Tuesday 22nd April 2008

Our plot at the campsite is on a terraced hill with a view of the acropolis of Ancient Asine that is positioned on the neighbouring hill between us and the sea. We walked down to the site entrance, beside the hill of the acropolis and on into Tolo. Two kilometres later we arrived at the small port of Tolo and the Hotel Minoa that we stayed in 25 years ago on our first visit here. It hadn't changed much, still up-market although more pretentious with its columned entrance and elaborate dining table and chair coverings. The charm however was still there with the entrance literally on the beach and nothing to spoil the view of the boats and the islands in the bay. We took a last minute holiday here when I desperately needed a break from working all hours (day, night and weekends) at Foster Yeoman. My very supportive director suggested that I took a break and it did me the power of good. Simon was still a baby and we have happy memories of sitting out on chairs on the beach in the evening directly below our open bedroom window, listening for any cries from Simon. He was a very good sleeper (once you could get him to sleep) and, although we checked him regularly, we were very rarely required. The Minoa was one of very few hotels in Tolo at the time but the town is much bigger now with many hotels and hundreds of rooms to rent. It was outside the Minoa that we saw an intriguing sight. A family drove on to the beach in their car (this was and is a common sight in Tolo where the beach is used as a road, providing the only access to some of the buildings), the father of the family got out and extracted a net from the boot. The net was circular with weights around the edge and, after inspecting the sea for a few minutes, he spun the net around and threw it into the sea. As it flew, it opened into a perfect circle and landed on the water. The man then waded out into the sea, which was very shallow, retrieved the net and emptied its contents into a bucket. He did this three times and with a considerable catch of small fish, he got back into the car and drove off. We decided that they were going off for a picnic and he had just caught their lunch in the space of less than 15 minutes. Very impressive.
We walked for a while along the beach and picked up supplies from a butcher, a small supermarket and a grocer. On returning to Henrietta, I put the pork in a marinade of lemon juice, oil, garlic and herbs – Souvlaki Hirini (Pork Kebabs) for dinner.
Photos: Tolo beach with a very over to one of the many islands in the bay; The fondly-remembered Hotel Minoa.

Monday 21st April 2008

We arrived at the car park at Mycenae to find four coaches and quite a few cars but there was plenty of room for Henrietta. This was our fifth visit to Mycenae but it has never lost its charm and the first view of it, the ruins crowded on a low hill surrounded by mountains, is quite magical. The depth of history here is incredible, occupied from 3,000 BC and with evidence from that date through many centuries. In 1350 BC the Cyclopean Walls (so called because later peoples believed that only a giant like Cyclops could have built them) were raised but a palace existed well before then. The walls are constructed of huge stones averaging 6 tonnes and remain very impressive to this day.
It seems that each time that we visit, more of the site is cordoned off and this time, being out of season, they were doing much work on the site. Walls were being consolidated by removing the rocks of the drystone wall and replacing them with mortar between. This was done using detailed photographs so that the walls were put back exactly as they had been. In another area the grass was being cut and the Grave Circle and the Megaron on the acropolis were both roped off for reasons known only to the guardians. Although this was initially a disappointment, in some ways it was an advantage as the constant stream of coaches were depositing a huge number of visitors who would have been climbing all over these areas. The nature of the site means that it is possible to look down on almost all of the roped-off areas and we were able to see them without them being covered in people.
Being a Monday, the museum didn't open until noon, but we were able to walk to the 'Treasury of Atreus' (dated to 1300 BC), also known as 'Agamemmon's Tomb'. Both of these are incorrect and it is actually the tomb of Atreus, the treasury tag was added because it was thought that King Atreus kept his treasure there. The tomb has a huge 120 foot dromos (entrance) leading to the beehive shaped tholos tomb that is 48 feet high and over 47 feet in diameter. There are nine such tombs at Mycenae but this is the largest and is the one that attracts all of the visitors, especially all of the coach trips. There are two other tholos tombs just inside the entrance to the main site but hardly any visitors find their way there.
We had noticed on the way to the tomb that there were now so many coaches in the car park that Henrietta was completely blocked in and when we passed by again on the way to the museum, even more coaches had crammed in. Despite the crowds, the museum was very good, well presented with good information boards in English. It is easy to think of Mycenae just as the acropolis and the Treasury of Atreus but the museum makes it clear that there were houses out side of the city walls and many of the finds come from cemeteries on the hills all around the city.
We drove on to Nafplio and stopped at the harbour for lunch, overlooking the sea and the island fort in the bay. Given the temperature (nearly 30°C again), we decided to drive on the few miles to Tolo and Camping Sunset. Here we got out our table and chairs and relaxed in the shade.
Photos: View of Mycenae with new excavations at the foot of the acropolis hill; Mycenae Grave Circle A; The golden death mask from the grave circle, part of the more than 14 kg of gold found there; The 'Treasury of Artreus' – you need to imagine the doorway with two green columns (in the Athens museum), two huge wooden doors and the triangle (a device for spreading the weight above the door to the sides) covered with a red marble plaque with spiral patterns (fragments in the British Museum). The stone slab over the doorway is huge and is estimated to weigh 119 tonnes.

