Rhodes and the Balkans 2018

Following the success of our trip in 2017 across Europe to Rhodes, Greece, we planned a return journey of eight weeks that would follow a similar outward route but return via the Balkan countries of Albania, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia, and then Austria, Germany and France. We drove through eleven countries, covered over six thousand miles, and had adventures galore.

(Please click on a thumbnail to enlarge the image)

Our route

Colmar, France – a day’s driving from the ferry at Dieppe, we reached Colmar, a touristy version of the more attractive Kaysersberg, and a dodgy campsite with warnings of petty crime.

Stalks nesting, Colmar

Colmar

Colmar campsite

Not the friendliest of welcomes

Germany, Switzerland and Italy – a whistle-stop tour. Problems with campsites meant missing some planned overnight stops, and driving from France to Italy with only one overnight stop in services. Driving through Switzerland is a feast for the eyes, but Germany and Italy have little to offer when sticking to the fast roads. Arriving at Ancona Port a day early, we were greeted with stark warnings against wild camping in the area and ended up spending an uneasy night on a gipsy encampment.

Swiss Alps

The beginning of 10.5 miles underground, the Gotthard Tunnel

Swiss Alps

The ‘wave’ railway station at Reggio Emilia, Italy

Leaving Ancona, Italy

Mainland Greece – a last-minute cancellation of our ferry from Ancona to Patras began a frantic search for an alternative crossing. The Greeks, being the laid-back sort of people that they are, began every conversation with “do not worry, it is not a problem”, and sure enough, it ended up not being a problem. After speaking to the right people, we got a crossing to Igoumenitsa and the chance to explore some more of the wonderful Greek mainland. Our unscheduled drive took us past vast green lily-leafed lakes with pelicans adorning the water’s edge, through mountainous canyons and rustic settlements. Sadly, due to technical problems, we were unable to capture much of this on camera, but we have vowed to return and explore further this delightful country. On arriving at our campsite at Ancient Corinth, our Greek host suggested that we park anywhere we liked, and a little while later brought us a large bowl of freshly picked figs as a welcome gesture. It is this friendly attitude, the climate, the history and the culture that draws us back again and again to Greece.

Igoumenitsa harbour

A welcome lunch stop, Greece

The amazing Rion-Antirion Bridge, Greece

Mainland Greece, typical road

Mainland Greece, mountain village

Mainland Greece, the coast road

Mainland Greece, roadside refreshments

Overnight stop near Aigio, Greece

Ancient Corinth

Ancient Corinth, Acrocorinth in the background

Acrocorinth

Local flora

Ancient Corinth Campsite, a favourite stop

Our neighbour for the night

Mainland Greece to Rhodes – usually unfazed by driving abroad, the one place I dread is Piraeus! Being a suburb of Athens, the driving is nearly always hectic and chaotic, and the reward for surviving the roads is arriving at the bedlam that is Piraeus Port. No matter how early you arrive in your motorhome, you will inevitably be the last to be loaded when they finally decide where they can slot you in. Having booked a luxury cabin, the crossing itself though is more of a mini cruise than a ferry crossing, and we enjoy the stops at Patmos, Leros, Kalymnos, Kos and Symi during the night, and an excellent meal in the restaurant.

The view from our luxury cabin

Piraeus to Rhodes

Kos

Symi

Arriving at Rhodes

Rhodes – landing at Rhodes is like coming home again to us now. Being a Sunday, the roads were quiet and we were soon enjoying a warm welcome from our friends at Pefkos at the start of our five-week stay on the island. There are no campsites on Rhodes, and few places for emptying tanks, so some ingenuity and local knowledge is called for. It is also necessary to be completely self-sufficient when it comes to energy supplies, we rely on solar panels plus two leisure batteries, and constrained use of two 13kg propane cylinders, which we find for the two of us is comfortably adequate. Having many friends on the island who have offered any amount of help, we could also call on them if we had to, but we try to be as self-sufficient as possible.

We spend our time on Rhodes socializing, walking, kayaking, swimming, fishing (unsuccessfully), painting and exploring the wonderful countryside and ancient ruins. Despite having visited over 30 times, we still always find new things to do or see. I hope the following pictures give a flavour of this.

