Monday 23^rd – Sunday 29^th June

We have now been Greece for over three weeks and have stayed next to the beach every day apart from two. From beaches to small bays, harbours and quays we have swan, snorkelled and lazed around by the water. The water had been clear, clean and not really cold. For those who are complaining of the cold weather back in Australia spare a thought for us here in hot Greece. As I am writing the temperature on our clock/calendar tells me it’s 34 and has been up to 36 today with only the campsite swimming pool or the beach to cool us down. Jenny tells me that no-one feels sorry for us as we swan around Europe!!!. Maybe you wonder what we have been doing the last few days?? Wait I will need to open another beer to keep me going.

We had tea at the local taverna, where we sat next to the clear water, drank local wine and beer while eating fish and Greek salad. We saw the red mullet and they were quite small and wondered how to get the meat from the bones until we realised that the whole fish was edible, head and all which was very tasty.  On Monday morning we left Karavostasi saying farewell to our neighbours, a Dutch couple to the right of us and another Dutch couple to our left. It’s strange but we seem to talk to people more when we are wild camping than at the caravan parks. I think we seem to have more in common as we share the places we have been and where we intend to go.

Our destination that morning was the caves at Diros which was only about 12kms from where we were staying. These had a good write up and it would be a change from being at the beaches. It was hot and the idea of being in the cool of the underground caverns was appealing. We arrived at the parking place we paid our ticket of 12 euros each and walked 300 metres to the entrance of the caves where we were handed a life jacket each as the first 1500m section of the cave tour was in a small boat and takes about 30 mins, the last part to walk about 10 mins.

Our guide in the boat spoke very little only occasionally telling people to not to touch the sides and to duck down as there were several low parts and we left the boat to walk out on our own to the exit. Very different from other caves we have visited where there is always someone there to make sure you don’t touch the sides of the caves or damage the stalagmites.

After the caves it was time to find a place for the night as usual we didn’t get very far as Jenny spotted a beach with a carpark on the Osmand  app [The map on our tablet] after about 25kms of driving. The road was very narrow and it took us to a very small carpark next to a very small bay with a pebbly beach. There was another motorhome from Germany, Ludolph and his wife Ute, they were very friendly and well-travelled. They had stayed there for two nights and were staying that night again so we decided to stay for the rest of the day and that night.

We explored the small bay and surroundings during the course of the afternoon and night. After 7 p.m. all the locals had left and the evening was quiet with great views of the sun setting with fishing boats on the horizon. In the morning Ludolph and Ute left and we also decided to head further south to the small port of Kaglo.

 

 

At Porto Kaglo we drove past the front of the buildings lining the bay and were directed to the carpark of the local taverna. The lady told us that we could stay for free and sleep the night but the implication was that we should visit her establishment at some stage. In the bay we watched as several boats came in during the day and anchored, they were mostly from England but we did speak to some New Zealanders who came from one of the boats. The day was spent mainly swimming and sitting by the beach. In the evening we went to the taverna and had a meal while gazing across the bay.

 

 

The next morning we drove to our next stopover which was to be the town of Kotronas. The driving was very slow as the roads were narrow, steep and winding, the views were spectacular and the villages quaint.

 

At the town on the foreshore there was a sign saying no motorhome parking but with another sign next to it saying motorhome parking 50 metres to the left. We assumed that it meant we could park in the harbour itself, no-one seemed fussed that we were there and in the course of the day 2 other motorhomes had joined us.

We had a drink at the café and gained their internet code so we had wifi and with our aerial we could access it in our motorhome. The bay was still when we arrived, but the afternoon turned very windy so we had a quiet time, had a swim to cool off, reading and doing nothing special.

 

On Thursday as we drove along the coast we decided that it was time to have a proper shower, recharge all of our electrical goods and stay at a camping ground for a few days. The closest ACSI campsite giving us discount was only 25kms away Gythion Bay. We have been here for the past few days with plans to leave on Monday. We have parked ourselves close to the beach, next to the pool and have views out to the bay. The disadvantage of this is that we are buffeted by the strong winds that have been around for the last few days and the noise from the pool is always in the background, on the other hand we have shade from several tall gum trees, nice views, few neighbours and when it does settle down at night there is a least a breeze the makes the camper more comfortable to sleep in, oh and the washing dried very quickly.

On Friday we decided to ride our bikes into the town of Gythio which sounds easy as it is only 5km’s away but it has a big hill just before you get to the town. Our electric bikes helped, as on normal bikes we would have walked up the hill instead of ridden. Our trip into town was three fold, to get another internet sim card [not a vodaphone one this time], do some shopping as there was a market in the town on Friday morning and visit a doctor. On all three account we were successful, another internet provider “Wind” had a store in town and we purchased a sim card lasting 4 weeks with 5GB for the sum of 17 euros, let’s hope we have better luck than with the vodaphone sim cards. The market was on the outskirts of the town and we restocked our larder with fruit and vegetables.

 

Visit to the Greek Doctor.  After our shopping we had a drink in a café right in the middle of town where we asked where the closest doctor was. Let me explain I [Ewout] have been suffering from blocked ears for the last couple of weeks. [When I say suffering, they do not hurt but I have found it hard hearing] Jenny has been putting eardrops in and flushing out the wax but it hasn’t helped. In the town there was a medical centre and when I went in to enquire when I could see a doctor and how much it would cost the receptionist said “5 minutes and 5 euros”. My ears being blocked thought that I had heard wrong but yes it was true it cost me 5 euros [about 8 dollars Australian] and the doctor saw me straight away. He told me my ears were clear and it must be my sinus canal that is blocked and he gave me a prescription for some nose drops and tablets. I’m hoping that that will solve the problem.

Final Note : I just looked up the AFL site and saw that the Crows beat Port. The day is off to a good start. [sorry Port supporters].