Turkiye and beyond.

 After ensuring all my documents were to hand I set off for the hour or so's run along to the border, stopping on the way to fill up with diesel. Although it is considerably cheaper over in Turkey I was conscious of the problem I had had in Mauritania last year when having no local currency and a card that wasn't  accepted I was unable to fill up. A long line of HGVS parked up soon appeared but fortunately non freight traffic was directed past them to the Greek passport control and there were only three cars and two expedition trucks, one a converted German fire engine, in the line. Within minutes I was stamped out of Europe and crossing the river bridge which had rather bored looking soldiers on either side. 

On the Turkish side I first had a security and customs check with two friendly guys : the van being unusually for them RHD is always a good ice breaker and I was soon waved on to passport control where my photo was recorded and the book duly stamped. The next kiosk was for vehicle importation and as post Brexit UK drivers no longer get a Green Card valid in Turkey I was directed to park up and buy local insurance (sigorta) from inside an adjacent building. I was speedily dealt with and got 3 months cover for £175 paid by card which worked : hurrah. I could have paid cash in Euros but wanted to keep my stash for back up later in the trip. I returned to the vehicle import kiosk with the document and was soon on my way : remarkably despite various horror stories the entire process had taken only half an hour, something I discussed with the German truck driver.

Ipsala was just a few minutes drive away and I had planned to stay the night there if the crossing had taken longer but decided to stop anyway to attend to a few tasks. First up was to inspect one of a line of cash machines and take out a test amount. Thus 1000 Turkish lire appeared, and more importantly perhaps, so did my card. This amounted to only £20 so I used my other card to try for £200 and received a huge stash of 200 lire notes. Selecting as always the local rates ( ie without conversion) I also noticed a rather steep 10% admin fee.

I then went in to a Turkcell phone shop as they are the cheaper provider but the guy sent me over to the Vodafone shop saying his company could only sell to Turkish passport holders. Again everyone was polite, friendly and helpful and the assistant soon had a new SIM installed in my 'spare' phone and I was able to ensure that my main phone, switched to airplane mode, was picking up the hotspot and making a connection. 25 GB was included but I topped up another 30 GB as I am here for a fair while with a total outlay of £50. I then took a walk through the small town and as I was hungry a small caff provided, yes you've guessed it, a delicious kebab and a coke for about £2 giving me the chance to break a 200 TL note (about £4) in to smaller ones, the lowest denomination note being 5TL so about 10p.....

Back at the van as I spoke to Mandy various excited kids appeared at the window but were well behaved and didn't overstay their welcome and I was soon on my way. On the edge of town I saw a shop with various gas bottles outside so pulled over to make enquiries. A cylinder similar in size and capacity to the 907s was available so I decided to get one - it was only £4 and the guy showed me on Google translate the question 'do you have any vacancies?' pointing across at the van so I said no at which point the price went up to £8 - of course he meant did I have an empty to exchange!!

Anyway with those tasks completed I set off for my planned overnight an hour or so away on the coast north of the Gallipoli peninsula where a tiny fishing harbour had loads of space on a gravelled area complete with the ubiquitous and mostly friendly stray dogs. I spent the rest of the afternoon reviewing the day's progress, putting all documentation away and trying to familiarise myself with the sums involved in currency conversion. I also started plotting my route east marking up on the map all the places of interest from my two guide books, now some 15 years old, which helped narrow down my route. There was a Turkish camper already parked up well away and later a Dutch van and then a huge German 4x4 MAN expedition truck rolled in, as noisy and ostentatious as they always are.

After a quiet night with the dogs barking occasionally I was up and away, filling up with water from a good supply and taking the road down the Gallipoli peninsula to the numerous military cemeteries that covered the area which had seen fierce fighting in WW1. I had first heard of the area whilst in NZ as it holds a significant place in ANZAC history and had always wanted to come to pay my respects. The new Canakkale suspension bridge is the longest in the world at present and gracefully crosses the strategically important Dardanelles Strait high above the constant flow of shipping.

After passing through some long tunnels I reached Kabatepe with a plan to cross to Gokceade, an island that retains much of its former Greek history but decided as the ferry was not due to depart for four hours and was quite pricey for only one in a vehicle I would do it on another trip. Down at the southernmost tip the huge Helles memorial to British troops also acknowledged the vital role of other Commonwealth countries including India, Nepal and Canada. A few miles away the huge Turkish memorial stood proudly over the landscape and when I arrived preparations were under way for the big March 18th memorial day with numerous soldiers practising their parading skills.

Further north on the west coast lay the very moving ANZAC Cove where the allied troops on landing had to scale 300m high slopes under heavy fire. A curious rock feature was nicknamed The Sphynx as it resembled the one seen by the troops as they passed through Egypt. Lone Pine cemetery was particularly moving and a team from the Commonwealth War Graves Committee were at work tending to the lawns and graves.

Moving on to Eceabat I had a short wait for the regular ferry over to Canakkale which was £14 for the half hour journey giving good views across to the town, up to the bridge and of the huge ships heading north in a long convoy. As they were all heading north and the passage is relatively narrow it occurred to me that an alternating one way system might be in operation. Canakkale is a busy university town but had a large parking area near the covered market where I left the van for a walk round. I followed the river out to the coast passing a very rundown area full of rubbish, car wrecks and dilapidated housing before reaching the promenade where things changed dramatically. Being in the 'European' part of Turkey the dress code was very (in some cases very) relaxed and couples and families were parading up and down, the restaurants were buzzing and the atmosphere warm and friendly. A huge replica wooden horse dominates a point just beyond where the ferries land as Troy is a few miles down the coast and a majestic mosque sits at the northern end of the bay.

Back at the van all was quiet until the calls from another mosque filled the air and I slept well waking to find an open air  market had sprung up just a few yards from where I had parked : this has happened before! I wasn't in the way though and took a walk round the various piles of mostly secondhand electronics, cheap tools, piles of clothing and some domestic equipment, all very reminiscent of similar events in Morocco.

