MOTORHOME TRAVELLERS' DIARY FOR FEBRUARY 2000

GREECE

A much warmer day, all Albanian hands working along with the Fligos family (even Mother) pruning and sawing and felling the many trees and bushes which separate and shade the site in summer. Oleander hedges, tamarisks, banana palms, bamboo, all are drastically cut back.

Barry fitted the new carpet in the living area, gave the new shelves, etc, another coat of varnish and fixed the short-wave radio (a loose power connection). Margaret agreed the price of our pitch with George, 2500 dr a day all-in, a good rate. It cost 2000 dr 2 years ago, since when the drachma had fallen substantially against Sterling, making it actually cheaper for us now, under £5. A message from Vodafone in response to our letter brought more good news. They offered to put us back on the correct tariff, would credit our account with the overcharge and extend this year's contract by 3 months as a goodwill gesture.

M also worked on January's diary and wrote to the CTC to join and request a range of worldwide touring leaflets. It then took Barry 90 minutes to coax the letter onto the paper, we really must track down a new print cartridge or order one from England.

WEDNESDAY 02 FEBRUARY 2000 GR IONION BEACH CAMPING. GLIFA

Another fine day, warm enough for shorts on a cycle ride along the newly laid road past Aginara to Arkoudi and Loutras Killini, breathing in the sulphur vapours by the asthma treatment centre (closed as ever). Then the short stiff climb to Kastro, remembering the day we'd coaxed Stan & Celia to ride (or in their case walk) with us to Chlemoutsi Castle. The vast hexagonal structure of the Frankish castle, floodlit at night, looms over the village, in fact over the whole peninsula. We climbed up to see how the restoration was going - started in 1220 by Guillaume Villehardouin (founder of Mystra), it will be nice when it's finished! Then we swooped down to Killini port, a 4-mile freewheel, to post the letter to the CTC . We found the P0 inexplicably 'Closed 10 am to noon' (no indication of its opening hours!) We noted the Zakynthos ferry times (5 a day each way for the 1-hour crossing) before climbing back to Kastro. After another rapid descent to Loutras Killini, we called on Mick & Flo for coffee and were home for a late lunch.

We wrote to Vodafone to thank them for their message and action, then made a fresh supply of lemon squash while Barry printed the letter with the usual problems.

An easier cycle ride, but still a good climb in each direction. We called on the signwriter who'd done such a good 'Rosie' for Mick to give us, to collect the black cockerel sticker we'd ordered (our original emblem of Portugal had been a casualty of France's Boxing Day storm). It came with a present of tangerines to fill our handlebar bags - Greeks bearing gifts, as ever. We did the rounds of the market (another gift of a small cauliflower), baker's and post office, but missed the Stevens, who'd come down early for Mick's appointment with the new female dentist. Later, he was to report that she was very good at filling teeth and spoke reasonable English. We rode home in one, thinking of Stan again as we passed his half-way bench outside Vrana church.

After lunch Barry made a new improved wooden bird table from wood bits salvaged from Rosie's refurbishment (they'd resolutely boycotted the offerings on the one improvised from an ice cream tub)! He also cleaned and wirebrushed Alf's carrier at the back of Rosie, ready for repainting. M caught up with cleaning, cooking and diary-writing.

We were shocked to see Serbian beggars at the market today, a father and daughter holding a Greek sign on which we made out the word 'Serbia'. This must be the only EU country where they could usefully beg.

In a final attempt to lure our robins, sparrows and the odd blackcap onto the bird table, Barry tied and screwed a bridge of twigs across to it from the nearby tree! He also rerouted the electrical wiring in the TV corner and finished off the carpet laying. M did the dhobi and swept the new carpet.

Afternoon rain set in and we walked up the beach to check on Mick & Flo, who have new Australian neighbours: the usual ancient VW-Kombi in a lurid purple. Home to make pizzas for supper.

The weekly excursion to Amaliada with Mick & Flo was a great success. We left the motorbikes with Peppas, to rearrange Alf's headlight, shopped at the market and had coffee in Robbie's, the cafe named after its resident Greek-speaking grey parrot. To our surprise, the stationer's had a Canon BC-02 ink cartridge to fit the StarWriter, so we hope the printing problems are over. We also bought a small white lamp to fit above our new CD-player shelf and finally collected the new settee cushions from the upholsterer's. We gathered everything together in the chicken grill for lunch, watching the Greek street theatre outside - 2 cars parked on the bend, making it impossible for the bus to get through, had their number plates removed by the traffic police (only returnable on payment of a fine!) Margaret then took an aged Mercedes taxi back to Onion Beach, with Flo and 6 large cushions in the back, followed by 2 motorbikes.

