SPAIN TO THE UK - VIA THE BALKANS!
Audrey Pocock – June
2012
Australians Audrey and Graham
Pocock motorhome from Mallorca to England via Spain, Andorra, France, Italy,
Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania, Greece, Italy and
France.
Spain-Andorra
We left Mallorca on 6 April 2013
travelling on the ferry to Valencia, to meet up once again with Bruce, our
faithful motorhome, who had been standing for almost 2 months bereft of his 2
travellers. We were surprised at how easily the motor started after such an
absence and once more the wheels began to roll.
The weather was a bit cold that week as
we made our way north, via Benicasim and Asco, into Andorra, where Graham was
delighted to find one of his favourite whiskies for about a a third of the
price it would be in Oz.
Andorra-France
With snow all around, we took the
tunnel from Andorra into France. Coming out of it and into fog was not what we
expected. It was quite terrifying - knuckle-whitening terrifying - for a few
kilometres downhill. We finally reached an Aire at Les Cabannes and
relaxed. Although still cold and still in the mountains, we knew it was all
downhill from here.
After that it got warm, pleasantly so,
as we made our way across the southwest of France via the Cathar district,
stopping at Quillan, Agde, Comps and finally on to the Vaucluse. The villages
here of course are beautiful and so we stopped for a few nights at Fontaine de
Vaucluse, the prettiest of towns, if not a trifle touristy. There is a
wonderful Aire here for lots of motorhomes at the entrance to the
village/town, with the river at the bottom of the meadow. There is a fee to be
paid, therefore no problem taking out the awning, table and chairs to sit in
the sun. From there it was just a short walk into Fontaine de
Vaucluse.
One thing we didn't enjoy there was a
pizza we ordered one evening in the town. The worst pizza in our lives! It was
so bad that we complained about it, only to be told that there was nothing
wrong with it (customer always wrong in France?) It must have had a whole tin
of uncooked tomato paste on it, with some awful topping. Hint – don't ever go
for a pizza in France in the evening in a restaurant. Make sure it is a
Pizzeria. We should have known that the Maitre'd didn't like us ordering
pizza, but if it's on the menu … Meanwhile Graham went into the restaurant to
tell the chef that it was the worst pizza of his life and in Australia we
can expect much better.
Unfortunately, he added “also in England”, which
didn't go down well at all. I mean, having worse food than England was as good
as telling the chef to cut his throat. However, he did offer us something else
if we would like, but we opted for paying for one pizza and
left.
From there we drove into Haute Provence
heading for Barcelonnette, where we continued through the Col de Larache Pass
and into Italy. The pass was covered in snow but thankfully the roads had been
cleared and we drove down with care.
Italy
We had discovered that the fridge
was not working on gas and so we decided to head for a Fiat dealer who we had
been told about by an Italian we had met in the campsite before the border. On
looking at it, he said that we needed a new controller. 200 Euros later he
installed it. Great to have it working again, though unfortunately it only
works on and off (not the controller's fault but maybe a blockage in
the pipe). A pain when you have to buy fresh food on a day by day
basis.
Two years ago we had decided to go to
the Cinque Terre but because of the floods then and the great damage we were
not able to walk there. This time, however, we thought we would go and take a
look. We drove down to Levanto via lots of tunnels. It really is amazing
scenery when you get a chance between tunnels to look at it. Finally we
reached Levanto and were pleased to see an Aire there, right outside
the train station, that takes you to all the 5 villages which form the
backbone of the Cinque Terre.
Inquiring if we could walk the CT, we
found that there were only 3 walks open. We made a decision then to walk from
Levanto to the first of the 5 villages. It was a walk, I will grant you - in
fact that is when I decided I wasn't quite as fit as I should be for something
I plan to do later in the year, namely the Inca Trail. Two and a half ragged
hours later we reached the first village and were we glad to see the train
station? We took it to the final village and then got off at each one on the
journey back. Beautiful they were, no wonder they are UNESCO listed - Vernazza
was our favourite. By the time we got back to Levanto we were utterly
exhausted. But we had had a glorious day and the weather was just perfect.
