As we set sail from Brindisi to Igoumenitsa we had a sense of deja vu from a month earlier. We left Northern Italy because of wet cold weather and arrived in Sicily just before Easter in the aftermath of a Saharan sandstorm. As we left Brindisi (leaving cold wet weather days before Orthodox Easter) the news was full of the terrible Saharan sandstorm which had hit Athens and all of the islands. Here’s the Guardian headline that day.
All indications were that this would go on for days and was very high risk for respiratory problems so we spent the journey planning on heading North into Albania and Macedonia instead of heading for the Greek islands as planned. When we got to Igoumenitsa it was raining ( a good thing as it dampens down the sand dust) so we hedged our bets and kept to the North of Greece by heading to Meteora. The air cleared, the birds sang, we camped at the bottom of the amazing cliffs, and we climbed up to one of the six monasteries perched up on rocky pinnacles. It was wonderful.
The news the next day was that the air in Athens had cleared ( much faster than in Sicily where it took a week) so we turned South to Delphi driving across beautiful wild forested mountains with pale green new leafed deciduous trees, cypress and conifers. We visited Delphi in the evening when the crowds had gone. This is the Treasury which stored the gifts brought to Apollo.
Our campsite had the most beautiful view down across the sea to the Peloponnese. We got this incredible view from the van, an infinity pool and a great restaurant on site for all of 28 euros!
And so to Athens. Wow! I’d only ever been here for a business trip in 1986 and Alex had been as a student in 1976 so it’s been a powerful experience. We climbed up the Acropolis at 8am on Orthodox Palm Sunday with the bells of all the churches ringing, the skies a pristine blue, and it was exciting. I did Greek for A level (just me, no other students so it wa a lonely business even though I liked the ancient Greeks) but I’d never been to see the famous sites so it felt really huge to finally get here. To emerge at the Parthenon with only 4 other people ( even for a few minutes before everyone else arrived) and the Greek presidential guard marching down to Parliament from the top. It was great!
We sat and drew the Erechtheum (which of course we recognise from the replica at the St Pancras new church on the Euston Road). Diana’s first and then Alex’s. We seem to have been there on very different occasions!
We’ve had a great time here walking miles stopping at Byzantine churches where Palm Sunday prayers were being sung, finding Socrates’ prison, visiting the amazing new Acropolis museum (sorely missing the Elgin marbles), drawing the Temple of Hephaistos, the flea market, eating in winding hillside alleys.
This is the Temple of Hephaistos at sunset.
So today we’re off to the National Museum, the covered market, and then to Piraeus to catch the ferry to Rhodes…as foot passengers for a month. We’ve left the Wildervan at a place way out of Athens parked next to some simply huge vans (you can see that Alex is impressed).
And here’s our route to date!
