Igoumenitsa and Plataria: not everything going to plan

Monday 20^th May Igoumenitsa and Plataria

We left Ioannina in the morning continuing through the Pinhos Mountains down to Igoumenitsa where we saw a few more snakes, a few which had been crushed by cars on the road, but no tortoises today. We stopped at Igoumenitsa to book our ferry tickets for Corfu on the 23^rd. It cost 90 euros. We decided to drive southwards to find our planned camping spot. Mike had identified a few others north of the town but these were less that 5k from the Albanian border which seemed not such a good idea. Before reaching our planned site we fell upon Plataria. Plataria is a lovely small pleasant sea side town with a long beach front and small harbour. We found somewhere to park along the beach front and watched 10 or so small yachts return to the harbour. We later found out that they were part of a Neilson flotilla that was touring the Greek Islands. Something to think about for next year. In the evening we had a beach bbq and two lovely dogs attached themselves to us and stayed all night. It got us both thinking about having two puppies when we get home.

Tuesday 21st May Plataria

It was a gorgeous hot sunny day but Jacqui had already made a decision to work today so Mike had to amuse himself on the beach. Eight hours later Jacqui was screaming for a break so we went to one of the beach cafes and ate expensive ice-cream - well she had worked all day. We then went back to the van and had a late supper.  It was a hot still night and it was difficult to sleep especially as some mosiquitoes had found a way in. We eventually killed about 8 and went to sleep.

Wednesday 22nd May Plataria

Jacqui did another couple of hours work first thing but after lunch we set off back to igoumenitsa to complete some tasks before leaving for Corfu. These were find bank and get cash, get loo chemicals, diesel, LPG and food.  We managed to find the loo chemicals in a marine chandlers (no camping shops). The bank was easy, we counted 10 different branches along the front of the Port. We shopped at Lidl and got our diesel but no LPG.  At the petrol station we were told of somewhere about 20Km away where we could get it, annoyingly it was back in the direction we had come from.  We eventually found the garage. When we pulled up we thought we weren't going to be served ; this is the second garage that seems unable to comprehend that our van uses both diesel and LPG.

As we had passed Plataria we headed back there for another night. The weather was deteriorating with heavy cloud and the wind was strengthening but it was still very hot.  The fridge was struggling to cope with the temperature as it does not work when outside temps are above 32C.  Worryingly we were also getting a 'fumey smell'. Mike checked and cleared all the vents but could see nothing wrong.  It was over 30C when we went to bed and we had as many windows open as possible but only slightly.  This was a mistake as at 12.30am there was a huge gust of wind that ripped our large cabin window off its hinges.  It landed in the road.  Fortunately it did not break and Mike was able to retrieve it before any vehicles ran over it. At 1.00am we were discussing how to fix it over a cup of tea and the only solution appeared to be to hold it in place with 'Duck tape' and try to find a Burstner agent. It was a restless night with the high winds but at least there was no more van damage.

Meteora and Ioannina

 

Friday 17^th May. Meteora.

It was yet another beautiful drive. We could see snow- capped mountains in the distance as we travelled to Meteora. We passed shepherds watching their flocks in the traditional manner: walking them over the hills with their dogs - no fenced areas here. We drove through mainly arable land and then the amazing landscape of Meteora came into view. This area is full of massive spikes, cones and rounded hills that were created from river sediment that was twisted into bizarre shapes as the river flowed into the sea 25 million years ago.

 

It was an area that has supported religious communities since the late 10th Century although it was 1336 when the first monastery was built. At one time there were 24 monasteries and each one on its own ridiculous pinnacle. There are 6 remaining today and have been made famous by such films as 007 “for your eyes only”. In the past monks had to be hauled up to the monastery by a net/basket but now there is a dizzying road that takes you there. Although we visited all 6 monasteries we only went inside the largest and grandest,  Megalou Meteorou, built 400 m above the valley floor. To enter Jacqui was required to wear a long dress (no shorts, trousers or skirts above knees) and trousers for Mike. The monastery contained some interesting information on the history and liberation of modern Greece from the Turks in the 16^th century and the Germans in World War 2, plus lots of religious artefacts.

 

As we drove and walked to each monastery we had to keep stopping as we were overawed with the views. At one of our stops 'Costas' arrived. He was offering free camping in exchange for a meal at his mother’s hotel. This was just the site/man we were looking for. We met up with two decent German blokes and exchanged places to stay in Greece and in the Alps. They also gave us some maps. We all ended up at Costas' mothers hotel for supper which was simple BBQ chicken, Greek salad and wine all for only 24 euros (12 euros each). Later Costas invited Jacqui and I to drink Ouzo with him overlooking his 1000 olive trees from a very romantic spot. I could not face all the Ouzo after my last experience so Jacqui very kindly, when Costas was not looking, helped me out. 