Italy at its best.
Next day we made our way due east toward
Venice, stopping in Mestre for a couple of nights. We wanted to see Venice
possibly for the last time (never say 'never again'). It is such a film set of
a city. We walked and walked, had coffee as only the Italians can make it,
took the Vaporetti again through the Grand Canal and just generally
enjoyed the visualness of it all.
Slovenia
Then it was round the coast to
Trieste and into Slovenia, which we blinked and nearly missed, before driving
on into Croatia.
Graham and I had been to Croatia and
Slovenia when it was part of Tito's Jugoslavia many years ago whilst living in
Vienna and when the children were small, so it was relatively
familiar.
Croatia
We visited the Istria Peninsula,
which was still as lovely as ever, spending a couple of days there relaxing
after the frenetic feeling left from Italy. There are some lovely places on
this peninsula. We stopped at Rovinj for 3 days, which must have one of the
biggest campsites we have ever seen.
But the true beauty has to be the
Dalmation Coast with its dramatic coastline and islands, a surely stunning
drive and unspoilt still. In fact we reckon it is the Mediterranean coast as
it once was, no high rises to speak of, just pretty little inlets and coves
and tiny villages for miles and miles. A couple of the campsites we stopped
at overnight were just at the edge of the water, which was so clear and blue
it defied belief.
We stopped in Starigrad for a few
nights, inches from the sea, and took the local bus into Zadar. The White City
I named it, for the stone all around. Classy little town with the Sea Organ
(the singing steps) and the Sun Salutation, things that are unique to Zadar.
The organ, as it is named, are pipes set into steps that go down to the sea
and with the movement of the air and water they appear to be playing a
repertoire of melodic sighs. The Sun Salutation collects energy throughout
the day and releases it at night to form a beautiful light show. Zadar has no
shortage of places to have coffee or eat in. Very smart, clean and
delightful.
We continued on our way a few days later
to reach Trogir, a gem of a little place situated in a beautiful location.
Trogir is just to die for and the World Heritage old town is lovely to visit
with plenty of history; the new town too is worth a visit. It has been
discovered of course by the cruise ships that enter the waters - and who can
blame them, it is so attractive and there is a lot to see for such a small
place.
From Trogir we drove to Split, camping
just beyond the town in a lovely bay. We took the bus in the next day to Split.
Another lovely city with a UNESCO Word Heritage listing. Here is Diocletian's
Palace, abuzz with cafes, restaurants, shops and monuments. It was built for
the Roman Emperor Diocletian and has continued to be part of the essence of
the city since then. It is old and new, wonderful pillars and capitals with
steps to sit on and be served coffee, which is what we did.
We walked down to the front also - the
streets are so tidy and of course the stone here makes everything look even
cleaner. But it was hot (early May) and we ended up seeking the shadows with
ice cream, sitting in the park. Footsore we came back to camp to put our feet
up and have a cold beer. (Fridge must have been working that day!)
The next day we took the bus into Split
again and caught a bus into Bosnia-Herzegovina, our intention being to go to
Mostar and stay overnight in a little pension. It seemed to take all day
to get there, with the coastal highway being dug up for improvement and, in
Bosnia, the driver stopping at various places en route to deliver goods. We
arrived in Bosnia about 5 pm in time to sit down at a cafe, look up the
internet and choose a pension to stay in. We found one easily enough,
about half a kilometre from the famous bridge.
The bridge at Mostar (Stari Most) is
what we had come to see: the beautiful bridge that had been flattened during
the Bosnian Conflict and rebuilt with funds from the EU, exactly the way it
had been when it was built 500 years ago. We even saw an athlete preparing to
jump off it, as had been done right through history. A modern addition was
his mate wandering around with a cap into which money was being
dropped.
