Cold Turkey

 Leaving Tarsus after a very useful service stop I started to head away from the Mediterranean which has been a feature of the trip since Barcelona back in January as I aim for a return to Georgia. A slight diversion north took me to the large castle of Karatepe where dozens of families were picnicking around the lake. My attention was drawn to a number of well preserved carved stones that featured scenes from the Neo Hittite era of around 1200 BC as well as tablets inscribed in both Phoenician and Hieroglyphic Luwian which enabled the latter to be translated.

The D400 took me steadily on to Gaziantep with mountain ranges arising to the South beyond which lay Syria. The car park attendant insisted, despite a number of empty places, on squeezing me alongside the huge truck I had seen at Sirince and I took off for a walk round the old city enjoying the bazaars as dusk fell and the calls from the minarets for the faithful to attend the mosques. I was unable to resist the smells from a cafe and treated myself to chicken kebabs with a range of salads whilst sat outside on a warm evening. It was a quiet night but I was away fairly early so yet again failed to make contact with the Knoblauchs.

A frustrating feature of the D400 was that almost every set of lights seemed against me but compared to the struggles of the possibly Syrian or Kurdish women who would approach all the stopped cars this was a classic first world concern.

There is a toll motorway running in the same direction but I prefer the insights in to town and village life obtained by passing through and I was constantly amazed at how much development and construction was going on but also between centres of population by the thousands of acres of trees that have been planted. I presume these will be mostly pistachio and almonds and the expansion is no doubt a spin off from the Great Anatolian Project which has constructed some 22 dams and 19 power plants along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. These produce 22% of the country's electricity needs and will irrigate 17,000 km2 of land for arable crops, pulses and cotton. Fish farming is being established on the new lakes but controversy has arisen as 80,000 people were displaced although new villages were built with all mod cons which no doubt appeal to the younger generations.

The huge carpark in front of the Museum at Sanliurfa was almost empty but ideally placed for a walk along the park to see the old necropolis carved in to the cliff side before I reached the two stunning mosques of Rizvaniye and Hail al Rahman which are situated on waters filled with rather well fed but apparently sacred carp. The Kapali Carsi covered bazaar was an absorbing area to get lost in : different zones are occupied by various trades and it was teeming with activity as I wandered round. Returning through the old town alleys and lanes I emerged above the necropolis again which after dusk was impressively lit. The history of the town is remarkably complex, at one time being under Armenian control and possibly the source of the Armenian alphabet, but it is now largely Turkish with a population of around 2,000,000 many of whom have come to the area for work as a result of the GAP scheme.

My plan was to stay at Diyarbakir which we had both really enjoyed last summer but I arrived at the park up around lunchtime and as it was cool and grey decided that (as so often is the case) a second visit would be less enchanting. Thus I checked my route and decided that heading to Erzurum rather than returning to Lake Van would be a more direct route to Georgia and take me through unvisited areas.  Interestingly my Garmin sat nav inexplicably stopped working as we entered the town last year and this time my  Aguri also froze and even the phone lost its GPS signal..... fortunately both were restored by a restart but surely that's more than coincidence. The D950 was a well engineered road that climbed towards snow covered peaks reaching around 8,000' at its highest point which two tunnels under construction will eventually avoid. It looked like construction work was on hold, possibly for the winter and judging by the huge drifts they had clearly had a lot of snow up here in recent months. Stunning views across snowy mountains were a great reward and the van had been pulling well on the long inclines but I was glad of a chilly fuel stop at Cat as the gauge was low. Fuel figures of over 40 mpg were still very acceptable as even on the long downhills I had been engine braking as I wish to ensure that my front pads, fitted before leaving, last the distance. I have a set of rears should they need doing but they were replaced in Igoumenitsa last March and don't do the heavy work of the fronts so should be OK. There were the usual numerous police radar vehicles along the way, all to be fair, well signed in advance but also some more unnerving stops manned by armed soldiers with armoured vehicles and blast proof structures although I was always waved through once they saw my driving position...

Anyway Erzurum is the highest city of any size (365,000 inhabitants) in Turkey and is surrounded by impressive mountains. It has a 'humid continental climate' with summer temperatures reaching an average of 28°C but there was a record 36.5°C in July 2000 and a record minus 37.2°C in December 2002. January averages are around -16°C.

When I arrived on the parking around the old citadel it was certainly very cold so I dug out my Mountain Equipment down jacket, 20 years old but still a superb piece of kit, and went off for a stroll before returning to fit the window insulation and  crank up the Eber for the first time in weeks. Despite the altitude of 6,300' it fired up instantly and I had the usual comfortable evening with no one around.

Today I made an early start for Kars and then on to Ani and followed another good road through high snow covered mountains. Before the split for the route down to Van there had been a few Iranian plated HGVS and I exchanged friendly waves with their no doubt much conflicted drivers but en route to Kars the road was virtually empty. I carried on past the city as I had plenty of time to visit Ani another 20 miles further on down a dead end route. This is because it almost reaches the Armenian border which is still closed between these two countries due to historical events, mainly during the first World War when 1.2m Armenians were displaced from the area, most dying on forced marches in to the Syrian desert.

Ani was for a time the capital of the Armenians in this disputed area but the country now lies across the deep Akhurian river which along with the Bostaniar Valley gives Ani a secure location. Military watch towers in the distance and the Armenian flag indicate that reconciliation is a long way off but visitors are allowed to explore the extensive site, abandoned in the 17th century, freely.

