MOTORHOME TRAVELLERS' DIARY FOR JULY 2004

GREECE

Barry and Margaret Williamson

22 July 2004   FINIKOUNDA to GIANNITSOCHORI, Greece  58 miles   Camping Tholo Beach €18.00

After a protracted stay at Camping Thines in Finikounda, at the bottom of the westernmost finger of the Peloponnese, fond farewells and gifts were exchanged. Campsite owners Despina Tomaras, her brother, Yannis and husband, Takis, had become good friends, as had our neighbours, Gordon and Wendy. We finally left, laden with aubergines and peppers from Gordon's garden, wine from the Tomaras vines and Bon Voyage cards. We had never camped so long in one place!

Heading north through Methoni, our first stop was at Pylos harbour, to post letters and lunch on fresh cheese pies. Continuing up the coast road past Marathopoli's little harbour, we paused again at Kiparissia, or rather at the Lidl store just beyond the town. We stocked up on food, stationery and bright yellow tee-shirts (good for cycling), then drove a few miles further past Giannitsochori to Tholo Beach, where there is a campsite between the sands and the railway line, near Figalia Station.

We'd camped here out-of-season free of charge (with permission, including pick your own oranges) but now it's busy with Greek holidaymakers and hardly recognisable! A ratatouille (known in Greece as 'biram') made from Wendy's vegetables went well with a pizza from Lidl. A text from John and Lisi, our resident friends near Finikounda, said they'll miss us – and Lisi had just been bitten by a scorpion in their hillside garden. We'll miss them too.

A short ride (30 miles) on the first morning began with 10 miles up the main road to Zacharo (Sugar Town), then round the back lanes to Lake Kaiafas and the thermal springs (a favourite winter free-camping place). To our surprise the spa baths, which appear abandoned out of season, were open, though the 2 indoor dimly-lit cave pools had more white-coated attendants than swimmers. There were lots of changing rooms but no massages or treatments on offer. These warm pools, open 7 am–1 pm daily, cost €6.30 for the first time, €3.30 for subsequent visits. The free outdoor sulphur pool, which Margaret had enjoyed previously, was firmly locked. Drinks in Zacharo on our way back, then home to cool down under the air-con.

Next day we rode up to the Temple of Apollo at Bassae, which stands at 3,737 ft - our longest, hardest, highest ride of the year (and last year!) We cycled 58 miles return in 6 hours, climbing 4,864 ft to reach the temple (the road goes down as well as up) and 5,900 ft in total (all GPS-verified!) It was very hot thirsty work, though we did get a slight back wind on the way up, the air cooled as we rose, and the road is now fully sealed. First stop was to help a baby tortoise make it safely across the road!

We rested in Nea Figalia after 10 miles or so of steady climbing, to take on plenty of water and coffee. Riding on through Petralona, we passed the restaurant where we'd stopped for lunch last time we tried this ascent in a spring gale (to be turned back by the force of the wind near the top). Today we continued, up and down round the heads of wild ravines to Perivolia, where we ate our sandwiches and bought more drinks from its only house, selling beer or 'Fanta' by the church. For water, we were directed to the Pygi (wayside spring). The road on to Ancient Figalia was closed but we turned left for the final climb (1,700 ft in 7 steep miles) until the large marquee covering the Temple of Bassae loomed above on its lofty perch. We'd made it!

Turning up the short stony track, we rode straight past the ticket office in search of a drink but there was nothing on sale except postcards! The temple (probably designed by Iktinos, the architect of the Parthenon in Athens) is amazing – not least its preservation at this height - but we'd done the tourist bit before, coming up from the mountain town of Andritsena on the motorbike. The inhabitants of Ancient Figalia, down below, finished constructing this temple to Apollo Epikourios in 420 BC in gratitude for being spared from plague. Continuing restoration under cover began in 1975, though most of the internal friezes remain safe in the British Museum.