The streets around the bridge were
cobbled and there were lots of shops selling tourist merchandise and we enjoyed
wandering around. Back across the bridge again and this time we spotted one of
the restaurants that look right onto it and so we decided to go and have a
beer there and maybe eat. We got front row seats of the bridge and I sat and
snapped photo after photo of that bridge from dusk until dark. It was
dramatic and amazing.
After that we made our way slowly back
to the pension along the other river which flows into the Nereva. There
we spied a miniature of the big bridge. By this time it was really dark and
the falls were thundering down beside some lovely restaurants and mill
houses. It was glorious and I would definitely recommend a visit
there.
In the morning we walked via the bridge
to the bus station to wait for a bus back to Split. I am so glad we went into
this small part of Bosnia (actually this part is Herzegovina). It is quite easy
to see that it is poorer than its Balkan cousins and with only about 20+
kilometres of coastline and mountains to contain it, I am not
surprised.
Back to Split and the next day we set
off down the road, through the 20+ kilometres of Bosnia. Going through the
border was easy. They just checked our passports and then we went through. Of
course we didn't have insurance for this short distance through Bosnia as we
couldn't find anyone to insure us going into that country, but soon we were
back in Croatia again.
We drove on to Dubrovnik with the
scenery as wonderful as ever. Truly, the whole coastline is just magic.
Unfortunately, we didn't get to see any of the islands and I would have liked
to see Hvar particularly, but we just didn't have time.
Superlatives galore when you see
Dubrovnik. All the towns up until now had been lovely. However, when we saw
Dubrovnik, it was really the Jewel in the Crown. The old town is to die for.
The walls must be the best preserved walls in the world, is all I can say. We
walked round them taking 2 hours to do so. Then inside the town too until our
feet were killing us. It has to be one of the top cities to visit in Europe
and, with the scenery surrounding it also, like a fairy tale. Cruise ships
aplenty here and who can blame them. The whole coastline is
magnificent.
Montenegro
Leaving there to go into
Montenegro was easy also. It cost us 15 Euros for a green card for the minimum
period, which I think was 15 days. It only took about 5 minutes of our time.
All done so professionally and so politely. And then we were in
Montenegro.
As I said to Graham "Another ugly
country" (jokingly, for soon we came to what is supposed to be the most
southerly fiord in Europe). The fiord is breathtaking and we even managed to
find a lovely campsite on the edge of it, where we stayed for 3 days. We would
have stayed far longer if we had had the time.
It was just a small campsite but it had
everything. A river flowing past to join the fiord, ducks to feed, a friendly
owner and a bus stop nearby to take us to the UNESCO town of Kotor via one of
the 5 top drives in Montenegro. The other top drives are inland and how I would
have loved to have gone inland to see the rest of this country, but again we
didn't have the time .
We spent the day in Kotor, climbing up
to the fortress high above it: another nudge to tell me how unfit I am - we
were passed by an 80 year old American man! Exhausted we stopped for lunch in
one of the many lovely restaurants just before one of the cruise ships
emptied its load of passengers. Thank God, otherwise we would still be
waiting to be fed. Kotor is a beautiful little town (aren't they all)? and
well worth a look round.
From there we headed down the coast
staying at Buljarica, which is between Petrovac and Bar. That was where Graham
saw the snake. We couldn't understand why some people in a motorhome
arriving after us kept checking the ground, before deciding that they would
camp near the entrance instead. Obviously it was the snake. What can I say?
I've seen bigger in Oz, MUCH bigger!
We walked to the sea and found a cafe
where we sat and had a beer. There had been some people in the water swimming.
One of them (a young lady) decided to change in front of our table. She was
modest enough to put a towel round herself but I did think it was a bit strange
that she didn't just go to the Ladies. Oh well!
Albania
The next day (a Sunday) we left
Montenegro and entered Albania. Again, no problem, polite border people and a
Green Card for Euros 39, for which I think the minimum stay is a month. We were
through the border in no time. Unfortunately it was raining and miserable, the
first time for such a long time we had had bad weather.