We arranged the L-shaped settee, a great improvement, over coffee. It improved our social life at once - as soon as Mick & Flo had gone we saw the Australian couple walking by on the beach and had them in for tea and biscuits! Ken & Julie Denton from Brisbane, a middle-aged couple taking a year out to tour Europe and Turkey, returning home in October, were newly arrived from Brindisi. They'd travelled from London (where they bought and equipped the van in one week) through Portugal, Spain (including Xmas at Benicasim!) and Italy. They were already in love with Greece and regretting spending so long in Spain which they'd found much less interesting. Saturday being the worst night on Greek TV, we finished the day with another video film loaned by Mick, 'Speed 2' with Sandra Bullock, typical of any American adventure thriller with a number after its title!

We fixed the new lamp over the door and rearranged furniture and cushions. deciding that we needed a second little stool-table to perfect the arrangement of our new sitting room! Not least, this would enable the L-shaped settee to revert to a bed.

After lunch we cycled to Aginara the long way, via Loutras Killini and Arkoudi. Margaret rang Mum, who was fine, and asked for more post in Gastouni. Australian Ken & Julie were sitting outside the 'Purple Princess' in the sunshine and we joined them for tea and biscuits, moving on to Mick & Flo for coffee indoors once the sun went down. We talked until after dark and rode the 3-miles back along the pot-holed unlit lanes with some trepidation - it's much nearer and easier to walk along the beach between the 2 campsites.

Outdoor work, varnishing, polishing and painting, was halted by the arrival of Ken & Julie to say farewell and have coffee. Later we Alfed into Gastouni with the pine stool-table to ask the woodman to make a second one, pausing at the ironmonger's in Vartholomio on the way back.

All day the campsite team worked on clearing and cleaning the beach, George and Theo driving the tractors. We hope a German rally isn't due to arrive! (Apocryphal story: Germans are most puzzled by why Greek ferries don't have timetables. Greeks are most puzzled by why German campers don't have clothes!)

Barry took advantage of the warm sunny day to give Alt's carrying rack a coat of thick black Hammerite, with a little left over for himself. Margaret was busy writing the diary and lengthening a pair of summer jeans which Flo had outgrown and passed on, along with a black cotton suntop which fits very nicely.

After ignoring the new bird table for several days, in a battle of wills to get the crusts scattered on the ground again, the birds are finally edging nervously along the twig, grabbing a piece and flying off with it. A robin was first, followed by the boldest of the sparrows, but they won't stay on the table, treating it with the utmost suspicion.

The end piece was replaced on the settee after Barry recovered it with spare material from the old dinette backboards, completing the new L-shaped seating. Walking over to Aginara with the kite to see Mick & Flo, we found the Australians still there (settling for a '7 days plus' discount) and invited them to come later for dinner. A good evening of food and conversation followed. They brought a good bottle of wine, a loaf and a box of chocolates (plus points) and Ken liked the Lemon Bakewell Tart so much he asked for seconds (a definite minus!)

A sudden change in the weather: far too stormy to ride to Gastouni market, with gale—-force winds, thunder and lightning! We started on the task of sorting the 12- films-worth of photographs developed in Gastouni, covering October 1998 to date, from walking the Eiger Trail above Grindeilwald to the epic journey of 1999. Camels and reindeer, Sahara desert and Swedish lake, Moroccan ocean and Finnish forest, what contrasts, but all permeated with a wonderful light never seen in Britain, at its best in the desert dawn sunrise and the near-midnight sun of the Arctic. We were well pleased with them.

George struggled to our door at lunchtime with a large parcel - the folding table legs from CAK in Kenilworth had arrived. Excited that we could now use the table (which had been fixed to the wall occupied by the new settee), we unwrapped them and immediately realised that it wouldn't be as simple as screwing them onto the old table top. It was far too big and heavy as a freestanding table, and the legs were too high, we'd need to modify them and the table.

Disappointed, we turned to Greek TV, showing the latest James Bond film 'Goldeneye'. (Not great but the only thing in English!) Greek TV used to show some good British and American series and films but we assume they're saving money as there's very little to watch recently.

