Saturday 7th May 2011 – Kineta, Greece

We had a good start this morning anticipating a long period hunting for Eleusis. It was the first time that we had approached Elefsina from this direction and shortly after passing under the motorway and heading toward the town centre we were rewarded by our first sign to Eleusis. This was followed by more signs and we were soon parked outside the site. It was remarkably easy and we wondered why we had so much trouble before. Part of the issue was that the guidebooks often describe the site as being surrounded by oil refineries and cement factories. It is true that the view from the site is horrible and includes these but it is actually within the town and we had always envisaged it as being well outside.
Eleusis was a very important cult centre, occupied from at least as early as the 15th century BC and initially a rival to Athens before coming under Athenian rule in the early 6th century BC. The Sacred Way lead from Athens to Eleusis, a distance of 19km (12 miles), and during the nine-day festival of Greater Eleusinia a procession came from Athens to the Sanctuary of Demeter at Eleusis. Only those initiated into the Eleusian Mysteries were allowed to take part in the procession and to witness the rituals that took place in the sanctuary. The number of initiates obviously grew over the centuries as the sanctuary was rebuilt and enlarged many times including one extension that involved building over ancient walls many metres high. The Mysteries were secret and the penalty for revealing them was death and this might explain why we still don't know much about them. However Demeter was connected with the seasons, fertility and crops and it is probable that these themes were prominent in the ceremonies.
The Mysteries were celebrated well into the Roman period and at least three Roman Emperors are known to have been initiates. Indeed the Romans remodelled and enlarged much of the site adding many fountains and baths. It is largely the Roman remains that are visible today although more ancient walls and features are also visible.
We spent three hours walking around the site, reading the information plaques, looking at the remains and trying to imagine what the initiates observed during the ceremonies. It is suggested that after fasting, they ate fermented cereals that may have an effect similar to LSD, so they may have seen some very interesting sights!
Travelling West along the old national road we arrived at Kineta and Glaros Camping where we took a pitch close to the sea.
Photos: The sacred area on the sanctuary at Eleusis – the stone seats at the back are for the initiates to watch the Mysteries; Part of a 5th century BC white plate from Eleusis; A Roman votive piglet from Eleusis.

Friday 6th May 2011 – Inoi, Greece

Our aim today was to get off Evia and to Thebes in time to visit the museum there. However a combination of mountains, windy roads and slow lorries (even slower than us!) meant that we weren't going to get to Thebes museum before the likely closing time of 15:00. There are no campsites anywhere near Thebes so we decided that we might be able to find a restaurant on the outskirts that would allow us to stay overnight in their car park if we had a meal there. We have used this option on a number of occasions and it works well. However, at Jane's suggestion, we decided to go to the museum first to ensure that it was actually open. Our Blue Guide published, we think, in 2007 said that the museum had been undergoing restoration but was reported as having been reopened. Well, it hasn't and shows no signs of being opened in the near future. The Blue Guide describes Thebes as being “as undistinguished today as it was glorious in antiquity” and we have to agree. Fortunately the museum, although closed, was well signposted and we found it quite easily. Getting out of the city was slightly more difficult, involving many rather narrow one-way streets but we managed it and took the old national road towards Elefsina. We intended to visit Eleusis tomorrow if we could find it – this would be our third attempt. There are no campsites in this area either so we decided to find a place to wild camp somewhere off the national road.
After passing the very impressive tall walls of the 4th century BC fortress of Eleutherai we turned off the main road and ended up on the outskirts of the small village of Inoi. We found an excellent, flat area off the road near to the church of Agia Triada. We went off to investigate the village and found that the centre was based around the main road and we bought some wholemeal bread (called Mavro – black in Greek), sweet bread and baklava from a very good baker who also spoke English. Across the road there was a shop selling the local wine straight from the barrel. After trying the different wines, we bought two 1.5 litre bottles one of white and one rosé both of which were not resinated.
Photos: Wild camping pitch in Inoi; In Inoi the bakers start very young; Jane at the Inoi wine cellar just before I was about to lie under a barrel and open the tap – unfortunately the proprietor arrived before I could do so!