The morning's task was focussed on getting an HGS sticker that enables drive through toll fee collections and was apparently available from post offices and banks.  A PTT branch ten minutes walk away would I hope be able to help but the guy said  (via Google translate of course) that he had just sold his last one but told me 3 nearby banks would be able to help. In the event none of them could and referred me back to the PTT so I decided to head for the main branch back in town where the friendly security guy gave me the appropriate form to fill in. I then took a numbered ticket and soon had a helpful woman crossing out most of the entries on my form as I had taken a guess at some of the details required. We had to ensure that the 0 and O (look closely) were entered correctly in to the system after which she gave me the small sticker that apparently contains an RFID tag. She asked me how much I wanted to preload and again being not completely familiar with the exchange rate I suggested 100 lire. She countered with a 1000 and I handed over the equivalent of £20 realising that the tag cost 110 lire (£2) to get started!! Outside I used the ATM and was pleased to discover as is often the case that postal service ATMs do not charge the 10% fee and still offer a decent rate as long as you choose the 'without conversion' option.

Back at the van a guy came over for a look and was fascinated by the conversion but I was soon on my way heading via Biga to Bandirma where ferries across the Sea of Marmara head to Istanbul. My destination was a small cove courtesy of P4N that lay on the north coast of the small Kapi Dagi peninsula and reached by a twisting coastal road that passed by some decent beaches and through some impoverished and litter strewn fishing villages. From high points on the road I looked down in to a couple of small coves where large steel ships were being built in very confined spaces and eventually dropped down to pick up a dirt track that led to a beautiful curve of sand with plenty of flat parking in the grass. Sadly there was litter everywhere and plastic bottles all washed up on the shore but it had a very pleasant feeling otherwise and remarkably 4G coverage so I decided to stay two nights and saw no one other than a family dropping down in the afternoon. During my day there the odd fishing boat chugged by, some container ships passed by on the horizon and a few clusters of jets flew over in formation presumably for the Gallipoli event.

As I moved on the reason for much of all the litter became apparent as above one cove the communal rubbish was just being tipped straight in to the sea - horrendous.

The large city of Bursa saw the first congestion as it was a holiday weekend but a few miles north in a more rural village sat the Bursa Karavan Park reached through narrow streets and a final very steep descent to a level terrace with a few caravans permanently set up and free space for visitors. The lovely owner Bunjamin welcomed me warmly and soon had me parked up and with a cold beer in my hand. He was having a party for his mountaineering club and the other campers that night and asked me to come along later giving me time to walk back up to the village.

I wasn't sure what time things would start but people were arriving in the late afternoon and then after a blast from the mosque at sunset huge amounts of food appeared and I was soon tucking in to spicy chicken, rice and salad. A young paramedic was great company and keen to practice his already quite good English, he wants to get a job as a health care worker in the UK and whilst I admired his ambition I felt it also only fair to explain gently that whilst the pay might seem good compared to the average monthly Turkish pay packet of £400 the costs of living are so much higher. Anyway the next couple of hours passed very enjoyably before I took off for bed, leaving the group to sing and chat late in to the night.

On Sunday morning Bunjamin and another van owner wanted a full tour of the van before I left but I was away eventually to stop at lakeside Iznik which was a centre for ceramics and had an impressive surrounding wall with many fortifications and some imposing gates. Within the walls lay two beautiful mosques and other buildings and I enjoyed exploring them for a couple of hours before a final run through the mountains to Goynuk where I planned to stay the night. The larger car park was out of bounds due to a market next day so I tucked in to the smaller one nearby and took a walk through the small town that sits in a deep valley. Again two friendly guys were fascinated by the van, the older one, despute being a car mechanic had never seen a RHD vehicle.

As I walked round in the early evening there was a lot of activity but a gunshot just after dusk and a call from the mosque saw the streets empty like magic as everyone rushed off to eat...

As I dozed off there was some banging about and, yes you've guessed it, I woke at 7 to see numerous stalls being set out....Thus I dressed quickly and moved off to a nearby street before walking up to the predominant watch tower with it's lofty view across the town. Sure enough back in the centre my space was now occupied by a stall selling huge quantities of olives, many in lurid dressings. After a good look round I was away again north to leave the mountains as snow was forecast, remarkable as it had been 31 degrees earlier in the day and 22 at 19.00.

Dropping out of the hills a routine police (Jandarma) traffic stop was interesting. The first guy asked for my passport and driving licence whilst his colleague stood at the front with an IPad. He then asked the first guy to confirm my full name which of course all tallied but I was impressed that the system was up and running in less than a week since my entry and I was glad I'd got all my paperwork in order.

Near Bolu I stopped at a fascinating place where a natural spring saturated with soda had created an enormous bright white cliff that at first I thought was limestone. A huge but grubby looking pool enabled visitors to take the waters and is probably cleaned up for the summer but I was content just to follow the path  beneath the cliff and back round through the woods.

A full tank of BP Ultimate for £70 was good news as I headed past the enormous steel works at Karabuk, Turkey's largest, where acres of finished steel presented as RSJS, steel plate, rebar and cable surrounded a place that looked like hell on earth and filled the air with a colour and smell far worse than the bad old days of Port Talbot near my old place in South Wales.

A few miles further on Safranbolu was many miles away in character and has been a UNESCO WHS since 1994 as it is a largely unspoilt town of traditional tall Ottoman style wooden houses. I decided to stay at the Karavan Park and the friendly owner gave me a choice to park up anywhere as there was only one other guest. A top pitch near power and water was also the flattest so I set up and walked down to the old centre which was a maze of streets with numerous small shops catering to the tourists who congregate here in the summer. For now though apart from a coachload of Chinese visitors it was very quiet and I enjoyed a good look round stopping at one point for tea with Karam in his workshop surrounded by hundreds of copper mugs, pots, plates, lamps and other ornaments that he had produced. There was no sales pressure at all as again he just wanted to practice his English but as the sun set everyone was closing up and once more the call of the mosque emptied the streets.

So overnight we had a thunderstorm and some heavy rain and I heard a noise outside which turned out to be large black cat on the roof peering in to the bathroom where my empty tuna tin had sat in the bin but this morning it is bright and sunny and I am heading out to the coast once more. I need to source a different gas bottle as the thread is too small for my CG regulator but otherwise we are all set for the 600 or so miles slowly east to Georgia....