We had heard of a campsite called
Camping Albania run by Dutch people and had the co-ordinates, so we drove there
via the outskirts of Shkoder.
Lovely people these camp owners appear
to be, and well thought of in the vicinity. They bake a lot of bread and I saw
the van going out with a truck-load to be delivered to the poor and needy. I
think they also do a lot in the way of entertainment and weddings for the
community and of course there are jobs at the campsite, which some of the
locals have. There is everything here: meals, wifi and lots of information on
Albania.
When we left we decided to stick to the
coast. We had heard that the interior roads were in poor condition so, much as
I would have liked to see Tirana, we declined. At first the roads were not too
bad at all, in fact we were pleasantly surprised. However, a roundabout
outside Durres, the likes of which I have never seen before, soon put paid to
that. Pot-holed, sandy, muddy, dusty, unaligned and unmarked, it was every
man and truck/car for himself. I was terrified we were going to have a crash.
It takes guts to drive through that.
We stopped for the night in a campsite,
which was behind a hotel in a resort town called Kavaje. This resort was in a
hurry to be ready for the Summer. There were tractors everywhere and the roads
were all up, making it quite difficult to walk.
In the morning we drove on southwards
passing through Fier, which looked nice, and on to Vlora - also nice, but I
feel it's a shady city in terms of trafficking, whether human or drugs. I
guess it's the nearest route to Brindisi in Italy.
We continued on our journey climbing up
the Llogarase Pass where we stopped just short of the summit. We had seen a
motorhome and thought it might be a place to stop for the night, so we drove
in to park in a field beside some cows. There was a restaurant there and our
eyes feasted on a lamb that was roasting on a spit. We asked if we could have a
meal (lamb, of course) and could we stay the night. No problems they gestured
to us, using body language.
Looking forward to our meal in a few
hours we were most disappointed to see 2 bus-loads of students arriving for
lunch. Oh no, that will be goodbye to the lamb! However when we appeared at 6
in the evening to eat we found they had kept some aside for us. Sated, we went
to sleep to the sounds of the cow bells.
It was cold up in the pass but as soon
as we began to descend on the sea side the temperature rose. The pass was a tad
dangerous. Some of the bends had nothing separating us from the gigantic drop
below. A good time to hold one's breath. Down and down we went for ages and
then all the way to Sarande the road twisted and turned. No straight bits of
road to be had.
On this part of the journey you get to
see lots of Enver Hoxha's little 'gems' - the Bunkers. They look like they
could have played a part in Dr Who. Some of them are tiny and it must have
been claustrophobic sitting inside one of them waiting for the great mass of
invaders from across the sea. Seeing some of them upturned, they look
difficult to remove as they are extremely thick and lots of them are just
left as relics of the paranoiac years, with shrubs and roots forming screens
in front of them.
We decided, on reaching Sarande, that we
deserved lunch out and so we stopped at one of the very many cafes for a pizza.
This town is full of hotels and restaurants but I don't know where the people
are going to come from, unless they come by boat, as it's not an easy place to
reach. Maybe boat-loads of tourists come from Corfu in the Summer, that's the
only thing I can think of.
Anyway, after lunch we continued south
via Butrint and then found ourselves crossing a river on a raft. It wasn't much
bigger than our motorhome, I can tell you, and no sides to it. The road
got narrower and narrower on the other side and I thought we were going to
have to turn back and go back across the water, when all of a sudden we were
on the good tarmac surface of a two-way road. This took us all the way to the
Greek border and it was time to say goodbye to Albania and hello to
Greece.
Greece
Greece really marked the end of
the line, inasmuch as it was the most southerly point of our journey, and we
drove to Igoumenitsa to wait on a ferry to take us to Brindisi in Italy. That
was the ferry from hell!
We found ourselves in a queue with
Bulgaria! And part of Romania too. We must have stood out a mile because soon
we saw some officials coming towards us to ask why we were taking this ferry.
