The JJJ's Journey of Discovery

The Three Js (Jane, Jeanie and Jan) or Treis Filinathes were reunited once again when Jeanie arrived in Kerkyra at the end of the Grecian Yearn tour – we do not want to calculate how many years since we first met!

Jane saw Dick off in a flurry – the general strike called for 28 and 29 June meant that his Olympic Airways flight was cancelled and that he would have missed his flight back home on 29 June.  So he was packed off a day early and spent his time waiting for the Emirates flight living in luxury at the Sofitel which was walking distance from both McDonalds and the airport.  The former being important when he found out that breakfast was going to cost 35 Euro in the hotel and a bacon and egg McMuffin cost 2.5 Euro at McDonalds!

Christine at Boukari

I met up with long-time friend, Christine Dubos, who very kindly took me for a lovely interlude to Boukari, which is about the only area on Kerkyra that is relatively unspoilt.  I then took Jane and Jeanie back there the next day and we even found a place for sale – a knock down house in an absolutely perfect position, however when I rang the number to find out the price, the number was no longer in use unfortunately, or perhaps fortuitously!

View from our knock-down house

We also met up with many other friends of yesteryear including Trish Manessi and Fiona Crossfield.

Trish and Jane

Fiona, Jan, Jane and Jeanie

After our day of recuperation, aided by an ouzo or two and a few wines, we bade a fond farewell to Saki, Sarah and of course Domeniko, not forgetting the lovely Frida, who had just become used to us (Jane and I competing for licks and nuzzles – I think Jane won by a nose!), and then set off on our road trip heading for Igoumenitsa to pick up our car, then on to Vassiliki in Lefkada and then all points south around the Peloponnese.

The lovely Frida

After arriving in Igoumenitsa we found the Avis office and I left Jane and Jeanie there sorting out the car and set off to find the OTE shop where I was intending to buy a dongle for my computer so that I hopefully would not suffer the lack of internet access that had plagued us in Kerkyra.  (You will notice that I am using the non-tourist terms for places in Greece, as I have been told that Greece, not only wants to be known as Ellada and not Greece, but also we should use the Ellenic names instead of the “tourist” names for places, hence Kerkyra instead of Corfu.)

Anyway, I was persuaded by the lovely Dimitri to not buy a dongle as they were expensive and I could not be sure that the one I bought would have coverage everywhere in Ellada.  Therefore I have had to rely on wifi which is brilliant in some places, but non-existent in others.

In the meantime the girls had sorted the car and I arrived back to find that we had a very nice Nissan Note at our disposal – don’t know if we can get them in Australia, but they are a great little car and he got us around Ellada with very few problems – the only one being not of his doing, but that is a later story!  All our luggage fitted in beautifully, including my oversized case – I am finally learning after countless trips to Ellada, that I need to scale down in the luggage department!

We then set off for Lefkada down the wonderful new autostrade or national road – the wonderful Via Egnatia which is still being constructed, but once it is completed will speed up travel around Ellada no end.  The journey took us just over an hour and we arrived in Lefkada ready for a late lunch of Horiatiki salad (Greek salad) but no alcohol – Jane and I were being responsible drivers for once in our lives!  We had been warned that the insurance cover on our car would be null and void if alcohol was even smelt on our breath, so as we were sure that we would not escape at least a small accident, given the roads and the other drivers, we wanted there to be no excuse to get out of the insurance cover if we had an accident.

The harbour of Vassiliki at sunset

The trip down the island from the town of Lefkada (the capitals of Ellenic islands often have the same name as the island itself) to Vassiliki was unbelievably beautiful – it was getting towards late afternoon so the colours were sublime.  Ellada has summer time now so it does not get dark until about 9 pm, so the long afternoons and evenings are fabulous.  We drove through the village/port of Vassiliki, parked the car near to Dimitri’s apartments, where Kay and I had stayed in 2006 – I just wanted to show Jane and Jeanie the other side of the village.  We then got out and had a walk around to have a look at rooms for rent and were accosted by the one and only Dimitri (that is not quite true as he is a twin, but his brother, Orpheus, is more reserved), so we were persuaded to stay in his apartments once again – not a bad option as most of them have seaviews and ours also had a wonderful lemon tree and grapevine outside our balcony – not quite ready for our G&Ts but maybe soon.