Extras, 

Greeced Lightning

 So after a final (hopefully) night at Plataria I was away early after making use of the water in/waste out facility and was soon parked up in Igoumenitsa opposite the ferry slipway for sailings to Corfu on a large gravelled area that seemed secure enough. With a rucksack containing overnight kit and some food and extra water I set off on the bike for the few hundred yards down to the smaller slipway and ticket office that serves Paxos. A single fare was a tenner but apparently tomorrow's return would be with a different company so I'd have to get that one on the island and confirm the departure time. The Corfu Spirit arrived around 10.00 from Paxos and discharged a surprising number of foot passengers, a few dozen cars and various commercial vehicles before I walked the bike on board and selected a seat on the top deck. It was a fair sized ship and I think covers a variety of routes in the area and we were away on time for the ninety minutes crossing. I could see right up the inlet to Plataria and we passed a huge tanker that had been at anchor in the bay for a few days.

I got talking to two guys who share their time between Scotland and Paxos where they have a villa and were a bit fatigued from the long drive south, they stay until June when it gets busy and then head north again.

The small harbour was beautifully situated adjacent to a couple of islands and I was soon away east to follow the coast road out to Lakka at the northernmost tip passing some very nice properties. A small chapel was worth stopping at and had good views over the village which I dropped down to for coffee and pastry - the place must be very lively in the summer but was now just calm and serene.

The rest of the afternoon was spent making good use of the bike to explore various coves and rural tracks with quite a lot of ascent and descent and included a lovely church and religious set up with old houses and a tower to scale for more excellent views from beneath the four large bells. A tap provided a water top up after which I began to look for a quiet tuck away for the night. One possibility turned out to be the road down to the municipal tip... I'd been trying to make out what it was on Google Earth but judging by the disappointing amount of fly tipped construction waste and bagged domestic waste I think there must be hefty charges in place which does nothing to address a serious issue.

Anyway further on a track through olive trees became a footpath down to the coast and after a couple of hundred yards I spotted a flat ledge looking straight out to sea that would get both a sunset and sunrise so decided to stop there. It was slightly precarious and I put my rucksack alongside the mat to prevent me rolling me but otherwise it was a magnificent place to be. I was warm and cosy as the stars emerged and slept through until the seagulls woke me for a memorable dawn.

I was away once the sun was up and walked on down to the Tripitos Arch before heading to the most southerly part of the island. From there it was an easy ride round to Gaios the 'capital' where I had coffee in a sunny cafe and checked that the boat would be leaving at 2pm. The old harbour was idyllic whereas round at the new part it was a bit more workaday but I watched the ship come in, bought my ticket and was back on board with plenty of time to spare. After another calm crossing I was back at the van and had a shower with the balance of the hot water from being on hook up back at Plataria.

So as arranged I arrived at the garage at 9am on the Friday morning and left them the keys and my number as I was heading off on the bike again for the rest of the day.

I followed the coast round starting initially at the sublime Drepano beach where I could just have sat and watched the ferries arrive and depart all day. One local was swimming and further offshore a fisherman was easing out an unbelievably long net across the bay. Inland there is a huge flat expanse of partially reclaimed marsh with some salt pans, a lot of orange groves and many tracks to explore, one of which was being crossed rather slowly by a terrapin that I helped along.

Whilst grabbing lemonade and a ham toastie the garage rang to say that the rear brake pads were quite worn and as I carry a full set of front and rears I said I'd be along ASAP to dig them out. Something must have got lost in translation as when I got back the van was parked up across the road but I dug out the pads and asked if they wouldn't mind fitting them as I have many miles left to go on this trip. The young mechanic fetched the van back and in a flash had both sides changed just from using a trolley jack. The pads were worn and I think would have sounded the wear indicator in a couple of thousand miles tops so I'm glad we got it done, the fronts look fine and would be an easier roadside job for me anyway so after a quick road test to confirm that the bearing was resolved I coughed up the balance. I'm well aware that I paid through the nose for the part and labour but it all needed doing, my options were limited and they were on it reasonably quickly. As were the lads on the tin of biscuits I had bought for them!

Anyway my Brexit clock was ticking away relentlessly so I set the sat nav east but avoiding any toll roads and began heading across northern Greece. It was a lovely journey with a surprising number of high, often snow covered mountains and as the toll sections of the main road were mostly to pay for the tunnels my alternatives took me up some wonderful hairpins, through small villages literally passed by nowadays and eventually to one (Selli) that was trying to get people to stay by providing a small aire. I parked up and put the cover back on the bikes before the sun set and it got quite chilly : the surrounding mountains had a fair bit of snow on them and we were at around 3,000'.

With Camping Gaz unobtainable in Greece and beyond I will be trying to get my four 907s to last so decided to give the genny a session as there was no one around. In half an hour it had heated my hot water for a shower, topped up the leisure battery and cooled down the fridge even further, it was already cold from the few hours driving. The Eber then kept the van warm whilst I walked in to the village where the cosy bar had a good blaze going in a corner fireplace.

After a very quiet night I was heading east again with the mountain routes providing stunning scenery and many ideas for my return in three months time. The town of Ioannina curves round a large lake and I then climbed up in to the hills again. At one point on a steep hill a Greek road cyclist was pushing but using his bike to keep 3 stray dogs at bay. They didn't seem particularly aggressive but I was well aware how he felt so suggested he  grabbed hold of the passenger seat belt through the open window so I could tow him swiftly out of any harm's way. It worked well and reminded me of a farmer on Mull who had assisted me away from inquisitive Highland Cattle many years ago.

A small chapel provided a good lunch stop after which I began to look for that night's park up. A P4N option took me down a sandy track and out on to a huge lakeside area with trees and plenty of space but nobody else around near the small village of Rymnio where again the genny did it's job using perhaps 100ml of unleaded to get everything topped up : cheap as chips but I wouldn't use it if I had any neighbours despite its relative silence. I'd enjoyed a few hours in the sun as well and have decided to cross to Turkey on Tuesday the 11th leaving me a ten day Brexit window although North Macedonia, Albania and parts of the Balkans beyond also provide a Brexit haven but recently Bulgaria and Romania have joined Schengen so they are out but will feature in a future plan.

Yesterday was a steady run through Thessaloniki which as hoped was quiet it being a Sunday and no shops are open. The snow capped summit of Mount Olympus to the south looked impressive and before long I was on the superb sweep of the Strymonian Gulf and parked up just yards from the waves with a view across to Thasos, the 12th largest of the Greek Islands and it's most northerly. Kavala also looked worth a return with it's mighty fortess and is the main departure point for Thasos.

A quick top up at Lidl this morning led to a chat with the first other UK van I've seen since Italy whose owner was also heading to Turkey having come down through the Balkans which she thoroughly recommended. 

