THE WORLD OF ROAD Back to Greece
ad e o F-r tur F O en v Ad
Welcome To Greece!
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It took us 1177 days and 167,000km in 67 countries to make it back home. Let’s celebrate it with an off road adventure in the less visited destinations of Greece.
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ge. ovo villa nal Mets io it d a tr of Postcard
Repe lling f cany rom a on of rock Evrit y fall ania in a p regio ristin n, Ce e ntral Gree ce.
Words by Akis Temperidis Photos by Vula Netou and Akis Temperidis
t was a special moment when we rolled out of the luxurious ferry in low gear and stepped on to Greek soil. I got out of the car and kissed the ground. “We did it!”, I shouted cheerfully while Vula was filming. It was September 7th, 2010 and the last time we had been in Greece was on April 5th, 2008. That was our second departure from Thessaloniki, our hometown, after we had completed the African leg of our trip. We were on day 293 then and our
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car had covered 58,000km. It was day 1177 now and on the odometer of our Discovery read 176.000km. 167,000km had been done on this trip. We had sailed overnight from Ancona (Italy) to Igoumenitsa, the closest Greek port to the rest of Europe, and it seemed like a perfect day to travel. The autumn air was refreshing and the sky was blue, a deep blue you can only find in the Mediterranean. After so long away from home, we were supposed to drive directly towards Thessaloniki but we
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A herd of wild horses race to escape the mechanical intruder on the alpine altitude of Olympus.
decided to travel in our own country – our way. We made our families and friends waiting a little bit longer.
Alternative Routes Greece has developed steadily in the last ten years. The good news is that roads are safer, standard of living is much higher and services are much better. The bad news is that prices got exorbitantly higher, especially after the country entered the euro zone in 2002. The latest financial crisis is a major problem for most Greeks today mainly because the state was borrowing billions to pay the over-employed and under productive employees of the public sector. Many people still believe that the country will not avoid complete bankruptcy during the next few months, a frightening prospect that is widely talked about. As a traveller it’s hard to recognize dramatic situation the country has come into lately. “It’s a beautiful country”, we said to each other driving on the brand new Egnatia road to Ioannina, the capital of the Epirus region. Egnatia was an ancient road that connected East Europe to the west in the ancient years and this is what the modern highway does today. It connects the Ionian Sea with Turkey (680km in all) in less than seven hours crossing some of the most hostile mountains in all of Europe. For the next few days we
Dodoni is far less visited than Delphi but the oracle here is considered the oldest in the ancient Greek world.
Driving over Voidomatis, presumably the clearest river in Europe.
bypassed the new road to explore the most hidden parts of Greece, places hardly visited by the millions of foreign tourists who stick to the most famous Greek destinations, like Athens, Delphi and the Aegean Islands. Our first stop was the sanctuary of Dodoni, a major religious centre of north-west Greece. Dodoni is far less visited than Delphi but the oracle here is considered the oldest in the ancient Greek world. It functioned from the Bronze Age (2600-1100 BC) to the end of the 4th century AD and was connected to the worship of the Goddess of fertility and that of Zeus. Apart the visitors centre, Dodoni seems to be as it was thousands of years ago. Ioannina was our next stop. This is a nice little town built on the majestic Pamvotis Lake on the slopes of central Pindos range, the real backbone of the Greek Peninsula. Downtown Ioannina is lively all day, with many cars squeezed into its narrow streets but if you take a stroll
through the old town or lake shore it’s a lot more relaxing. You can spend quality time here drinking a ‘frappe’ (an instantly made ice coffee) or order some plates of ‘meze’ (greek appetizers) with a bottle of ‘ouzo’, the national aperitif of Greece. You can even take a boat and go for some shopping at the heroic ‘Kira Frosini’ island. Departing from Ioannina, you can take the national road E951 and go south, towards Patras or to the north, at the idyllic Prespa Lakes. The most adventurous routes are on Pindos itself. Behind the wheel of an SUV you can get lost for days in the mountains, driving on narrow tarmac roads or gravel paths like the one we followed to arrive to Tzumerka, a group of unspoilt villages around Arachthos River. You can spend some days here staying in a traditional house, practice some rafting or kayaking on the river, walk in the pine forests or just drink ouzo with the locals. If you are determined enough, you can drive all the way to Central
Father Vasilis, th e priest of Ramia in Agia Paraskevi, the church of Ramia.
Climbing on the flip side of Olympus Mountain.
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rformed A local violinist pe songs some traditional small of Epirus during a ized an fiesta that was org we in Zagori, the day visited the place.
Traditional living room (called ‘ondas’ in Turkish) of a stone-built house in Epirus region.