I was very moved to be there as last year heavy rain had prevented us from reaching it and I enjoyed several hours exploring the numerous churches with their familiar Armenian design. Earthquakes and lightning strikes had caused much damage over the years and whilst some rather heavy handed stabilisation work has been undertaken there was little sign of sympathetic restoration. Beautiful frescoes in one church seem likely to disappear in time and another had its entire cupola roof missing.

Anyway it was a worthwhile visit and heading back to Kars I filled up with water before finding my park up by the Cheese Museum, where we stayed last year. A quick walk in to town saw me get some more lira out so I have a stash for my return journey and a second compatible gas cylinder. Once I get the final CG one filled, with luck in Georgia tomorrow, that will give me about 30l which should see me across an increasingly (I hope) warmer journey.

The Aguri sat nav does not cover Georgia so a local SIM is essential at the border although as a back up I have downloaded the Mapy.com maps for off line use and much of Georgia is covered by the Turkish map on my Sat Map.

So goodbye Turkey, hello Georgia and eyes up towards Russia next week.... I need to source a wheel rim from a scrapyard in Georgia and get the tyre I have been carrying fitted, dig out my stash of dollars and if possible source some recovery ramps so there is plenty to be getting on with. 

Quick update... woke up to this!

However the sun soon emerged and a thaw set in so I am now at the border with what looks like a long wait with the lorries.

Final Turkey photos HERE

Mediterranean Turkey.

So after the adrenalin surge of the insurance issue a forty minute journey had me arriving at Cesme. I had been squeezed in alongside 3 HGVs and realised that the ferry has a very limited capacity, hence the lack of availability for a vehicle until today's sailing. There were however plenty of foot passengers as a visit to Chios is something of a day out shopping for Turkish people and not that expensive, whereas the van had cost a fair bit given the short distance involved. The port wasn't well signed but eventually I found Passport Control and was then directed to Customs for the van paperwork where the newly acquired sigorta was adequate. The guy pointed out that the van was allowed in for 90 days, more than adequate, and I then followed the sat nav to a park up near the post office where the branch ATM happily issued just under £200 worth of lira, a fair bunch of 200 Tl notes. I was surprised and delighted that the sat nav covered Turkey and presumed it was just an overlap with Greece but in fact then discovered that Turkey was in the list of countries in the menu but listed as 'Republic of Turkey'..... I also discovered that Russia is included, bizarrely, which will be useful.

At the Turkcell shop I was shown the price list for a 'Tourist Sim' but then the assistant couldn't get the system to accept my foreign details which rather seemed to defeat the object but replicated the situation last year. Vodafone had been able to assist then but the shop had already closed so I decided as by now it was dark I would park up near the fortress and try again the next day. A line of cars had a few gaps in so I parked next to an old caravan and slept well, only startled once by the call to prayer later that evening.

The Vodafone shop was still closed the following morning but as I am in Turkey for less than a fortnight I've decided just to use the O2 Zone 2 Travel bolt on at £7/day but with no data limits so very useful for planning and it still gives me access to BBC and ITV programming.

With Ephesus as my target for Monday and wanting to get there first thing I set off stopping for a couple of hours at Teos where an extensive ruined city lay across several rather waterlogged fields as there had been a dramatic thunderstorm just as I arrived. Work was in progress to restore the theatre and I enjoyed the fresh air and exercise as the sun came out.  The village of Sirince was long occupied by the Greeks but in an agreement after the Greco Turkish war in the 1920s there was a huge exchange of populations across the borders and it is now exclusively Turkish. The jumble of old houses along a network of lanes and alleys has become something of a tourist attraction so sports plenty of memento and trinket shops and in a covered area many excellent options for eating. I stayed outside the village on a flat parking area near a large green German plated Unimog which I am sure I have seen somewhere else and looking through their blog we have been in the same areas at the same time in recent years.

 After a quiet night I made an early start so never actually saw them but I was almost the first through the gate down at Ephesus and saw the main attractions without the hordes. The restored facade of the Library of Celsus was remarkable and I'd paid extra to see the terrace houses that sit under a large protective canopy as they still have many superb friezes and mosaic floors.

The main street has a host of buildings, temples and fountains plus an amusing 43 seat communal latrine and a large odeum or theatre. The huge amphitheatre is undergoing restoration so was out of bounds but there was still a good view of this vast structure that dominates the site. The AV experience in the museum revolved round CGI interpretations of the city in its heyday and was included in the rather steep €42 admission fee. I got talking to a couple from Sydney, although originally Cardiff, who were about to start 3 months interrailing around Europe and left the site after an enthralling few hours as visitor numbers picked up rapidly. 

I had the Camlik Steam Locomotive Museum all to myself and was absorbed by the 40 or so silent beasts manufactured mainly in Germany but also the US and a few from the UK. Many were arranged round a working turntable and there were carriages and a couple of huge snowploughs to add to the interest. It was possible to jump up on to some of the footplates and walk through the carriages although the presidential carriage of Ataturk was off limits.

The ancient Hellenistic city of Priene is over 2,000 years old and was deserted as I walked through to the theatre which had seating for 5,000 and some carved marble seats right at the front for dignitaries. Sitting in one with my arms on the marble armrests I could just imagine fingers gripping the smooth curves as a drama unfolded. The Temple of Athena is regarded as one of the finest examples of Ionian architecture and the huge facade has been reassembled at ground level to allow closer inspection of its superb carvings. On the lower parts of the gymnasium walls are examples of schoolboy graffiti from 2,000 years ago..... nothing new under the sun..

