Osios Loucas and Delphi

Monday 13^th May Athens to Osios Loucas.

The morning was spent at the campsite using the internet facilities to catch up with Lizzy (Keele) and servicing the van. Mike also gave the carpets and interior a good clean. We left the campsite at 2.00pm but it was nearly 4.00pm after we had been food shopping, sorted diesel and gas, had an abortive cloths shopping trip for some shorts (Jacqui’s only pair had holes in.) We took the E962 to Thiva and then the smaller route (green of course) in the direction of Domvraina and for about 15km the road was being resurfaced so we bumped along for a good while with everything in the van and our bodies shaking. We could also see a dramatic thunderstorm in the distance and although we did have some heavy rain  we were on the fringe of it. The road from Domvraina towards our destination, Osios Loucas was breath-takingly beautiful. Beautiful mountain gorges with roads lined with yellow broom. Although it increased our diesel consumption significantly, it was worth it. We were heading for a Byzantine Monastery at Osios Loucas. We could see it in splendid isolation on top of a hill and eventually the road took us there. It was 7.30pm when we arrived and the monastery was shut but the car park was empty so we pulled in and decided to stay the night. Monks are known to help weary travellers. It was impossible to describe how beautiful and tranquil it was there. We were literally miles from anywhere perched on top of a mountain. All we could hear was a cuckoo that was answering another in the distance or was it an echo?

Tuesday 14^th May Osios Loucas to Delphi.

We were up early as we wanted to  be ready to enter the Monastery once it opened and move off to Delphi because we had just started to realise all historical Greek sites closed  by 3.00pm. Our guidebook said that this monastery opened at 8.00am. but as we walked down a man who looked like the “odd job man” stopped us. He only spoke Greek except for the ability to ask for a cigarette and advised us, with the use of our watches, that the site would not be open until 10.00 am. However, he came back at 9.15am to say it was now open so we followed him down the stone steps to the entrance. He seemed rather attached to us: as we went around this lovely site he kept appearing to 1) show us a sun dial hidden on the wall, 2) point us to the direction of the grave yard and small church not shown on our guide map, 3) give us olive oil soaked cotton wool to “cross” our hands and forehead before entering the main church and 4) give us some Turkish Delight. All this and we hadn't been able to help him out with his request for a fag.  Although the whole site was lovely the main point of visiting was to see the mosaic pictures in the portico and the main part of the church. Shortly after 10.30am we were back on the mountain road to Delphi. This is the second most important archaeological site in Greece and it was quite busy. Zeus, it is said, sent two Eagles out, one to fly east and the other to fly west. Where they met, Zeus sent down a bolt of lightning and this was to be known as the centre of the world (Delphi). One of the site's highlights was the Temple of Apollo but there are many other monuments, treasures etc. as you zig zag up the hill. But the thing that makes the place special is its location. It overlooks a beautiful gorge and is backed by the towering Mt. Parnassos. Having spent only 90 minutes here we headed off to the other two adjacent sites: the gymnasium and the Temples of Athena. The first was closed but you could see what was there from the road above and we walked around the second, although Jacqui was starting to get extremely hot. We walked back to the van and had lunch before heading off down the mountain to the coastal town of Itea where we knew we could park our van on the harbour front. We walked round the town in the late afternoon and Jacqui bought a white linen dress. In the evening we were pleased to see John and Marion drive up and after supper we shared a glass of wine and travelling tales with them.

Athens

 


11th May 2013

We left our beach parking spot early and set off for Athens which was only just over 50Km away. Jacqui had planned a skype call with Lizzie to discuss some work issues for 12.15 and we wanted to be settled in our campsite beforehand. We found Camping Athens easily; it was not a cheap site at 26 euros a night but we wanted to be assured the van was safe whilst we explored Athens and we needed a good internet signal. Camping Athens was also conveniently located for the city centre taking under 30 minutes on bus and Metro. Jacqui chatted with Lizzie for nearly two hours so we had a quick lunch and then set off for the Acropolis station.  It was very hot when we arrived at 3pm and Jacqui was sweating under her new sun hat.  We walked up to the Acropolis gates to find out that it had closed at 2.15pm despite the guide books telling us it closed at 6.30pm. We could not understand why such an important monument should close mid afternoon on a weekend. We traipsed back down the hill trying to reschedule our time in Athens in our heads.  We decided to visit the Acropolis museum first. This was a good move.  it is a modern, light building with excellent air conditioning. Apart for all the artefacts in there we also had the opportunuity to watch a good video about the excavation of the Acropolis and gleaned much information to enhance our future visit to the Acropolis site. In the museum there were numerous references to various pieces of marble being in the British Museum and to Lord Elgin's stealing of important statues. Britain has not been forgiven for this.