Thursday 5th May 2011 – Rovies, Evia, Greece

Lots of rain during the night and lots of rain this morning meant that doing the chores was a very damp process especially as the waste water, fresh water and chemical toilet facilities were a little walk away. Although the campsite is very sophisticated, with a very swish swirling water swimming pool, the toilet block that was open only had foot toilets (slightly sophisticated holes in the ground). This did not go down well with Jane! Having said that, the price was very reasonable at €14, the cheapest so far in Greece.
The prospect for the first part of our drive did not look good. It was still raining, if only gently, and low cloud hung over the hills. Soon we were up in the fog of that cloud and although the forest was pretty, there was no chance that we were going to see any views. As we drove along we started seeing plastic bags attached to the trees. At first I thought that it was some type of bug trap and then I realised – they were collecting sap. Pine resin is added to wine to produce Greek Retsina, the famous, some would say infamous, Greek wine. We really like it but the resin flavour does take some time to get used to and some people never get used to it! It may seem a strange thing to do but it stems back to the time when wine was transported in animal skins that were sealed with pine resin. This imparted a flavour to the wine, the Greeks got used to it and continue to add the resin well after the skins were replaced by bottles.
As we rounded the north east of the island, we descended from the mountains and were finally able to see the sea even if it was still raining. We stopped at Orei to find the 4th century BC marble bull that was on display of the seafront. We found it and it was very impressive. We also found the Ouzeri (bars specialising in selling the Greek aniseed drink Ouzo) that Orei is well known for. I chose the one that had no name, looked basic and had lots of local customers including a Greek Orthodox priest. It is a tradition that ouzo, especially in an Ouzeri, is served with 'mezethes', little pieces of food. It is a tradition that is fast disappearing but in some places you are served something simple like little pieces of tomato and cucumber. It used to be common to be served a little cheese and / or olives but these have become relatively expensive and so it is rare to get them. Here our ouzo arrived together with some bread and we thought that was the mezethes but a few minutes later came a dish with six small fish, horta (wild greens) and two pieces of lemon. The fish had been chargrilled and the horta was cold and both were delicious. When we came to pay the bill it was €4, the same that we had paid for ouzo served with a few crisps in Parga. We would have loved to stay in Orei and spent more time at the Ouzeri but there was nowhere to camp so we had to move on.
The next stop was the spa resort of Loutra Aedipsos where we parked next to the port where there we three ferries lined up and another one just arriving. Evia is well blessed with ferries with many options of connections to different ports on the mainland. We walked along the seafront until we reached some very smart spa hotels. We could see steam rising from the beach and found an outlet from one of the over eighty thermal springs that are scattered around Orei. They vary in temperature from 28°C to 86° and this must have been one of the warmer ones. Orei is quite a pretty place and judging by the number of hotels, shops and tavernas, it must really hum in the season.
Onward again along by the sea and below the level of the mist until we arrived at Rovies Camping and found a pitch overlooking the sea. It had stopped raining and we were able to sit out for a while but it certainly wasn't warm. We hoped for better weather in the morning.
Photos: Orei ouzeri mezethes; Loutra Aedipsos faded elegance; And current elegance – the Sylla Thermal Spa Wellness Hotel established in 1879 and still looking good (it has probably had a facelift or two); Hot water from one of the thermal springs flows out onto the public beach.