Our local beach

After our swim at our ‘local’ beach which is pebbly but crystal clear, sitting on our balcony partaking of our arrival ouzo, I realised that this might be the place that I might come back to to spend a couple of weeks after Jane has left at the end of our road-trip.  However, I didn’t want to make any rash decisions as there were many places yet to be seen.

Gary and Mary's taverna - Penguins

We then went to the port to have a wander around and make the hard decision of where to eat.  We settled on the taverna which is owned by Mary and Gary – Mary being an Aussie from Melbourne, she has lived in Vassiliki for many years with husband Gary (I guess he is Gerassimos or something like that).  We had a great meal and they looked after us very well, giving us a complimentary bottle of wine and a couple of plates of fruit – slices of orange with cinnamon sprinkled over them – very unusual, but very tasty, something to remember for future dinner parties.  After being amazed at the different colours and the light in the port as the sun went down, we went to our beds for a well-earned sleep.  It being our first night sleeping in the same room, we were a bit concerned since Jeanie had confessed that she snored, however, we found out that not only do we all snore (but nicely! J) but that Jane also talks in her sleep!  We were all so tired each night, that it never became a problem that a shoe had to be thrown at!

It was during one of our walks around Vassiliki that we (probably more me than Jane, because she is nicer than me!) persuaded Jeanie to cast aside her tea-cosy hat and buy a Panama hat like the ones that Jane, Dick and myself had.  We found it easy to identify each other in a crowd.

The amazing Porto Katsiki

The next day we set off in our car to Porto Katsiki – rather a strange name, as Katsiki means ‘goat’ for such an unbelievably beautiful beach – the colour of the water has to be seen to be believed – I personally believe that they add the dye to the water each morning, as it matched perfectly the turquoise top that Jeanie was wearing!

You see what I mean??

We were a little concerned at the crumbly rock face we lay under, it being the only shady spot for us conservative sun bakers – at least Jane and myself have had a couple or more experiences of having things caused by our wayward youth being cut out of our body.  So we preferred to risk falling rocks to the burning sun.

It really is that colour!

After several dips in the fabulous waters of Porto Katsiki, we adjourned to a little taverna overlooking the bay and sat back and soaked in the food and view.

We then set on our way back along the tortuous road back to Vassiliki, buying honey with walnuts in it along the way.  Jane and I had been thinking of bringing our future group to Katsiki by bus, but rapidly came to the conclusion that no way would a big coach fit around some of those corners – as fantastic as the coach drivers are!

Windsurfers in Vassiliki Bay

That night we decided to eat at someplace other than Gary and Mary’s, as fantastic as their hospitality had been – and we were sorry, we should have stayed with the tried and true.  We then headed back home for a relatively early night, after taking in a concert of Greek dancing prior to some awards being given out for windsurfing – Vassiliki being high on the must-do places if you happen to be a windsurfer.  We also found time to drop in for a Pina Colada along the way!

The next day we had to drive to Nidri, the tourist centre of Lefkada, to pick up our boat, the Macedonian Palace, for our island cruise.  Nidri is such a change from Vassiliki, a real tourist eye-sore, catering to the mainly British pound in the worst possible way.

We found our place on the boat, trying to remain out of the wind and sun, but that was not always possible, with the boat changing positions all the time.  We had a lovely day calling into Port Katsiki again but from the sea this time, Egremni for a swim (an equally beautiful beach), Ithaki for lunch and shopping (great jewellery shop there!), Fiskardo, Kefalonia for their kreatopita (meat pie – nothing like you would buy at the footie in Oz!), and then back to Nidri via Onassis’ island for a short swim.  We got talking to the Kapetaneos Kosta and were invited to go to his sister’s restaurant that night which we declined. 