Down at Didyma I parked up next to the site finally abandoned after an earthquake in 1493 that left only 3 of the original 108 columns in the huge Temple of Apollo still standing. I went in early the following morning and was dumbfounded by the size of fallen columns and remaining stumps, heaven knows how the thing was built. Two carved heads of Hydra were a final highlight and as I left the rains began.

Down at Dalyan there are some impressive temples carved in to a cliff face on the far side of the river and although staying was an option I decided it was a bit early so moved on to the town of Gocek which is now a yachtie haven. The large and empty market carpark had two other vans in situ, both Turkish plated and I walked down to see if the P4N listing for a gas shop was open. It wasn't but the following morning after a peaceful night I tried again and was in luck. The guy had one CG 907 and offered me another similar to those available in Morocco but I explained it would be unusable back in Europe so he said to come back in half an hour. After a walk along the marina which had some very smart villas arranged around small canals in which a kingfisher was hard at work I returned to the shop where my other cylinder was waiting. At £15 each it was a good deal for both of us, a good mark up for him but still a third of the UK price for me. Whilst filling up with water an English lady came over to say hello, she and her husband are originally from Ogmore in South Wales but have Turkish residency and live in their house here for half the year and have done so for 20 years. She reckons about 5,000 Brits live in the area but says things are changing and most of the sleek yachts moored up belong to Russians.

Round at Fethiye were some more accessible temple and tomb carvings on a cliff overlooking the town after which a twisting mountain road brought me to Kayakoy where the ruins of over 4,000 houses lay spread out over a hillside. After the Treaty of Lausanne following the end of the Greco Turkish war in 1922 both countries agreed to repatriate large numbers of their populations : 1.2m Greeks and half a million Turks were moved and places like Kayakoy never recovered. There were plans to repopulate the place over 20 years ago which came to nothing and now despite the listing as a UNESCO site the decay has probably gone too far. The long distance footpath the Lycian Way passes through on the main street where a couple of chapels still stand. There were some lovely old fireplaces in some of the less dilapidated buildings that gave a hint of the previous way of life.

In Kalkan I was grateful for sheltered park up in old quarry as terrific winds had built up making my walk in to the small town for bread and milk something of a challenge but things eased off overnight and the sun came out as I took a superb road along the coast with long climbs, numerous hairpins and swooping descents. I had filled up with BP Ultimate diesel at £1.20 a litre and the van was pulling well on the hills. Above Demre the view was extraordinary as huge expanses of polytunnels extended far below, reminiscent of Almeria in Spain and growing much the same : tomatoes, peppers and courgettes. Unfortunately I also suspect that the living and working conditions of the labourers imitate that of the in effect modern slaves who provide affluent Western Europe with cheap produce out of season.

The ruins of Myra lay unexpectedly amongst all this enterprise and contained another impressive amphitheatre, more carved temples and tombs and detailed carved heads and images. Outside an old Turkish lady was trying to encourage trade in her simple cafe  but most visitors were tempted by the more modern offerings inside. However I took a seat and she was obviously delighted to serve me freshly squeezed orange juice and an omelette with cheese and herbs. I wish visitors would support people like her as it was a far more authentic experience than the other bland alternatives. 

North of Finike the ruins of Limyra were limited but beautifully situated either side of a clear stream after which I pushed on to stop at Tekirova where I was able to pull in right on the beach. A huge expedition truck with French plates was the only other vehicle present and later on Andre came over for a chat. He had raised a family in there whilst travelling the world but was now 'tout seul' as his two sons were in their thirties, I didn't ask about their mother but thought it a bit daft to have such a large vehicle for one person. 

Yesterday dawned brown and murky as a huge cloud of Saharan sand, part of the dust storm that had covered Athens and Crete, was now covering this area. Light rain had transformed the van in to a fetching beige so I decided it was a good day to clock up some miles as there's a fair way to go to reach Tbilisi in a fortnight. The D400 coast road is toll free and well maintained so progress was smooth and passing through the Kiskalezi region I noticed that banana palms with their tresses of fruit wrapped up in bags were prevalent. Dozens of roadside stalls had bananas at every stage of ripening for sale but few people seemed to be stopping and there would be a lot of waste as many bunches were already black. 

The large city of Antalya was easily passed but either side were huge new gaudy hotel developments with garish golden features, aqua parks and shopping centres and I spotted various holiday makers who were perhaps thinking that with all the brown dust and damp conditions it wasn't quite living up to the Jet2 promises.

After stopping for a food shop I eventually turned down a side road passing polytunnels full of strawberries and emerged after a flooded and potholed track on to a shingle beach side parking area at Anamur with a French and German van already in situ. An Austrian 4x4 Merc also arrived but there was plenty of space and I took a walk along the beach with Cyprus only 50 miles to the south. Remarkably in a compound next to the park up an underwater pipeline supplies 75 million cubic meters of water a year from the Alakopru Dam via a pipe suspended 250m below sea level. There are pumping stations at either end and the project costing over £300m was completed in 2014 helping to resolve the island's chronic water shortage.

