lot in common. It got real weird when we found out another couple that had left the day before knew Rob & Sue that we have befriended previously. A very small camping world indeed.

We had a bit of a sleep in and after brekky we caught up with Garrie and Julie who were also heading into Split so decided to go together on our bikes. We had a map but nothing is as easy as it seems and we ended having a pretty tough & hilly ride about 8-10ks to town. The weather was just beautiful with no wind and blue skies. Lots of families were out on their Saturday picnics and about a kilometre of seaside cafes, amusements and parks gave them the most beautiful setting.

We finally found our way to the port office to see if we could get on the ferry. They just told us to be there at 7.30pm the next nite in case there was a cancellation. She told us there was no standby list that it was just a case of turning up just before the ferry left to see if there was some extra room. So we all head over the old town and had a look around and a meal & bevvy at a small kebaby type café.  We thought Split would be a bit ‘cityish’ and busy but this part was really cool and we enjoyed an hour of wandering.  The town centre has quite a few ruins that look a little like they belong to Greece but they were definitely worth the look.  Garrie & Julie had explored the day before so it was great to have tour guides. We would have loved to look around further and especially to climb the Bell Tower but it was closed and, as it is winter it is best to not linger because it gets dark so quickly and early, so we got on our bikes to head home what seemed to be a  bit early. As it was we got back at 4pm and it was getting dark. Unfortunately the peddle on Vicki’s bike had come off and I tried to a quick fix and only succeeded in breaking the peddle so Vicki had to bike without a peddle which was a real pain in the butt. Hopefully we can get it fixed but really along with the rooted gears maybe better to trade or ditch. A very busy day and a good nights sleep awaits. Still up in the air about if we can get the ferry but tomorrow is another day.

In the morning and move our camper to a location that is right by the sea and has more sun to do a bit of a quick spring clean before we head off to the ferry.  We have a chat with our newly made friends and Scot decides he has to have a swim in the ocean before we head away.  The dust inside the camper builds up so quickly and is hard to keep away so it is always nice to see it fresh and dust free if only for a few hours.  The time flies by and before we know it the time is almost 3 and we need to pay and leave.  We say our goodbyes to Julie and Garrie and hope to catch up with them in Spain before they head to Morocco.  We drive to the ferry terminal where we were yesterday and try to figure out where we can park.  Scot stays in the van and I go in to find out if there are any cancellations yet.  A bitchface blonde (Scot’s words) wasn’t helpful at all and told me we had to come back at 7.45pm and no sooner so Scot went in another way and talked to another lady. He gave her the Hood charm and smiles and got a bit further but still was told to come back tonight at 7.00pm. He asks if we can put our names down as first cab on the rank but got the standard reply be there at 700pm. They tell Scot we can park in the queue through the gate behind the other camper which we recognise as one that left the camp ground earlier this afternoon.  Apparently they don’t have tickets either and we wonder now who has priority to get on first since we have been asking for 3 days but they got there first today?

Anyway, we have a walk around and about 6pm we see the other camper people sitting inside so we decide that we need to make ourselves seen inside too so head in.  Scot goes and asks if there is any change and she says no that we are first cab off the rank, until another lady tells her we are second not first.  About 7pm nothing is happening but I am getting pissed off that it appears that there are others now in the queue – that we were told didn’t exist – so I quiz the lady who then proceeds to tell me we are now 4th in line.  I can’t figure it out and express my dissatisfaction at being pushed down the queue when we have been asking for 3 days now – but I get the sense they think we are English and I feel there is some contempt there.

8pm and the ferry should be leaving and we hear ‘Cars, no campers’ called out.  The two car people are happy and get their tickets and head on board.  I am ‘Not Happy Jan’!!  However we had been talking and decided that since it didn’t look likely to get on it would actually be much cheaper for us to just get the ferry from Trieste like we had originally planned so that will be out next move.  As we left the other camper couple appeared to be trying to cajole the ladies into getting them on but we don’t know what happened.  We headed back to the camp for a last night.

We head out early as we want to try and get to Slovenia before night fall.  We take the opposite roads to how we travelled down which is what we were wanting to do originally, so we take the highway to Zadar which only costs only about 12euro which isn’t bad and then take the coast road all the way to Rjieke.  This road is a great drive, good road and only a little traffic and the best scenery in Croatia really.  It isn’t a fast drive as the road has lots of horseshoe bends with drops to the sea so slow and sure wins the day.  It doesn’t take long and as we near Rjieke some of the coastal mountains show snow on them down quite a reasonable way so it has obviously snowed along this stretch since we passed about 10 days ago.  As we head into Slovenia and drive off the highway onto a road that will take us back to Koper (to the great cheap campstop we previously stayed at before) the sun has gone and we can see snow and ice off to the side of the road.  It is cold here and there must have been a good snow fall for it to still be around.  I take it easy on the road as it almost looks a bit greasy or icy and we don’t think it has seen much sun.

We arrive at Koper.  We are very fond of this place and are quite pleased to have the opportunity to be back here again.  Although it is right on a very busy highway it hasn’t bothered us before and we don’t notice the traffic this time either.  The ferry from Trieste doesn’t leave until  the morning after tomorrow at 4.30am and we find out that the ticket office isn’t open until midnight so we don’t have to leave here early, but we want to arrive in daylight to make it easier so late afternoon will be fine.

