Chania to Athens
Our remaining days in Greece are numbered as the ferry from Igoumenitsa to Venice will be leaving (so we hope) on the 23-April. The days so far have been quite a mix ranging from sunny and warm to rainy and cold. But one after the other. We had a great passage from Chania to Athens and stayed the night in the nicest cabin we had on a ship during this trip. The ferry was in excellent condition, the room was spacious and boutique style and the window was not only large but allowed to view the outside world (because it was clean). We left Chania in the rain at 22:00 hours and arrived under a blue sky in Athens at 6:00 hours the next morning.
Our friend Regina joined us at 8:00 in a trendy part of town to give us a tour of „her“ Athens. At this time of day there were no tourists and walked up to the Akropolis unharmed by street artists and sales people. It was like this on our way up but different on the way down. Regina showed us the different sides of Athens – the popular, touristic ones and the other non-touristic, down-to-earth, normal-people ones. We liked them both but we have to admit that we preferred the one without tourists. Which is weird because we are tourists ourselves.
Akrata
We left Athens shortly after noon and drove to Akrata on the Gulf of Corinth. The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea, separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. It is bounded in the east by the Isthmus of Corinth which includes the shipping-designed Corinth Canal and in the west by the Strait of Rion which widens into the shorter Gulf of Patras (part of the Ionian Sea) and of which the narrowest point is crossed since 2004 by the Rio–Antirrio bridge. The gulf is bordered by the large administrative divisions (regional units): Aetolia-Acarnania and Phocis in the north, Boeotia in the northeast, Attica in the east, Corinthia in the southeast and south and Achaea in the southwest. The gulf is in tectonic movement comparable to movement in parts of Iceland and Turkey, growing by 10 mm (0.39 in) per year. Now you know 🙂
The campground in Akrata, Akrata Beach Camping, is a pleasant surprise. Located right on the beach, very friendly reception and an open tavern made us stay a bit longer than planned. The weather on Monday was horrible. Heavy rain and a temperature of approx. 7-8 degrees Celsius didn’t make us very happy. Tuesday however, was back to normal. We left Akrata in the morning and hit the highway towards Lefkada wondering why there is no ticket-system on the highway. Instead we have to stop every 20 or so miles to pay the upcoming stretch. Crossing the bridge added another 21€ to our expenses.
Lefkada
We abandoned our original plan to stay on the campground close to the village of Lefkada upon taking a look at it. No very attractive. We kept going south past Nidri and ended up on Santa Maura Beach Camping. Much nicer and a cliché image of Greece. Crystal clear waters in a beautiful bay with no traffic and only 2 campgrounds. But even this will end as we will leave tomorrow (Friday) to Corfu.
By the way – the weather is now very sunny and warm and will stay that way for the rest of our stay in Greece.
One Life. Live IT!
What a wonderful experience to explore Athens Sunday early monring together with you guys. Thank you for allowing me to walk side by side with Joiz – such a sensitve and adorable companion. Wonderful and inspirational how you manage your life as global nomads, thank you for sharing and allowing me to ask so many questions – now I’m even more inspired! Enjoy your adventures coming. Hope to see you again one day in Greece! Efcharisto poli 🙂