This morning the dusty rain had moved away so I walked up the beach to view the ruins of Anamur with numerous hammans supplied by two aqueducts that would have been equally ambitious in their day and then decided to add another chunk of mileage and effectively bring my Mediterranean journey to a close. The apartment blocks of Mersin looked like New York but were bypassed on a good dual carriageway where at one point I spotted a car with Kazakhstani number plates....

Although not really needed I decided a service stop here at Tarsus on a rare municipal site would fit in well and at only £4 including hook up and a free washing machine it has been well worth it. Four Turkish vans, one Swiss and another huge German truck (again with a sole occupant) sit alongside me and tomorrow I begin heading inland towards Sanliurfa, Diyarbakir and Van en route to Georgia. After another refuelling the van is achieving well over 40mpg which would make the truck guys cry and I picked up a Turkish Aygaz cylinder for about £9 with refills being only a fiver. I will get another one before leaving Turkey and would hope that the 6 cylinders in total, amounting to around 30l of gas will last me about 4 months, especially as the warmer weather will reduce usage.

Anyway that's all for a while, enjoy more photos HERE

THE LAST WEEK IN GREECE.

We took a final walk in to Nafplio where I got a much needed haircut and was fascinated by a recycling scheme based in a shipping container where people were turning up with jumbo bags of plastic and glass bottles as well as cans and feeding them in to a crusher that credited them with 3 cents an item which soon added up : brilliant.

A few miles north we passed the substantial walls of Tiryns before pulling in to the village below Mycenae where a large and empty car park provided a place to stay. The linear village seemed to have seen better days with a string of rundown restaurants and shops that were mostly closed. We enjoyed a quiet afternoon and were up early the following morning to beat the crowds up at Ancient Mycenae where the extensive ruins of the city founded in legend by Perseus and the centre of Mycenaean influence with proven occupation since 2000BC spread out over the hillside. The remarkable Lion Gate leads up to the main site with the acropolis reached by passing grave circles and the outlines of various buildings. A cistern tucked away had been excavated to reach a spring that lay outside the walls and we were lucky to have the place to ourselves as the coaches were already arriving in the car park below. However one group of Americans on a 'Mystery of the Seas' cruise aimed at those seeking an alternative path had already formed a circle on the temple and were listening to the wisdom of, I kid you not, Sasha Starseed. Still each to their own so we dropped down to the impressive museum although some of the finest relics are in the National Museum in Athens. Just down the road lay the Treasury of Arteus, an impressive and intact beehive tomb with a 15m entrance corridor leading to a large gateway with an amazing 9m long lintel estimated to weigh 118 tons. Ironically it was humming due to a large number of bees buzzing around inside the remarkable structure, built entirely of stone with no mortar. Looking back up to Mycenae itself the newly arrived visitors really did look like ants scurrying around and we were glad to have avoided them. The relative proximity to Athens has meant more tourists than elsewhere on this trip but it must be heaving in the high season.

Passing through the village we filled up with water and headed off to Ancient Corinth where we planned to stay overnight and again visit the ruins first thing in the morning. However with time to spare we took the road high up to the Acrocorinth located 565m above the surrounding plains and regarded as Greece's most important mediaeval fortress. Still surrounded by 2km of walls it has been occupied by a wide range of invaders over the years and even today the Turkish influence is very evident. Admission was free but the site still closed at the usual 15.30 leaving us a bit of a dash to climb up to the highest citadel passing the site of the Temple of Aphrodite, once used as a brothel, having passed through a triple gate complex. We were rewarded with panoramic views across the Gulf of Korinthos and the Sardonic Gulf but couldn't linger as the closing siren was sounding.

Down in Corinth itself we found plenty of space in the main car park and took a walk through the town which has various parts of Ancient Corinth spread amongst its more modern parts. A welcome ice cream before the sun set preceded a night in and an early start to visit the main site with the impressive Temple of Apollo the central and main attraction. We enjoyed looking round the extensive ruins and were joined by a friendly stray dog that had found us the night before and quietly latched on to any friendly face. The museum had many exquisite statues and other artefacts and we left as the first coaches arrived and had a coffee on a roof top terrace looking over the ruins and up to the Acrocorinth.

The Corinth Canal, started in Roman times but only finished by Hungarian engineers in the 1880s is visually jaw dropping and if you need more dropping a bungee jump is possible. We watched a nervous lass finally take the plunge to a round of applause and another lad who opted for the chest harness rather than ankle loops approach. Towards the north end of the deep but narrow cut we could see a floating crane at work so no vessels were passing through but it sees around 35,000 ships a year looking to save a 400 mile diversion round the Peloponnese in normal use.

To avoid the traffic and navigational nightmares of central Athens we used the toll motorway which again charges a fair bit more for vehicles over 2.2m but reached the Camper Stop near the airport where a night with power was a very reasonable £20. Whilst we charged everything up Mandy sorted out her belongings for the journey home after which I placed the genny and fuel can within easy reach as it may well see use in Turkey. The following morning we made use of the washing machine before heading out to the airport which has a free 'hug and drop' section. It's always hard going our separate ways and this time it's for up to 6 months but we have had the most amazing 8 weeks together, I've been away 3 months already and further adventures await.

