Greece 2019 Xmas
Our flight from Toronto was delayed, resulting
in a 4 hour delay in our arrival. KLM gave me a meal voucher and I
also tried out their lounge in Pearson.Odin weathered the flight
just fine and Kees picked us up in the Hymer.
Odin led us to NordZee for Kibbeling, but it
was closed for renos, much to his disconsternation.
After 2 days in Velsen-Noord at Camping van Veen, Odin and I set off for Bamberg. We arrived just at dusk and did a first shopping at the Real – including Glühwein with traditional Glühwein glasses! Then we parked in the stellplatz and walked along the canal into Bamberg zentrum (about 25 minutes). There was a Christmas market ongoing, which we passed through ...
on our
way to Schlenkerla, where we dined on Schweinshaxe, dumpling,
sauerkraut und Rauchbier.
Next morning we left early, checking out a few
places for Schneider Tap 5 (Hopfenweisse) to no avail. We circled
east around München to drop down towards Innsbruck just south of
Rosenheim. Then we crossed the Brenner toll pass and took toll roads
through Italy to just south of Verona, where we took a SS road to
Castelguglielmo, staying the night in a stellplatz with all
facilities, including electric, at no charge.
Next day we drove a couple of hours to Ancona,
located the Minoan ferry office, then spent the night right on the
beach at Marina de Montemarciano, just north of the port.
Next day we dropped into an Auchan in Ancona,
then boarded the ferry to Patras. We had a pet cabin all to
ourselves. I brought in the kettle, some wine and a Poulet Roti. Good
set up for a guy and his dog! Once the sun rose, we spent a lot of
time on the open deck, which had an open air bar with tables,
watching the coast of Albania, then the Greek Isles glide on by.
The guiding of vehicles was seamless and
professional, not the chaos I have read about online. The Minoan
staff were friendly and helpful.
We landed in Patras, just after dark and I
headed 30 km straight to a Park4Night location overlooking the bay
of Corinth at Paralias, Rododafni.
Next day we took a combination of toll highways
and the Old National to go around Athens, waiting for Taylor perched on the water at Porto Rafti, a few kms from Athens Airport.
Taylor arrived after an uneventful 2 flights,
broken by a sojourn in a lounge at Schiphol. We found easy parking
in P1 at the airport (height barrier 3.3m). Odin went absolutely
ballistic when he saw Taylor emerge!
We returned to Porto Rafti for the night,
picking up a Poulet Roti at Sklavenitis supermarket.
Next morning we headed north, mostly on
toll roads, to Meteora. We stayed the first night right
in Kalampaka, dining at an unassuming taverna with excellent food,
Yamas Taverna. Fried Feta, pork steak and sea bream with Greek beer.
Next day we toured the Great Meteoron monastery
and the Rousanou Convent, as well as driving the roads to view the
others. Holy Trinity, which was also on our list to visit, was
closed for renos, and Vaarlam was closed on that day. That night we
freecamped alone right next to Vaarlam, waking up the next day to a
mist shrouded tableau.
A rainy day, we headed south to Delphi, finding
an OK freecamp 100m from the entrance. Next morning we toured the
archaeological site.
From Delphi we travelled west along the north
coast of the Bay of Corinth to Nafpaktos,
where we again freecamped overlooking the Bay, walking into the
centre around the fortified harbour, serenaded by a passing marching
band, complete with Santa, and surrounded by an array of Christmas
lights. Met a number of very friendly locals.
Next day we went up to Nafpaktos Castle, which
stretches from the crown of the hill, in a series of 5 enceintes,
right down to the harbour. Well worth the visit!
Next day we entered the Peloponnese over the
Antirrio Bridge. Had we known of its existence, we would have taken
the adjacent ferry at lower cost and with better views!
Skirting Patras, we headed for Ionian Blu
Restaurant near Vouprasia on the Ionian Sea. Here Jurgos the owner
provides, at no cost, a motorhome space, WC, dumping, rudimentary
showers and electric (at a nominal fee). We stayed 2 days, dining on
fresh caught shrimp, squid and variety of fish,
liberally interspersed with Ouzo and wine. A very natural, welcoming
good-feeling place!
After a couple of days we headed towards the
Olympia Archaeological Site, staying at Katakolo harbour the night
before, eating at a somewhat touristy harbourside restaurant, which
was nonetheless quite good.
Next morning (Dec. 19) we toured Olympia...
... then went south to rest a couple of days on an
isolated beach parking spot at Kakovatos, Zacharo.
Hugging the western coast, we dropped into
Agrili, where we espied the strange, now closed “Fairytale Castle,
followed by the “Eiffel Tower” in Filiatra, both built by the same
Greek-American doctor.