Sunday 20th April 2008

I was woken at 07:00 by the sound of chiming from a local chapel. Before the churches could afford bells, the faithful were called to prayer by striking a suspended wooden plank with two wooden mallets. This is done in a rhythmic way and by hitting the plank in different areas, it produces different notes. The sound is very pleasant and it carries for a long distance. Later, the wooden plank was replaced with a metal plate and finally, when funds allowed, bells were installed. Monasteries and some rural village churches still use the old devices and it was the metal plate of a local chapel that we heard this morning sending out its rhythmic call. Jane slept through that but heard the second chiming from a different chapel at 07:30. At 08:30 the bells of the church singled the start of the Palm Sunday (or Greek Orthodox equivalent) service. Thoughtfully, for those that are unable to attend, loudspeakers are mounted outside the church and important services are broadcast on these to the whole of the village. I am tempted to say that the sound was of a dirge suitable for Holy Week but Greek Orthodox chanting always sounds like that, although it is actually quite pleasant and relaxing. So in this way we were treated to an hour of chanting over our breakfast.
We wanted to take a minor road over the mountains and past two archaeological sites but our map showed that part of the road was not asphalted and we were concerned that it would not be suitable for Henrietta. I asked about this at the taverna last night and they were very helpful, finding someone else who spoke English and also knew the road. He explained that it was all “good road” and gave us directions as to where to turn.
We drove back to the main road and, on our way to our first turning we passed a war memorial for 1940-48 erected in 1991 by Greek ex-patriots from Sydney, Australia. At the bottom of the memorial was a bomb stuck in the earth with a sign in Greek and English stating “This bomb is worthy of your spitting and if you have any sense at all don't use it”.
We were surrounded by mountains and soon after we turned off the main road, we started climbing. We soon arrived at Likouria where Ancient Likouria was also sited. However, we saw no sign to it or of it, so we decided to continue and then we really started climbing. I hardly got Henrietta out of second gear until we reached the pass. All of the time we had excellent views down over modern Likouria and probably ancient Likouria, although we didn't know where it was. When we went through the pass we were presented with a spectacular view of a huge plain hundreds of metres below us. This was the Pheneos valley and like Stymfalia that we were to visit later, it has interesting geology that means that part of it floods in the Spring when the mountain snows melt, creating a lake but the water then disappears down sink holes. In the case of Pheneos, the lake is fairly short-lived and there was no water visible when we were there. However the valley is very fertile and it was a sea of green crops interlaced with reddy-brown ploughed soil. We wound our way down the zig-zag road to the valley floor and headed round the edge to the village of Ancient Pheneos and a sign directing us to the site (0.5 km) and the museum (1 km). We arrived at the museum without seeing the site and found that the museum closed on Sundays. We then retraced our route on foot to find the site – if it was there, it was very well hidden. We gave up and set off again, only to find a sign to the site some 2 km outside the village in the opposite direction to the original sign! The excavated part of the site was very small but had an interesting history being an important site for the worship of Hermes.
We moved on towards Stymfalia, crossing over another pass that provided views of both valleys. Stymfalia has a permanent lake but it increases significantly in Spring and, like Pheneos, much of the lake disappears down sink holes. If the sink holes become blocked (this has happened in living memory), it can cause serious floods. On the other hand, if there is little Winter rain, the lake can disappear. This happened for two years in 1997 and 1998, but when the lake returned, it had good-sized fish and marine life in it. This has lead scientists to the conclusion that there must be underground reservoirs of water that the fish were in but they have not been able to locate them. We stopped at a large lay-by overlooking the lake and, walking out on to the edge of the hill, we discovered that we were on the acropolis of Ancient Stymfalia. There were remains of a building (temple?) on the acropolis and evidence of the rest of the city lay on the hill and lower ground surrounding it. We had lunch looking over the lake, listening to the cacophony of frogs and birds in the lake. The ancient Greeks believed that the Gods controlled the flooding and that the people were being punished, for example by Artemis for not observing her worship properly. Now flooding is attributed to earthquakes or human error.
We drove on to Nemea only to find that it closed at 15:00 and we arrived at 16:00. Luckily, one of the custodians took pity on us and let us in to look at the site. Please keep this quiet, I don't want to get her into trouble!
After spending 15 minutes going in the wrong direction, we turned around and headed for Mycenae. We found the campsite (Camping Atreus) chose a plot and settled in. By chants (sic) we found ourselves near another church (not difficult in Greece) and the evening service started with the loudspeaker broadcast of the priest. It had been another glorious day and the temperature had reached 27-28°C and, with the evening temperature a very pleasant 22-23°C, we decided to cook and eat outside. Whilst we dined on barbecued pork chops, we listened to the chanting from the the church mixed with the sound of the little owls hunting – amazingly atmospheric.
Photos: Beehives near Stymfalia – honey is very important to the Greeks and mountain honey is particularly prized. This is honey production on a large scale!; Stymfalia lake from the acropolis of ancient Stymfalia.

Saturday 19th April 2008

Happy Birthday to me
Happy Birthday to me
Martin is fifty three
Happy Birthday to me
Just think yourselves lucky that you don't have to listen to me singing it!
We woke and I was greeted by “Happy Birthday Martin – you are as old as me now” from Jane. I think that it should have been “as young as me”, but there we go.
The saying is that one should “beware Greeks baring gifts” but I have rarely found this to be the case. Tackling Manolis, the campsite owner, and asking him whether he wanted any money for our stay, he insisted that he didn't and wished us a good stay in Greece. In return we wished him good luck for the completion of his work and for his first major test of the season, Easter, next weekend.
We took the old national road West along the coast, turning inland on the road to Kalavrita and started the long climb up into the mountains. The scenery was spectacular and we started to see shepherds and flocks of sheep and goats. When we stopped to admire the view, the sound of their bells drifted over the mountain and also the sound of the shepherd whistling. Some of the shepherds had dogs to control the sheep and goats but most didn't, just using whistles to direct the flock. Having read 'Driving over Lemons' by Chris Stewart, it appears that Spanish (or at least Alpajuran) shepherds do exactly the same. It makes me wonder how long it takes the sheep and goats to learn the meaning of the whistles. I don't think of them being as intelligent as a dog and there are a lot to train. Back on the road, driving through the flocks became quite common, with some proving quite difficult to move. Mind you, I didn't try whistling, perhaps that would have worked?
Our first stop was the oldest monastery in Greece, Mega Spileo (Big Cave). The monastery was founded in 362 AD at the spot where a shepherdess (Saint Efrosyni) noticed that one of her goats disappeared and returned later with a wet beard. She was directed by the voice of the Virgin Mary and discovered the holy spring in the cave and next to it an icon of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. We were told that the icon, in wax and mastic, was 2,000 years old, which is interesting as it meant that, as experts tell us that Jesus was actually born in 4 AD, that would make Jesus 4 years old! However, we read later that tradition says that it dates from 40 AD, is the work of the disciple Luke and is the first icon showing the Virgin Mary. It is also said that the Virgin Mary actually blessed the icon. You can imagine that all of this makes the monastery very important in the Greek Orthodox world. It is a fascinating place with beautiful views over the mountains and valley. We didn't have to pay an entrance fee, so I decided that we should buy something from the shop. We chose a tiny copy of the famous icon for €1.50 (for Jane to stick on the wall of the motorhome) and, as it was my birthday and Jane couldn't object, I bought an incredibly naff and very roughly made mug. It was either made in the monastery or the local asylum – the quality of the pottery is terrible and the painting on the mug is just awful. A great Greek souvenir!
The story of a discovered spring and a miraculous icon is a recurrent theme in Greece. Springs were often sacred sites in ancient Greek times, being a source of life-sustaining water that appears mysteriously from the ground. With the spread of Christianity, it was necessary to remove pagan worship whilst maintaining some continuity. Therefore at many such sacred sites, springs were (re-)discovered and icons miraculously appeared allowing them to become sites for Christian worship. This is also the reason why many Greek mountain and hill tops have a white Christian chapel perched on the top, normally named Profitis Ilias, an adaptation of Helios, the sun god.
There appeared to be some interesting marked walks in the area but we decided to move on to our next stop, the village of Kalavrita. This was the site of a appalling massacre in the Second World War when on December 13th 1943, in revenge for the death of 4 German soldiers, the Nazis gathered the entire male population of the village together and shot them. Over 1,200 men and boys died and it was only the actions of an Austrian soldier that saved the women and children. The Nazis had locked them in the church and set it on fire but when the troops were leaving the village, the soldier broke ranks and went back to unlock the church. Kalavrita, together with many other villages in the area where other massacres of men took place, became a village of widows and children. One can imagine the hardship and poverty that this caused. There is now a museum in the village dedicated to the horrors of war and we visited the memorial to the dead that is sited on the hillside above the village. It is a very moving memorial with the names and ages of the dead listed and a shrine full of brass lamps dedicated to them.
After visiting the Internet café in the town and collecting many 'happy birthday' emails, we drove on past the signs to the ski resort but decided to change our original plan of reaching Lake Stymfalia – this would have meant rushing the journey and we wanted to enjoy it. Jane had read about an interesting village called Planitero, which was only a short distance off our route. Planitero has a generous supply of fast flowing water and trout and this has lead to a number of restaurants being established. There were no campsites in the area and we needed somewhere to stay. There were places to wild camp but I decided to throw ourselves on the mercy of a restaurant owner on the basis of 'we will have a meal here if you allow us to park overnight'. We selected the nicest looking restaurant with space to park Henrietta and I asked the question. It worked a treat, we parked up close to the river on the edge of the village and went off to investigate it. We passed a working watermill where the miller showed us the two millstones and a place for cleaning rugs (as the guidebook said) or perhaps, more likely, fulling where the water shot down a metal pipe into a wood-lined hole. The mill wheels are mounted horizontally under the millstones and the water falling at force from above hits the blades of the wheel that are set at an oblique angle. The direct connection of the wheel to the stones allows for no gearing and must require a considerable force of water. The miller spoke no English but I was able to ask for some flour after checking that it was suitable for bread. All I have to do now is find time to use it!
After watching a dozen herds of goats and sheep returning to the village with their shepherds – young, old, male and female – we decide that it was time to eat. The taverna that we had chosen had its own trout ponds and, as we sat on a balcony overlooking them and the river, we watched locals coming to buy trout. They would be fished out of the pond with a net, put onto the scales and then into a blue carrier bag. The purchaser would then walk off with the wriggling plastic bag slung over his shoulder. Meanwhile we chose our food, sipped at the litre of local white wine and drank glasses of clear mountain water. I chose one of my all-time favourite Greek dishes – Gigantes – giant white beans cooked in a tomato sauce. Jane chose Tzatziki (yoghurt, cucumber and garlic dip) and we both dug into each other's dishes. For the main course it had to be trout – Jane chose it fried with mountains of almonds whilst I had it baked in a hot oven with peppers, horta (mountain greens), onions, carrots, courgettes and lots of olive oil. The Greek salad that came with it had no olives (unusual in Greece) but had lashings of olive oil. We chatted to the waitress after the meal and she told us that it was traditional in the village to serve all dishes with lots of olive oil – a real luxury these days given the high price of the oil. A fantastic meal in a lovely location and overnight parking and all for £24! We walked the 20 metres back to Henrietta and fell asleep to the sound of the bubbling mountain stream and the low rumble of the water cascading into the trout ponds.
This was the first birthday that I can remember having without any birthday cards or formal presents. However, I can't think of a better present than what I had today – on the Odyssey with Jane, in a Greek mountain village, enjoying a lovely meal on a gloriously warm Spring evening. Simply magical.
Photos: Mega Spelio Monastery in its dramatic setting; Goats on the route; Kalavrita – the shrine to those murdered by the Nazis; The miller at Planitaro.