Down at Piraeus I parked alongside a marina, deciding that paid, secured parking was worth the extra tenner and walked round past some smart looking fish restaurants no doubt patronised by the owners of the various luxury yachts moored up. I'd failed to get any gas but have two full ones and can get Turkish cylinders once over there, all of which I hope to refill in Gori, Georgia by mid to late April. Joris and his wife who we met a while back from Belgium have encountered heavy snow in central and eastern Turkey so there is no need to crack on as crossing the Caucasus may be similarly affected. Thus I decided to extend my interlude on Chios which is the stopping point for getting to Turkey.

I arrived in the main port of Piraeus in plenty of time, confirmed my etickets were in order and by 2pm was being directed to reverse deep in to the bowels of the Blue Star Ferry 'Mykonos' alongside the HGV trailers. Departure was scheduled for 16.00 so I found my cabin which was high up on deck 7, directly below the bridge and with a forward facing window. As we left on time the vessel was pretty full with most people in seated accommodation as I realised that the ship called at several other islands en route during the night. We passed large numbers of tankers and container ships as Piraeus is a very busy port and were soon heading to Mykonos our first stop. 

Later on the seas became rougher with waves hitting the port side and sending torrents of water over my window so although the restaurant fare looked excellent I took the safer option. At Skyos for example it was fascinating to see the ship reverse up to the quayside, disgorge passengers and vehicles, take on new and get going again in a matter of minutes : clearly back at Piraeus loading had taken in to account which vehicles were going where and as we arrived at Chios I was the only one left in Garage 5. I'd had a welcome and courteous wake up knock on the door at 05.30 and as we arrived dawn was breaking. 

Heading north I stopped at a small garage for fuel where a guy said they were actually closed but would allow me to fill up. Unfortunately his pump was faulty so I left it to start heading round to the top of the island. I checked out the filling station at Volissos online only to see that it had been destroyed in a forest fire last year so tried another one back in Marmaro only to discover it was Greek Independence Day and nowhere was open. Thus a bonus day of rest was in order down at the small beach of Girolimenas where due to a strong northerly wind the waves were crashing on to the pebbly beach. It was a peaceful spot and I made use of the nearby tap to wash the salty spray off the van the following morning before returning to Marmaro where the guy had found the fault in his pump lay in the trigger switch and I put in €50 to get me in to Turkey where it will be half the price, despite the turmoil in the oil markets at present.

A road across the mountains brought me to Volissos, passing the ruins of the garage with burnt out cars still on the forecourt or up on four post lifts - a sobering sight. Large areas of forest had also gone with blackened trunks dotting the bare limestone. The village lay on a hillside and had largely escaped any damage but was very quiet with just one mini market open for bread.

Moving down to the coast I soon came to idyllic Tigani bay that would be impossible not to stay on. It was a hot sunny day, I could tuck away almost unseen and with nobody about I enjoyed a day on the beach and a paddle up to the knees - still a bit of a wuss in the sea swimming stakes at this time of year.

Beautiful coast roads brought me round to Limenas, a small port where a ferry to goodness knows where was berthed and I stopped for a strong black coffee - I have decided to seriously address weight issues over the next 6 months in the hope it will resolve a chronic knee pain so have halved the quantities for all meals and stopped the snacking....

Following the coast south I entered an area known for the production of a mastic gum from the pine trees which gives rise to the term 'mastihohoria' that covers a group of around 20 villages. Mesta is one of these and is a very well preserved mediaeval fortified village built in the shape of a pentagon and protected by six iron gates. The houses have no outward facing windows and within the walls there are numerous blind alleys and tunnels all surrounding a main square and church. Another coffee in the sun allowed me to soak up the atmosphere before I moved on to Pyrgi with its decorative houses in xysta patterns that are etched through the whitewash layer in to the black sand render.

A side road out to Ayia Dhynami produced two superb coves near a Genoese look out tower and small monastery. Nearby may have been an artillery training ground as I spotted a number of tanks parked up and a large military helicopter.

At Emborios I visited the archeological site of Old Emborios and whilst the lofty position was impressive the remains were less so. The ticket lady seemed surprised to have a visitor and after watching a short video I signed the book, the first for ten days...

High in the mountains with rain and winds forecast I called at abandoned Anavatos that is almost invisible on its craggy escarpment. Some work using a trolley rail system is underway on the castle and the odd house seemed occupied with a clever representation of the village itself painted on to the walls of one cottage.

I found a quiet spot just off the road for last night as the heavens finally opened and will head down to Chios shortly for my ferry over to Cesme. It's only a 30 minute crossing (and thus quite pricey at £160) but has saved the long haul round northern Greece and through parts of Turkey covered last year.

Priority on arrival will be a month's vehicle insurance and a local SIM as I expect to enter Georgia within 3 weeks if the winter snows clear.

Thus that's it for Greece which has exceeded my expectations and will certainly be factored in to my plans for future winters..........

Final Fotos

Quick update...

Called at the rather lovely Neo Moni monastery, filled up with water in a village and headed to Chios. At the Turyol ticket office I was told I needed vehicle insurance which I was hoping to get on arrival. I made a few fruitless calls to agents in Turkey so made my way back to the van to look at options. Returning to Piraeus and driving round would be long and costly and risk my 90 day limit but then I had a lightbulb moment, searched online and found a company who could provide the necessary by email.

I filled in their form, uploaded photos of my passport and V5, paid by card and within half an hour had a PDF by email with the policy.

After digging out the printer and connecting it to the EcoFlow power pack the document printed wirelessly and back at the office all was well.

Passport control gave me another fright by wrongly adding up my Brexit days but after a biometric assessment and vehicle check with customs I am now on board a small ferry with just 3 HGVs.