Pefkos Bay

Coast walk from Pefkos

Sunset swim at Pefkos

The view from our van at night at Pefkos

Cat nap

Overnight at Limni

Overnight at Limni again

Sunset at Limni Beach

Sunset at Limni

Sunset at Limni Beach

Sunset at Limni

After the storm at Limni

After the storm at Limni, somebody’s beach shelter miraculously survived

The ancient tombs carved into the rock at Fourni

Monolithos Castle

Street parking for lunch, Siana, renowned for its honey and souma (a pure distilled spirit made from figs)

Kritinia Castle, now largely restored and in our opinion. spoiled from how it used to be

Ancient Kamiros, a place for meditation

An ancient olive tree

Overnight near Kamiros Scala

The view driving through the mountains

Mojitos beach bar, is one of our favourite places for meeting friends, snorkelling, eating and drinking

Mojitos beach bar

BBQ Mojito’s style

Mojitos beach bar

Snorkelling at Mojitos

Mojitos beach bar, one of our favourite places for meeting friends, snorkelling, eating, and drinking

Sunset at Mojitos

Mojitos beach bar

A guest for breakfast, Haraki

Overnight beneath Haraki Castle

Rock carvings, Haraki

Cave chapel, Haraki

The ancient tombs above Golden Sands

Haraki Bay

Haraki Bay, and a forgotten grinding wheel from one of the old windmills long since gone

Haraki Castle in the distance, and you can just see our van below it

Drying the catch, Haraki

Lunch, Haraki

Overnight below the Acropolis at Lindos

We lost a wheel cap somewhere in Europe, found a Mythos can bottom fitted and lasted till we got home again over four thousand miles later!

The Cape of Prasonisi, where the Aegean and the Mediterranean meet

Prasonisi, a mecca for kite and wind surfers at the south of the island

A shepherd waters his herd at Apolakia Dam

Apolakia Dam

The view up in the mountains

A typical Rhodian mountain track

Abandoned Italian building (it was here that we discovered none of out lights were working, found a dodgy connection at the switch which we managed to sort out)

St. Nicholas of the Hazlenut, wrongly named due to a careless translation of the walnut trees that surround it

The original frescoes inside St. Nicholas of the Hazlenut

St. Nicholas of the Hazlenut, wrongly named due to a careless translation of the walnut trees that surround it

We bought some wonderful fresh produce from this lovely lady at the roadside

Kitten posing for the camera

In the mountains again

The road to Apolakia, a personal favourite

Sunset in the mountains

The plumpest olives

A locals haunt, Haraki

Haraki Bay

Haraki Bay, exploring a reef break

Haraki Bay

Haraki Bay, spot the weaver fish

Our favourite beach, miles of isolation as far as the eye can see

Our beach camp to explore from

The walk from Mavros Kavos to Prasonisi

The walk from Mavros Kavos to Prasonisi (the story of the boat – stolen from a boatyard in Turkey where it was being repaired, it was towed to Rhodes full of migrants – not sure if this is true or not

The walk from Mavros Kavos to Prasonisi

Overnight in the dunes

A great overnight stop, just a few meters from the sea

Agios Georgios beach

Agios Georgios beach, where we saw a water snake but could not catch it

Agios Georgios beach

The ruined windmill at Agios Georgios point

The ancient ruined amphitheatre at Lindos

The Acropolis at night

Snorkelling at Lindos, you really do not want to step on one of these

Snorkelling at Lindos, an inquisitive baby cuttlefish

Snorkelling at Lindos

Sunset over the sea

Storm clouds gather over Rhodes town

Storm clouds gather over Rhodes town and our ferry to the mainland

Storm clouds gather over Rhodes town

A sad farewell to Rhodes

Delphi and Meteora – sad to leave Rhodes, but excited about seeing Delphi and Meteora which did not disappoint. The Unesco archaeological site of Delphi was an important ancient Greek religious sanctuary sacred to the god Apollo. Today the ruins spread over a wide area of the mountainside, and offer the energetic visitor far-reaching views. The more energetic will be able to climb right up to the stadium, which, despite being built within the second half of the 4th century B.C., is the best preserved ancient stadium in Greece. Our route through the mountains took us through bear and wolf country before we arrived at Meteora. Meteora is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos. The six remaining monasteries, there were originally twenty-four, are built on immense natural pillars and hill-like rounded boulders that dominate the local area. Geologists know that the columnar rock formations were formed by erosion by water, but not why the outcrop of rock is so localised to this area alone.

Driving past acres of cotton fields

Athens to Delphi, through the mountains

The beautiful town of Arachova

The view from Arachova

The road to Delphi

Athena Pronaia Temple, Delphi

Delphi

The Stadium, Delphi

Delphi

The Serpent Column, Delphi – once had three snakes heads at the top

The treasury, Delphi

The museum at Delphi

Our view at camping Delphi

Camping Delphi

Sunset at Delphi

Thousands of acres of olives in the valley, owned by one family for generations

Award winning mer des oliviers de Delphes olives

Part of the irrigation system, taking water from the mountain to the olive groves below