Wednesday 4th May 2011 – Aghia Anna, Evia, Greece

Sit Nav (Jane) had a difficult day today. She didn't recognise the place names that we wanted at a turning on the outskirts of Chalkis resulting in a tour of the congested streets of the city trying to find a way out. After a long drive through urban sprawl on the northern side of Chalkis we got out into the countryside, missed another turning and spent some time attempting to negotiate the narrow streets of a town and taking a diversion into the mountains before rejoining the main road. In Jane's defence, I must say that most of the signs were in Greek script and it takes time to transliterate into Latin script before deciding whether the towns are where we want to go. After that we had no problems and we enjoyed the drive through pretty forested countryside. We stopped at Prokopi where we visited a Russian pilgrimage church of St. John the Russian. We had followed a Russian coach on part of the journey and by the time that we got to the church, the pilgrims were filing passed the mummified remains of St. John and filling special small bottles with blessed olive oil. We know little about this saint or why he is so important to the Russians – we must look it up on the Internet.
We had passed thousands of beehives on our way and it was no surprise to find many honey shops in amongst the many tavernas, coffee shops and souvenir shops. We stopped at one and were given a friendly greeting by the lady owner without getting any hard sell. On the way back we stopped there and were able to try some of her honeys, specifically the pine and fir honeys. The pine was definitely the best and it brought back memories of the lovely Peloponnesian pine honey that we have had on previous trips. So that was the honey sorted and we bought 10 litres of olive oil this morning so we are building up our stock of practical souvenirs.
We drove on to Aghia Anna and down to its beach where the Aghia Anna Club campsite is located. It took us a while to find any of the staff but we were soon on our pitch and hooked up to the electricity. We were the only people on the site that copes with in excess of 1,000 people at the height of the season.
Photos: The St. John the Russian church in Prokopi; The honey shop in Prokopi; The Aghia Anna Club campsite also has air conditioned yurts for hire – they look rather comfortable.

Tuesday 3rd May 2011 - Eretria, Evia, Greece

We didn't get far today! We had intended to travel down to the southern tip of Evia but had also spotted that there was an archaeological site in Eretria. I asked the campsite receptionist where it was and he explained that the museum and site were only about a kilometre down the road. We parked just outside and joined the five coach loads of children visiting the museum. Fortunately they had been divided into relatively small groups and we were able to view the excellent museum in a leisurely fashion. We hadn't realised how big a town Eretria was in antiquity and we were given a map of the main open site and other minor areas dotted around the modern town. After looking around one of the residential areas with some very large impressive houses, we set off in search of the 'House of Mosaics'. On the way we came across the Tourist Information Office (just east of the museum on the main road) and popped in to find out more about Evia. They were extremely helpful, told us much about where to go and what to see and loaded us up with very good pamphlets and an excellent map. They also helpfully told us that the House of Mosaics was locked but we could get the key from the museum. I went back to get the key and because I didn't have any identification with me, they came with me to open up. This was a good move as the lady struggled for some time with the second gate pulling and shaking it to get the key to work. It was worth the effort, the 4th century BC mosaics were really good and in an excellent state of preservation. They were housed in what was a very posh house with two courtyards. Apparently, this design of house started in Evia and spread across Greece. The house was effectively in two parts, a public section and a family section.
We lunched on some very tasty giro pittas before completing our round of the sites around the town and then returned to the campsite, completing a round trip of 2km! This time we found a nicer pitch right down by the water's edge with small waves giving us that lovely sound of the sea that would later lull us to sleep.
Photos: The Centaur of Lefkandi in the Eretria museum – his head and body were found in different tombs; The House of Mosaics; A baby tortoise in the Eretria archaeological site; A Shirley Valentine moment at the Milos Campsite.