Friday 18th April 2008

We decided to have a relaxing day today to get into the Greek way of life with a walk into the local village later. However, we got so relaxed that we never did make it to the village. The building work on the café behind us gave us lots of entertainment with the arrival of the mixer lorry and the pouring of the concrete being the highlight. We chatted at great length with the two American ladies, Pat and Sandy who were very easy-going and conversation flowed effortlessly. We invited them over for a drink later and then got down to the job of more relaxing.
After a Greek salad for lunch, I spent quite some time getting my blog up to date on the laptop. Then we sat down in the sun to plan the next few days before we were due to meet up with Glenn and Venice. After that, we sat and studied the sea. The mountains over the other side of the Gulf of Corinth were very misty but we watched the 1cm waves lapping against the shore. The sea was as flat as glass with no breeze to disturb it but when a distant ship passed on its way to the Corinth Canal, the waves increased dramatically to 2cm. Perhaps, by observing the ships and the wave height, I could work out how long it took for the wake of the ships to reach the shore? On the other hand, I could just sit and relax – I chose the latter. This really is a hard life!
Pat and Sandy joined us and I served them with a lovely chilled Italian white wine that turned out to be red – I was obviously too relaxed and I hadn't even had a drink at that stage! For the second year, Pat and Sandy had flown from the USA with their two cats, bought a secondhand motorhome in Holland and driven down to Greece. Preparations also involved a 2,000 mile drive across America to leave their two dogs for six months with a very good friend. Last year they drove down through Albania, which sounded like a great adventure but this year they caught the ferry from Venice to Patras. With the Dollar so weak and the price of oil so high, they had found everything much more expensive this year. The motorhome purchase was an intriguing arrangement where the company guaranteed to purchase the vehicle back at an agreed percentage of the purchase price depending on the time that they kept it (65% after six months, 60% after twelve months etc.). The water pump stopped working yesterday and I suggested that it might be a fuse. However, without any vehicle manual, they had no idea where the fuses were. We set out with a torch, disturbed the cats and eventually found the fuses cunningly hidden behind a flap in the glove box. Sure enough a 10 amp fuse had blown but it was a different design to the spares that I had, so Pat and Sandy will buy some spares tomorrow and we hope that that cures the problem.
On the way back to Henrietta Jane and I stopped to look at that view across the Gulf whilst we waited for Pat and Sandy. The sea was still like a millpond and then I thought that I saw a dolphin. I rushed back to van to get the binoculars and as we watched we saw more and more dolphins leaping as they made their way across the Gulf – magical. After the entertainment had finished, we all moved back to Henrietta and a evening of very pleasant conversation followed.
Photos: Our pitch at Camping Akrata Beach; Pat and Sandy enjoying their unusual Italian white wine.