My non toll route then took me across through the East Macedonia and Thrace National Park which are again mostly wetlands and salt pans around Lake Vistonida but also contain the remarkable pair of monasteries of Saint Nicholas at Porto Lagos out on stilts in a shallow lagoon.

I am now just west of Alexandroupoli on another coastal gem with an hour to the border tomorrow. I have selected a stopover in Ipsala not far on the other side as once in I can start to take it easy as I have 90 days to enjoy my intended destinations. Getting insurance, cash and a local SIM will be priorities and some research on t' internet offers a glimmer of hope that gas bottles compatible with the Camping Gaz regulator and of a size that will fit my cupboard may be available from marinas so that's something else to investigate.

I am very pleased to be back on the road with surprisingly little hassle and have only whizzed across Greece due to circumstances beyond my control but what I have seen confirms it to be a 'must return to' area particularly off season as there are so many fabulous places to stay.

A few pics here and with luck a further post in a few days time from Turkiye....

Click

Bearing Up

 So after the absolute delights of Rome we met Gino on our last evening who gave us a lovely print of the Coliseum as we said goodbye. He was away early the following morning to get a lorry part from northern Italy and we weren't far behind to drop Mandy at the airport. The signage and barriers for the drop and fly parking were, as is so often the case, confusing so she jumped out near the terminal and I headed away south and east. Tracking apps allowed me to monitor her rapid return home as I crossed central Italy passing snow capped peaks in the Abruzzo region. At the small village of Savignano Irpigno the council had provided a well equipped aire with water and power and a good toilet and shower block on each of the three levels. Everything was open, accessible and switched on so I rang the number and a guy said he would call by later or in the morning for payment but no one appeared and I spent a peaceful night with a good sunset. The village had lovely narrow streets on various levels but was very quiet although there was a football match on down in the sports centre.

Carrying on through the valley there was much work going on to push a high speed rail line through the area and I passed several lorries loaded with pre cast tunnel sections before reaching the coast again north of Bari. My ferry the following day left from Brindisi but as I followed the motorway for a couple of hours I detected a slight rumbling indicative of a suspect wheel bearing. A bit of gentle veering convinced me it was the front offside one but I guessed it would be OK for a while and carried on to reach a superb overnight spot outside Brindisi. On the motorway I had noticed that every emergency bay had piles of garbage and black bin bags dumped there and even through the mountains there had been masses of fly tipping - we've always found it depressing in say Morocco where perhaps they have bigger issues but here it seems unforgivable.

However in complete contrast in the middle of nowhere surrounded by olive trees and meadows a German family are starting up a low key campsite and smallholding which I took to straight away. It reminded me of Gary's remarkable site in Portugal and if the Brexit clock and my ferry weren't looming I would have stayed much longer...in fact as I left the possibility of house sitting was raised as they still have other family back in Germany.

It was a wonderful place to wake up to on my 65th birthday and I spent some time reflecting on other memorable milestones : 40 at the farm, 50 in New Zealand and 60 tucked away in the Pennant Valley of Snowdonia.....

As hoped my final gas bottle ran out and with some ingenuity I managed to raise the tailgate complete with bikes single handedly and got it safely supported with the awning poles. Thus in Brindisi I found the industrial supplies warehouse unexpectedly open on a Saturday morning who had plenty of 907s in stock and was soon pulling up at the old port in the centre of town. The free aire was just the job and had a mix of parked, permanent and transient vans with water and waste facilities to hand. I walked round to the launderette who said they provided a service wash only so drove out to another where a full load was done in forty minutes before returning to my base for the day. The bearing had continued to rumble so I spent time checking out my options in Igoumenitsa, my arrival point in Greece. The Tatsakis Ilias garage was a VW service point and seemed to get good reviews from a variety of local and international travellers but I discovered that Monday was a public holiday in Greece so Tuesday would have to do.

With the overnight ferry due to depart at 22.30 I made my way round to the port a couple of miles out of town and parked by the terminal building. There was little signage but a mixed crew of Romanian and Albanian truck drivers were shuffling towards a lit window to which I eventually arrived only to be told non commercial check in would begin at 19.00 at another window. In due course I received boarding and security cards for both myself and the van and by 20.30 we were in line for loading. The ship was not busy but overheight vehicles like myself were directed to use the HGV deck so I ended up squashed between two 40 tonners and next to a German lass in a former ambulance based on a T5. The deckhand had been rather abrupt with both of us as he guided us backwards : as it wasn't clear where he wanted us to go we had both been rather cautious.

Anyway the vessel was a real surprise with comfortable seating areas, plush lounges and well appointed dining areas but I'd eaten earlier and decided to find a quiet corner to settle down in as a cabin would have almost doubled the fare - you pay for the cabin irrespective of the number of passengers. The recliner seats were very comfy and largely empty so once we were away I bagged three, raised the armrests, added extra cushions, plumped up my pillow and slept through to the morning call for breakfast. Outside we  could see Corfu to the west and the Greek/Albanian border mountains to the east before we entered the bay of Igoumenitsa. There were no formalities for disembarkation but I felt for those HGV drivers who had to reverse down the long tight ramps in gloomy conditions.

I drove past the proposed garage to get a feel for the place and confirm that their access door would be high enough, it had a busy and practical feel to it with a few T4s in the yard including a lovely orange T2 shell, that turned out to be the owner's wife's pet project, so I headed a few miles round the coast to Plataria to rest up for 48 hours at an aire with power, water and WiFi for £12 a night. With a need to conserve gas and data this was a perfect place to stop and I walked round the bay for a beer before an early night.

The public holiday is known as Clean Monday and is related to the clearing out of food before Lent, ironic then that after many families had arrived for time on the beach for kite flying dozens of cheap broken ones were just left in the sand....even though an hour of heavy rain had dramatically interrupted their enjoyment there were plenty of bins that could have been used. I walked round to a small restaurant for delicious grilled octopus with grilled veg, garlic mash and a beer before heading back for BBC2 's Monday quiz night using my O2 data as that allows me access to iPlayer. Greece is an hour ahead of the rest of Europe and therefore two ahead of Portugal and the UK.

So this morning I was up and away and was pleased to notice that the beach had been tidied up as I filled up with water. I had been considering various alternative plans should the garage be unable to help as Thessaloniki the next large city is 200 miles away so a return to Brindisi or the much larger Bari by ferry was a consideration as either would minimise driving but eat in to the Brexit balance.