After a good visit we left the museum and headed to Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus - again closed. We then walked through the cool National Gardens and up to the Parliamentary buildings and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Greek Army does have a very strange ceremonial unifrom. The poor men have to wear cream coloured woollen tights with slippers that are adorned at the toes by a big fluffy black ball of wool. Ridiculous!! Mike thought that maybe in times of war the enemy would die laughing as the Greeks approached.
Our next stop was to try to get to the top of Lycabettus Hill to get some good views of the City and to vist the small church Agios Georgios.  It was a long hot walk up numerous steps to get to the base of the hill. We eventually decided to take the funicular up to the top which cost 7 euros each.  We later realised that we had done much of the hard walking and could have saved the money but Jacqui was very hot.  It was worth paying because the views from the top were impressive and there was a small wedding at the Church.  The bride looked beautiful and what an outstanding place to 'tie the knot'.  It was quite cool up on the hill and the sun was setting. We had walked miles and we still had to get back down and find our way to the campsite.  It was nearly 10pm before we were home and sitting down to supper. We both slept well that night.

Sunday 12th May
Despite our best attempts to get to the Acropolis at 8am when it opened so we could visit it in the cool of the day it was just after 9am when we left the campsite. We travelled in with two young couples form NZ and we gave some advice on what to see as they continued their trip around Europe.

It was just before 10am when we each paid our 12 euros to visit the Acropolis. As we walked up to the gateway of the Acropolis we saw the Temple of Dionysus where the Greek poets had the premiers of their plays performed. From there we passed the Stoa of Eumenes and the Odeion of Herodes Atticus. All the time climbing up to the 'sacred rock', the Acropolis.  The main entrance to the Acropolis is named the Propylaea. Other ruins on this site include 'The Temple of Athena Victory, The Erechtheion and of course the Parthenon. Despite all the restoration work going on it is truly a marvellous place to visit.  The views were also impressive allowing you to look right over the city and to the sea beyond. It also allowed us to pick out the other sites we wanted to visit and to orientate ourselves.

After we left the Acropolis we walked to the Ancient Agora, which included the Stoa of Attalus (plus museum) and the Temple of Hephaistos. We managed to find some shade to have our sandwiches and then we continued walking slowly (it was hot) to the Roman Agora, Hadrian's Library, (not as good as the one in Tivoli) and the Kyrristus Clock Tower of the Winds. We stopped for an ice cream and a drink in the Plaka at the Lysikrates Monument and then wandered down numerous narrow streets, lined with cafes and touristy shops to the Cathedral. Tired now we decided to head back to the Metro and to the campsite to chill out. We did do some laundry and some blogging but it we also just sat drinking some well deserved beer and eating crisps.  It was a good end to a busy two days.  

Ancient Greece 8th to 10th May

Wednesday 8^th May, Mycenae and Nafplio

We were on the road early heading for yet another ancient Greek site Mycenae.  It was an overcast morning so it was looking good for sight-seeing.  When we arrived Jacqui decided after looking at a lot of scattered stones on a hillside that she would miss this one out and Mike set off on his own.  It is believed that the site was occupied from 1950BC to 1100BC.  It was excavated by a German archaeologist Heinrich Schlieman in 1874.  The site is entered via the Lion Gate and contains the remains of tombs, palaces, merchants’ houses and other dwellings. Mike has always had an interest in Greek mythology and spent about 2 hours there whilst Jacqui spent time organising our photo files as well as doing some Keele work.  This site was where Agamemnon and his followers were murdered on their triumphant return from Troy. Once Mike returned we had lunch and then set off for Nafplio.

  

Nafplio was a lovely place. It has a large harbour where we could comfortably park the van. Nafplio’s main claim to fame was that it was once the first capital of Greece. It contained three forts, one in the sea at the entrance to the harbour: Bourtzi, the Acronafplia, which was only a ruin and the Palamidhi. To reach the latter the guide book recommended getting a taxi to the top and then walking down the 999 steps.  Of course, in the melting sun, we walked both up and down! On the way down a massive thunderstorm unleashed heavy rain but it literally stopped 50 yards in front of us. Jacqui was really hoping she would get soaked to cool herself down but it was not to be so we went for an iced coffee, known locally as ‘freddo’ or ‘freddocino’ in one of the cafes in a very pretty street that was decked throughout with vibrant pink bougainvillae. Not content with walking up a big hill we then set off to walk a coastal route that took us right round the town. It was very pretty. Later on that evening we went to one of the tavernas at the harbour ( Jacqui was too tired to cook) and had a beer and pork gyros (Jacqui) and fish and chips (Mike).  We went to bed feeling very full.

Thursday 9^th May Epidaurus

We left Nafplio after attending to some e mails and visiting the ruined fortress. We then set the Sat Nav for Epidaurus – yet another ancient site.  Greece does have a lot of them!  Epidaurus was a major religious centre and healing Spa around 400BC.  Primarily it was dedicated to Asclepius the God of healing and people would travel many miles to be cleansed, give sacrifice and worship their gods and hope to be cured. This normally happened after they fell asleep where they would then dream of the God visiting them.  When they awoke they were cured.  Jacqui was a bit cynical about one of the miracles of a women who could not have children. When she slept she dreamt that the God ‘visited’ her and 9 months later she had a child with her husband. (No DNA testing then!).  The site is also famous for its well preserved 14000 seated theatre. It is reported to have been built with great mathematical precision and to have excellent acoustics. We tried this out.  Mike went up to the top row (54) and Jacqui dropped a coin in the centre.  We think there was too much background noise or maybe age has destroyed the acoustics but Mike could not hear anything.