The wind had dropped enough to ride Alf into Gastouni. We collected our second stool-table from the delightful woodman, left the one film we'd had developed in Latvia (a mistake) for reprinting at the excellent photographer's, and called at Mick's dentist to make an appointment for Margaret. The tooth filled in Estonia (another mistake) is gradually getting more painful, though it passed check-up and X-ray in Thornton. On the way home we called at Aginara and arranged the usual Amaliada Saturday Market run.

After lunch Barry cleaned Alf, M cleaned inside Rosie and worked on the diary (which always seems to be a week behind!) A French Hymer arrived quite late with 2 white-haired couples on board and parked near us, perhaps avoiding the Austro-German zone! We noticed a camel scene painted on the back which looked like a Hassan Chakir original! Will investigate tomorrow if they stay.

The familiar run to Gastouni and Amaliada, Alf following Mick's Honda. It was very sunny again and we parked the bikes and piled our warm gear into the back-boxes in order to walk round Amaliada market and Mick's favourite butchers. We asked Peppas at the motorbike shop where we might get 2 metal grills to cover the hot air vents in Rosies floor and he surprised us by saying he'd make them for us himself, having trained as a metalworker. What a lovely guy! We talked to him about his life, his wife and little boy still in Germany, his national service in the Greek Air Force. We finished with the usual chicken lunch in the grill, where they keep us the table by the door! We'll miss all this when we ever move on.

Back at Ionion, we were relieved that the Irish couple, Carmel & Martin, whose motorhome we'd seen entering as we left, hadn't stayed. George told us they'd just called to ask about the apartments in case any of their family wanted to come out. That left the French on our doorstep who, predictably, were playing Boules! Margaret made contact and found that the camel painting was indeed done by Hassan of Camping International, Agadir, just one month before we were there! The foursome came from Nimes, the older pair being the aunt and uncle of the slightly younger woman. They couldn't get anything on their new international TV and asked whether Barry might know how to tune it in, so he was fetched and declared a master-technician when he produced 12 channels. (The secret was a small button at the back which could be set for France or the Rest of the World, which wasn't mentioned in the instruction booklet!) Despite finding 11 channels were in Greek and 1 in English (a Peter Sellers Pink Panther film with a mock French accent!), they rewarded us with drinks and nibbles. Offered the usual Pernod, wine or aperitifs, Barry regretted he didn't like alcohol, so they poured him a beer! Obviously, this is regarded as a soft drink where they come from! We had an hour of French practice, talking travel. Their camping car had once taken them to Nordkapp and they knew Portugal and Spain. They complained that Morocco was dirty and we asked if it had been their first visit. The answer was a surprise - all 4 were born there, when it was a French colony, and the younger man had fought on the French side in the war of independence in 1956! The uncle had been wounded in WWII (at Monte Casino). But it was their very first visit to Greece, arriving in Patras yesterday, armed with the Michelin Green Guide and a poor map, so we promised to help them plan their 2-month tour.

A fine morning for a long walk along the beach, past Aginara and on to the tiny harbour at Arkoudi, which took over an hour each way. It was very quiet, one fisherman working on his boat, 2 couples having a drink at the only place open while their children played on the sand. A cluster of white-painted rooms and tavernas, closed and shuttered now, will come to life for Easter.

After lunch we gave the French Four a copy of our list of Greek campsites open in winter and some advice on where to go, what to see and how to shop. They wanted to know what Greek wine to buy (don't, you won't like it), where the nearest caravan accessory shop would be (Italy), and where they might find other French campers (in France), but we were more helpful with enquiries about supermarkets and gas! They leave tomorrow for Olympia, where we know the campsite owners speak French, which is rare in these parts.

A quiet day sorting photographs. Margaret made a super chocolate cake with thick dark topping of melted chocolate, butter, cream and rum - it's only once a year! In the evening we watched another of Mick's videos, the film 'Terminal Velocity', a sky-diving adventure with an unlikely plot but excellent action shots.

We rode Alf into Gastouni with the new folding table legs strapped on the back and called at Jimmy's glazing shop to see if he could suggest where to get them shortened and re-welded. No problem - leaving Margaret in charge of the shop, he took Barry round the corner to his friend's where the work was done immediately, sawing and arc-welding on the floor as usual, and payment refused (cigarettes accepted by Jimmy). It seems money rarely changes hands between Greeks, it's all barter and exchange of favours, produce, and so on.

