Campsites and Aires – Judy and Valerie On the Road

Watten/Eperlecques

For our last couple of nights we stayed at a very good French camper stop in the village of Watten (N50.83139, E2.20879). We chose it because it’s only a 40 minute drive to Calais.

We discovered that the neighbouring village, Eperlecques, played a significant role in World War II because the Nazis chose it as the site for the “Blockhaus” (bunker) which was originally intended to be a launching facility for the V2 ballistic missile and a factory for the production of liquid oxygen. It was constructed using thousands of prisoners of war and forcibly conscripted workers.

It was never used because the Allies found out about it and subjected it to heavy bombing including ‘Tall Boy’ bombs which drilled down 30 metres into the ground and created a mini-earthquake. It has been turned into an open air ‘history park’ which provides a lot of information not only about what was going on there, but about World War II.

We walked there not knowing quite what to expect and were astonished to find in the middle of a beautiful forest this enormous, 33 metre high block of concrete and a replica of the 14 metre long V2 rocket. The plan was for 36 of these to be launched each day for three days and the target was England.

what the V2 bomb would have looked like coming to the launch pad

The photographs don’t give a realistic sense of the size of the place and how chilling it is. I found it quite terrifying. Half of it was destroyed, but in the other half the Germans went on to manufacture liquid oxygen which they then used to launch the V2s on mobile launch pads. Over 1,400 V2s were launched on Britain and over 1,600 on Belgium – mainly London and Antwerp. After the war many of the scientists and engineers working on these rockets were invited to the United States to become part of the US space program.

Charleville-Mézières

After leaving Luxembourg we drove west into France and stopped at this town where there’s a very good motorhome park next to the river (49.7789, 4.7200). The old town has a beautiful square and restaurants where we found delicious monkfish with vegetables and risotto with scallops, with chocolate mousse and creme brûlée to finish off.

This area has lots of cycle tracks and the Trans-Ardenne Voie Verte. We planned to go on a cycle ride along the river but after getting the bikes off the back discovered that one tyre had a puncture, we didn’t have a spare tube or a repair kit and it was Sunday so no shops open. So we walked instead along the river to the next village (loads of cyclists, walkers, roller blade skaters, runners ) and got the train back.

Kefalonia

We took the ferry from Astakos and stayed in the campsite at Argostoli, but each day drove around the island visiting other beaches and villages.

Agia Kyriaki was a beautiful beach with a taverna where the owner would let you stay in the car park (N38.3103, E20.4888). We thought we might wild camp there until an Italian camped there showed us the invasion of ants in his van, but we had a lovely swim in the wonderfully warm water.

Fiskardo was a very pretty town with a beautiful harbour with lots of boats. The town was full of cafes and very tasteful gift shops (rather expensive). We had some delicious ice cream and sorbet.

Our friend Caroline described Myrtos beach as the loveliest beach she’d ever been on – sandy, white pebbles and turquoise clear water. It certainly looked lovely but the road down to it looked far too steep for our van. Still at least we saw it from above.

We drove to a lovely little beach called Trapeziaka. Again it was a very steep and narrow road down and unfortunately as it was a Sunday lots of people had driven there and quite a few of them were leaving as we arrived so we had to try to reverse up the hill to let them pass. Then there was a burning smell and we realised the clutch was overheating so Valerie had to run down to all the cars coming up to say “sorry” in Greek and persuade them to reverse, as we couldn’t. The upside was that there was a great taverna at the bottom so we ate a delicious meal as we waited for the clutch to cool down, and all was well.

Pindos Mountains

Papigko

In the Pindos we stayed again in our favourite spot at the side of the road next to a spring between the two Papigko villages (N39.9691, E20.7229) and on our first evening were joined by a suprise visitor come to take a drink.

The man who runs the health food shop that we like in Ioannina, Nature and Life, recommended a lovely cafe/bookshop in Megalo Papigko called Koukounari. Giorgos who works there was very friendly and welcoming. The cakes looked wonderful but we managed to resist.

Hike to Astraka Refuge

We decided to try the hike up to the Astraka Refuge where people walking the long distance Epirus trail are able to stay overnight. It was going to be quite a strenuous hike climbing about 1,000m up to 2,000m and it was very hot. We started at 7am having prepared our breakfast and lunch the night before to take with us. The trail starts from Mikro Papigko so we first had to walk there across the old stone bridge and then start on the trail proper. It is about 6k in length and has several springs on the way up with covered areas to shelter from the sun. It was the weekend and what we didn’t realise was that this was a favourite hike for local people. We must have seen over 100 people on the way up and down, including runners! Of course, as you go higher the wind is cooler which helps and when we got to the top there was still snow on some of the peaks. It was a beautiful walk, and the higher we reached, the more wild flowers there were.

The refuge gets it supplies via a group of pack horses and on the way up we met the string of horses coming down. When we reached the refuge we met them again coming up.