A SIM and currency in Cesme will complete the necessary....

Western Peloponnese and Mani Peninsula

Heading south we turned inland at Pyrgos to visit Olympia the remarkable location for the very first Olympic Games. The large site was looking busy but fortunately most of the visitors were off a large cruise ship, the Viking Star, and were ending their tour and heading for the coaches. Thus we had this remarkable place pretty much to ourselves in warm sunshine with the spring flowers vibrant across the ruins and remains. The various buildings included churches, temples, baths and housing all focused on the numerous Greek gods associated with the place. Zeus was a major figure and his temple stood centrally with some columns in situ but many more lying around since damaging earthquakes over the centuries. The original Olympic stadium was a remarkable site with the grooved marble slabs that gave up to twenty athletes a starting grip still fixed in the ground. As we walked through the former entrance tunnel, now a large arch, we could almost hear the crowd of up to 40,000 roaring as events began.

The Museum displayed many of the statues rescued from the grounds as well as hundreds of artefacts including votive offerings at graves, cooking pots and utensils, tools, jewellery and ornaments. With even this large attraction closing at 15.30 we ran out of time to visit the sports museum but I'm sure we will be back....

Down on the coast we tucked away at a P4N hidden away through olive groves with a couple of French travellers for company and a young German couple with a toddler. It was good to use the common language of English as we had a chat round a fire later in a perfect location.

We moved on through the mountains and some very humble villages to the Ancient City of Messinae. A 7km wall had once encircled the population of 20,000 and we drove through a remarkable gate with a collapsed lintel near a restored section of the wall and Tower 17. As at Olympia the site cascaded down a valley and contained churches, temples, theatres, houses, baths and businesses including a water mill whose stream gushed down through the site to another amphitheatre with a temple at its far end. The downloadable audio guide was as good as ever and we spent several hours covering the site and adjacent small museum. Heading out to the coast we passed a superb monastery and arrived on a park up tucked away on a storm damaged road by a beach with the German couple already set up and another German lass in a large coach built van arriving at dusk and nearly reversing in to the collapsed section.

Nestor's Palace is probably significant to the budding archaeologist but it's low walls and dusty foundations under a large steel roof were not up to our expectations and we soon moved on to Pylos which had a small port, attractive square and high above another extensive fortified city reached by many stairs. In the town I noticed that a small fishing, snorkelling and camping shop also sold CG907s so we quickly exchanged two for a reasonable £15 each before moving on to Methoni. Here we took a rough track to a lofty vantage point, having taken an even rougher track that required a long reverse back between intrusive foliage. The correct location was a real gem with a grand view across to the village and its Bourtzi which was lit up at night as were some of the swanky newly built villas further round the coast. Next morning we dropped in to the pretty village for a look round the huge fortification which occupied the headland and culminated in the Bourtzi, the oldest and original defensive structure originally built on an island but now connected by a bridge which forms part of the harbour wall, reinforced at some point by the inclusion of old cannons. We ate in the square and bought some socks off a woman who was asking at the tables, as ever we feel hugely privileged in our situation.

Down at Finikounda we stopped at a small shop for a few bits and bobs and looked in on the beach where work was underway to repair winter storm damage in time for the forthcoming season. North facing Koroni is more sheltered so most places were open and after walking the path at the base of the cliffs where some of the castle foundations had collapsed requiring rock bolting and spray concrete, we climbed through a maze of narrow streets to the fortified town where a few people still live in traditional houses and a large monastery exists. The panoramic views across to the Mani Peninsula and Taijetos mountains indicated our next destination and we returned to the van for the run round the bay.

At Kalamata we had planned to take the E82 mountain road across to Mystras but it was signed as closed so aware of the 15.30 closing time we decided to take the longer but faster toll road that was deserted. Because of the high top the tolls (as in France) were on the high side but we were soon through Sparti and parking up at the lower section of Mystras, a Byzantine town once housing 20,000 people. The friendly Greek/Canadian ticket lady suggested we do the lower section first and then drive up to the castle approaches for the higher section so we set off in hot sunshine to follow a network of tracks and trails that led up the hillside with a mix of intact and collapsing churches, houses and shops leading to the beautiful convent of Pandanassa where a few nuns still tend the flowers and look after the remarkable church and it's frescoes. At the higher level we walked down to the Palace and other churches before a final steep climb up to the citadel with panoramic views.

We had plenty of daylight left so decided to see if the E82 would get us back to the coast as I had seen a blog post saying there was a diversion suitable for vehicles up to 3.5 tons. Thus we began to climb a steep gorge with almost endless tight hairpins that also passed through rock tunnels and overhangs leaving all signs of civilisation behind as snow covered slopes got ever nearer. We passed a large Austrian coach built van parked up  that must have struggled and a few miles further on at 4,000' pulled in on a large layby with a working water tap and far reaching views. A moody sunset and billowing cloud set the scene for a memorable night with the Eber keeping us warm and cosy before we filled up with water and set off down the mountains where within minutes we came to the diversion. This dropped for miles down to a small chapel where we stopped to listen to hymns and chants from a church far below and yet again I was glad to be in a modest vehicle as the road was something of a challenge.