As it happens the staff at Tatsakis Ilias couldn't have been more helpful. The mechanic soon had each wheel jacked up and the rear off side was clearly the culprit. A new bearing is €150 euros (OEM VW over 300 but they think the cheaper part is actually better : who knows?) and labour will bring it up to €500 in total so about £400 which seems steep but even at the rear there is a lot of dismantling and a return ferry back to Italy would have been £300 so I asked them when they could do it and we have set a date for Friday. I gave them half up front for goodwill, called at Lidl and am now back at Plataria for another night cooking up a plan to take the bike over to Paxos tomorrow for a cheeky overnight bivvy on a west facing coast as the weather looks good and settled.

This is my first hiccup with the van in 7 years and 100,000 miles and the issue has arisen since my September strip down and check of the brakes and wheels 6,000 miles ago so it's just part of life on the road. From Friday all being well I will be steadily heading east to the Turkish border with a fortnight of the Brexit balance in hand : I'm so glad my schedule allowed for this possibility although there might have been some leeway in a case of genuine need.

Extra Pics Here

NO PLACE LIKE ROME....

This is my 300th post from over 15 years and could well be my shortest....

Three days in Rome has left us completely overwhelmed by the sights and sounds that would be impossible to describe so enjoy the piccies and use Google lens or similar to find out more.

Next post from Greece!

Loads more here.

But above all a massive grazie mille to Gino near Ciampino for a perfect park up in his garden!!

Superb Sardinia

So after a busy fortnight in areas often without coverage there is quite a lot to catch up on so bear with....

The aire at Genuri served us very well although a walk on the Saturday evening saw us caught out by a bout of heavy rain just after we'd seen an impressive rock carving on a farm entrance. However Sunday was much brighter and we set off to ride over the Giara di Gestui limestone plateau that rose to the north. However despite a local prohibition the hunters were up there so we dropped back down and circumnavigated the upland mass via quiet roads and gravel tracks stopping for coffee at Nuragus before cutting across from Barumini to the mediaeval castle of Las Plassas perched atop a perfectly conical hill overlooking an attractive church.

After using the aire facilities which were well designed and functioned perfectly for a couple of euros we headed through the hills to Laconia for parking in the centre of town. We met a lovely British/Danish couple who advised us that the market the following morning would require us moving off early so we decided to relocate to the old station above town and parked under a large oak tree. Laconia had a remarkable park and formal garden laid out around the ruined Aymerich castle where a large open cave gave us the chance to watch a lesser horseshoe bat hanging around. The old station which still sees the summer narrow gauge tourist trains provided a very quiet overnight and as Sardinia has a number of these outfits which I doubt will run for much longer as many other rural lines have closed I am inspired  to return in September 2026 for a few weeks enjoying all of them.

The market was a modest but entertaining affair and we bought a few bits and bobs before visiting the hugely impressive menhirs museum and then picking up a whole cooked chicken to scoff in the warm sunshine.

Up at Sorgono, the terminus of the railway, we spotted the old turntable and a remarkably rusted out old loco before a quick shop and a move on to Fonni from Tonnara only to find the direct road closed due to a bridge replacement.

As it turned out this was fortunate as whilst taking the longer detour we spotted a road up to the small and long since disused ski lift beneath Sardinia's highest peaks. We parked near a small agriturismo for the night which at -6 was the coldest for a while and the following morning drove as far as the end of the road beneath snow clad summits and ridges. We packed for a day in the mountains and began a steady walk up to the snow line and then along a ridge to the ski lift's top station which was clearly unlikely to operate again. A cafe remained half finished but it's terrace offered superb views in all directions. We followed the ridge west and then dropped to a col before the final climb over some large sections of snow to reach a summit with a large cross that we then realised was actually a few hundred yards from the true summit Punta La Marmora (6013') where we had lunch in warm sunshine as the cold wind had dropped. Dropping back we enjoyed some bum sledging and then took an alternative route back on the west side of Punta Paulinus to stay in the sun with a magical stop by a small stream before finally returning to the van after eight memorable hours. The location was perfectly aligned for the morning sun after which we dropped to Fonni which sported some beautiful murals and a very moving statue of the Virgin Mary in the chapel attached to the convent.

Marmoida hosted a fascinating museum devoted to the local masks festival that begins in March and has extended its remit to include similar masked festivals from across Europe and even featured English Morris Men : it was remarkable to see the similarities between countries thousands of miles apart. A chance discovery of a small restaurant tucked away in a courtyard led to an excellent lunch of local specialities before we called in on the church we had parked by which had stunning modern stained glass windows.

Orgosolo is renowned for its murals which are largely political and date back to the 60's but I will remember it for a nightmare maze of narrow streets, double parking and tight right hand bends on steep slopes that in anything larger than this would have been impossible. The possible overnight in a scruffy parking lot adjacent to the cemetery didn't appeal so we headed out of town to park by a picnic area on a flat plateau just as herds of sheep and cattle were responding to the farmer's calling. It was a remarkable sight augmented by the bells and bellows and a few pigs adding to the flow whilst the grazing horses seemed content to stay longer as the sun set.

We returned briefly to Orgosolo to use the launderette filling the waiting time in a small cafe kept immaculately by its proud young owner.

Picking up a section of motorway briefly we then turned up in to the hills once more and spotted a place for lunch alongside a hunters bothy where the very strong winds soon had our bedding dry. 

The hut would be a cosy retreat in winter with it's corner log fire and had panoramic views from all sides. Twisty mountain roads took us through Ussassai and Seui to Sadali where the village provided an aire. A young Italian couple had just arrived and phoned the caretaker so in due course we were pitched up and plugged in for a very reasonable ten euros a night. If villages provide working facilities for a reasonable price then I feel vanners should use them and here particularly the provision of good bins and recycling was much appreciated.

The caretaker was also a guide for the nearby Grotte de Janas and said there was a tour at midday next day so after a quiet night we walked through the 'village of water' to admire the old mill, various fonts and a large sinkhole before heading out to the cave after making use of the service facilities.

The hour long tour was excellent with the cave sporting some huge formations and although the tour was in Italian a friendly girl took the time to explain much of the commentary to us. After the cave we walked down in to the gorge to admire a huge resurgence pouring out of a fissure in the rock face.