Thursday 17th April 2008

At 02:30 we heard the sound of the securing chains being removed from the lorries and the changing sound of the ships engines told us that we were approaching Igounamitsa. Soon the deck was full of the noise of lorry engines and the shouts of the deckhands as they directed the reversing lorries and positioned them to take the ramp down to the deck below and out on to the quay. This was achieved surprisingly quickly and, after a quick glance at Igounamitsa out of Henrietta's window, we were able to settle back to sleep.
We woke to the daylight and opened the shutters to see the mainland drifting past. All of the lorries on the other side had gone and we were able to see islands passing on the other side. It was very hazy and the mountains on the mainland looked as if they were cloaked in smoke.
As we approached the port of Patras we got a rather hazy view of the Rio – Antirio bridge, a marvellous engineering achievement that connects, over the Gulf of Corinth, the north-west tip of the Peloponnese with the south-west tip of Northern Greece. I had no idea that the bridge existed until we were flying back from Athens after a holiday and I looked down at the scenery. I recognised the Gulf of Corinth and saw what I thought was Rio and Antirio but they were joined. Once we got home, the wonders of the Internet allowed me to establish that it was a new bridge that had only just been opened.
We left the port and headed towards Corinth, getting a better view of the Rio – Antirio bridge on the way. We stopped off at Diakopto, parked at the harbour and wandered into the town. Diakopto has a narrow-gauge railway that links it with Kalivrita high up in the mountains behind. Many years ago we had stayed in Kalivrita and had walked down the railway line through the gorge, a recognised footpath. The gorge is beautiful and walking this way gives wonderful views with glimpses of the sea. The walk involves many stretches over bridges and through tunnels and it is important to have the train timetable with you so that you can avoid the trains. The gorge is very narrow in places and the water rushes down below the railway lines and under the bridges. We really enjoyed that walk and we wanted to repeat it, however we found that the line was closed but, in typically Greek fashion, there were no signs to say so and we had to ask. A lady in the waiting room then explained that the line had been closed for one year and was not due to open again until October. Fires had damaged the railway in Spring 2007 but the main problem was that the tunnels had to be widened to accommodate new rolling stock. We found out later that the work should have been completed earlier this month but the deadline had been extended by 6 months – so, it is not only England where railway repairs overrun! We realised that we could catch a bus and still do the walk down the gorge but, when we enquired, we were told that parts were blocked and there was no way around them. I highly recommend the walk to anyone who reads this but leave it until October 2008 or, if they are still working on Greek time, Spring 2009. We will have to return at a later date – any excuse to visit Greece!
After getting supplies for Horiatiki (Greek salad - cucumber, tomatoes, olives and the wonderful feta cheese) and picking up two Spanokopita (spinach pies), we returned to Henrietta for lunch. We headed for a campsite that we had identified just a little further along the coast – Camping Akrata Beach. We knew that we were in Greece as there was a complete absence of signs and it was only when we went well past, turned around and headed back that we spotted some very faded signs. We arrived at the site and were greeted by a man who bid us “welcome” with a broad smile and a handshake. He then said that the site was actually closed but that wasn't a problem because we could stay for free, “Things are simple in Greece”, he explained. So, we drove down to the end of the site and parked with the only other guests, two American ladies in a Dutch motorhome, 4m from the sea with a pebble beach between. The view beyond was the Gulf of Corinth with the mountains of Northern Greece beyond – perfect.
The owner of the campsite had being doing a lot of work over the Winter, building a new café / bar and demolishing and rebuilding the shower block. It looked very professional but was not yet complete, hence the fact that he had not officially opened. He had to be ready next week, before the Easter weekend and they were working all hours to achieve it. They had just connected the electricity today and he was confident that they would have hot water and showers tomorrow.
Photos: Arriving at Patras; The harbour at Diakopto.

Wednesday 16th April 2008

Today was principally about getting to Brindisi to catch the ferry. However, we didn't have to be there until 17:00 and the journey was only one and a half hours, so we were able to have a very relaxed morning that included long showers basking in the glorious waterfall of hot water in our private bathroom without the concern of using too much water or running out of hot. When we paid the bill, it came to €17, including electricity and private bathroom – a real bargain and €1 per night cheaper than the basic, but pleasant, Camping Nameste that we stayed at the two nights before. Jane plotted a route via an abbey (Santa Maria di Cerrate) and we called in just as it was closing. The custodian kindly let me in for a quick look around the small abbey church and museum. The church (no photographs allowed) was intriguing – my guess is that it had partially collapsed and been rebuilt. On one side it had faded frescoes that had been deliberately chipped in order to roughen the surface so that plaster could be applied. The other frescoes on the same wall had almost certainly been covered with plaster. The opposite wall had random pieces of frescoes that were in excellent condition, much brighter colours but, as a whole, they didn't make any sense. I then noticed that many of the pieces were upside down. The wall had probably collapsed (earthquake?) and then reassembled without any regard for the original fresco. I guess that the intention was to plaster all of the walls and therefore there was no need to take any account of the frecoes. The museum, with more preserved frescoes and a folk museum section was also good but I only had a very short time to look at it.
This area has its own version of Truli-like dwellings, stone built without mortar and we saw many of them scattered around in the fields. They are more like the original Truli buildings, generally low to the ground and lacking the sophistication of the multi-Truli complexes. We were told that they were used as very basic farmhouses and were now either abandoned or used for storage. There was one of these buildings, together with a large covered well complex near to the abbey and almost certainly connected with it.
We stopped at a hypermarket in Lecce and stocked up with typically Italian food and drinks before continuing to the port. We wanted to top up with LPG because we knew that it would be difficult to get hold of if Greece and it had been three weeks since we had last filled up. We had seen quite a few fuel stations that stocked LPG as we travelled through the south of Italy but, of course, we didn't find any today. We arrived at the port at 15:30 to be told that we were too early to check in but we were able to ask about LPG and were directed to a garage 2 miles down the road. Unfortunately, they had run out of gas but directed us to another garage further on. This time we were successful and now had enough gas to last us approximately 50 days – enough time to find a source in Greece, we hope.
We collected our tickets and drove into the port. We had purchased 'Camping on Board' tickets that allowed us to park the motorhome on an open deck and stay in it during the voyage. At €201 (£160) it wasn't cheap but we didn't have to pay for a cabin that we would otherwise have needed for the 16 hour crossing. We were directed to park as we would have to wait for most of the vehicles to be loaded before we could take up our appointed position. I never cease to be amazed at how many lorries can be fitted into ferries like this. Large articulated lorries, some with trailers, tankers, vans, four coaches and a very few cars arrived, parked and were then called forward for loading. They all disappeared into the ferry's mouth, mostly backwards and were swallowed. As more and more arrived and disappeared, we began to think that there wouldn't be enough space for us. At last, we were called as the first of the motorhomes because we were going to Patras and the others were going on the shorter crossing to Igounamitsa. We were placed next to large holes on the side wall of the deck giving us excellent views out to sea and the other motorhomes were positioned on our inside. The last of the lorries filled the deck obscuring our view out of the other side of the ship.
We went to investigate the ferry and came across the four coach loads of 16-18 year old students finding their cabins and inspecting everyone else's. We were glad that we weren't staying in those cabins – very little sleep was going to be had! We found the 'Deck Bar', equipped with very comfortable cane furniture including a couple of cushioned settees, one of which we occupied. We sat with our first, but certainly not our last, ouzo in Greece and watched the entertainment. This consisted of a constant stream of students coming up the stairs, through the bar and out onto the deck. Random and posed photographs were taken and in one case a video camera was used to record the whole trip, which must have produced a riveting spectacle! We saw some groups many times and then there were individuals,separated from their group, obviously trying to find them again. Fascinating – Jane was in people-watching heaven!
Then it was time for the ferry to leave and we were able to watch from outside the bar as the sun set and Brindisi faded into the distance. We went back to Henrietta and had tea whilst we rocked gently with the motion of the sea.
Photos: Poppies on the way to the abbey; The Tulo-type building next to the abbey; Sunset leaving Brindisi.