Returning, mostly freewheeling, we had one stop in Petralona to consume €8-worth of water, coffee and juice! Back at the campsite, the little bar/restaurant had good home-cooked meals for €5 each – and we were certainly ready for them.

A morning's work at the campsite: writing emails (on a floppy disk, ready to send) to friends, answering an MMM reader's enquiry about Croatia, baking (a carrot cake and a bran loaf), filling and emptying water and waste tanks.

Then a short drive to Lake Kaiafas, where Margaret joined 4 Greeks bathing in the outdoor pool, open now the indoor baths were closed. We had the car park to ourselves for a hot sticky night: with no electricity for air-con or fan, it reached 90 degrees F. Sleeping wasn't made easier by the electronic drum-beat of the Kaiafas Festival rocking across the water of the Lake until about 5 am!

An Ominous Leak

We were disturbed early (6.30 am) to find a small market of stalls being set up to cater to the taxis, cars, hotel minibus and lake cruiser, all bringing elderly Greeks seek to a cure in the sulphurous pools that opened at 7 am! Honey, herbs, oil, feta cheese, hot corn-on-the-cobs and local fruit and veg were all on offer. We had an early breakfast, bought tomatoes and extricated ourselves.

Driving north, we shopped in the large town of Pirgos. In Lidl we were pleased to find a 12-volt fan, to cool us without the need for mains electricity. After lunch in the car park at AB Supermarket, Barry noticed a drip of oil on the tarmac under our bonnet. Hoping it was nothing serious, we continued up the New National Road to the market town of Amaliada, where we turned left to the sea.

The large car park (used to free camp in winter) was packed with cars, while the adjacent Camping Municipal took 'Tents Only'! Camping Paradise was horribly crowded but Camping Palouki was much better organised (run by a German/Greek couple). We settled on a large hedged pitch with its own water and power supply and didn't bother to check out the last option, Camping Kourouta.

Investigating the continuing drips from the engine, we seem to have a transmission fluid leak, perhaps due to a corroded pipe. A heavy storm overnight cleared the air.

Problems Solved

We cycled into Amaliada each day (about 10 miles return, partly on a new cycle track via Kourouta as far as the New Nat Road). Its attractions include a good computer shop; a Periptero selling phone cards and the 'Athens News' on Fridays; an internet café (the Net); and the very best chicken and chips in Greece, at the Pikantiko restaurant – what more is there? Oh yes, supermarkets including Lidl and Dia, and a big produce market on Saturday mornings.

On the first day, our good friend Peppas (of the best motorbike shop we know) suggested that his mate Nikos at the Mazda Garage in Kardamas might fix our problem. After seeing Nikos on our way back to the campsite, we weren't too sure!

Our hosts at Camping Palouki kindly rang Vassilopoulos, the Ford Garage in Pirgos, to make us an appointment. We subsequently drove back to Pirgos (17 miles return), where a competent team worked on the motorhome. They removed the corroded pipe, sent out for a length of high-pressure flexible hose and cir-clipped it into place, refilled the transmission fluid and gave us 2 litres to take – all done in an hour for a total of €45! Delighted, we tipped them generously (in our opinion) and drove back with no leaks.

The next problem was an invasion by an army of ants from the overhead trees via the roof vents! We had to hose the motorhome down, cleaning thoroughly inside and out, then treat them to plenty of Baygon – and hope they stay gone!

We got up to date with emails and internetting at the Net Café and bought more disks and ink from the computer shop, where the lovely man also supplied us with the wonderful Encyclopaedia Britannica on disk. He has a son studying Computing in Manchester and likes England and the English very much!

A short walk from the campsite, round the beach to Palouki harbour lined with fish restaurants, was rewarded with a good view of Chlemoutsi Castle on Kastro hill: a familiar landmark.