We stopped at Karavopetra for lunch in a tavern right on the sea and then passed through Areopoli and turned off down a side track towards the coast, carried on along a rougher track and tucked away under a hot sun for an afternoon of reading and research with the solar panel doing its thing. A small chapel on the way out had beautiful frescoes and we started seeing more of the stone tower houses that the Mani is famous for. I had last been in this area on a bicycle but my memories are dim, IIRC as a result of few photos due to a faulty SLR camera, and the fact it was almost 40 years ago.

Many of the buildings have been restored and provide holiday accommodation and we pulled in at Yerolimenas which is coming back to life as a boutique resort. As we enjoyed a drink entertainment was provided by a JCB gouging out an access track through storm piled shingle to enable him to haul out a fully laden boat trailer.

Nearby Vathia was a hillside village of fortified houses, some already restored and others waiting, one building must have been the olive oil press judging by the mill stones lying around on wooden shafts.

Down at wild and rugged Cape Tenaro we parked up just beyond a solitary taverna and began the walk out to the lighthouse. The track passed the ruins of a Roman village still sporting two lovely mosaic floors and headed out along Greece's most southerly mainland point. We met a couple of other walkers but a guy ahead of us with a rucksack had disappeared as we reached the lighthouse itself. In its lee we enjoyed hot sunshine and were somewhat surprised when 3 friendly but boisterous dogs suddenly appeared from around the corner. It turned out that the guy was the lighthouse keeper and he had been out for supplies including kerosene for his heater. The lighthouse was a French design, built in 1888 and now running on solar power with his needs coming from the panels and battery store. He does ten day stints which must be quite a challenge as there was no sign of any communications equipment and certainly no internet signal. Anyway we left him to it, returned to the van and then drove to a lofty perch for the night along a short section of track and just before a row of bee hives. We watched as the lights came on in the villages dotted around the Cape and slept soundly after some IPlayer catch up.

A scenic coastal route took us round the coast on a blustery day to Neapoli where we parked on the shore and had the stormiest night ever in the van with strong winds rocking us about and a Saharan dust rain turning the van a fetching beige. We were as always warm and dry and left the following morning to park at Monemvasia which occupies a strategic headland and was built in the 6th Century by the Byzantines, housing up to 60,000 people and serving as the capital in effect. Again it was occupied by various regimes over the years and once the Corinth canal opened in the 19th century it lost its importance as a port. During WW2 4,000 troops from NZ were rescued in a dramatic evacuation. Nowadays few people live there permanently but it offers accommodation, a few shops and cafes and superb views if you climb to the upper city.

A twisting road through remote mountains brought us out further up the coast near Leonido where Semelis Camping provided an excellent service stop with everything sorted, laundry done and hook up, all for a very reasonable €25. It was a very well kept site with good facilities and hosted a few Germans, Dutch and Austrians over wintering in larger vans. The small village was quiet and we noticed a larger number of vans using the free parking lot but I guess they would be moved on in the main season.

So we are now in the rather enchanting town of Nafplio, parked near the harbour where two superyachts are moored up. Both are from the luxury Lurssen marque, Blue at $600,000,000 dollars is owned by the UAE sheikh who also owns Man City and costs a million dollars a week to run. At night they were both discretely illuminated so perhaps the owners were escaping the turmoil in their part of the world.

We enjoyed exploring the town's pedestrian free streets between the port and the headland but decided against the 999 steps up to the citadel. After an afternoon in the van writing this blog for the second time as it had failed to save it then failed to save again so we went off in to town for a commiseratory meal. We hit lucky on a rainy evening with a cosy and stylish restaurant that served excellent food and had very friendly staff. Most of the other customers were Americans on a ten day Greek tour  which would be a tight schedule compared to the leisurely approach we are able to adopt.

However even that is drawing to a close with Mandy heading home from Athens on Monday and my ferry towards Turkey on Tuesday. Before then we have a couple more sites to visit including Mycenae and Corinth so expect a final Greek blog some time next week. 

Extras, extras.

Cephalonia

 After a useful service stop we crossed over the mountains of Lefkada to the island's eponymous 'capital', parked in a car park that would have challenged a tank and walked through the sunny town streets and eventually out along the causeway to the swing bridge. At this time of year few leisure boats are out and about so the structure looked unlikely to move that day but we did watch as a large machine lifted a skid steer bobcat out of a hole before walking out past some fishing boats to the harbour wall. A Ukrainian guy was washing down his yacht and as previously we considered the mixed emotions he was undoubtedly feeling regarding the conflict back home.

Having returned to the mainland we took the quieter road south and passed several herds of goats before reaching a ruined village whose collapsing houses lined either side of the road for a mile or two. Many villages were abandoned after WW2 as agriculture changed and the younger populace headed to cities both home and abroad for work. We stopped to chat to a French couple and their daughter who were cycle touring : Mum had an electric cargo bike with the tired daughter and her bike strapped on top of the majority of their luggage.