Tuesday 15th April 2008

We were 'down at heel' today, passing through Lecce, heading east to the coast and on down the back of the heel to the very south east tip of the Italian boot. We travelled through flat land with huge olive groves similar to those in Greece, with apparently randomly scattered, old, large trees rather than the Spanish smaller trees, planted in neat rows. Spring has really arrived here with carpets of bright yellow flowers covering the floor under the trees and, where the ground had been disturbed, mixed with tall, vivid red poppies. The sea was a lovely, dark blue but in the shallows turned into a beautiful turquoise and looked very inviting. We came across the 'Grotte Basiliane' at Rocca Vecchia' where there were complexes of sea caves and, in the 8th century AD, people had built many houses by digging into the soft rock along the shore line. These houses were very close to the sea and must have been very exposed in the Winter storms. All along this stretch, the shore line was rocky and the land started flat and low-lying but later, higher land created sea cliffs and better views. This coast is the closest to Greece and was settled extensively by the Greeks in ancient times although there is very little evidence of it now. There are however many towers and castles scattered along the coast, a reminder of the turbulent times that the inhabitants went through, being attacked by a string of foreign invaders.
Capo Santa Maria di Leuca, also known as Finibus Terrae (Land's End), is where the Adriatic and Ionian seas meet and is the south eastern tip of Italy. It is also where Peter is said to have landed in Italy to spread the word of God. As such, you will not be surprised to learn that there is a large church there. The first church was built in 343 on the site of a Greek temple to Minerva which was said to have crumbled when Peter appeared. Call me a cynic, but I suspect that it crumbled when the locals took it apart to build the church! The church was destroyed several times during Turkish raids but always rebuilt on the same spot. The church that we saw was the sixth on the site and dates to 1720 but in the first half of the 18th century, in order to protect it from frequent pirate attacks, it was fortified with towers and drawbridges. The stonework of the church had just been cleaned and a huge amount of work was being done on the very large courtyard in front of the church. It was no great surprise when we found a poster announcing that the Pope was to pay a visit in June this year.
Once we turned the corner and headed west along the south-facing coast, everything changed. The land became flat, sandy beaches replaced the rocks and the very calm sea of the east coast was replaced with large waves, whipped up by the strong wind, painting the coastline white.
We meandered our way along this coast to Galipoli where we knew that there should be an open campsite. Galipoli (not the infamous Turkish town in the Dardanelles) was called Kallipoli in Greek times and, being in a strategic position, was attacked many times over the years, including the Normans in 1071, the Venetians in 1484 and the British in 1809. However, we only intended to invade the campsite and we actually received a warm welcome at what turned out to be the most sophisticated site that we have stayed a so far. A very large open-air swimming pool complex was open and ready for use although there was nobody using it, probably because the water was freezing cold. And this was a first, we were presented with the key to our own private bathroom with toilet, bidet, washbasin, shower and constant hot water! Real luxury!
Photos: The Basiliane Grotto with the remains of a rock-cut house and, yes, the sea really was that colour; A collapsed sea cave at Basiliane Grotto with the peninsula and fortification behind. The water was very deep in the collapsed cave and was obviously used for swimming and diving in the Summer; The church of Santa Maria di Leuce at the Italian Land's End; The rough south-facing coast just west of Land's End.

Monday 14th April 2008

I woke to a very strange sound. Through the haze of sleep it sounded for all the world like a child playing a kazoo. As I came to, it became clearer – it was a child using a kazoo to make the sound of a cockerel. No, it was a cockerel with a crow impediment! How could that handsome-looking, proud cockerel that I had seen yesterday make a sound like that? I imagined the hens looking up at their master, hearing him crow and all falling about laughing. I couldn't get out of my head the image of the hens rolling about in the dust, holding their sides, aching with laughter whilst the haughty cockerel crowed with his kazoo pointing up to the sky.
Shortly after that small local trains went in both directions on the railway line and the campsite dog started barking, so that was the end of sleep. Still, it wasn't too early and we had no noise during the night, so a good night's sleep was had by all.
Today we wanted to explore Lecce, so we caught the bus from the bottom of the lane and arrived shortly afterwards in the centre of the town. Lecce is the largest town in the heel of Italy and, with its university and attractive architecture, it is surprisingly sophisticated. We found half of a Roman amphitheatre in one of the main squares (the other half is under an important church) and, close by, a rather forlorn Roman theatre with a very small but interesting museum displaying sculptures and mosaics from the theatre and amphitheatre. You won't be surprised to hear that Lecce was a Greek settlement that was later taken over by the Romans.
However, the main attraction of Lecce is the architecture, specifically the baroque architecture. In the 17th century the whole of the city decided to give the buildings a baroque make-over. We have seen huge amounts of baroque architecture in Italy and it has normally appeared over-the-top, heavy and very grey. This architecture was certainly over-the-top but, crafted in golden sandstone, it had a much lighter touch. The star of the show was the Santa Croce church with its front covered in intricate carvings that mix the religious with the pagan – I spotted a green man, earth goddess, Hercules, Romulus and Remus in addition to many mythical beasts. We turned the corner to be confronted by the façade and let out a collective “Wow”. There were many other examples of lovely architecture and we had to remember to look up as we wandered around the streets.
Opposite Santa Croce we found a small shop with a couple of Internet terminals and we were able to book our ferry crossing to Greece for Wednesday. We had tentatively arranged to spend Greek Easter (27th April) with our friends Glenn and Venice who have bought a house in the Peloponnese. We were able to email Glenn to say that we had booked our ferry and were delighted to receive the response that we were still welcome. We are looking forward very much to seeing them again.
That night we had the campsite to ourselves including the only shower cubicle containing two showers. However, they were very basic and we opted for our our luxury on-suite facilities.
Photos: The church of Santa Croce in Lecce; Detail of the Santa Croce façade with the Green Man and earth goddess.