Down at Lanusei the planned park up beside the hospital was just a layby on a busy road so we dropped to the coast stopping for a while at the very moving abandoned village of Gairo Vieillo which had been threatened by landslides and torrential floods. We pulled up at an approved spot alongside the Eurospar supermarket in Tortoli which was far better than it sounds.... Two larger vans turned their noses up at it but we enjoyed a walk in to the large town on a lively Saturday night and found an excellent restaurant with a friendly waitress fluent in French, English and Italian who was originally from near Paris.

On the Sunday as our final week began we walked the picture perfect beach of Santa Maria Navaresse before heading north on the mountain road passing through numerous concrete galleries that protected the route from rockfalls. A panoramic viewpoint allowed us to look back over to the snowy peaks we had recently climbed and by early afternoon we were taking a rough track up to the Lanaittu Valley to a spot described on P4N as a park up. The small clearing in amongst shrubs and trees had no services and was provided free of charge apparently by Salvatore (who we never even saw) as he wants people to enjoy the area. A young German couple were parked up well away but otherwise we had the place to ourselves and felt it was OK to get the table and chairs out for a few hours of warm sunshine. When this disappeared behind the ridge we walked back along the track to look at a few caves and then dropped drop down to a remarkable resurgence that has been dye traced to the Sorgentu cave high in the hills with the water taking a month to flow through indicating a substantial system. On our return we were surprised at the number of vehicles coming out of the valley around sunset but it soon turned quiet and we had a comfortable night, initially with the door open to experience a superb night sky.

The following day (Monday) we were away on the bikes to ride a few miles up the valley, stash them amongst the trees and then begin the steady hike up to the Tiscali Nuraghe with views across to neighbouring limestone ridges and peaks and back along the Lanaittu valley. The walk became steeper and twisted through limestone outcrops, stunted juniper and then turned sharply through a narrow cleft in a huge split rock. Beyond that a curved raised beach led us to a final scramble amongst the rocks and the astounding site of a 5,000 year old Nuraghe village built in the shelter of a huge sinkhole and cave. The caretaker makes this unique commute every day and was obviously surprised to see us there so early, the bikes having saved us a ninety minute walk, he leaves his 4x4 near where we had locked the bikes. Fortunately for us the sun was just right to illuminate the site where over a hundred stone huts had been built in this sheltered and secure spot although only a few, and one in particular, remain in any substantive form. We enjoyed a good hour there and decided we had the time, energy, food and water to continue on quite a demanding path around the rest of the Tiscali mountain. My downloaded and therefore available offline Mapy.cz showed the route accurately and returned us to the start of the descent adjacent to the cliff fissure. It was great to have the bikes for the final ride home where a Brit had arrived but otherwise the place was empty. After another peaceful night we followed the path Salve had made out to a panoramic viewpoint over the gorge before heading off and filling with water at a tap by the resurgence.

Heading away reluctantly but promising ourselves to return we left Salvatore a note of thanks and 20 euros and took quiet roads north towards Bitti and Budduso. Sardinia has over 7,000 recorded Nuraghe sites with a good many found around Bitti and Budduso so we were tempted by a sign to Romanezsu to go and have a look. As we arrived at lunchtime we enjoyed ours in the sunny car park before going in and meeting the friendly caretaker who was, judging by the visitor book, not hugely overworked.

Given that to us this was one of the most remarkable, moving and impressive sights we have seen this was surprising and we were totally captivated by the couple of acres of hut ruins complete with original horseshoe shaped seating, meeting huts with stone benches around the walls and a central hearth, a stunning sacred well and bathing area with tiered seating and two temples with concentric walls and well defined recesses for offerings and the like. Many more acres remain to be excavated but for now the peaceful setting amongst cork oaks with numerous lizards scurrying over the warm rocks has become one of many great memories from this remarkable island. Two T shirts were bought as reminders of the place and we headed off to park up by another impressive Nuraghe structure Nuraghe Noelle. This was fully accessible and had yet more panoramic views and although overnight stays are OK I had my eye on an alternative just ten minutes away. This was an old grassed over quarry with its broad ledge reached through a tight gap between two rocks that would exclude wider vans and offered expansive views over the Lago des Canales reservoir south to the mountains around Tiscali. Goat and sheep bells were the only sound as the sun set and we woke to another hot sun after a very quiet night.

Still heading north we turned off for a long climb up to the numerous masts and towers draped over Punta Balistreri where we had lunch and took a walk amongst the weather sculpted granite outcrops before dropping to Tempo Pausiana for coffee in the square. Carnival preparations were under way and a guy was happily attaching banners and a smiling mannequin from a cherry picker right above our heads.

We arrived at an aire on the north coast and met the owner just as she was going out who said just to park anywhere so we chose a flat spot giving the other occupant, a friendly German guy, plenty of room as we didn't want hook up - he had electric bikes so I guess needed it and we took a quick look at the quirky outdoor shower before returning to the van for warm ones. The following day we called at the house to pay and were slightly irritated that they said their water wasn't potable although down at the service area it didn't seem too bad so we filled up anyway and dumped the loo in a huge tank stood alongside and presumably emptied by whoever deals with the house cesspit.

Detouring out to Capo Testro we walked out to more amazing sculpted granite outcrops with the limestone cliffs of Bonnifacio over on Corsica just a few miles away and then across to the lighthouse and semaphore house.

Thus on a Thursday afternoon we reached Palau which is mainly centred on the ferry service over to the island of Maddalena part of the eponymous archipelago of 7 larger islands and numerous smaller ones which make up a Nature Reserve. Two ferries provide a half hourly service all year round (and even hourly through the night) and there is a large marina alongside where after a couple of false starts and two narrow roads we were able to park. It was very quiet at this time of year but would be heaving in the season as the whole area has many holiday villas and resorts which are low key in design but still quite intrusive.

Saturday saw us catching the ferry for the twenty minutes journey to Maddalena town, we felt sorry for a French lady who had picked up a puncture on the boat but at least there was a bike shop opposite the arrival point.

We had a quick coffee and a donut in a cafe, noting the higher price of a resort establishment before taking various almost deserted roads to circle right round the island stopping at beautiful coves and beaches en route. Should we return as planned we would definitely revisit some of these for swimming when the water is still warm.

A bridge and causeway took us across to the smaller island of Caprese where we ended up at a small hamlet by a quiet pier. The road out to the most easterly point was about to be closed for some hunting so we turned back, spotted and indeed smelt some large horned goats and were back to Maddalena bang on time for the 6pm ferry.