Lefkada from our boat

We then headed back to Vassiliki – I had a talk with Margaret (my sister) on skype, she has big problems with regard to her beautiful dog, Monty.  The other two Js headed off down to the harbour to find another taverna to eat at – and they did, and it was delicious, as always!

Next day we paid our dues to Dimitri – I paid him a deposit, just in case I decided to come back – and headed back to Lefkada Town and the journey to Olympia.  Well, we can report that the journey from Lefkada to Patras may look a similar distance on the map to Igoumenitsa to Lefkada, but it is worlds apart – poor Jane had to drive.  After stopping for lunch in Patras, the journey took us far longer than we had anticipated; however, we arrived safe and sound in Olympias in time to find the hotel Hercules that Jane’s niece, Vicky, had recommended.  We dropped our bags, settled into our quite basic, but ok rooms, and headed on down to explore the village.

Separated at birth??

Jeanie and I settled into a little café bar to have a coffee whilst Jane set off to meet up with Vicky.  Vicky was involved with the Olympic Academy in Olympia and this was the fourth year that she had been invited back, as a former Olympian, to facilitate the youth Olympic Academy (?).

Jeanie remarked when she saw Jane and Vicky strolling across the street, how much they looked like each other – Vicky a taller Jane of old!  So Vicky had a drink with us and then had to be off to facilitate some meeting or gathering in the evening.  We went back to our hotel, taking in a few jewellery shops along the way!  Got changed and headed back down to the centre to find a place for dinner.  Vicky joined us again and a fine time was had by all.  We also had time to have a look at some hotels for our next year’s tour and quickly came to a decision on that point.

Two Js at the starting line

Next day we found a little place in the main drag for breakfast – and were amazed and alarmed at the amount of tourist coaches that were screaming down the main drag of Olympia.  To be confirmed once we arrived at the site itself – all those bloody tourists getting in the way of my photographs! – of course, we are NOT tourists, having been here so many times, we are like foreigner-Greeks! – well something like that! J 

'Take a photograph Harry!'

We wandered around, trying to take photos with the least amount of tourists in them.  Then headed back to town for lunch.  Then we noticed a remarkable thing – the tourists and the coaches had gone – it would have been far better to go to the site in the afternoon – something to be factored into our tour for next year.

The race track - if you look hard you can see two Panama hats in the background!

After lunch we strolled back to the archaeological site and visited the wonderful museum - the Greeks have got in right as far as their archaeological museums go - the new Akropolis Museum in Athens, the Museum at Delphi and the Museum here in Olympia are sensational.  The highlight of this one is of course Hermes - unfortunately the lighting in the Museum was not quite right!

Praxiteles Hermes with the infant Dionysos

Jane and Jeanie outside the Museum

Jeanie then got all her gear together and we drove her back to Pirgos where we bade her a very sad farewell for her return journey to Corfu by ferry from Patra, and then finally to her home town of Cardiff, Wales.  Jane and I then drove back a little subdued, now being only two Js on our travels.  However, we dropped the car and then, on the invitation of Vicky, walked to where we thought the Olympic Academy was.  Fortunately, we are just a little bit fit, because we took the wrong turn and headed up a hill overlooking the Academy – far away from where we were supposed to be!  Finally some kilometres later, Vicky came out to meet us and showed us all around the Academy – which was a delight and an honour for us.  We said goodbye to Vicky and set off down (the right) road back to Olympia.  That night we didn’t feel like eating out so just had a bit of cheese and wine and an early night.

Vicky at the Olympic Academy

Previously we had met a chap in the main drag – George the Jeweller – and he had given us a few tips of places to must-see on our journey through the Peloponnese and also he recommended a hotel we could use in Olympia, the wife of the owner being Australian.  We had a look and agreed that it was lovely, but we had decided on another, but if that proved too difficult or expensive this one would be a good alternative.