We head into town next morning to a café we know does great coffee and have a bit of a wander.  We find a sports shop that is selling cheap runners and we know we will both need new ones soon so have a look.  We both manage to get a pair for about 40 euro – both asics that we know are around $220 in Aussie so a bargain.  Time is getting away so we head back to the van, pack up and off to Trieste.  As we head over the border the smog get worse and seemingly in typical Italian style that we have experience in that country there is heaps of pollution and it is awful.  We find the port and drive down to the office.  We are told it is closed until midnight, so we park in the queue and sit out the long 7 hour wait until we can buy tickets and then wait another 4 hours until we leave.

At midnight we head to the ticket office.  Our previous plan was to take a ferry from Split to Ancona, a ferry from Ancona to Patras and then another ferry from Patras back to Ancona ready to go to Spain.  The guy does us a fantastic deal where because we book an open ticket back to Ancona and because we have a camper we get a free room so we can sleep and 30% off any meals plus I can still use my uni student card and get a major discount for my ticket.  The total price of the return trip we pay for is 800euro less than we would have paid for the other 3 ferry trips – a massive aud1300 saving just by driving to Trieste.  I am happy with that as we are just a bit over budget so this saving is great. And we are also grateful we didn’t get on the ferry at Split.

We manage to stay awake until 3.30 when we board the ferry.  There are hardly any vehicles leaving from here and the ferry is very empty at this point.  We head to our room which is an inside cabin with shower and toilet and two single beds.  Fantastic, much better than sleeping in an aircraft seat which was our other option.  We hit the hay and at least manage a few hours sleep before announcements wake us to say we are in Ancona.  Eventually we get up and check out Ancona where we are docked for about 3 hours.  They must have loaded heaps of trucks as when we go to leave the ship the deck that we are parked on that was empty is chokka.  We have a smooth sailing which is great.  We head up on deck to check out the pool….lol.  It is empty and is dreadful looking so maybe it hasn’t been used for a while.  There isn’t anything happening on the boat other than a few people playing pokies and a limited menu put on in the café at meal times.  Staff are on a skeleton schedule by the limited amount we see.  We spend all day up in the lounge watching the scenery and reading until tea time.  The meals are unfortunately ordinary and expensive so we choose the best of it but wish we could get down to the campervan to cook our own.  They actually don’t allow you to go back to your vehicle during the voyage and I can understand why.  When we head to the van the next afternoon, just trying to slide between the trucks to get to our van is a nightmare.  Walking between the front and back of a truck is hairy as there is no room for movement or you would be crushed.  So if that happened whilst on the ocean you would be mince meat.  Unpleasant even when we are in dock.  They park the trucks so close that we can’t even slide between some of them.

We end our first night watching a movie on the laptop in our little cabin.  A reasonable nights sleep and we get up when we hit Igoumenitsa.  This place is difficult to remember at first so we nickname it ‘Eat all my pizza’ as it is similar and works for us.  We watch the first cars and trucks and a bunch of teenagers leave the ship and this little town actually looks really quite cute.  We may change our plans again and get back on the ferry here instead of Patras if we feel the roads are ok to travel on.  Woohoo, finally in Greece – country no. 24.

Our experience on this ship is a fairly ordinary one, but we know this company is owned by Grimaldi lines who are renowned for not great, dirty unkempt ships in Europe perhaps lacking a bit of safety.  Our room was ok, the beds clean, the bathroom clean but the common toilets were disgusting, the sofas uncomfortable and in bad shape and the staff really didn’t appear to be very happy at all, but hey we were only on there for 36 hours so it was fine.

After breakfast and another 5 hours and we dock in Patras.  We are almost last off our deck as there are heaps of trucks first.  Driving through Patras it appears as if it is a typical port town.  Dirty, rubbish everywhere and just a generally unkempt rundown city.  The countryside is similar to Croatia, not quite as rocky, but mountainous and barren.  The roads are badly in need of repair, that we have seen on our short time here so I doubt we will be travelling to all the places we have thought of.  We are still a little tired from our 4am morning so we decide it isn’t worth travelling too far so I have picked a small camp half an hour out of Patras where it will only take us a few hours to get to Athens tomorrow.  The camp has a few dogs that are very bark happy but the labby is a lovely girl despite her barking habits.  We sit and have a drink in the fading sun.  I do some research thinking maybe we could spend a couple of days on Santorini or Mikonos leaving the van at Athens but most places are closed and even those that are open I am not sure how you get meals as there are few taverns etc open.  I think it is too hard so we will have to come back to see the Greek Islands at a later date in our lives at a more suitable time, not in the summer and not in the winter!  We get wifi for the first time in a few days and we find out we have a new baby grandson born a few days before, how cool.  It’s times like this that it is a shame we are away from home, but we will see photos and hopefully Skype home so we can see our new Grandson.

We could have bought wifi on the ship but I am still in shock at how pathetic it was.  4euro for 4mb….yes 4 mb of data.  That wouldn’t even receive an email these days, I am in a WTF mode.  Or you can get 8mb of data for 8euro or for the princely sum of 11euro you can get 12mb of data.  I think this data must be from 10 years ago as no one in their right mind would pay that kind of money for that pittance of data, again I say WTF!!!

Oh dear we have just realised why we got the 3rd degree on the first border crossing between Slovenia and Croatia.  We had breached the Schengen agreement NZ has with Slovenia unknowingly but my innocent bluff (I didn’t know I was doing that at the time) meant they let us through, but we would have been classified as illegal overstayers in Schengen and then travelling back through Slovenia two days ago was another breach.  Thank goodness we are ok where we are now.  I thought I knew the rules thoroughly but I missed the rules of 4 countries that we should never have been allowed into.  Lucky!