Yesterday we cycled around the coast passing some lovely bays with crystal clear waters but the car parks were spoilt by endless fly tipping.... The restrictions and fines on campers really annoy me as clearly most of this was domestic and construction waste and if vans were allowed to overnight I think some of the issues might be resolved. There are plenty of local police and environmental police driving around but unless they get out and actually look the problem seems unrecognised. Ironically I fear this may just be good conditioning for my onwards travels through Turkey from what I hear.

Cannigione was a smart enough marina with a coast guard look out, million dollar boats and a friendly cafe that set us up for a return through the hills to the coast and back to Palau for our final night on Sardinia.

Today has been composing this humble offering before we head off to Olbia for the overnight ferry to Civitaveccia from where we head to Rome for three days, a return home for Mandy on Thursday and a whizz to Brindisi for my ferry to Greece on Saturday!

Sardinia has exceeded all expectations in terms of scenery, accommodation, entertainment, food and friendliness and we will as hoped be back......

Pics here...

Southern Sardinia, Cagliari and the mountains.

Back on the mainland at Oriestano we made use of the service area before crossing a curious region of flat reclaimed land mostly used for agriculture, stopping briefly at a small shop for supplies before crossing an inlet to reach the coast running south from Capo di Frasca which has a NATO base on the northern tip.

In Arbus town we found the small knife museum where Paolo Pusceddu the owner showed us his collection of knives from over the years and then left us watching a fascinating video of how he produced a folding hunting knife whose handle was fashioned from a ram's horn that required much shaping, heating and bashing before the finished product was given a blade and polished up. He is still crafting beautiful examples of knives for a host of uses using traditional tools and techniques.

At Marina di Arbus we took a walk through the village and down to the harbour where a number of large yachts were undergoing maintenance on their hulls and a smart cafe run by a friendly young owner provided mid morning refreshments. A small convoy of classic Fiat 500s pulled in as we departed and further down the Costa Verde we found a large parking area above a huge curve of a beach so spent the afternoon walking to each end and had a quiet night with just three other vans dotted about. A Dutch couple in one were keen paragliders so took advantage of the cliff and onshore wind to enjoy the conditions the following morning.

Mountain roads took us inland to Guspini as the dirt road required a sandy looking river crossing after which we headed to the coast again at the town of Buggerru. Around Carbonia, a former mining area, there were abandoned villages and pithead workings before at the coast once more we crossed via a bridge and spit of land to the Isola di Sant Antioco and parked by the harbour at the north end in Calasetta. This small town is the departure point for a regular ferry over to the Isla di Sant Pietro and the large parking area was to be our base for three nights. We walked around the harbour admiring some large pleasure craft and even larger fishing vessels before the ferry loomed in to sight.

Remarkably having being built in Edinburgh in 1983 she spent twenty years linking Portsmouth to the Isle of Wight being at the time the largest ro ro car ferry on that route. In 2002 she was sold to the Italian company that now runs this service and was sailed here with a crew of just 11 which must have been an adventure. Running 7 days a week around the clock we decided to take a trip over with the bikes the following day so checked out the fares and timetable before tucking away in the small harbour cafe.

 

The vessel docking and departing at times through the night was reassuring background noise and we caught the 10.20 with just a handful of foot passengers and two cars. Some of the original IOW signage was still in place and we enjoyed the top sun deck for the forty minute journey.

Cycling away from Carloforte we passed old salt pans teeming with flamingoes and reached La Calletta with its numerous shuttered holiday homes and a large unfinished and abandoned hotel. A return to Carloforte via an inland road gave us the opportunity for lunch on the seafront whilst watching the various ferries that link across directly to the mainland. An error in translation saw me tackling a huge plate of meats, cheeses and seafood that was probably aimed at a family group but I rose to the task before we set off climbing steeply at first towards the north west of the island. Far reaching views, blue skies and empty tracks made for a great day as we dropped down to the tuna processing unit at Tonnare and then returned to Carloforte for the return at sunset to Calasetta. We found a small restaurant in town and ate well with simple local food and drinks, the bill was on the high side but the place had great character although sadly we were the only customers.

A tour of Santa Antioco took us on more deserted roads, past beautiful beaches and down to Capo Sperone before a run up the east coast looking across the Golfo di Palmas returned us to the main town for coffee in a smart cafe that also sold some deli foods. We were taken by the sand timer for judging tea brewing and the sugary donuts that fuelled us for the final few miles back to Calasetta following the old railway that is now a cycle path.

With rain in the forecast for 48 hours we crossed back to Sardi itself and took a twisting road through the mountains to Teulada passing through a very loud and dramatic hailstorm that put two inches of white marbles on the road just as we passed the highest pass with the tightest corners. A solitary bike track was visible and soon enough we passed a guy heading to lower levels at speed. Park4Night indicated that a campsite provided services part way along the linear village of Chia but when we got there the barrier was down but not locked so we passed through and gave the owner a call. He only spoke Italian but turned up after ten minutes to switch on the power and water which was hugely appreciated. So for €20 we were pitched up alongside a salt water lagoon and five minutes walk from a spectacular beach. We had done our laundry in Calasetta that morning so soon had a line rigged up and I gave the bathroom a good clean as we had access to plenty of water before we walked out to the sea. The night was quite wet so we were glad to be in a warm and comfy vehicle with some catch up TV watched as we both have O2's 25 GB roaming limit. I am very pleased with my decision to switch providers as Three had a lower limit and a £2/day access fee : another Brexit bonus...

From Chia we moved swiftly on to the island's capital Cagliari, reached by passing industry on the west side and then circumventing the commercial port south of the airport. In the centre of town the MSC Lirica, a large cruise ship was moored up alongside the ferry to Civitavecchia near Rome and we were soon pulling in at the secure aire just to the east of the centre. Two African lads were manning the barrier and were very friendly, particularly once they realised I could speak French, originating from Guinea Bissau we wondered about their back stories as we were directed to a parking spot. Quite a few vans were in storage and once the owner had returned I booked us in, and paid the 20 euros and took on board his advice for how best to explore the relatively compact centre.