Jane at Zaccaro Beach

So the next day, Jane and I headed off down the track to Zaccaro (recommended by John, but sorry John, we were not overly impressed!), down to Pilos, across to Kalamata (where we picked up our obligatory jar of Kalamata olives of course!), and stopped off at the beautiful little spot of Kardamilli.  It was hot, so we had a lovely lunch in a beachside restaurant, Gialos, and then a swim.  We then had a wander around trying to find a hotel and found a fabulous one – Anneke (?), right on the beach, but what a beach!  It was made up of rough rocks that looked like they had been spewed out by volcanic eruption.  However, the owner of the hotel had carved a path out of the rock and then put in a ladder into the sea – into his swimming pool as he said.  I didn’t experience it, but Jane said it was fabulous.

Kardamilli Beach from Gialos Taverna

After a bit of clothes washing, we headed off to find a restaurant for dinner via a couple of jewellery shops where we made a purchase or two – we have to contribute to the economy of Ellada! (this is getting too hard, I think I will go back to calling it Greece for the moment!).  We had seen a taverna called Kiki’s so decided in honour of our wonderful agent in Athens, to have dinner there.  We had goat (eat your heart out Dick), but it was in a very flavoursome sauce which drowned the flavour of the goat unfortunately  - nice but not what we were looking for.

Where we ate goat

Then back to our room and a relatively early night, to be ready for the next day’s adventures.

The next morning we did a wander around Kardamilli and found another hotel which was related to the one we stayed in and we think that one might be a bit better for our potential group for next year.  We called into a couple of beautiful places along the way – Stoupa, Neo Itilo and Limeni to name a few, but quickly decided that if we stopped at every bend and bay to take photos we would never get to Monemvasia, our next port of call.  We did note however, the amazing amount of development that was taking place in that area and all of it done in the wonderful traditional stone-house style.  There did not seem to be any economic worries down that way.

Neo Itilo

We then headed down the road to Areopoli admiring the castles and towers of the stone houses of the Mani district as we went.  We then made a bit of a mistake, we should have gone down the rest of that finger to see the main area of the Mani, but instead turned left and went straight to Githio.  Nevermind as this part of the trip is a given for next year, we will see it all then.  We had a couple of hotels to have a look at in Githio, but decided to stick with our preference for the accommodation in Kardamilli.

Limeni

We finally got into Monemvasia for a late lunch.  Had a look around the really nice little portside town, but wondered what all the fuss was about.  Everyone had told us we ‘must see Monemvasia’, but not told us why– it was nice, but we had seen lots of really nice places along the way.  Anyway, there was this big monolithic rock with a few ruins on it staring us in the face whilst we were having lunch and we decided to take the car over the little causeway to have a closer look.  We got over there and there was a gateway in the wall.  We were trying to decide whether it was going to be worth the bother to go through the gateway, when Jane looked at a little map outside the gate – there was a whole town inside the wall!  We walked in and could not believe our eyes, it was really something to be seen to believed!  Cobbled streets, churches, bars, restaurants – not dissimilar to Split, Dubrovnik or Troghr in Croatia and many other walled towns I am sure.  Anyway, as we were wandering through we noticed that there were also hotels inside the walls, so we happened upon a lovely little one and were shown some rooms by the very enthusiastic and knowledgeable manager, Nina.  She was also a very good salesman and very quickly persuaded Jane and myself that we should stay the night in one of her rooms – which apparently in Turkish times been one of the rooms of the harem of the Sultan.

Jane outside the Gate

We were absolutely captivated by the idea of our group staying in this hotel, but over a couple of pina coladas later that evening reality sunk in – as wonderful as the rooms were we just could not see some of our big Aussie blokes fitting into the very cramped bathrooms, or being able to climb up the very narrow spiral staircases that we saw (and experienced first-hand in our own room!).  So reluctantly we settled on a compromise – accommodation outside the walls and a fabulous dinner inside the walls.  And the next morning after visiting a couple of very nice hotels in Monemvassia, we found the happy compromise.  Our people could then choose to come back at another time to stay inside the walls if they wished.

Monemvasia

So after a breakfast at a local café – the largest cheese and ham omelette I have ever had (and shared with the local cat population) – and listening in on a conversation that we heard many versions of all the time we were in Greece, i.e. detailing their financial woes, where the problems originated from and how they were going to deal with them.  Not an easy task and one that they seem to have a perverse pleasure in dissecting ad infinitum – we paid our bill and headed back to the car, only to find that instead of fining the Greek drivers for their myriad of sins, the police had seen fit to give the tourists (or Foreigner-Greeks), i.e. us, a parking ticket of 30 E!! 