A strange question, I would have thought, being asked why one was sailing from
one country to another. 'Brindisi seemed the cheapest option from
Igoumenitsa' I said, showing one of them my passport. He smiled and said
the Greek version of 'no worries'. Now I know what the smile was all
about.
Talk about free-for-all on that boat. We
were not allowed to park on the upper deck, which we have done before, allowing
us to sleep in our van and had to go up to the lounge area. By this time there
was almost no sitting area, with most of the people sprawled out on the seats
with their blankets, while others had spread their goods all over the foyer and
were having their picnics. We finally got to sit down but it was too difficult
to sleep - the place was so overcrowded. When I asked a man who was lying over
a space wide enough for 3 people if he would mind moving a bit, so I could sit
down (I am afraid I asked in English), he replied in English that he was very
tired. I replied that I too was tired but he just ignored me.
We now realize that these people are the
Gastarbeiter of Italy and they must make this journey through
Greece from Bulgaria many times a year. While they did not appear
ultra-friendly (and Graham spotted one girl with a knife tucked inside her
clothing), I think it is a fault of the ferry company for not providing
better facilities or another boat. I don't think I have seen as many trucks
go onto a ferry before, even Helsinki to Tallinn was not as full as this
one.
Italy
We were so exhausted by the
morning that we stopped at the first campsite north of Brindisi for a couple of
days to just 'chill out'. Basking in beautiful warmth, we enjoyed the peace
and tranquility before starting up the long (isn't Italy long)? haul
northwards along the east coast. The Aires in Italy are difficult to
find. They are never where they are supposed to be. Directions too are not
what they are supposed to be. It is very frustrating.
We found ourselves in the middle of the
Giro d'Italia one day. Northwest of Milan and heading up the
mountains we suddenly came to a grinding halt with barriers across the road.
It was there we were told we had to go back down again to a town below and
wait until they said we could move on. This we did and managed to see a bit
of the race before they removed some of the barriers and we could get on
our way again. By this time we were so frustrated that we ended up on the
motorway and we just kept on going until the town of Sarre near Monte
Bianco (Mont Blanc) - certainly not a cheap option! No, tolls there are
not cheap. We stayed there a couple of days in the little campsite before
entering the tunnel into France at Chamonix.
France
Welcome to the cold side of the
planet. What a change once we got through that tunnel. We stopped literally
under the gondola at Mont Blanc, hoping to be able to take the gondola up to
the summit. We checked at the station but the weather cam didn't look at all
promising. Instead we went and had a look at Chamonix, sat and enjoyed a hot
chocolate in the cold and slept the night under the wires of the
gondola.
Next day we tried again but it was still
not open and it didn't look like they were going to open it any time soon, so
we decided to move on northwards. This we did, stopping a couple of nights in
Aires until we reached Paris. Weather very dubious.
We stayed at a campsite we had been in
before on the banks of the Seine and only a train ride into the centre. We
enjoyed a day in the most beautiful city in the world, just walking and
people-watching round the usual sights. The following day, after standing for 2
wet hours in the queue at the Musee D'Orsay, we finally got in and spent the
rest of the day admiring the art there.
Then it was up to Dunkirk, sleeping the
night in the docks there and over to the Old Dart.
England
Graham and his sister had some
business to do with the settlement of their parents' house, which was the
reason for the rush back to England. As we have planned to go back to
Australia in October, we decided that we would go and say some goodbyes.
We also visited the Jurassic Coast for
the first time (for me anyway) - a lovely part of England, Durdle Door and
Lullworth Cove - and then on to Oxford, which I have decided is my favourite
city in England (of the ones I've seen).Then it was back to London
again.
We are now in Stratford upon Avon at a
Motorhome Show, getting some idea of prices for the sale of our motorhome. The
weather is still miserable. We saw 'Hamlet' at the Royal Shakespeare Company
last night, which was stupendous.
to be continued…….
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