Greece through the ‘Agrafa’ region, which means ‘unwritten’ in Greek. Further to the south, following the Acheloos River you arrive in Evritania and from there to Parnassos Mountain. You must have plenty of time to explore everything here and give little trust to your map. Distances seem to be small on it but in fact the routes are twisty and much longer. During the week, most of the villages are deserted and the only people you will possibly meet are elder couples left here alone by the new generations that were forced to migrate to other towns to find work. During the weekend, the mountain is alive as the families travel back from Athens to visit their ancestors.
Like tourists in our own country… It’s difficult to judge your own country objectively but for us Greece was like a new experience after so many years away. We felt like tourists for the first few days, while we were exploring
We felt like tourists for the first few days, while we were visiting the villages of Epirus.
Climbing to Pindos Range from an alternative route.
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the picturesque villages of Epirus. The only difference was that locals spoke our language! We used other countries as reference points to define our own. For years, we considered Greeks really bad drivers. Now they seemed good in comparison to drivers in the Middle East, in Pakistan or India but are still reckless compared to Australians. They don’t seem to race as much as before – maybe because of the higher fuel prices - but few respect the speed limits. Most Greek drivers are impatient, like to talk on their cell phone while driving, park wherever they find a space (even in areas for handicapped) and sometimes defy stop signs and traffic lights. At the local markets, people are friendly and calm. No one insists on selling you anything as in Morocco, for example. Prices are written everywhere and you don’t need to bargain for a piece of bread as in Vietnam. Generally speaking, Greece is a very free country. Ancient Greeks invented democracy and spread it all over the world. Modern Greeks like to bend the law in the name of democracy. It is not uncommon to see a speeding driver arguing with a police officer; “Come on Yanni, let me go, I have to take my mother to the hospital”! Flexible law application may be frustrating for many Greeks but proves to be good for the
THE WORLD OF ROAD Back to Greece
We did it on the highest road in Greece which takes you up to Olympus at 2450m!
Gamila formation looks like a camel’s hump.
traveller. Camping is officially prohibited but practically you can pitch a tent at any remote beach without being disturbed or fined. Our first night in Greece we camped at the central parking of Papigo, the most picturesque of the Zagori villages. We set up our table and had Greek salad right there. Nobody cared! The next morning we visited some crystal clear baths and it was still free. In Australia we would’ve had to pay for that. Do you know that almost all national parks in Greece are free? You can even climb on the mountain of the Gods – Olympus, without paying a single euro! On the other hand, you are asked to pay tolls for roads that are not considered real motorways. What a strange country…
The road to Macedonia In ‘Zagorochoria’ or the villages of Zagori you can stay in a stone built traditional house for 80AUD, walk on ‘Drakolimni’ (Drake Lake) at 2200m, or trek for hours into the breathtaking Vikos Gorge. You can climb on Smolikas Mountain or kayak in the Voidomatis River. You can taste local delicacies like “tiganopsomo’ (deep fried pie with cheese), feta ‘goat’ cheese and handmade ‘retsina’ (white wine). We had been there several times but this time we seriously considered staying there forever instead of going back to city life. We proceeded to make our way to visit our parents who insisted on seeing us as soon as possible. We took the Egnatia motorway and
Views from Greek mountains after sunset are astonishing!
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it was like a low flight until Metsovo, a village of shepherds, cheese makers and a right wing Greek prime minister. We were offered to taste several varieties of cheese and finally we took a big piece of ‘Metsovone’, a smoked variety that tastes like wood! After the break we proceeded to Grevena, the first town of the Macedonia region. Ask any driver in Greece about ‘Katara Pass’ which means ‘curse’ in greek. This is the main road to the west of the country. A narrow, twisty, windswept path on 1500m that used to be closed by snow during winter. From Kozani, we crossed the lake that was created artificially by a new dam at Aliakmonas River. Dams changed the face of Greek landscape, sometimes for the worst. Aliakmonas is a good example. We were now 150km away from home but mentally not prepared to get there yet. We needed an ultimate adventure before that. First, we climbed on the highest road of Greece, the path to Christaki Refuge, at 2420m, on the west side of Olympus. From the refuge, you can easily climb to the top of Greece, to the mythological house of the Gods, at 2917m. Before sunset, if the evening is clear, you can see half of our country from there. That was where we camped for the last time, after three and a half years on the road. I still remember the villages around the divine mountain sparkling like ships in a sea of darkness. The next day we decided to go home. We were frightened by the idea of going back to normal life but normal life will never be as normal for us, after all that overlanding. So, now we are back home - at least for a while. You are all more than welcome to come and visit Greece, mates!