Monday 2nd May 2011 – Eretria, Evia, Greece

Last night was the first night in Greece on this trip that we have not heard the lovely call of the Scops Owl. It fact we heard nothing until well after dawn when the first pick-up trucks started to pass us. We had hoped that the view would be clearer today but the opposite was the case, we could not make out the coast of the Peloponnese.
We descended all of those curves down to the plain – nowhere near so much fun as on a bike and stopped in Thisvi at 'O Fournos' ('The Oven' - a bakers) for bread, tiropitta (cheese pie) and spanokopitta (spinach pie) for lunch. We saw the scant remains of the wall of Ancient Thisvi on the outskirts of the village before heading off to the Valley of the Muses. This is where, on the slopes of Mount Helicon, the nine muses (epic poetry; tragedy; comedy; lyric and love poetry; choral song and dance; sacred hymns and mime; harmony and instrumental music; astronomy and speculative thought) preferred to stay. We saw the valley from the village of Neochori (literally 'New Village' – there must be hundreds of these in Greece) where we also saw a disused watermill with a huge waterwheel. Unfortunately, we by-passed Thespiai whose ancient inhabitants honoured the god of love above all other gods. Phryne, famous courtesan and mistress of the even more famous sculptor Praxiteles (4th century BC) lived here and the beauty of her breasts was legendary. I had hoped to see whether any of the female residents of Thespiai were direct descendants of Phryne but was thwarted by my navigator who insisted that she was simply following the shortest route.
Our next stop was Orchomenos, a fascinating site occupied continuously from the Neolithic (possibly as early as 6,000 BC) through to the time of Alexander the Great (4th century BC). It was the capital city of the Minyans, a pre-Greek people who settled here next to the Kopaic lake in the middle of the second Millennium BC. The outflow from this lake disappeared down swallow holes on the periphery and eventually appeared at the sea opposite Evia. The Minyans set about draining the lake by enlarging the swallow holes and channelling the water down then. This was the largest lake in Greece and draining it was a massive project – the earliest known such project in Europe. What was left was a vast, highly fertile plain.
There is not much to see on the hill where Orchomenos was situated, just the remains of a tower near the summit but the views over the Kopaic plain are worth the walk. At the base of the hill are the remains of a theatre and the so-called Treasury of the Minyans – a tholos (beehive) tomb. The roof of the tomb has gone but the remaining courses of massive stones are impressive and the small burial chamber to one side is complete and has a beautiful decorated ceiling.
Much of ancient stones of the site are incorporated into the church of Panagia Skripou, the former Convent of the Dormition. It was built in 874 and a tour of the exterior found reused statue bases ans inscribed stones from the ancient site as well as beautifully carved friezes and a vertical sundial that are contemporary with the building. Much of the building in built from sliced-up columns from the ancient Temple of the Graces (or Charites) – the local cult. The church was locked but just as we were about to drive away, we saw someone go to the church and unlock it for a service. We were allowed in and were able to admire the 9th century frescoes in the dimly lit interior.
We drove on to Gla, another Minyan town, once an island in the Kopaic lake, but quite different from Orchomenos. Walls 2.8km long run around the edge of a low hill that sticks out of the plain. It is a wonderfully atmospheric site but it is huge and difficult to investigate. We picnicked below the Western gate looking up at those ancient defensive walls.
We took the motorway south and paid €6.25 (about £5.70) to travel the two junctions before we headed for the island of Evia. We really must stop travelling on motorways.
Although Evia is the second biggest Greek island (after Crete) it is so close to the mainland that it is joined to it by two bridges. We wanted to cross over the old bridge that is in the same place as the first ever bridge built in 411 BC. We managed it and then battled through the very busy Chalkis city desperately looking signs for southern Evia or Eretria before finding ourselves on the road to the new bridge with no way of getting off it. So, within a few minutes we had managed to cross both bridges and we were soon crossing the new bridge again back to Evia. Navigation was not much easier this time but we did manage to get on the correct road. It was a long time before we got out of the urban sprawl around Chalkis and this remind us of our only other visit to the island. This was many years ago before the new bridge was built and we were on a three week tour of Greece by car. We arrived in Chalkis and were very unimpressed by the industry (more prevalent then) and that urban sprawl. We turned around and headed back to the mainland and the rural Greece that we loved.
The scenery finally improved and we were soon at our campsite, the only one that we know of in southern Evia, Milos (Mill) Camping in Eretria. There were two German motorhomes already in the site both of which were towing Smart cars and shortly after we arrived, an Austrian couple arrived with their converted Land Rover. They were the same couple that had been at Meteora the whole time that we had been there. This is the second Austrian couple that we have met this holiday with converted Land Rovers, both very proud that they were British and so well built and they were both hoping to go to Syria but found that the borders were closed. Quite a coincidence. Why do Austrians want to go to Syria? I should have asked the question.
Photos: Disused water mill at Neochori; Kopaic lake from Orchomenos; Ceiling of tholos tomb burial chamber at Orchomenos; This British Marshall steam roller (serial no. 79896 for you enthusiasts) was outside the Orchomenos town hall.