Down at Astakos, reached after a superb section of rugged coastline which we thought surpassed the Amalfi coast, we filled up with fuel and checked it would be OK to park up down by the beach. The view across the bay was superb and after booking a ferry to Cephalonia for the following morning (£90 single) we walked round to the quiet quayside where a few fishing boats were offloading their catch and taking on bagged ice. A couple of luxury yachts were also tied up and after checking out the various tavernas we settled on the Olympic Pegasus and took a table in the covered terrace. We enjoyed an excellent meal with my plate of white bait proving something of a challenge and with few customers the owner had time to chat and was hugely amusing. Walking back we noticed the curious spectacle of a large van loaded with chickens in cages whose owner, an elderly lady, was bedding down in the front section for the night, whether she sold eggs, table birds or both we didn't quite work out

The following morning we sat watching the ferry arrive, drove down to the ramp and were straight on for the two hours and  twenty minutes crossing to Sami. The views were spectacular and included a glimpse of a new commercial container and cargo port along the coast and Lefkada away to the north. Approaching Cephalonia we passed rocky Vathy before pulling in to Sami's small port. We took the road north to charming Fiskado and parked outside the village for the night before walking down to the picture postcard perfect harbour where a smart MV, the Freja was moored. A quick search showed it be owned by a successful Australian couple, registered in the Cook Islands and heading up the Adriatic sea to a boat show. Quite what the local fishermen must think I don't know but they were busy preparing their crafts for the oncoming tourist season as trips out to caves, coves and beaches are popular. We walked out to two old lighthouses and a ruined church before returning for a very quiet night. The following morning a double tanker arrived and filled a huge underground reservoir that must be the village water supply and we walked back in to the village to visit an impressive Roman cemetery and talk to a guy and his father painting a shop ready for their planned boutique. We took another superb coast road around the top of the island and dropped down some sharp hairpins to Assos on its rocky peninsula. As in Fiskado the various taverns, shops and villas were being spruced up and we spotted some enchanting but neglected villas ripe for redevelopment. Back up on the main road it wasn't long before we stopped to look out over impossibly beautiful Myrtos beach, reached again by numerous hairpins and completely deserted. It was a great spot for lunch with dazzling white pebbles, chalk cliffs and a sea that must have been photo shopped. There was some evidence of winter storm damage and we cleared a couple of bags of rubbish before climbing out and heading for our planned park up. 

Myrtos being north facing would have been in shade whereas our lofty perch at Paliki faced west. En route we had looked at another option but the coast road had been washed away, so we had carried on south stopping briefly to fill up with good water from a tank at the top of a hill. The road down to Paliki was again somewhat twisting and ended up in a large parking area with the beach some 400 steps below of which the last 220 have been missing since an earthquake in 2014. Whilst someone had rigged up a handline it all looked rather precarious so we contented ourselves with a stunning view augmented for me by the Marine Tracker app enabling me to identify the passing shipping.

We parked at Gerogompos lighthouse for a walk along the coast before pulling in at a beautiful beach where the calm sea, hot sunshine and clean sand encouraged one of us to take a dip. We passed the water tank again en route to Argostoli and filled up before reaching the island's capital and taking a walk round. The ferry from Lixouri came in and we walked across the beautiful sickle shaped bridge that now prevents boats from entering the further reaches of the lagoon which are a sea turtle sanctuary. 

A few miles beyond the town airport's runway we dropped down the steepest and tightest hairpins yet to reach a tiny cove with parking for a few vehicles right at the water's edge. There were a few benches for the pop up taverna but we had an undisturbed night as everywhere is so quiet at this time of year. As we left a guy arrived to go scuba diving and we wondered if he might be tempted to head out to the small offshore island that remarkably housed a small chapel.

Crossing inland through the mountains we stopped to look round the impressive Venetian Castle at Ayios Georgios with its panoramic views and looked round the grounds of a large nearby monastery before dropping down towards Sami where a cove at Antisami provided a quiet place to rest for the afternoon under a hot sun. We then parked along the seafront within view of the port looking out over the sea to Vathy.

That evening in Sami we ate well at a small restaurant, taking unfinished gyros back for another day and sleeping well on the quiet road. Our ferry wasn't due to leave until 3pm and had been moored up overnight alongside another from the Levante line whose crew had been busy painting the night before. We walked around the bay to Karavomylos where a waterwheel was being driven by the brackish spring emerging from a cave system that had been dye tested to prove its connection under the mountains back to Argostoli. Whilst chatting to a Greek lad back at the van we noticed our ship pulling away but fortunately it was only nipping over to Vathy before returning for the rest of the passengers, vehicles and lorries. It was a speedy if chaotic boarding process, passengers all had to walk on but we were soon underway arriving back in Astakos as the sun set. We parked in the same spot near a Greek guy with a decent boat on a trailer behind his camper and two German vans buddied up further on and walked back to the Olympic Pegasus for another excellent meal after a friendly greeting. 

Today we stopped briefly at the archeological site of Kalydon having found nearby Pleuron closed and walked up to the site of an old city and temple with views across the salt pans and marshes of the Etoliko lagoon before heading south to Patras reached by an expensive toll bridge (€25). Next time we would use the car ferry which still operates and would give good views of this attractive modern structure. A couple of possibilities for Camping Gaz in Patras came to nothing but we enjoyed a friendly interaction with the young parking attendant who let us stop for 5 minutes in exchange for one of the oranges picked up earlier at a roadside store full of home made jams, marmalades, preserves and liqueurs run by a super friendly woman. 

So here we are at one of the few campsites open all year on the Peloponnesus for another service stop. We are parked amongst orange and lemon trees with power and water supplies and just four other vans dotted around. We will cover some of the Peloponnesus over our last fortnight together and keep an eye on the tragic events unfolding not so very far away which may impact on my future plans. 

The van is running well, an erratic issue with the central locking has been resolved by cleaning up the door switches that control the interior light and must also trigger the locks and so far the flashing glow plug has been eliminated.

Piccies