The outside wall from where Jane had a swim

We then looked at the two hotels Kiki had recommended and decided on one and then set out down the road for yet another of George (the jeweller from Olympias)’s recommendations – Kyparissi.  We did not read the map well, did not take into consideration that it was a minor road and had lots of bends in it even on the map.  So a couple of hours later after a white knuckle ride (Jan was very nervously driving) along roads that doubled back on each other, some with lines, others with none, some with barriers to stop you falling off the edge down a cliff and others not, we finally arrived in Kyparissi.  Lovely little white washed village that is a yachting stop-over, but not on the regular tourist map, I am sure.  However, it was as we were driving in that I looked at the petrol gage – it had been well over half full when we started out but, because of the winding roads and travelling in only 2^nd and 3^rd gear, the petrol had been eaten up.  We then realised that there had been a lack of signs advertising petrol stations along the road.  We had under a quarter of a tank, and possibly could have made it to the previous town, but the thought of running out of petrol on that road was not appealing. 

Kyparissi - lovely place to visit - by yacht!

So over a well-earned coffee in the very picturesque coffee bar, we asked where we could get some petrol.  I could tell from the expression on the waitress’ face that I was not going to like her answer – she would ring the benzinathiko to see if he had any petrol!??  When she came back, her face was even more to my dislike – he would possibly have some by 4 o’clock this afternoon – it was about 1 pm at this stage.  So with a bit of a recalculation, we agreed that we could still make Nafplion by nightfall, we’d just have to miss out on the fish lunch in Plaka along the way that George said should not be missed – we were beginning to doubt George’s opinion by that stage anyway!

Colour coordinated in Kyparissi

Being of a suspicious nature, I suggested to Jane that we make ourselves known at the petrol station, because I envisaged a queue of people lined up for petrol when it did come in and we may miss out and spend the night in Kyparissi – normally this would not have been a problem, but Jane had to catch a plane the day after and being stuck in Kyparissi was not on her agenda.  I rang John to tell him of our plight and he said he would come and get us if it really got too bad – I suggested a helicopter would be preferable because I really did not fancy driving on those roads again!

Anyway, after an OK fish lunch and a bit of a siesta under the shade of an olive tree, we made it back to the benzinathiko only to find that he was early and there was no queue;  he filled us up and showed us an easier road to get to Leonidio and hopefully Nafplion… another George, but this time a good one!  He also warned us that the road was good in parts but a dirt track in others – he was absolutely right and if he hadn’t warned us we would have been extremely worried that we were on the right road.  It turned out to be a relatively pleasant drive and we ran into (not literally) a couple of flocks of goats and took many photos.

Two local lads

However, as the sun was starting to go down, we realised that it would be better to stop and find a place to stay rather than push on in the semi-dark to Nafplion – we were an hour or so away and it would have been a bit of a strain.  So we made for a spot on the map a place called Pal. Tirou, which when we made it to the coast looked like a lovely little spot.  The only problem was that it was Thursday and a lot of Greeks had come and were coming down for the school holidays or at least the weekend.  We got a place (and I take responsibility for choosing it), it was cheap and that is probably the best thing you could say about it – the toilet didn’t work, no air conditioning, no breakfast, but the fan worked, albeit very noisily, and it had a balcony that looked over the sea.

One of the few donkeys we saw along the way

So we unpacked and did more washing (a woman’s work is never done) and headed down to the beach for a pizza dinner – after doing a Shirley Valentine, chair in the sea, photo-shoot – the locals must have thought us crazy!  Then we went to the bar which John had recommended (he’s been everywhere man!) and had a Brandy Alexander for a change!  And then slowly dragged our feet back to our dog box of a room.  When I woke in the middle of the night in a bath of perspiration because I had been too afraid to leave the balcony door open because of mosquitoes, I thought bugger it, I will fight them with the Aeroguard!  So opened the door and to my surprise there were no mosquitoes, so I had suffered for no reason.