Next, after unsuccessfully trying to access a
supermarket in Garaglianoi, we rested on the beach at Voidolilias,
below the ruined Castle Navarino, with a German Hymer next to us and
a nude Greek bather on the other side.
The following day we stayed in Pilos Harbour,
moving closer to the wall at night to shelter from strong winds.
Then we did a drive through Methoni, viewing its castle...
... then through the mountains to the eastern coast, staying
the night at Agios Andreas, joined by a Czech family, overlooking
the harbour. There is an abandoned campground here, but we chose not
to park inside in case we became stuck!
From Agios Andreas we drove up to Kalamata, hoping to stay at the Marina, but it no longer accepts campers, so we headed just east to Camping Fare, where we spent Christmas doing laundry and enjoying the company of a German couple and a Danish couple.
Then we spent a 3rd night in Kalamata in the
centre overlooking the water, dining on a great mixed grill at
Paliakon in the old town, then next morning filling our empty
propane tank at a LPG station and picking up Metaxa, Ouzo and Poulet
roti at Sklavenitis supermarket before wending our way into the
mountains on route 82 to Mystras.
The road to Mystras was very slow and winding, with evidence of numerous rock falls and only a few tiny towns.
Mystras itself is an amazing vast ruined town, a few kms from
Sparta, that has been abandoned essentially since 1830.
We thought of staying at the entrance to
Mystras overnight, but instead elected to drive to the beach near
the wreck of the Dimitrios, where we stayed one night in the company
of half a dozen older DIY Mercedes campers and a few expedition type
vehicles.
Next day, we moved over to the port town of
Gytheo, where we stayed a couple of days right on the water,
strolling the town and eating at the superb Saga seafood restaurant.
From Gytheo we looped back through Skala to rest at Bozo Beach, we hoped for New Years Eve.
However there was a
convoy of expedition type campers planning a party, so after one
night we moved on to stay at Plitra overlooking the water for 2 days
over new years. Ate uninspiring but OK pizza.
From Plitra we headed over to stay a couple of
days at Monemvasia, buffeted by high winds. We walked over to the
famous Old Town and ate octopus at Mateo’s.
Going up the coast,
we stayed 2 days at the
great Camping Semeli in Leonido, eating seafood at Dolphins.
Going up the coast we stopped for a couple of hours at a Park4Night location at another Agios Andreas,
but kept
moving to stay the night overlooking the water at Kiveri, with good
views of the castles at Napflio and Argos.
Next day we drove into Napflio, staying in the
harbour, walking the engaging town, visiting both castles and eating
in Greece’s “oldest Taberna”.
From Napflio we visited the ancient site of Mycenae...
... then doubled back to climb the one lane road to sleep below
Argos Castle, just above a monastery and overlooking the vista of
the Argolic Gulf.
Leaving Argos, we headed for the Corinth Canal, but en route we espied the awesome Acrocorinth, so we stayed there overnight, visiting the castle in the morning...
...followed by a visit to Archaea Korinthos...
...and the Corinth Canal...
...before heading to Athens
to freecamp at the Alimos marina for a few days.
Unable to take Odin on the transit and
receiving no response from the pet taxis, we elected to go in
separately each for one day to visit the Acropolis and tour some
neighbourhoods. Had a couple of excellent meals at The President and
X.H.MA.
Leaving Athens, we had a couple of headlight
bulbs replaced at Spicar, then headed to Lavrio to use a laundromat.
We didn’t stay at the port – looked too industrial, so we headed
back to Porto Rafti for a couple of days, checking out a local
market, some old WWII bunkers and having a nice meal at Ouki Ouki.
Then we woke up at 3 a.m. to get Taylor to the
airport by 4 for her 6 a.m. flight to Paris /Toronto.
Odin & I then drove over to Patras, checked out
the port and headed an hour out to revisit the Ionion Blu
Stellplatz, but no one was there! I had been looking forward to
Yurgos’ squid, but instead ate backup food, charged batteries and
dumped, all solo, before heading to Patras the next day to board the
ferry, picking up a Poulet roti at Sklavenitis for the trip.
Arriving in Ancona at dusk the next day, I
drove directly to the stellplatz at Castelguglielmo, only to find it
closed until March! Found another stellplatz nearby at Lendinara,
also with free dumping, water and electric.
Next morning I headed up through Austria over the Brenner pass in good weather...
... heading towards Bamberg, but
stopped instead at the stellplatz at Gasthof Lindenwirt in
Denkendorf, just north of Ingolstadt: €5 for a pitch and electric,
if you eat there, which I did. Excellent Hirsch ragout.
Next day I shot over to Antwerpen, where I
stayed the night at the Vogelzang Stellplatz, which has really
deteriorated, eating carbonnade flammande at Dikke Mee.