Wednesday 20th April 2011 – Ioannina, Greece

It is a relatively short journey today so we had a very leisurely start and headed in the same direction as yesterday, the main Igoumenitsa to Prevesa road. Heading briefly north, we left at Morfi following the road signposted to Paramythia. In typical Greek fashion the next turn had no signs but we correctly guessed that it was the road that we needed. The Greeks attitude to signs is interesting – it certainly keeps you on your toes. They often signpost places when it is totally unnecessary and frequently fail to place a sign where it is absolutely imperative. We saw an example of the former when we were approaching the main road from Parga – 'Perama Caves 125 km'. It didn't tell you where it was or which road to take and, needless to say was not signposted again until we arrived in Ioannina, which is where they are. It is like signposting Cheddar Caves from Birmingham!

The road up through the mountains was wide, in good condition and deserted, which made for very pleasant driving with plenty of opportunity for looking at the views. We had noticed that there was a site of Elea just off our route and approaching a major road junction at which we intended to turn left, we saw the site signed (no distance, of course) to the right. After 6 km we decided to turn around but saw a sign to a different site, Marmara, and decided to follow it. It was a short way down a dirt track where we found a 3^rd century B.C. burial monument. One of the grave chambers was open but there seemed to be many others where the stone slab covers were still in position. Checking the Blue Guide, it said that the site was outside the village of Chrisavgi but we hadn't seen any signs to it. On the way back, I spotted it – the only village sign that had not been transliterated into the Latin alphabet. Needless to say there was no sign to Ancient Elea. Once in the village there was a sign that showed that it was straight up the road and I mean up – 3 km of very steep twisty mountain road rising 375m to the site at 550m. Elea's position is spectacular with fantastic views for miles up and down the valley and into the mountains on the other side. Surrounded by impressive defensive polygonal walls, it has a spectacular backdrop of mountains with steep cliffs and rock pinnacles. We arrived in the car park to find one car and the gates open – hurray! We parked and prepared to leave the van when we saw a man walk from the site, to the gate and he started to close it. I rushed over and he explained that the site was closed and wasn't open to the public until May – this was all in Greek, so some guesswork was involved! We obviously looked crestfallen and after some more conversation he told us that we could go in, obviously for a quick look. We walked the few metres to the main gateway and on entering were stunned by the size of the site. Leaving Jane near the entrance, I jogged around the site taking photos of information boards (in Greek and English), buildings and views. It really deserved a few hours but it only got a few minutes. If you are in the area and like ruins, do take the trouble to find the site, it is well worth the effort of finding it. After lunch sat on benches overlooking the walls, we sat in Henrietta and took a relaxed guided tour of the 4^th to 2^nd century BC Thesproton site by photograph!

We headed up through Paramythia joining the new (and controversial) Via Egnatia motorway. This made the driving very easy and we were soon leaving the motorway, heading into Ioannina. The campsite is on the north side of the city centre on the lakeside and we parked up on a pitch that gave us a lovely view of the lake, its island and the snow capped peaks in the distance. Just over the other side of the lake are the Perama Caves, one of the best in Greece and so famous that they are signposted 125km away!

Photos: The main gate of Elea with its mountain backdrop; The lower town of Elea showing its eagle's nest position and a hint of the fantastic views from the site; Ioannina University rowing on the lake – they set off from in front of our pitch.