Thus we walked down to the sea front and along towards the cruise ship before a drink in a cafe where an intriguing character stopped to sell us some trinkets. He was a tall and very engaging African gentleman with a humorous approach to his trade so we very much enjoyed the encounter and bought just a few things. The old fortified centre was reached by numerous stairs and back alleys with excellent views in all directions and very few tourists even though the Lirica could have disgorged up to 1500 people.

In fact we met an Irish couple from the boat who said it was leaving at 16.30 having arrived from Civitavecchia over night. Their cruise was a 10 day tour of the Med but I noticed that at the end of the year the ship would offer a cruise over to Brazil and then spend the winter in warmer waters.

The city walls were impressive with the main gate the Bastione di Sant Remi being particularly imposing, an adjacent cafe revived us with good coffee and even better ice-cream before we moved on heading back through the old centre to view the remarkable Roman amphitheatre carved directly in to a limestone gorge. As work was apparently (if invisibly) underway to refurbish the access paths the site was closed but the ticket office open where the lady said you could pay to enter and walk a short way down the boardwalk for a less impressive view than could be obtained from outside on the street...

Needless to say we took some piccies and then returned to the harbour in time to see the Lirica depart as the sun set. Benches near the gates were hung with sodden blankets and sleeping bags where homeless migrants must have endured an uncomfortable time in the previous day's downpours: compare and contrast with the lives of the departing cruise guests....

Counting as ever our good fortune we moved on to the final 'zone' of Cagliari and chose a small and cosy trattoria for an excellent meal : sea food for me, cheeses and salad for Mandy all washed down with Ichnusa beer and half a carafe of house white.

Back at the aire the security guy gave us a friendly wave and we retired to bed after walking almost 11 miles.

Checkout was at midday giving us time to walk up to the covered market at St Bernardino where the meat counters groaned with choice cuts of pork, beef and even horse, the colourful fruit and veg stalls were a delight to see and on the lower floor the fish market exhibited almost every species of edible marine life known to man. On one a large swordfish head was almost all that remained of a huge specimen and we bought a couple of fresh looking tuna steaks plus some oranges and chocolate bars as a little something for the guys back at the aire. They were obviously hugely touched by our gesture and we felt very humbled as we headed off towards the south east corner of this absorbing island. Another park up at Solanas gave us a couple of hours in the sun on the beach which was less than 20 yards away. A local guy had gone off snorkelling for hours and an Italian guy turned up in a large Fiat based 4x4 camper but otherwise we had the place to ourselves as yet again the majority of the houses were empty holiday homes. A tiny shop/bar had milk and biscuits but little else other than two friendly enough local couples.

A short run along twisting coast roads with superb views brought us to Villasimius where we stopped for lunch above a curved bay overlooked by another tower and with a small marina alongside . Out at Cape Carbonara we walked down to an interesting old granite quarry before moving on to another quiet park up at Sinzias where we had our first east facing beach with a hilly ridge behind meaning we lost the sun a bit earlier so after two hours on there in the mid afternoon sun we walked around the Cape to the next bay passing another Spanish look out tower. I had upgraded my Mapy.cz app to the paid version allowing me to use offline maps and they proved remarkably accurate as we followed the paths and tracks. I have downloaded all the maps for Turkey,  Greece and the Caucasus as the latter do not feature on my Satmap and data may be an issue beyond the EU.

After visiting the solitary Nuraghe Asoru a Euro Spin supermarket at Muravera provided a good restocking of fridge and cupboards as we were intent on heading inland to the even more sparsely populated mountainous areas where a more traditional agricultural life predominates. A newer road cuts through the hills and valleys via tunnels and bridges with the old road glimpsed turning and twisting nearby. We picked this up to call at Armungia where the easily accessible village tap quickly filled our tank and then followed more wriggling roads to descend to a point on what would have been the shoreline of Largo Mulargia but low winter rain has put this way lower and whilst we stopped for lunch the setting below a hill meant we would lose the sun early. Thus twenty minutes later we pulled up at a dedicated aire in Escolca just by the sports club with a choice of five pitches, a good view west and a small but attractive village to walk in to. The local bar was friendly enough and yet again I wished for more of this tolerance and encouragement of van dwellers in those less visited parts of the UK and elsewhere. We require few if any facilities, by and large behave respectfully and bring income to local outlets. 

A bizarre blue lighting scheme made the spot all the more memorable with a large flock of sheep passing by in the morning as we breakfasted in the sun. Up at Barumini we stopped briefly for cash and bread before reaching the Nuragi Sur Nuraxi where as luck would have it a guided tour in English was about to leave. Carlota gave us and the three Dutch visitors an excellent tour of this hugely impressive bronze age settlement. A huge central tower on 3 levels was surrounded by scores of circular huts which would have had thatched wooden roofs housing several hundred people. Access to the main tower was via steep stone steps and a narrow passage and beyond to the four secondary towers narrow passages within the walls were remarkable to experience as they threaded between the huge boulders used in its construction. From the top of the main tower you got an impressive overview of the site but I include a photo of a postcard giving the best bird's eye view .... They are missing a trick here by not offering a tethered hot air balloon ascent or similar.

As our tickets included a visit to the Zapatta Palace back in Barumini we returned to see the former home of a family from Aragon who had settled in the area. In less informed times they had constructed a magnificent home using the solid walls of a Nuraghe and it's outer towers to support the structure. The last baroness left the property to the community and funded the small elderly people's home in the grounds after which the archeologists moved in to excavate the bronze and iron age ruins. These can now be seen through extensive glass flooring whilst display cases show a number of artefacts recovered from this site, Nuraxi and others in the area. The lady who took us round was again well informed and had excellent English and after a look round the folk museum with its exhibits from more recent local history we dropped in at the small cafe. In the folk museum I was intrigued by the 'shoes' for oxen and an elaborate wooden box with ropes and pulleys used to compress hay in to bales : thirty years ago I had made a similar contraption to do the same thing when I once made hay manually at the farm.

So after a thoroughly absorbing day we have moved on to an aire at Genuri, an even smaller village tucked beneath the limestone plateau of Giara where we plan to cycle tomorrow as today has seen a few showers. The aire has shade provided by solar panels and we have plugged in to the hook up prepaid by debit card. In the tiny bakery two locals were clearly delighted that this new facility was being used and as often happens once I had used my few words of Italian went on a long discourse which I completely failed to understand.

So we have another ten days or so before returning to Italy for a visit to Rome before Mandy returns home at the end of the month and I head for Greece aiming to be in to Turkey by mid March......

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