The Vikos Gorge

April 17, 2011

Breakfast was sheep cheese and bread with an instant type coffee. The sweet cake we tucked away for later in the day. We spent today exploring.the area. The roads are excellent and wind around the canyons and mountains to each small town. The towns come from the 17^th and 18^th century and were built to offer protection from intruders- namely the Turks. Towns were made dDifficult to access, within view of each other, hard to spot on the mountain sides..all of this kept the area inaccessible until the 20^th century and protected the natural heritage. So this is one of the most wonderful national parks of Greece and a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Gorge is the deepest in the world according to the Guiness Book of World Records. We explored an old monastery perched on the side of a rocky cliff, viewed the canyon from several lookouts- all spectacular. We traveled a road with 20 hairpins turns to reach Mikro Papago...and marvelled at the beauty of the place. The lower hills were covered in the beautiful soft green of spring, punctuated by the magenta of redbud trees and the white blossoms of another tree. This place is a jewel...both the natural beauty and the amazing small towns whose only lifeline is tourism.

We moved on along the autobahn to Metsovo. The Olympic hotel is our home for tonight and it is snowing and cold...why did I leave the mitts in Canada? We hope the weather is better tomorrow..

Greece!

April 16

We headed out from Igoumenitsa looking for a breakfast place. There is a fairly new autobahn now but no service centres. So when we finally saw a sign for eating we turned off. The taverna was closed. So we tried to get back on the Autobahn...no signs. We watched as a big German truck was trying to back up a narrow road...obviously he had done the same thing as us. We were only saved by a local who said follow my vehicle and took us to where we could get back on...we would have spent half a day otherwise!

We drove all the way to Ioannina before we found a place for “breakfast”...at least some food by the side of Lake Ioannina and its big fortress. Sozon had a list of things for us to see and we headed from there to the first big thing-The cave at Perama.

The cave was fascinating...but we weren't allowed to take pictures. We walked for about 1100 metres through a marvellous array of stalactites and stalagmites and caverns. It was only discovered in the 1940's when the villagers were trying to find a place to hide from the Germans and now has become their main tourist attraction.

Next we headed for the famous Vikos Gorge. After a false start with the GPS where we ended up in field with a bunch of startled sheep, we finally got on the main road and off to the Pindos Mountains. The scenery was astounding. High limestone cliffs, forested mountains backed by snowcapped peaks. We stopped at a roadside restaurant for lunch...and what a wonderful introduction to Greek food. Big thick slices of warm bread, heated Feta, freshly picked cooked dandelion greens with lemon and grilled lamb ribs. We washed it down ( all except poor Jurg the driver!) with wonderful red Greek wine. A crème caramel was the final touch.

We spent the night at Vitsa, in an absolutely lovely mountain hotel with about 5 rooms run by a family. The old town clung to the side of the mountain with all the houses made of stone and topped by slate roofs. The streets were made of pieces of slate on their sides, narrow and steep. Everything is close together with high walls and doors to keep the privacy. Yet, most of the houses are uninhabited and perhaps have become family holiday homes. The odd smoke from a chimney indicated an inhabitant, usually elderly. Tourist season is winter and summer...and most are Greek. The other tourists like us come off season and are just a handful. English is spoken by the young...of which there were few. Sozon is in his element with his countrymen! Around the area are herds of sheep and goats...attended by shepherds-old men with moustaches- and dogs. We could hear the bells around their necks when they moved about.

Superfast Ferry to Igoumenitsa Greece

April 15, 2011

That really is the name of one of the ferry lines to Greece, and about the only one running at this time of year. A different experience from the Croatian ferry line...a newer ferry on which we took an overnight cabin for 4 for the 9 hour journey. Dinner we ate before we even pulled out of the port as they loaded hundreds of trucks bound for Greece. There had been almost none on the Croatian ferry. It was fun watching them back these huge trailers into spaces with about a foot on each side. Again the journey was easy...quiet and uneventful. We had to get up shortly after 5 am for docking at 6:30. In usual Greek fashion, there was no one to direct traffic from the garage and everyone started their motors and sat. Carbon monoxide poisoning spared us...but only just. We exited to rain and coolness...a big change in the weather.