Via Natura Voidomatis

We moved on from Papigko to a new ‘campsite’ on the edge of the Pindos national park by the Voidomatis river (39.9694, E20.6612). The site is still being established and they also do river rafting.

We went for a walk called the ‘ Ice Age Trail’ which follows the river . There are many information boards relating to the Paleolithic Age 15,000 years ago when the world was emerging from the ice age and our ancestors lived along this river.

The Voidomatis river is amazingly clean and clear and an extraordinary colour. The walk was beautiful but more strenuous than we’d anticipated – quite a bit of scrambling and it was very hot, so we ended up getting a taxi back.

Along the way we climbed up to see the remains of the small Agii Anargiri monastery. All that remains is a tiny chapel with a small door and when we went inside we discovered the remains of beautiful frescoes covering the walls and ceiling.

And then on our way back to the river …

Ioannina

Again we stopped for a few days in Ioannina staying at the campsite by the lake and walked into town drifting between cafes.

Folk Museum

We visited the folk art museum which is housed in a 19th century Ottoman Manor House.

It displays traditional costumes of the area , musical instruments and household items such as looms and old kitchen utensils.

Many of the outfits were felted overcoats with rich embroidery elaborated with red silk strings

Wooden Carvings

We went to a fascinating exhibition called “Carving wood, sculpting memory with the shepherds of Haliki” housed in the Gadi Foundation in Ioannina.

For centuries shepherds have taken their flocks up from the lowland plains of Thessaly to summer in the cooler pastures of Haliki in the Pindos mountains.

Natasha Drisou-Lemonos, who curated the exhibition, has interviewed shepherds over many years. She transcribed their words to accompany some beautiful black and white photographs mainly from the 1950s to the present day.

The shepherds use wooden crooks which they carve with intricate patterns. Some were displayed in the exhibition together with some beautiful crooks, boxes and other objects carved by the wood sculptor, Christos Gevrou.

Jews in Ioannina

The old synagogue is located within the walled Castro.

It is likely that the synagogue survived the German occupation as a result of the actions of the mayor of Ioannina, Dimitios Vlachides. It seems he convinced the Germans that the Greeks would use the building as a library and that the Torah scrolls and other sacred material should be placed in the municipal museum.

After the war the handful of Holocaust survivors returning to Ioannina sent these to other synagogues including Jerusalem. Many Israelis visit this area and there are three direct flights to Ioannina from Tel Aviv every day!

We have written more about the Jews in Ioannina in our 2019 trip.

http://judyandvalerieontheroad.com/index.php/category/trip/greece-2019/

Metsovo

Metsovo is a beautiful town in the Pindos mountains and is often called ‘The Jewel of Epirus’. It is a Vlach town, a people who are historically nomadic shepherds who’ve lived in the region for generations and whose origins are from neighbouring Balkan countries.

It is a village that has managed to maintain its traditional stone architecture, which used to be typical for the mountainous regions of Epirus, a place once famous for its stone masons: many buildings here have the traditional schist stone roofs, rather than the tile ones.

There is a trail going through and around the town called the Ursa trail. Ursa is Vlach for bear. As speakers of french and portuguese will recognise Vlach is a romance language.

Folk Art Museum

The Metsovo Folk Art Museum is also well worth a visit. It’s is a beautiful stone house which belonged to Evangelos Averof-Tositsas, who was also foreign minister. He bequeathed it to the town. Each room is furnished as it was in the past, with wooden floors,ceilings and furniture, including beautifully carved chests and rocking cradles, and gorgeous, richly coloured woven tapestries on the walls.

Art Gallery

The Averoff Art Gallery was really interesting. It’s on three floors – ground floor and two lower floors. There is a permanent exhibition which displays a selection of 250 paintings, drawings, sculptures and engravings by the foremost Greek artists of the 19th and 20th century with a great variety of landscapes, still life and portraits, including portraits of the town’s main benefactor and his family. There was also a fascinating photography exhibition by Kostas Balafas called “Travels in Metsovo”. The black and white photographs gave a picture of life in Metsovo in the 1960’s and 70’s. Particularly striking was a wall of portraits of older men who had clearly led their lives outdoors. They were all so different from one another, mostly with very wrinkled faces, full of character

Wild Camping

We stayed a couple of nights above Metsovo in the car park at the Ski Centre which has a wonderful spring (N39.78487, E21.15880). Lots of stray/wild dogs which were not aggressive and which looked so sad we ended up giving them some tinned sardines! The first day we went into the town but the second day we went for a walk on the Ursa Trail which we could access directly from the car park. We of course managed to get lost and were ‘rescued’ by an Israeli couple who introduced us to an App called ‘AllTrails’ which I definitely recommend.

Velventos

We happened upon our next stopping place Velventos in park4nite because it was convenient between Mount Olympus and Metsovo and we’re very glad we did. The town is situated by the second largest reservoir in Greece with mountains on all sides.

The camper stop itself is in the beautiful wooded grounds of Alsos, an outdoor bar run by Antonía and Christos who made us very welcome.