Sunday 13th April 2008

We wanted to see more of the Truli and took the recommendation of the campsite owner to take the minor road to Martina Tranca and from there to Locorotondo and Fusano. We saw hundreds of Tuli dwellings on this route and it was clear that they were extremely common over a very large area. Many were still in use as farm outbuildings, farmhouses and normal houses with little evidence of the holiday homes that were common in Alberobello.
We continued north to the coast at Savelletri and the archaeological site of Egnazia – yes, yet another pre-Greek / Greek / Roman and, this time, mediaeval site. The were a number of interesting parts of this site. The 4th century BC underground chamber tombs with stone steps leading down to large doors that protected the entrance to a large underground chamber tomb, often consisting of more than one room and with painted plaster walls. These were reminiscent of, but not as elaborate as, the Mycenaean chamber tombs. There was also an intact 'cryptoporticus', an intriguing underground structure. Imagine a cloister dug out of the ground but with the central courtyard left unexcavated. This leaves you with four long, wide corridors forming a square and these corridors where then covered with a barrel vault that was at ground level. We saw a smaller example of a cryptoporticus at Velia (see 3rd April 2008) and this was below a building thought to have been used for cult worship. The information board at Egnazia simply said that it had been used for a number of purposes including a public warehouse for food storage. I assume that, as the building was underground, it would have cool and therefore helped to preserve the food. The other interesting area was the coastline close to the Acropolis where tombs had been dug into the rock on the shoreline. Libation pits were also in evidence with the circular depressions connected to tombs by channels. Some of these tombs have subsequently been covered, which gave an interesting appearance, a cross between a cemetery and rock pools. Jane was very impressed by the sign on the site that stated “'Snake-A-Way' repellent treated area to get away snakes. Nevertheless, pay attention”. Jane paid a lot of attention and wondered whether she could buy some 'Snake-A-Way' for future use.
We then turned inland to follow a straight-as-a-die (must be Roman?) road to the outskirts of Lecce where we found our campsite 'Nameste' that is also an organic farm. With a vocal campsite dog, three more with campers nearby, a free-roaming cockerel with harem (no eggs available – “too cold”), a little owl hooting as it hunted around us and with a shiny railway track running, slightly elevated, right next to the site, prospects of a good night's sleep did not seem good.
Photos: A country Truli house with a vineyard in front – the painted symbols are traditional and have Christian, pagan or magical meanings. Unfortunately, this symbol was not in our guide, so I can't tell you what it means; One of my favourite of all of the Truli that we saw – a genuine rural Truli complex with steps up to the roof and access to the cistern outside the door. This shows how little light would be let in, so the walls of the rooms were painted white to help but it must have been still have been very dim. Sewing and knitting was done sat on the seats outside as it was too dark inside; Inside the cryptoporticus at Egnazia; The rock-cut tombs on the shoreline below the acropolis at Egnazia.

Saturday 12th April 2008

We decided to have a totally relaxed day today and didn't leave the campsite, in fact we didn't stray more that a few yards from Henrietta.
I made some bread – a malted brown loaf and an olive spiral loaf, made by rolling out the dough quite thinly, covering it with sliced black olives and then rolling it back up. I used to make all of our bread at home but this was only the second time that I had made it on the Odyssey. It was great to feel the springy dough between my fingers and smell that wonderful aroma as the bread was baking.
We had the olive bread for tea with ham and cheese, an ideal combination and it was good to have some some more bread with more substance after all of the very pleasant but very holey Italian bread. Not that I am complaining about Italian bread as we have actually had some excellent bread of many types: wood oven cooked; olive bread; with added maize flour, giving a yellow colour and on one occasion (the only time that we have seen it), wholemeal rolls. With the exception of the wholemeal rolls, it has always been white bread and, almost invariably, full of holes.
I had enquired about Internet access and had been told that I would be able to connect my laptop but this proved not to be the case. I had to use their computer but the Internet connection wasn't working. After trying for some time, I was on the point of giving up when the owner arrived and explained that the connection had stopped working that morning. They were trying to contact their technical support when it burst into life and I was able to update the blogs, check emails and download lots of those wonderful BBC podcasts. It is great to be able to keep in contact with British life by listening to news, current affairs (From Our Own Correspondent, Crossing Continents), financial programmes (Money Box, In Business) and lifestyle programs (Excess Baggage, Ramblings with Clare Balding) and last, but by no means least, The Archers.
Whilst I was on the Internet, the owner told us that there was going to be a dance that night in their very impressive hall and, as campers, we were entitled to free entrance. It sounded interesting. So, at 21:40, just after it had started, I went out to find out what it was like. I got as far as 50m from the hall, heard the electronic organ playing ancient dance music and turned back.
Photos: Bread of the Day – Malted Brown and Olive Spiral.

Friday 11th April 2008

The first Truli houses were built in 1400 and were simple conical buildings consisting of a single room and built entirely of dry stone without mortar. It is said that the Count of Alberobello, Gian Girolamo Acquaviva D'Argona (what a name!) had the idea of building them this way in order to avoid paying a punitive housing tax to the King of Naples. When the royal authorities arrived they simply took the house apart, although reconstruction must have taken some time. From about 1600 the cone was mounted on a square of walls thus creating a more spacious living area. Alcoves were added for bedrooms and larger structures were built incorporating a number of Truli cones to provide a multi-room house. The stipulation of dry construction was also relaxed and some two storey buildings were built. Although the largest concentration of Truli buildings in Alberobello (over 1000 in the Rione Monti area) are given over to tourism (shops, restaurants, bars, holiday homes), many hundreds of others in the town are still lived in by local people.
We walked the 2 km into the centre of the town and did a tour of all of the Truli areas and, as you will see from the photographs, they were very impressive. During the walk back we spotted a wine museum and decided to take a look. It was well laid out with sections on rural life, the Truli dwellings, viticulture and wine and all with English explanations. The visit was concluded with a brief tasting of their wines, very good but not cheap.
Photos: A terrace of Truli; Truli roofs in the Rione Monti area; The Sovereign Trulo built for a priest in the 18th century and is a very unusual two storey structure built without mortar; One of the Truli still lived in by the locals.

Thursday 10th April 2008

We set off for our next destination, Alberobello, but wanted to call in at Montescagliioso recommended by the lady from the Metaponto museum. There is not much to say about Montescaglioso except that it has a very pretty old town and, being set on a high hill, it has fantastic views over the surrounding countryside. We didn't see the former because there was nowhere to park and we were in danger of getting caught in the small lanes, so we opted for a tactical retreat. We did see some of the views as we descended the hill.
I always imagined the far south of Italy to be rocky, barren and mountainous but it continued to surprise. Yes there are some stony hillsides but our journey today was through quiet roads over green rolling hills. Derelict farmhouses, probably of subsistence farmers, littered the landscape and were now surrounded by huge fields of wheat.
One of the joys of travelling is finding the unexpected. I had been intrigued by many places on the map not marked as towns or villages but with a different symbol and all named as Masseria ..... We came across one of these as we drove, being first struck by the architecture of the small hamlet with one very large, arched building and houses nearby with a tower amongst them. When we stopped by them we discovered that the hamlet was Masseria Jesce dating to the 14th century and there was also an archaeological site dating to the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC. We would have liked to stop to investigate the village but it was down a dirt track and there was nowhere to park Henrietta on the asphalted road. Jane subsequently read that a Messeria was a cooperative commune often originally associated with a monastery – this obviously explained the large arched building that we had seen.
Although there was no mention of it our guidebooks or any other literature that we had seen, there was an archaeological site shown on our map that was on our route, so we decided to take a look. Monte Sunnace was obviously a major site with a fence surrounding it and two coaches parked in the very small car park. I squeezed Henrietta into a space and we went to investigate. The first thing that we found was that the gates were all locked and there was a sign in four languages explaining that you needed to obtain a ticket from the castle in the nearby large town. We didn't know the location of the castle and had no desire to drive around the town trying to find it and a parking place. As luck would have it, a school party were just leaving and the gates opened as they approached them. We decided to slip in and throw ourselves on the mercy of the custodian. It worked! In Italian, he explained that we needed a ticket but was happy for us to visit and get a ticket later, at least that is what we think he said. We spent a very pleasant hour wandering around the extensive site where there was much evidence of recent excavation. It had been occupied from Neolithic times but continuous occupation only started in the 9th century BC. It had been a Greek city but, after the Roman takeover, it declined in importance and was abandoned between the 1st century BC and 1st century AD. Very little happened to it after that, so the remains (almost entirely low level) are well preserved.
On then to the campsite at Alberobello ready for our visit to the Truli dwellings tomorrow.
Photos: An interesting house with plenty of space to catch the breeze during those very hot summers. The gates were chained and secured with a huge padlock and it was quite obvious that it had not been used for some time; Masseria Jesce – the monastery.