Bari, Italy-A port City

April 15, 2011

The day started with ¾ of a bottle of contact lens solution in my suitcase. Then I stepped in doggie dodo immediately after exiting the car while gazing at the fortress of Bari. Luckily there was no strike 3. Bari is not a tourist town, though it could be. The old city is a busy ordinary place full of the evidence of everyday living. Laundry fluttering from the windows, cafe bars on every corner, lots of young men hanging around...obviously lots of unemployment. But a jewel in so many ways...old buildings, narrow alleys, cobble streets, churches in various states of disrepair scattered around the area. We toured the fortress/castle that is just being fixed to bring it up to standard, so not a lot of it open. Then we just walked the streets of Bari and found a place to have lunch of Italian pasta. After we cruised the waterfront in the car to see a little of the newer Bari before we headed for the ferry at 5 pm.

Croatia to Italy

There is no easy way to make this journey, or should I say fast way. The overland roads across Montenegro and Albania are small and windy. This is complicated by the fact that Albania is the wild west of the European continent. Bad roads, even worse drivers, no signs and no services. Not one person recommended we drive there. So we gave up the idea and decided to travel by ferry. Of course there is no direct ferry, even though Greece is just down the coast from Dubrovnik. One must cross the Adriatic to Italy and then catch a second ferry back to Greece. And to make it more complicated there is no conversation between the different ferry lines. Information was only available on the internet and even that was somewhat sketchy and hard to interpret. Sozon reassured us that there would no problems in the off season which was quite true. .There was almost no one on the ferry...and hardly any trucks.

First we took the Croatian ferry leaving in the afternoon from Dubrovnik, a journey of 7 hours. Even though it was an international ferry, they barely accepted Euros. We had diligently spent all our Kuna's and had only euros. Luckily the dinner in the restaurant was enough that we could use big euro bills. But there would be no after dinner coffee in the bar...bartender only took small euros or kunas. Croatian nationalism! Silly... Maybe when the autobahn is finished to Dubrovnik, there will be more trucks and maybe even that ferry directly to Greece!

We arrived in Bari after a calm easy trip and headed for our pre booked hotel. There was no tourist info at this international ferry dock... the only indication of info were few signs at the entrance pointing to 5 hotels in the city centre. But, we had booked the Best Western outside the centre. So we fired up the GPS..not listed. Best Western was a newly converted hotel. We had an address on a numbered highway and the name of the suburb so we tried that. In the dark, it was very difficult and we were in an industrial area with no one to ask. Finally an hour later we arrived. The next day when we travelled back to the dock to book our ferry to Igoumenitsa, it took us about 15 minutes to drive.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

One arrives in Dubrovnik across a magnificent suspension bridge from which one can look at the new part of the city and the harbour. The old city is hidden behind hills on the far side of the peninsula. The city is so hilly, that the entrance is through a tunnel that snakes down the side underneath the homes and buildings. We arrive in the Gruz or harbour area and investigate accommodation. There are a zillion tourist offices around town selling excursions and linking travellers with private rooms, about 1100 rooms available. The hotels are expensive apparently especially near the old city. We pick two studio apartments where we can get parking and they are about 50E each per night. Nearby is a bus stop that takes us in 10 minutes to the gate of the old city and there is a restaurant 2 min down from our place. We have a beautiful garden with an orange tree that wafts sweet scents around the place. As long as we take short showers we have hot water.
The old town is amazing..the shiny marble main street, the warren of alleys heading up from there on both sides and the walls that surround the whole area. The walls were never breeched and the city state of Dubrovnik only fell to Napolean by trickery in the early 1800's and eventually was taken over by the monster AHE. We walk the walls ..quite a cardio workout. We take the cable car to the top of Mt Srd for the amazing view and we take a boat ride to see the city from the water. There is only one cruise ship here today...so things are not too crowded and we can enjoy everything. We visit the War Museum at the top of the mountain..and see the 1991-2 shelling of Dubrovnik by the Serbs and Montenegrians. One can feel the hatred in the language on the signs..it is too soon to have any dedication to peace. I wonder how these small countries work things out today as they share such long borders...Serbia, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Montenegro. So much is religion and ethnically based. Even in WW2 Croatia was with the Germans and Italians, Serbia and the others were with Russia and the allies. But most of the city is restored now very skillfully...so the surface looks good.
We spend a few days here and travel down to Montenegro for a day..have to show all the passports and the vehicle registration. Probably because of Albania and all the car thefts, they are more careful. Montenegro is so beautiful...but in the rain we don't see much. Maybe another trip?