As M's toothache was worse she called at the dentist for a prescription for painkillers and an earlier appointment. ('Ring tomorrow, we might fit you in on Thursday morning.') We returned via Andravida, an interesting ride round the country lanes emerging at Vartholomio, where we stopped to buy brown paint and a brush for the table legs.

We called at Aginara to invite Mick & Flo for dinner, then got home to find a message from Alan on the phone. Margaret rang straight back and had a long talk, shocked to learn that he has been off school for a month with chest pains, diagnosed as angina with narrowing of one artery.

After sardine sandwiches and a shower, Mick & Flo arrived and we had a good evening with sausage & mash and the rest of the chocolate cake. A strange day all told, our thoughts very much with Alan.

Warm and sunny, an ideal day to work outside. We borrowed George's power saw to help reduce the size and weight of the dinette table and round its corners, then Barry painted its underside and shortened legs brown and hung them in the trees to dry. M did the dhobi, talked to George, rang the dentist (1 pm tomorrow) and walked to Aginara to confirm we'd join Mick & Flo at Gastouni market tomorrow. Later she worked on the diary while Barry finished off various painting and varnishing jobs. The recent purchase of black enamel was used to touch up Alf's GB sign and the black camel silhouette on the front which was starting to fade!

The weather had reverted to wind and rain and the market stallholders were packing up early as we arrived in Gastouni with Mick & Flo. We collected a packet of mail sent by Alan at the P0, and another couple of films we'd left at the photographers. He was so impressed with them that he offered Barry a job as his assistant! (He's the only professional in the town, covering all the weddings, baptisms and events.) In the ironmongers we wanted a dozen screws and the man. Who'd never met any of us before, would take no payment. When we all returned to the motorbikes, left outside Jimmy's glaziers, he asked us to mind the shop for 5 minutes and disappeared in his car - very Greek! He returned with another bagful of lemons and oranges each, which he'd nipped home for! Greeks bearing gifts once more.

Mick & Flo dashed home between rain showers but we had to linger for the 1 pm dental appointment and went into 'The Break' for a snack. It had moved to new larger premises but the usual proprietor wasn't there and the food was cold and unloved, we won't return.

The young female dentist was ready and Barry had half an hour reading the mail in the waiting room. The tooth was X-rayed and found to be broken below the Estonian filling, with an infection of one root. M declined the offer of root canal treatment and a crown (involving several visits, great expense and no guarantee of success) and asked her to extract the molar. After 3 anaesthetic injections, the dentist set to with the pliers but it was deep-rooted and she wasn't very strong. The assistant (her younger sister - Greeks always work in family businesses!) held M's head and shoulders while she pulled and it eventually came out in one piece. We were very relieved it hadn't broken in the process, as Mick had once described Amaliada Hospital to us after a visit! Antibiotics and salt mouthwashes were prescribed for 3 days and we collected the penicillin tablets in Vartholomio on our way home.

The rest of the day was spent, feet up on the new settee, reading the mail, with more Christmas and Millennium greetings. Eve had sent a Sting cassette; John Covell wrote with the news that Rosemary had left 'for a younger man' and that he was on crutches following a recent hip replacement operation; Mike Jago at MMM invited us to join 'the team' at the Peterborough and York Shows; Ron & Lois described the view of otters, seals, ducks and eagles from their new house on Salt Spring Island (BC, Canada); and Ian Inglis wrote describing his Highland Glen, Balquhidder (where Rob Roy McGregor is buried), as the Thin Place - the place between heaven and earth, the closest you get to a spiritual home, where the distance between life as we know it and our spiritual abode is tissue thin. He quoted the same idea in a song by Dougie McLean about the Isle of Lewis:

The old man looks out to the island He says this place is endless thin

There's no real distance here to mention We might all tall in, all fall in

No distance to the spirits of the living No distance to the spirits of the dead

And as he turned his eyes were shining And he proudly said (Chorus):

feel so near to the howling of the wind Feel so near to the crashing of the waves

Feel so near to the flowers in the field Feel so near.

This is right where we are, as we look across to Zakinthos and Rosie rocks in the wind and the waves crash up the shore outside in a spell of stormy weather despite the spring flowers. Ionion Beach is our Thin P/ace - not just the campsite and beach but the whole area. We feel at home, we know people here and in local towns who accept us just as we are, we meet kindness at every turn. Today was a good example.