Having arranged to take the precaution of getting the second transmission fluid pipe replaced, we drove back to the Ford garage in Pirgos. Once again, the team did an excellent job in 45 minutes. The manager, a Mechanical Engineering graduate, had an interesting talk with us. We are sure to be back – hopefully, not too soon!

Turning north again, we shopped and lunched at Amaliada's Lidl before continuing to Gastouni, another favourite little market town, where we know a good printer. All the shops were asleep for the afternoon but opened again at 5 pm, so we left some copying for collection tomorrow (information sheets for posting to MMM enquirers).

In need of a place for the night, we knew that both campsites at the beach 10 miles away would be packed with Germans and Italians in high summer. (Camping Aginara and Camping Ionion Beach - both excellent long-stay places out of season.) We drove out to Thinon Forest, where the large car park has been good for an overnight, but found the beach lined with sun-beds, both bars in business and the promise of disco to start at 11 pm! We're not used to Greece in August!

Fleeing back to Gastouni, we crossed the New Nat Road and continued east to the little known site of Ancient Elis. The young custodian gave us an excellent booklet in English and assured us we could park opposite the old museum, ready to visit the site any time after 8 am tomorrow. The quiet night was even a bit cooler up in the hills, where we watched the sun set and the moon rise over the ancient stones. TV reception was good enough for another episode of 'ER', shown at 8 pm every night this week.

Entry to the site of Ancient Elis, and to the old museum which now documents the history of the excavations, is free of charge. We looked around and photographed the remains, which spread on both sides of the modern road, including a theatre and the foundations of the roads and buildings of the Agora. Athletes came here to train for the ancient Olympic Games but luckily the tour buses only know their way to Olympia. That may change, as a brand new museum (with entry fee) is about to open.

Back in Gastouni, we collected our printing (nicely collated and stapled for 5 lepta a page). The Greeks may have adopted the Euro, but it's not divided into 100 Cents! We called on our favourite photographer, Dionysos Maniatis (though we had no business for him, since changing from film to digital camera). No matter, we had a delightful talk and he gave us a recent wedding photograph of George Fligos and his bride (the friendly Fligos family run Camping Ionion Beach and we know them well). How can we bear to leave Greece?!

North up the New Nat Road to Patras, the largest city and port in the Peloponnese (third in Greece, after Athens and Thessalonika). We hate cities! It's also one of the very few places in Greece to get LPG (sold for taxis) and we found our way along the canal to the obscure gas station for a fill. We then bypassed most of the chaos by taking the brand new Patras bypass that runs inland through a series of tunnels. Taking the last exit before the tollbooth, we arrived in Rio. (The toll road continues to Corinth and Athens.) From Rio, a fleet of continuous ferries make the short crossing of the Gulf of Corinth to Antirio, this strategic point being guarded by a pair of old Turkish forts on opposite banks. Beware Camping Rio here – extremely expensive, even in winter!

Directed by the Port Police onto the Ag Barbara - jammed between a few lorries, a bus and a lot of cars - we crossed for €10, with a fine view of the new suspension bridge above, 2.25 km (1.4 miles) long. It's due to open on 8 August in time for the Athens Olympics, though it still has a gap in the middle. (The 'Athens News' had a cartoon of an Olympic torch-bearer running across it, with a long-jump in the centre!)

Safely landed at Antirion, we parked for lunch before continuing on surprisingly good roads to Messolongi. Entering the town by the Gate of the Exodus (recalling the year-long siege by the Turks in 1826), we parked by the Garden of Heroes to pay our respects to Lord Byron, whose heart is buried here beneath his statue. A tumulus covers the bodies of the defenders killed in the siege and there are other tombs and statues among the palm trees and cannons. Byron actually died here in 1824 of a fever, but he had contributed his money and his name to Greece's fight for independence and he became a national hero.

There is no campsite near Messolongi but no problem parking by the harbour, part way along the lagoon. We shared a quiet night with a few yachts alongside, flying ensigns from Britain, France, Germany and Greece.