Croatia from top to tip

It is our last night in Dubrovnik and I am sad to leave this part of Europe. It is absolutely beautiful and in many places unspoiled by tourists...though war has taken a toll for sure.
Our first stop was Rijeka. Not a tourist town, but could be. Beautiful AHE (Austro Hungarian Empire) buildings and a wonderful pedestrian walk covering a lot of the old area. As well, there was a marvellous lookout with an old castle above the city. Apparently hotels are not the greatest yet so that keeps tourists away.

Gave the GPS one more try and headed for the Plitvicka Jezera..a national park that is a Unesco World Heritage Site. Again we seemed to meander up the mountain sides on small treacherous curving roads..wonderful little villages and views..but not necessarily how we wanted to make the trip. Finally the GPS ended up in the glove box and the map plus brain became the way to navigate. We headed back to the edge of the Adriatic and followed the curves along the water...the land is almost desert like in its sparse vegetation and rock that defines the huge hills, but the blue of the sea is magnificent. Lots of development of resorts and upscale places happening.

We then headed cross country toward Plitvicka and travelled through areas where the aftermath of the war was evident. Lots of ruins with new houses..quite simple in design...springing up in the midst. In the towns we could see buildings still with bullet holes in their walls. Over lunch in a roadside restaurant, we talked with a Slovenian man who said the whole area was “ethnically cleansed” and all the Serbs had been driven out. People who had lived together in peace for centuries...killed each other and then many fled to find safety somewhere else. This tragedy that seemed so far away seems to come to life for me and I feel so sad for such hatred and bitterness that has defined this place.

Tonight we are staying in a room outside the park entrance. All accommodation in this area is in private rooms and gives income to the locals. The familia Luketice seems to have about 4 houses on their property with 3 of them just with rooms for tourists. No breakfast...will have to travel down the road to a local restaurant. But, clean and spartan with our own bathrooms. The owners speak some German so we can converse somewhat.

The Plitvicka Lakes are a Unesco World Heritage Site and they sure deserve the designation. A whole series of beautiful blue green lakes with waterfalls between them cascading down through forests. There are a lot of walkways made of tree branches with hard to see small steps up...makes for a few trips on this magnificent trip. To do the whole thing by foot would be 18 km, but there is a boat trip and a "bustrain" that shorten the connections. Jurg and I took the chance to have a good walk and of course I took a zillion pictures. The final bustrain was not running yet so early in the season, so we didn't go round the last lake..But, it was wonderful!
In the afternoon we drove through more of the countryside with its small farms and windy hilly roads and headed back to the coast again. This time we stopped at Zadar to see the sea organ. One sits on these steps at the side of the sea and listens to an "organ" that is played by the waves as they move the air up through holes in the concrete. It was quite wonderful! This city also has lots of Roman ruins that are interesting.
The night was spent at the Best Western in Split. It was such a long drive on the windy roads along the coast that it was 8 pm before we arrived. And there was an autobahn...
In the morning we toured the most amazing Diocletian Palace...roman ruins intermingled with middle ages and AHE buildings. It is another Unesco site.
And then on towards Dubrovnik...on the newly opened portion of the autobahn. Wow...sailing along at 130 km with huge sweeping bridges across the valleys and above the towns. Then 80 km later it all ended. Back to the small roads and the little villages that provide the services for the travellers. I do wonder what will happen to this small local economy when the A1 is finished all the way to Dubrovnik. For the cities it will be a win as more tourists will be able to come...but it will be death to the people who rent rooms and sell food along the way. This road is financed by EU money and will mean that perhaps there will be a ferry from Dubrovnik to Greece and more hotels in Dubrovnik. It all reminds me of Rome coming...the bridge towers look like aqueducts marching across the valleys.