Doing the Shirley Valentine in the sea

Brandy Alexanders!

In the morning we quickly packed and then headed to the beach, mistakenly thinking that a sign advertising breakfast actually meant that they served breakfast.  Our ‘charming’ host came out, shirt open, unshaven, sneezing into his hand and wiping it on his pants, to find out what we wanted and was surprised to find that we wanted breakfast!  So he offered us toast and coffee – afta!  So we ordered coffee and toast, fortunately, when thinking of the sneeze, the toast never eventuated, just the coffee, so we paid and left quite gratefully really.

Bourdzi - a miniature Venetian stronghold in the middle of Nafplion Harbour

Once on the road to Nafplion, we were once again glad that we stopped off rather than pushing on last night.  The road was very windy and picturesque and there were quite a few cars, busses etc going in both directions.  Finally making Nafplion, one of our first objectives was to find a nice café on the water front that served breakfast and we did and we had a lovely Greek yoghurt with fresh fruit and another, much better, coffee.

Nafplion Harbour

We then had a quick look around (time being the essence now), had a look at a couple of hotels, decided very quickly and were then on our way again, after the obligatory stop at a jewellery shop – looking but not buying!  We seemed to always have difficulty in finding our way out of places and Nafplion was to prove no exception!

Outside the Lion Gate at Mykenes

Got to Mykenes, had a look around, took some photos and are really looking forward to next year when we will go around the site with a guide.  Then hit the road bound for somewhere either near Korinthos or Loutraki.  We tried to get near the beach, but it seems that the Greeks long held fear of pirates still is in existence, but this time from the main road and not the sea.  We never made it to the seaside, the twists and turns were just too much and Jane, quite rightly, thought that she would never get out, once we got in and I too was thinking that John would never find us and that I might spend the next three weeks trying to find my way out!

View of the amazing countryside from Mykenes

So we finally found our way back onto the main road and headed for Loutraki, which meant going through Korinthos (a drama in itself, but we made it!).  We then stopped so that Jane could take photos of the Korinth Canal – I am afraid to say that I could not walk over it – it was too high AND it moved!!!  So I shall be relying on Jane’s photos!

Best I could do as a view of the Corinth Canal! :(

Finally got to Loutraki, had a swim, but finding a hotel on the beach as per our dream, was not as easy as we had imagined.  Finally found – the Achilleon – which we knew would make Dick jealous as he was enamoured with the Achilleon in Kerkyra.  Fortunately the hotel was able to give us a parking spot right outside the hotel and so it was ‘relatively’ easy to get all our stuff up to our rooms.

Sunset over Loutraki

Once settled in, we went for a swim and sat on the beach and had a shandy! (first one I have had in Greece) and then went to our rooms, showered and then had a couple of G&Ts sitting on the balcony, watching the superb sunset, waiting for John to arrive.  This he finally did, just in time to catch the last of the sunset.  We realised then that we now had three Js together again, just a different combination, albeit briefly.  We then were whisked off to an out of the way local seafood restaurant – we would never have found it in a million years, where we ate some great fish and other bits and pieces and drank a nice little drop of wine.

Thinking of what - her two boys, her last Greek sunset for 2011, when's dinner??

The next morning Jane and I went down for breakfast (it seems that it is an Aussie thing to do), which was pretty basic and the coffee was dreadful.  So whilst Jane and I had a swim, John went to a coffee shop and had coffee and read the paper, and Jane had her last swim in Greece for this year.  We then bade her a very sad and anxious farewell, John had given her a mud-map of how to get to the main highway to the airport, but given our record of getting out of places, I felt sure we would get a phone call crying ‘help – I seem to have gone back over the Korinth Canal!!”, but that was not to be and I was very relieved when a few hours later we got an sms from Jane saying that she was having her last Greek coffee at the airport, whilst she waited for her plane.

Different road, different mountain....

So then the two Js set off on another road-trip, but that is another story ……………….