A very strong storm blew all day, with thunder and lightning coming over from Zakinthos and raging all round. Barry got the awning in, tucked Alf behind Rosie and wedged the outdoor chairs in the hedge. Then we watched the sea coming right up to our wall, very exciting! Margaret is slowly recovering, the combination of painkillers and antibiotics causing indigestion, her mouth still sore.

We used the enforced rest to check and file the business mail and finish sorting the many photographs of 1999's journey - which 200 to put in the album, which to have extra copies of, which to send Mum, the MMM, and other friends.

The storm had passed after a wild night and we made the effort to join Mick & Flo for the weekly motorbike ride to Amaliada market. We called at Gastouni to photocopy the January diary, order some reprints from the photographer's and pick up a pair of wooden blocks from the woodworker, to make a 'dedicated storage' place for the folding table. Of course, he would accept no payment but would smoke some of our cigarettes!

In Amaliada we had coffees in the grey parrot (or Robby's), worked our way round the ever-increasing market and collected the 2 metal plates which Peppas had made to cover our hot air grills. He'd made a lovely job of them, in strong alloy with circular holes.

By now, Barry began to feel a bit weary. At the grill for lunch neither of us was very hungry so we didn't indulge in the usual (chicken, chips and Greek salad), opting for a small pork souvlaki, bread and water. Back home, Barry developed a temperature over 38C. Maybe it's food poisoning from the snack at 'The Break' on Thursday, but he wasn't sick.

Barry seems to have flu of some sort, Margaret is still recovering from the tooth extraction and the weather is stormy again, so we had a quiet day. With the new mattress and new settee, we at least have every home comfort.

Barry kept warm, drank plenty of tea and even took an aspirin to get his temperature down. Margaret finished a letter to Alan, started last Friday, and updated the diary. And we're both enjoying time to read, including a backlog of MMM mags which we pass on to Mick.

Barry is still grounded, the weather still stormy, another quiet day. Margaret wrote to Hassan Dalil, the Moroccan who took us bird-watching in Moulay Bousselham, sending him a few photographs taken at the lake. We hope they still reach him after all this time! We also wrote to Friends Provident to check the value of our endowment policies, as we've had no annual statements for years.

Printing letters is a bit easier with the new ink cartridge but it still takes a while to get the ink flowing.

A slow recovery in Barry if not the weather. As we were enjoying watching the sparrows squabbling on the birdtable over breakfast, Mick & Flo arrived to see how we both were and whether we needed any shopping. We were pleased to give them our letters to post, saving Margaret a cycle ride to Gastouni in the rain.

We did more pottering, reading, diary-writing and TV watching and M (manfully) emptied 8 buckets of grey water after filling with fresh water.

Still confined by wet windy weather, all site occupants claiming it's the worst winter in living memory, but it can only be worse in northern Europe. Barry cut one of the former dinette backrest cushions in half, to make a padded headboard for the bed (1½ backrest cushions wide) and Margaret spent the day sewing and upholstering it. Barry also refitted 2 lap-belts to passenger seats, removed while converting the dinette into a settee.

We rewarded ourselves with a pancake supper and a video from Mick - 'Sudden Death' with Claude van Damme, an over-violent plot with the Vice-President of the USA held hostage at an ice hockey match.

On a wet morning Margaret defrosted and cleaned the fridge and freezer, while Barry refitted the new carpet at the rear end now that it has settled and spread. After lunch M walked over to Aginara for coffee with Mick & Flo, leaving Barry to read. After quickly demolishing John Mortimer's autobiographical 'Clinging to the Wreckage', he began on the much more arduous but enjoyable journey through Martin Amiss 'Money'. M returned just in time, before dark, as a terrific thunder storm broke, the lightning flashing over the sea illuminating Zakinthos 10 miles away. We made a dozen Eccles cakes for comfort.