Two hours later we were back in the van which thankfully we had parked in the shade (another 30C plus day). We had lunch and then set off on a scenic route towards Corinth and were rewarded with some impressive views as a thunderstorm swept across the bay. We ended up camping just a few metres from the Corinth Canal. We spent the evening watching pilot boats and tugs escort mainly tankers through the narrow canal. What was more fascinating though was watching the road bridge disappear under water every time a ship needed to pass.

Friday 10^th May, Corinth

A bad start to the day. It had rained heavily in the night but Mike could also smell urine which was keeping him awake. It turned out that the loo had been leaking into the cupboard under the bed. We spent the first part of the morning clearing out and bleaching everything while Mike tried to think of a solution to the problem. It came down to “Duck tape” again. Mike seals around the toilet and the compartment that holds the toilet cassette to create a water tight seal. So far this is working well. Having re-packed everything we then set off for the ancient site of Corinth. As we approached we could see the fortress high on the hill. We were able to drive the van right up and were rewarded with wonderful views over Corinth, the surrounding countryside, across towards the northern mainland of Greece and down to the sea. The fortress was very imposing. The walls and entrances were still in good order but the rest, excluding a rebuilt church were in ruins. After a thorough exploration we decided to move back down to the town to the site of ancient Corinth here there is a Roman Agora but the main focus in the 5C BC Temple of Apollo. This is an important building becasue it still has standing 7 huge (575m) Doric columns. The site also housed a small but very interesting museum. We could only spend an hour here as the whole site closed down at 3pm.

Back in the van we continued our drive back to the coast, crossing the Corinth canal and stopping at a beach in a small town called Kineta. With permission we parked opposite a closed bar and set ourselves up for the night.

To and from Mystras

4th May 2013 Gytheio to Mystras

Although it had been lovely to have the company of Jay and Julie it was time to move on. We had our breakfast on the sea wall and were excited to see a dolphin/porpoise (it was too far away for us to tell) lazily circling in the bay. We packed up and said our goodbyes and headed off inland to  Mystras, a Byzantine ruined city. It was a lovely journey, we are really enjoying the Greek countryside. On the way we stopped at a couple of campsites and chose one to come back to later in the day. When we arrived at Mystras it was midday and 33C – not the best time to explore an ancient site but the site closed at 3pm and was not going to be open again for a couple of days due to the Greek Easter holidays. So it was now or never. We had a quick light salad lunch, packed lots of water and suntan lotion and set off.

Mystras is an almost complete Byzantine city that was once home to 20,000 people. On the summit was a large fortress and it was worth the climb up to see the wonderful views across the plains and up to the Taiyetos mountains. On the lower half of the city there were numerous churches, a convent and remains of other dwellings. Many of the buildings contained well preserved frescos dating from the 14C. We did well considering the heat to see as much as we had done by the time the bells rang at 3pm and we were happy to return to our campsite. The campsite was empty when we arrived but was run by a very pleasant and helpful Greek man. We used the laundry facilities and cleared all our washing.  It was good to know it was all  going to dry quickly.

5th May

As the owner of the campsite did not mind how long we stayed we decided to leave in the late afternoon.  This gave Jacqui time to do some work whilst Mike washed the van.  Although it was hot outside the van stayed reasonable cool but we were both pleased to have a shower before we set off at 4pm. I left with a load of oranges picked from the campsite and a kilo of Greek honey which I thought was a good price at 8 euros. 

We travelled from Mystras back into Sparta to get some cash and then drove to Geraki. From there the sat nav threw a wobbly that took us on a very convoluted route towards Mario. I cant believe it was the fastest or the shortest route (as she is set) but it was a most stunning drive. We saw about 500 goats and 3 tortoises on the road. The scenery started off as scrubland but became more wooded as we rose higher. Eventually our route took us down to the coast and we stopped just outside Lakos. We actually drove into Lakos as Mike had identified an overnight stop but it was full of motorhomes parked side by side and we could not face it after all our secluded spots. We found a wide layby overlooking the coast and pulled in. it turned out to be a bad choice as the road was busy even after 2.00am. I wonder if this was because it was Easter Sunday. Anyway we had very little sleep that night.

Monday 6^th May

Today we had planned to head north towards Nafpolio. But after an hours drive we came to a quiet little bay called Paralio Astros. It was so lovely that when a Dutch couple asked if we were staying the night as they did not want to be alone with their camper and we said yes. We spent most of the day reading in the sun/shade and cooling ourselves off in the sea. It was a lovely sandy bay that stayed shallow for ages.

In the late afternoon we cycled off towards a causeway we could see. It was the small but busy town of Paralio Astros. We had a good look around resisting the bars and came home for supper and early bed but although tired Jacqui found it too hot to sleep well.

Tuesday 7^th May, Paralio Astros

We loved our most recent location so we decided we would stay for another day. This is one of the great benefits of travelling in a motorhome at your own pace. More reading and swimming. After lunch we moved the van towards the town. However in the late afternoon the sun went behind the clouds and the wind got up. So after another walk through the town we decided to spend the night back at our original camping spot which was more sheltered.