2nd June
As we now knew what the roads were like around Metsova we decided to pay the tolls for the first part of the journey (6 euros) and to use the motorways. We came off at Kozani and went back up into the mountains before dropping down to Vergina. We had been advised to visit here to see the recently discovered Tombs of Philip II - the father of Alexander the Great. Alexander knew how to give his father a good send off and he used his wealth and power to do this. The tombs contained some wonderful artefacts as fit for a king in the After Life. Gold chests, wreaths, silver bowls, lanterns etc were to be admired along with armour and other necessary artefacts for his second life. The museum is cleverly constructed underground around the tombs and once you were accustomed to the low level of light you could see that a wonderful environment had been created to preserve and show off these treasures.
We were surprised as we came out of the tomb to find another thunderstorm in full flow. We dashed back to the van, had a very late lunch and set off for Thessaloniki. Our reason to get here was to have our fridge checked out. We spent the night on the beach at Peraia , which had been identified to us as a useful wild camp spot. It was a good spot - right on the beach, overlooking the bay and with a lovely sunset. This was going to be our last beach stop for somewhile and maybe the last of our trip so we were going to make the most of it.
3rd June
After breakfast we called in at a supermarket to get some tomatoes and bread (and to check prices against Lidl! and then we drove to Zampetas caravans. We were met by Antonios who was very helpful and was able to look at our fridge straightaway (we had originally booked it for the 4th June). He also agreed to repair our toilet. Whilst the van was being worked on I took advantage of their free internet supply to catch up on some work. Antonios offered a really good service; we could stay overnight here free with full camper service, electricity etc being available. This also included free laundry but unfortunately I did not have any at this time. The good news was that our fridge chimney had been cleared of a lot of soot and was now functioning properly. We are not sure whether this was due to dirty LPG but we think Mt. Etna might also have had something to do with it as we did drive through a lot of dark ash.. The toilet was going to take longer as part of the mechansim had become clacified (there is very hard water in parts of Europe) and was going to need soaking overnight. We decided to spend the night here so we had a quick lunch and then took our bikes of the back and cycled to the beach. It was very hot, 30C plus, so we found a lovely beach cafe that provided sun loungers in return for a drink. Mike had a beer and I had a freddochino (it was a bit like a chocolate Nesquick slush puppy). We had a relaxing time sunbathing and swimming and agreed it was a good way to spend our last full day in Greece.
On the way home we called in at a pharmacy for a weigh in. I was very pleased to find I have lost a stone since I started my travels and Mike's weight was now stable. I had been a bit worried about how much he had lost. We also called in at Lidl and did a full shop so we were a bit wobbly cycling back to the van.
4th June
We were up later than we intended as we had been kept awake most of the night by barking guard dogs. perhaps it hadn't been such a good decision to stay at Zampetas' site. However we were soon on the road and heading in the direction of Bulgaria. It was an easy journey and even crossing the border posed little problems. our passports were given a cursory glance and with just a little difficulty I was able to locate a cash machine - in the casino so that I could get some Bulgarian Lev to pay for the compulsory road tax vignette. (20 Lev approx 10 euros).
We continued on the road in the direction of Sofia. We called in at Sandanski where Spartacus was born and this was the first time we missed our Sat Nav (It doesn't work in Bulgaria despite us having European maps). There were a couple of roads blocked due to roadworks here and it took us quite a while to find a way out of the town. We must have amused some of the locals as we drive around the same roads two or three times. We continued along the Struma Valley and pulled into a road side restaurant and for some reason decided to have a large lunch. It was actually a Turkish restaurant and Mike had a large kebab (to make up for not having pork gyros in Greece) and I had a lamb dish. Both were served with salad and an enormous sesame seed coated flat bread. This was so huge I ended up taking half of it back to the van for later consumption.
By now the skies were darkening and we were soon in a heavy rain storm. With no Sat Nav, really bad road conditions and the thunderstorms we were all ready missing sunny Greece. But the Struma Valley was pretty and as we turned off the E79 the scenery really became beautiful as we found ourselves travelling in wooded hills with mountains in the distance. We drove through Rila and onto the Monastery another 17km further on. The monastery is a Unesco world heritage site and one of the most important things to see in Bulgaria.
We had been advised against wild camping in Bulgaria (illegal and heavy fines if caught or so we were informed) so we headed to our chosen campsite called Bor. It was shut so we continued on to Camping Zodiac. This was fairly basic but had all amenities although the electricity supply was a bit hit and miss. That night there were no dogs to keep us awake but the rushing mountain stream did a good job to match the noise levels (but so much more pleasant).
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