Sunday 1st May 2011 (May Day) – Near Thisvi, Greece

The WiFi wasn't working this morning so I went down to reception to check on it. I used my many years of I.T. Knowledge to diagnose the fault and suggest a solution – switch the wireless router off and back on. Of course it worked and I was able to post the blog up to yesterday. During this time we had a chat with the campsite owners who had been running the campsite since 1983. They also said that many of the campsites between them and Athens had closed, including the Blue Bay campsite and the EOT (government run) campsite just down the road. Apparently the Blue Bay campsite was very good but it was run by three brothers who fell out with each other and it closed last year. We said goodbye and left with a free Greek campsite booklet (more comprehensive than our book) and a mini chocolate Easter egg each.
We intended to us a minor road that would take us south across the mountains but must have emerged too far west on the main road and missed the turn. We decided instead to use the main road
just west of Thermopylae and were travelling towards it along the main road quite happily when the road suddenly turned into a very wide dirt track. After a certain amount of confusion, we realised that if we continued along the dirt track we emerged on the eastbound carriageway of the motorway! We soon turned off south on the road towards Gravia and we climbed steadily up into the mountains. At Bralos we tuned east and passed signs to many archaeological sites, resisting the temptation to investigate. We cut off again on a minor road to Davlia before crossing the E692 and travelling through Distromo and on to Hosios Loukas.
All through this trip on lovely rural roads we saw people picking wild flowers. This is a tradition on May Day in Greece and the flowers are often made into a wreath that is hung on the front door of their houses. The wreath brings Spring's blessing to the house and is is left there until early June. As we approached Hosios Loukas we saw a family with their car bonnet covered in flowers that they had just collected. The woman was just creating her wreath from them and she waved and called out a greeting as we passed.
Hosios Loukas is a monastery and one of the best examples of Byzantine architecture in Greece. We came here over 30 years ago and remembered being impressed but we couldn't remember much more! The setting, surrounded by mountains is lovely and the architecture and frescoes are beautiful. We were able to enjoy it almost to ourselves, probably because everyone else was enjoying their May Day family meal. We had a picnic overlooking the site.
Returning a short distance we took a road that travelled down the fertile valley full of olive trees and vines below the monastery. On then using deserted roads to Kyriaki where we were encouraged to demolish some bunting (actually red and white roadwork tape) that was too low for the van. This was very lucky for us as we were then able to ask for directions to the next village, only to find that we needed to turn right (no signs at all) and had demolish some more bunting. Between here and Aghia Anna we passed, literally in the middle of nowhere in the mountains, we passed a park with a children's playground and temporary rides. Families were there picnicking and the children were enjoying the rides, all obviously celebrating May Day although I am sure that it is also very popular in the heat of summer.
We came to an amazing viewpoint just before Thisvi. Here the road descended in many curves down to the village far below. People had stopped their cars to admire the view and we couldn't resist the temptation to wild camp. Parking just off the road, we got out our chairs and had a drink whilst taking the view of the Gulf of Corinth, its many islands and the hazy Peloponnese beyond. Although the view was hazy, it was lovely. It must be a fantastic view when it is clear – make a note to return! Most of the people passing us (many of whom tooted their horns and waved) were in pick-up trucks, a sign of the agricultural nature of the area and one such truck passed us with two lads standing in the back holding on the roll-bar behind the cab. “Good evening” they called out as they passed and as they got to the bend one of the lads got out with his bicycle and set of to free-wheel down the hill. We watched him go – I measured it the next day as a fall of 500m over a distance of 6km (nearly 4 miles) – what great fun.
Photos: Hosios Loukas; Mosaic of Christ washing the feet of his disciples; Mosaic of Christ; Wild camping in Henrietta with her bouquet of May Day flowers.