On our first night we went to the bar for a drink and met Antonía’s friends Lena and Athina. The next day we explored the town and spoke to many people in shops who all wanted to know how we’d found our way to this village and where we were staying. Valerie’s Greek is coming on by leaps and bounds. Later that day we cycled to see the Skepasmeno waterfalls which is obviously a favourite picnic area for local people. On the way we passed many groves of bright red fruit which we realised were peaches and discovered that Velventos is famous for its peaches, exporting them across Europe and even has a peach festival in the summer. In the evening we ate at En Velvento a local taverna in the town. The main street is closed to traffic in the evenings and the whole town seemed to be out on their evening volta. There was a great atmosphere.

The following day Lena took us into town to show us the sights. Firstly and very importantly we stopped for a coffee in the plateia where we met a group of her friends who gather there most days. We were again made very welcome.

Next Lena took us to meet her mother Stella who lives nearby and we had a tour of her house, built in 1910. The house was very interesting with wooden floors and ceilings and was filled with photographs of all her family.

Lena then gave us a guided tour of the Folk Museum which was fascinating and we learned so much about life in the town in the past.

On our way out of town we stopped at the peach cooperative and bought a box of 22 fabulous peaches for 9 euros!!!

Mount Olympus – home of the Gods

We camped at Sylvia Camping on the coast under the mountain. The campsite is pleasant with its own little beach and coffee bar on a beautifully situated terrace, but there is little else within walking distance. We found a restaurant further along the shore where we were entertained by a turtle and numerous kittens.

The following day we cycled to Litochoro at the foot of the mountain (a journey which was much longer than we’d anticipated and a continual ascent) and discovered that this was the day of the International Olympus Marathon – Running with the Gods!

The runners start at midnight from Dion – the sacred city of the Macedonians, run up Mount Olympus topping each of the three peaks and then down the other side. Runners come from all over the world – amazing! We saw them coming in throughout the afternoon.

They’re very keen on mountain running and marathons in this part of Greece. The Ursa Trail has a marathon, and when we hiked in the Pindos up to the Astraka Refuge at 2,000m we met a number of runners going up and down the mountain.

We then wild camped overnight at the Old Monastery on the mountain. That afternoon we walked to the Sacred Cave, and in the the morning hiked up and back to Prionia – a beautiful walk

Arrived in Greece

When we arrived in Greece we first called in at Zampetas a motorhome service agency south of Thessaloniki, to get a little piece of work done on the van (they are also a MH stop – N40°30’9″ E22°58’14”) – very helpful guys, then found somewhere to buy a Greek SIM card for our wifi, and then made our way to Sithonía, the middle finger to the east of Thessaloniki. We’re staying for a while at Camping Melissi (which takes ACSI) where we have a view of Mount Athos on the third finger.

A lovely place to wander, cycle, hang out …

Croatia to Greece

The next stage of our journey took us through Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia and Bulgaria but we just passed through without doing any sightseeing. For our first stop we made for a campsite across the border into Serbia. The road through Bosnia close to the border with Montenegro looked very windy (this means mountainous) so we started early.

The journey was fine and we stopped in a small campsite called Camping Viljamovka in Kremna (N43° 50′ 42″ E19° 34′ 26″) finding ourselves in a pear orchard managed by a very friendly chap called Jarko who insisted that we tried the pear brandy that he makes. The only other people staying were a Dutch couple on motorbikes travelling to Turkey.

The following day we again set off early and driving through Serbia saw a wonderful stork’s nest with youngsters craning their necks and lots of cows wandering on the roads which reminded us of India.

That second evening we reached Sofia in Bulgaria and managed to stay at a small motorhome stop in Park4Nite on 220 Bulevard. There are two MH stops in Sofia and this is the one in the back garden of an older couple. The gate was closed and padlocked but there was a bell to left. Eventually a very friendly man called Ivan welcomed us in. It’s a smallish area but he managed to pack in nine vans, and some pretty big. It was fairly basic but had everything we needed. By that time it was quite late and we asked Ivan if there was a restaurant nearby. He pointed towards a tower block and said we’d find everything there – restaurant, gym, swimming pool … We eventually found the restaurant, but it wasn’t the usual traditional type of restaurant in surroundings that we would normally seek out. Still, the people were friendly, someone spoke English and we had very tasty pizzas and salad.

Driving through the four countries we became aware of some of the differences. Croatia has a lot of tourism and people had wonderful gardens with beautiful flowers. In Bosnia Herzegovina any land around a house was given over to growing vegetables. Serbia had some amazingly ugly buildings. The part of Bulgaria that we drove through was very industrial with chimneys belching smoke and a pollution haze covering valleys, although the south west also had a forested national park and was very beautiful.

This was the first time we’d driven in the van outside western Europe and outside the EU/Schengen. We had forgotten about queues at borders!! It was quite usual to spend one to two hours waiting to get through the border, and having to show the van registration document and my driving licence. And for the lorries it was much much longer.

Autogas: virtually every garage sells GPL so no problems there.