Wednesday 9th April 2008

Even though we are very interested in archaeology, we have nearly had enough of Greek / Roman sites and museums. However the museum and Metaponto was recommended and so we thought that we should pay it a quick visit. It was very good, although there were no English translations and its highlights were some exquisitely painted pottery and beautiful jewellery, including a gold earring depicting a tiny Eros(?) sat on a dolphin carved from garnet(?). We then called in at the nearby site to find that it was officially closed but a woman who worked at the museum was there taking photographs and allowed us in. She was very enthusiastic, talkative and helpful and passed on website and email details for us to obtain further information. The first thing that I noticed when we parked the motorhome was a viewing platform. I have been saying for many years that many archaeological sites should have these as it makes interpretation of the site so much easier. This one was a large, purpose-built erection and would have comfortably held a coach load of people allowing a guide to point out the layout of the site. Having said all of that, other sites would benefit much more from a viewing platform than this one did. They also had a good two large notice boards showing a plan of the site and, most useful (and unusual) interpretations of the likely appearance of the site at four different periods of its development.
We plotted a route to our next destination, Matera, via the Temple of Hera that was a couple of kilometres outside Metaponto. The temple has been reconstructed but looked very impressive in its position overlooking the valley of the river Bradano. Pythagoras was said to have lived in Metaponto and, after he died, his house and school were said to have been incorporated into the temple. However the information board, in rather extraordinary English, suggested that this was not possible as the temple had already fallen into disuse before Pythagoras's time.
Matera is famous for its Sassi dwellings. Man has lived in cave dwellings in this area from Prehistoric times right up to the 1950's. Many of the houses visible today date back to mediaeval times and the way of living changed little over those years. Houses consisted of a cave entrance leading into a living room / kitchen / bedroom (often combined) with a stable down steps further into the hillside and a cellar and store down a further fight of steps. In this way, the warmth generated by the animals provided heat for the house in the cold months. Families with many children lived in the houses with the children sharing their parent's bed. The houses were evacuated
in the mid 1950's due to the health problems associated with cramped living conditions, damp, poor sanitary arrangements and the close proximity of the animals. We visited a folk museum in one of the caves that gave an excellent illustration (with a commentary in English) of the way that the people lived. We were the only people in the museum until a large party of Japanese arrived – we left! We were also able to visit two Sassi churches and a convent that were intricately carved out of the hill and painted with frescoes.
We had planned to stay in a camperstop at the castle in Matera but found the car park closed. With difficulty, we established that the new camperstop was in the car park near the station in the centre of the town. Unfortunately, rather that the quiet surroundings of the castle area we were now going to be by the railway and with traffic close by. As it turned out, the railway ran under the car park out of hearing and the traffic noise was not too bad.
Photos: Beautifully painted Hydria from Metaponto depicting two women with Eros (2nd half of 4th century BC); Hera Temple at Metaponto with priestess (not Vestal Virgin) taking the traditional 3 hour Italian lunch break; Metera's Sassi dwellings including the Convent of Saint Anthony although the only way that you can spot it is by looking for the people in the middle of the picture; Sassi house with a view from the stable up towards the living quarters; A Lesser Kestrel (we think) – one of about 40 that were flying over the Sassi dwellings of Matera.

Tuesday 8th April 2008

The site was OK and was quiet overnight but the toilets and showers weren't great. However they were good value at €11, the cheapest in Italy by some margin.
By the end of today we would have had enough of archaeology, with visits planned to three sites that I had circled on the Michelin map. However this was quickly reduced to two after Jane pointed out that the first one that I had marked was an oil refinery and not an archaeological site. My excuse is that the symbols are similar in low light when I haven't got my glasses on! At least Jane realised before we started driving around the area trying to find it.
It was a cool overcast day and shortly before we arrived at the first site, it started to rain. We arrived at Sybaris to find two coaches of school children sheltering from the rain. One of the site personnel was asking us something about visiting the site and the museum but we couldn't understand what he was saying. Fortunately, a very helpful school teacher translated for us and when we said that we were going to visit the site, she said “In the rain????” in utter disbelief. She suggested that a visit to the museum, a little further down the road would be a better idea. We took her advice and directions and headed for the museum. It was very good, well presented and extremely quiet – we were the only people there. Having seen the museum we decided that we didn't need to see the site so, after lunch in the car park, we moved on to the next site.
Some 75 km further up the coast is Policoro and the site of Eraclea. We went to the museum first and saw excellent finds (without English explanations) from 7,000 BC, through the Bronze Age, Iron Age, the Lucanians, the Greeks and the Romans. Amongst the very impressive displays were pre-Greek graves from the 7th and 8th centuries BC (?). These were of women with incredibly rich grave goods – beautiful bronze headdresses and chest decorations, and huge amounts of jewellery – large bracelets, dress fixings, rings and much more. Then there was the Greek pottery – so many complete pieces including lots of beautifully painted ones. There was also industry on the site with a number of kilns and a number of pottery moulds were displayed. A large pot was filled with small votive (?) vessels – miniature pots of many different shapes and animals such as ducks. You could imagine they being displayed on a stall on the way to the temple with a sign saying “Only €1 each or three for €2.50”.
We then stopped to look at one small part of the very large site – the Acropolis. Many houses were located very close together on the ridge with a number of kilns in amongst them. Again these were well displayed with covers over the areas of special interest.
Then it was on to our camperstop at Lido di Metaponto. It was closed for maintenance but fortunately there was an open campsite very close so we drove in and chose our space.
Photos: Female figure from an 8th century BC tomb at Sybaris; One of the many kilns at Eraclea.