 

Saturday 18^th May Metsova to Ioannina

We left late morning as Jacqui did a couple of hours work. Before we left Meteora there was one last monastery Mike wanted to visit. This was Agiou Nikolaou Anapafsas. A 14^th Century Monastery famous for its 16th Century frescos. On the way down from the Monasteries there was suddenly an amazing number of butterflies fluttering around. Our journey to day took us across the Pindhos mountains via the Katora Pass. This was another stunning journey. 

We stopped for 45 minutes at Metsova. This is a high mountain town consisting of stone houses. It was very picturesque but also quite commercial. So we continued through the Pindhos mountains avoiding numerous rock fall, snakes and tortoises on an very quiet mountain road where we only saw two cars over a period of two hours. Eventually we arrived in Ioannina which lies on the edge of a very beautiful lake where we eventually pulled up to park. In the evening we wandered along the water’s edge and watched some traditional Greek dancing. It turned out that the following day there were to be road races along the front so we decided to move the van to a quieter part of town. This proved to be quite difficult as the whole town was buzzing.

Sunday 19^th May Ioannina  

We moved early back to the lakeside car park in readiness to watch the beginning part of the race. After the first 10k runners passed us, Jacqui did a little more work and Mike went into the Old Town to explore the 5^th century castle,  various fortifications and minarets built by Ali Pasha. Ioannina was the former capital of the Albanian Muslim Chieftain Ali Pasha.

At 12pm we both went to a café where Jacqui had a good chat with Daxa on Skype and Mike was eyed up by the waiter. We then had lunch by the lake. After lunch we both had a laze. By 3.30pm the temp had dropped to 33 degrees and there was a good breeze so we decided to have a cycle. We started off along the front to see where it would take us. We ended up cycleing around the lake – 25k plus. It took a couple of hot dusty hours. At one point we crossed fields through dirt tracks but overall it was a good ride. In the evening the town again got very busy. No sign of a recession here.

Mt. Olympus

 

Wednesday 15^th May Itea to Panteleimonas.

Today was a travelling day as we had decided to visit Mt Olympus before heading to Corfu. It was about 260km with much of it on good quality mountain roads. We eventually decided to stop about 30km short at the beach resort of Panteleimonas. During the drive we stopped for bread and milk and Jacqui bought a pair of shorts and vest at Intersport. This has now completed her trip wardrobe. About time too.

Thursday 16^th May Mt Olympus.

This morning we drove the short distance to Litoharo where we picked up the mountain road to the Olympus National Park. A 14km drive took us on a windy course through roads lined with wild flowers and dense forest beyond. The forest was not only conifers; the slopes were supporting many large deciduous trees such as beech. At the end of the drive we reached Prionia which is a base for the sharper climb to the Spilious Agapitos refuge. Priona had a WC, water, one restaurant and a large car park. We locked the van carefully and set off for the refuge with our water and lunch. It was raining slightly when we set off so we dressed accordingly but it soon stopped and we needed to strip down to T shirt and shorts. The climb was fairly rough and reasonably steep. When we stopped for lunch, after 2 hours, Jacqui started to wonder if would make the refuge before we needed to return to ensure we were down the mountain before dark especially as she was starting to get tired. We agreed to continue until 2.30pm but we made our destination by 2.00pm. it had taken 3 ¼ hours which wasn’t bad as it was marked as a 3 hour trail and we had stopped for lunch. At the refuge we bought a very welcome Snickers bar, mint tea with sugar and coffee. We needed the energy. It was another 3 hour climb to the summit but that would have involved an overnight stay at the refuge. Also the conditions weren’t good as there was a lot of cloud, neither did we have the right equipment as we were now in and above the snow line and there was quite a bit of snow up to the peak. As we were about to head down Jacqui realised she had lost her glasses (not sun glasses). She looked all over the refuge and in the rucksack. We decided that she must have dropped them on the way up as Mike remembered her having them when we stopped for lunch. The one place we thought it could be was when we first reached the snow. Jacqui had dodged Mike’s snow ball and then had lent down to wash her face in the snow. The answer was yes as on the way down there they were lying at the edge of the snow  drift. Jacqui was relieved. We walked down the mountain much quicker in 2 hours but were tired on arriving back at the van. We both decided to take the short drive to the coast for a night stop but it was not to be. We picked up water in a village but could not find a suitable place to park. We ended up doing another hour's drive around the back of the mountain. We eventually pulled off the main road and found a lovely spot  near a river and stayed there for the night.