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.
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