Delphi to Meteora

Delphi to Meteora, the steep climb with hairpins

Delphi to Meteora

Delphi to Meteora – some sort of festival

Our first glimpse of Meteora

Meteora, the view from our campsite

Climbers flags, Meteora

Meteora

Elephant rock, Meteora

Meteora

The path up to the monasteries, Meteora

Meteora

Getting supplies in, Meteora

Meteora

Cave life, Meteora

Meteora

Meteora, rainwater seeps through the top of the rocks and finds its way out through faults creating caves

Camping Meteora

Warnings of bears and not to get out of the car

Even signs on the motorway warned of bears

The road to Albania

Albania and Montenegro – we had received dire warnings about driving a UK-registered motorhome through Albania, and all turned out to be unwarranted. As a precaution though, we had shown our route to three Albanian friends in Greece, one had suggested that it was impossible, one that it would be very hard, and one that we should make sure to drive through his home town (which we did). We expected a two-hour hold-up at the border, but in the event, we got through in about twenty minutes, most of which was spent arguing that we did need to buy insurance for our vehicle as our UK policy only covered us within the EU, and them insisting that we did not. We did eventually get it. The scenery is much the same as in mainland Greece which we love, and the people are just as friendly. The only downside was the disparity between the rich and the poor – the rich being almost obscenely wealthy in the face of extreme poverty, and the poor living in squalor. That said, we did not see any beggars, no one with their hands out, and everyone worked for what they got which is a refreshing change from our own culture.

Albanian fruit pickers

The apple orchards at Bilisht

Albania

One of many fruit and veg stalls

The old Albania on one side of the road

The new Albania on the other side of the road, Lake Ohrid

Wild camping, Albanian style

Albania

Albania, and the harsh reality of young kids being given fast cars by newly rich parents

Albania

Durres, Albania

Poverty at Durres

Our overnight stop at Durres, Albania, where for the price of a couple of pints we were allowed to stay in the hotel car park

Durres, Albania

Albania

The border to Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro – our sat nav told us to turn right!

Montenegro

Lepetane, Montenegro

The ferry at Lepetane, Montenegro

Montenegro in low cloud all day

The border to leave Montenegro before six miles of no man’s land and the border into Croatia

No man’s land between Montenegro and Croatia

Croatia and Slovenia – we were sad to leave Albania and Montenegro having really enjoyed our time there, but we were also looking forward to Croatia and Slovenia. There is an odd expanse of no man’s land between Montenegro and Croatia, and the day we were there, the weather was terrible, low cloud and thunderstorms that followed us up the coast road. Croatia turned out to be every bit as beautiful as we had been told, every corner seemed to bring with it yet another breath-catching view. After a while though, you become immune to it all, which was just as well as I had to spend much of my time driving avoiding rockfalls and rivers across the road. Thankfully vehicles coming the other way would warn of hazards around the corners. A favourite place, without a doubt, was the Trpanj peninsula which we drove through to catch a ferry to avoid driving a few miles through Bosnia. While reports of hold-ups in Bosnia were probably exaggerated, Trpanj was amazing and we spent two nights under palm trees on a beach listening to jackals howling in the woods above us.

The border into Croatia

Croatia

Croatia – odd storm clouds

Croatia – flash floods

Croatia

Dubrovnik

Croatia

Camping Trpanj

Camping Trpanj – where we listened to jackals howling during the night

One of many odd sculptures, Trpanj

Sunset over Trpanj, jackals howling in the woods

Clear waters, Trpanj

Trpanj

Trpanj – we did not try the medicinal qualities of this mud

Trpanj

Trpanj – one of several swim areas on the coastal footpath

Trpanj

Trpanj – we came across these sculptures everywhere here

Trpanj

Trpanj – ferry to Ploce

Storm clouds over Trpanj

Trpanj

A small, hidden meeting place in the woods at Trpanj

Waiting for the harvest

Trpanj

En-route for Ploce

Ploce, Croatia

Croatia

Senj, Croatia

The border into Slovenia

Slovenia

Camping Lake Bled, Slovenia

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Lunch – Lake Bled, Slovenia

Austria, Germany and France – by now we already had a sense that the best of the holiday was behind us, and what remained would be largely number crunching to get the miles out of the way. Little did we know that due to terrible road conditions and congestion in Germany, we would end up driving 550 + miles in one day just to get clear of it all. Austria is every bit as pretty as the postcards, and good roads make for easy driving providing you stick to the many rules that are enforced with vigour. Germany was our downfall, arriving at our planned overnight stop early, we decided to drive on to our next destination at Stuttgart, but not liking the area at all, we carried on to Kaysersberg knowing that this would give me a full rest day there. Liking Kaysersberg as we do, this was not a big hardship, and we even got another rest day later on in France despite opting to go the slower non-toll route and enjoy the wonderful scenery.