Monday 7th April 2008

When we woke, we threw back the curtains and looked out over the deep blue sea with ships in the distance and the odd small fishing boat and yacht ailing by.
Just north of the campsite is yet another Greek / Roman site at Caulonia. Being a Monday, when most sites are closed, we were not expecting to be able to see it but it is spread over a large area and some areas had been left open for public access, complete with English information boards. It was interesting to note that considerable remains had been found on the seabed whereas on the west coast (e.g. Paestum and Velia) the coast had receded from the sites. This suggests that this part of Italy is tilting, probably due to the volcanic activity in the area around Stromboli. Anyone with information on this, please post a comment at the bottom of this posting.
We then headed for Capo Colonna, a minor diversion from the route and recommended by the Fodors guide for its wild flowers in April and May. Once on the peninsular we started passing forests of wild fennel with huge flowered stems reaching to over five feet in height. We followed the ancient Greek Sacred Road to the cape where a single column marks the Temple of Hera that once stood with sea on three sides and with the sun shining brightly, we could understand why they had built it there. The Temple was complete until the 16th century when it and the complex of buildings around it were demolished in order to build the bishop's palace cathedral, castle and city walls of nearby Crotone. The wild flowers were indeed pretty although not as impressive as those on the site at Caulonia.
On then to the next campsite at Cariati Marina. This took some finding! There were no signs to the campsite as we approached the town (and no directions in the ACSI guide) but Jane spotted a sign to something else with a similar name. After finding nothing else further into the town we turned back and took that road. There was a sign visible in that direction but we soon came to junctions without any more signs. Miles out of Cariati Marina on a minor road, we gave up and were looking for somewhere to turn around when we saw a large star on a pole in the distance – it was the site!
Photos: Wild flowers on the site at Caulonia; More wild flowers and the single column at Colonna.

Sunday 6th April 2008

For the fifth day we had thunder and lightening. It started at about 06:00 but the climax was at about 09:30 when the rain came down like a waterfall. This then changed to hail with lumps of ice half a centimetre in diameter. The noise on the roof was horrendous, conversation was impossible and I was really concerned that the hail would damage the plastic windows in the roof. The hail went on for a few minutes before it turned back to rain. Once the rain stopped, we prepared to leave but a German couple who were walking back to their motorhome told us that the road outside the campsite was flooded and it was impassable. We went to take a look. Just above the campsite there are some steps that lead up to the town perched on the rock but we had already been told that these had been washed away together with part of the cliff in the Winter rains. They had started replacing the steps but they had left a large drainage pipe open at the top of the cliff. This was now disgorging a huge volume of water down the cliff on to the road below and all of this water was then running down the side road and past the campsite entrance. After half an hour the flow of water had subsided and we were able to leave, carefully negotiating a small hole in the road that had been widened and deepened by the flood water. Fortunately , that was the last of the rain that we had that day.
We had a choice of two routes that would take us across the top of the toes of the boot of Italy. The first and closest was the more major road and would have been the quicker route. The second route went over the mountains and through a pass and was marked in green on the Michelin map – that was the one for us! The first part of the journey was again by the sea but we soon turned inland and started to climb. The views were good but not spectacular and we stopped for lunch near the top of the pass in a small lay-by. As I had predicted, less than half a mile further on, there was a purpose-built covered picnic area with a large car park – this is always the way when you have been looking for somewhere to stop and finally compromised on somewhere that is not ideal. Once we started to descend, the views just got better and better. The mountains fell away steeply on both sides to lower hills along the coast. Even though it was a little misty at this point, the views were lovely but, as is often the case with Italian mountain roads, there was nowhere to stop to admire the view so I had to content myself with glimpses between the hairpin bends. I was only able to take one photograph and that was in one of the mistier sections, so you will have to use your imagination for the views.
Once down at the coast, we headed for a archaeological site near Locri. This was another huge Greek / Roman site of which only a small part had been excavated and even less was on display to the public. We had to content ourselves with some wall, a gate, the remains of two temples and an intriguing sacred area, all of which had excellent information boards in English. The museum was also very interesting although it lacked English explanations. On then to our campsite just a few miles up the road at Marina di Caulonia. We chose a spot well away from the coastal railway (again) and right next to the sea.
Photos: The hail lying on the campsite whilst, out of view, a torrent runs past the entrance; A rather hazy view from the S111 on the descent to Locri whilst crossing the top of the toes of the boot of Italy.

Saturday 5th April 2008

We woke up today to find that Stromboli had disappeared. We thought that it might have sunk but decided that, being camped at sea level, we would have been obliterated by the resulting tsunami. This reminded us of a similar situation when we were last on the Greek island of Santorini, thought to be one of the possible locations for Atlantis. In the description of Atlantis it is mentioned that islands appear and disappear. This was certainly the case on Santorini. There are a number of islands quite close to Santorini and one day they would be so clear that you felt that you could reach out and touch them. The next day, they simply weren't there and this was not because there was a bank of fog in the way. There was obviously some haze obscuring them but you couldn't detect it. If you had seen that view for the first time, you would swear that there were no islands there. It was like that with Stromboli today – we knew exactly where it should be but staring really hard, we could not discern any sign of it. As Jane would say “very spookie!”. It made us realise how difficult ancient sea navigation must have been, they could have sailed within a few miles of an island and simply not seen it. And then there were the storms and sudden squalls like those caused by the electrical storms that we had again last evening.
Late morning we walked up to the town and wandered aimlessly around it. The town is in a wonderful position and has some really interesting buildings but they are sadly neglected. Southern Italy is very poor and reports of organised crime do not encourage businesses to invest or people to move to the area. Previously beautiful houses have fallen into decay and people seem to take little pride in the appearance of their houses or their towns. This does not only apply to the very southern part of Italy, in Rome, Pompeii and Erculano (Herculaneum) the vandalism was terrible. Whole Metro trains were absolutely covered, inside and out, in graffiti to the point that you couldn't see out of the windows. Every unmanned Metro station was covered and even the manned ones were not spared. In streets and especially alleyways buildings were sprayed even in some cases private houses. And the rubbish is strewn everywhere with fly-tipping evident whenever you look over walls or in derelict buildings (of which there are many). Naples, with its much reported rubbish collection crisis was a total disaster area when we came through the suburbs. Piles of uncollected rubbish lay everywhere and there was a great deal of evidence of fires where desperate people had burned the piles rather than attract a plague of rats. It is such a shame to see such an intrinsically beautiful country looking so scruffy. End of rant!
Despite all of that, we really like Tropea and we have never seen such a concentration of very reasonably priced restaurants and pizzerias. We had pizzas cooked in a wood-fired oven at lunchtime and they were excellent. The lady in the Tourist Information Office was extremely helpful and enthusiastic and directed us to a local Internet point, so we were able to get the blog and emails up to date. We are now heading off into more rural areas so Internet access may be a little more difficult for a few days.
Photos: The campsite at Tropea with the former island of Isola behind. The magnificent building on Isola is actually in a very poor state of repair; An example of Tropea faded elegance. This house with its internal courtyard, double staircases and covered porticoes (now topped with a corrugated iron roof) must have been beautiful in the past. The outside of the building was in a poor state although it was still in use as a number of private homes.