A fine morning at last, for a cycle ride to Gastouni, enjoying the 20 mile round trip, seeing the spring flowers blooming after all the rain. The banks are studded with clumps of blue iris, the goats and sheep have all produced twins. We collected a letter from mum, bought a few essentials and plenty of bread to restock the freezer and bird table. Later Margaret walked over to Aginara with a few magazines and returned 'Sudden Death' with the comment that it was a bit too violent. Mick retaliated by lending the movie of 'Mr Bean' (so we'll never complain again!) Greek TV showed 2 films on Star: at 9 pm after the news was a white-water rafting adventure starring Meryl Streep, a boy and a dog (missed the title), ending at 11.15 pm. That was followed by 'Schindler's List', which we managed to stay awake for, though it went on until after 3 am with the usual lengthy interruptions for news updates, sports reports. weather forecasts and commercials. But we had to see it, we've waited a long time, having read the book, seen it dubbed into Spanish, visited the locations and researched the history in Krakow and Auschwitz. A difficult book to portray - the black & white film, locations and music captured the atmosphere well, though Oskar Schindler's character and motives were more confused than they would have been in reality.

A late start, after a very late night. Better weather tempted us outside, cleaning Rosie, doing the dhobi, shifting another 7 buckets of waste. Barry is fully recovered from whatever virus it was and M from the dental assault.

We had just finished our porage when Hans came round to issue an invitation to a Fligos family barbecue. We used Alf to go to the phonebox at Glifa to ring Mum and Eve at Sunday rates, then painted the edge of the revised table and put a second coat of the same colour on the outside cover of the hot air heating system (it's useful that every surface inside and out is the same shade of single cream). We were also able to clear and clean the cab, carpet it, shampoo the seats and get everything back before being summoned to the party.

It was a small gathering, with only 6 residents (Hans & Inge, their neighbours from Vienna and us) and the Fligos Four. Mother had baked bread and made salads, father barbecued a mountain of pork chops, and there was feta cheese, beer, lemonade and home-made wine aplenty. As Mother produced the pudding - a huge flaky pastry egg custard affair doused in syrup - it suddenly clouded over and a cold wind brought rain again. The proceedings ended abruptly as we all declined coffee, scoffed the pud and scattered.

Back inside we fitted the 2 hot-air-vent grills which Peppas had made, after cutting rectangles out of the carpet. Rosie's red carpet treatment is now complete. We put our feet up (much easier with the new arrangement) to watch 'Mr Bean, the Ultimate Disaster Movie' and indeed it was. A disaster for the reputation of Rowan Atkinson, Richard Curtis and Mel Smith, that is! Enough said, it was dire.

Cold, windy and cloudy again. About to ride Alf, we found his front tyre flat and Barry changed the innertube, discovering a large tack in the tyre. Eventually, we rode over the familiar hill towards Gastouni, stopping at the village of Vartholomio. The ironmonger's supplied another spare innertube and some screws and 2 good paintbrushes for the next lob (total cost £3.32). A wonderful shop, stocked with everything imaginable, piled high up the walls and hanging from the ceiling things for tethering your animals, fixing your chicken coop, pruning your orchard, irrigating your watermelons, alongside cycle and motorbike spares. The nearest thing we've seen to Greek shops was in Ireland, the 2 countries are remarkably similar, while at opposite ends of Europe, with their superstitions and simple faith, rural economy, poverty and emigration, it's good that the EU brings them more prosperity but sad that they will inevitably change.

Barry visited Mick's barber for a '1500 dr all-off' (once a passing Kostas had been fetched off the street to translate) while M explored Vartholomio's shops (all 3 of them). No-one sold phonecards, but she did find bananas.

Back home, more lobs were ticked off the list. Barry shaped and fitted the wooden blocks to make a dedicated storage place for the folding table when travelling, for safety, and Margaret shampooed the armchairs and all the original upholstery. A new German motorhome arrived and pitched at the far end of our seafront row. It may be time to move on!

Still unusually cold, but dry and bright. We wrote to Eve and Jim, finished sorting the photographs for the album 'From Tropic to Arctic: A 20,000 mile journey to the 4 corners of Europe', and began making the labels for them.

After lunch, work was interrupted by the arrival of Australians Ken and Joyce, back after 2 weeks touring the Peloponnese and Athens. They brought news from the capital city of Albanians and street fighting, and from the provinces of overpriced campsites and cold showers. As their van lacks heater, shower, toilet or oven (it does have an engine but scarcely boasts brakes!) they were unable to free-camp and were permanently cold. They gave us their Berlitz Pocket Guide to Israel. having decided not to go (they fear it will be too expensive) and are staying at Aginara for a couple of weeks awaiting warmer weather. They then plan to leave the 'Purple Princess' at Aginara and back-pack to Turkey, perhaps via Rhodes.