Pilgrimage from Ipsala to Keshan 27/05/08

Five thirty in the morning my alarm springs to life...the pilgrims don't :) It's eight thirty before we finally drag ourselves out of bed, still feeling a bit dazed and confused from the ouzo...

A couple of the local shepeards come to watch as we pack our stuff away, looking on like we have just dropped in from put of space. They really don't know what to make of us :)

Hitting the highway it is already hot! The road is long and straight but the good news is there is not much traffic so it is bearable. Our view is filled with rolling hills checkered by the farmers fields with different hues of green. . Every second car that drives past gives us a toot and a wave which is great for the first few kilometers, but our arms start to get a bit tired. Now I know how the Queen must feel...

The other great thing is that every 30 minutes a truck will drive past and stop just ahead of us, wait for us to catch up, then offer us a lift. It's funny because we are walking on the other side of a four lane highway and yet they still think we want a ride. It must be so easy to hitch-hike in this country.

Making it to Keshan we are disappointed to find out the center is situated 2kms inland. We only want to go on the net, but walking an extra 4kms doesn't seem worth it. Then a car pulls up and asks where we are going. Just like that we get a lift into town, now let's just hope we can get a lift back.

As we are hopping out of the car I hear something drop on the road...please don't let it be the video camera...

I look on in horror as Sabine retrieves the camera from the street. To have both cameras brake within a couple of days would be a disaster :) But luckily after dusting it off it works fine...

We eat, do our blogs and around 7pm start making our way back down to the highway. A group of local kids come over to see what we are about and tare more than happy to start posing for the camera.

Finding the road that will take us back to the highway I turn to Sabine...

"Should we hitch? A car is just coming around the corner and I half heartedly stick out my hand.

Before Sabine can even mutter an answer the car screeches to a halt next to us and the guy tells us to jump in. The Turks are awesome!!! I can tell I'm going to love this country :)

Getting dropped back where we were picked we are happy that it has cooled a bit. Walking until near dark we find a great little field to camp.

There have been two things I have noticed on my first day in Turkey...

One...there are no snakes! This has been the first day in weeks we have gone the whole day without seeing one, not even squashed! The Greek army must have put out orders banning slithering on your belly across the bridge to Turkey as well ;)

Two...the dogs aren't barking at us. The most obnoxious thing they do is try to lick us :)

Pilgrimage from Monastiraki to Ipsala 26/05/08

Even though we get moving by 8am it's still hot. Really hot!!! The 8kms to Feres for breakfast is a sweatfest. Dragging ourselves in to town we are pleasantly surprised to find it is market day. Grabbing an apple on the way through we then find an internet cafe to pass the morning hours.

Before leaving I have to make a quick stop at the post office. While asking for directions we come across Muhammed. He can speak perfect German and is more than happy to act as our guide/translator for a bit. Cheers mate :)

On the way out of town we decide, since it's already getting late, we might as well stop for lunch. Looks like we made a good choice because five minutes later it starts pissing down with rain! Where did that come from???

It has cleared a little by the time we get moving but 2kms down the road we cop it. After three weeks of no rain the Gods let us have it on our last day here :)

The good thing with the rain is that it cools everything down, but with all the rain gear on I am still sweating. So wet inside and out we battle on, determined to make Turkey before nightfall..

Around 4pm we spot the border. The first thing we get told when we stop is...

"Sorry, you can't walk across the bridge to Turkey. You will have to hitch-hike."

Hmmmm, we will have to see about that. The bridge isn't in view of the border post so we think we are in luck but at the foot of the bridge two armed guards block our way...

"Sorry, you can't walk across the bridge to Turkey. You will have to hitch-hike."

"That's a bit strange...why?"

The soldier shrugs and smiles, looking slightly embarressed "Don't know, just our orders."

Got to love the army :)

I was considering asking about walking under the bridge but sense got the better of me and we started hitching. How hard can it be...

The first convoy to pass is three black mercedes at around 120kms/hr. I don't even know if they saw us! The soldiers laugh...

"Don't worry, we will stop you a car for you."

The next mercedes comes speeding up, brand new and immaculate with an elderly couple driving. This will be funny....

The soldiers stop the car "Do you mind giving these two a...."

"No way!!!" The guy doesn't even look our way before stepping on the gas and roaring off.

We all laugh again :) The soldier taps his pocket "Too much money...but no heart"

And then third time lucky. The next vehicle is a delivery van. Sabine and I pile into the back and head to Turkey!

Jumping out at the first checkpoint the offices all look extremely confused as the van drives off. They check our passports but can't speak any English...

"Auto, auto?"

"No we came by foot" I tap my legs...

"No, no, no...auto...where?

"No, we are walking"

"No, no, no..." They start to look more confused...

After a quick chat between themselves we get thrown in the "too hard basket" and waved through :)

All goes well and as we pass the last checkpoint a young officer with a cheeky smile leaves us with...

"Careful, you are in Turkey now..."

I can't tell if he is just teasing us or whether he is serious but quite amusing either way :)

And so we are...in Turkey now. It's great!!!

The best thing is that by our estimates we should still have 300-330kms to Istanbul, but the first sign we pass tells us we only have 230kms!!! That is always a good feeling!

Stopping for our first Turkish meal, it is wonderful until the bill arrives...we forgot that we were in bargaining country and should have negotiated the price first :) But oh well, lesson learned...

Finding a camping spot in a paddock we make the mistake of getting out the bottle of chippero. Five minutes later it's all gone! We must have been thirsty...

Pilgrimage from Antheia to Monastiraki 25/05/08

For some unknown reason I wake early this morning and feel great. Everyone else is still out cold so I sit on the couch twiddling my thumbs, go play on the net, then finally go crash back out for a quick nap.

Waking again to the sound of coffee being made in the kitchen it's time to get moving. I have arranged to go diving at noon but today we have also been invited for lunch at Georgia's parents place. I ring to check what time the diving will finish but it will be too late...the home cooked meal wins out and I have to cancel.

Before we leave we get a big surprise. Some of the kittens start to make their first appearance outside their box. It's funny watching them slowly get more and more adventurous and straying farther and farther away from home.

Normally our hosts just have four cats, three females and one male, but the reason they have sooooo many cats right now is that all three females fell pregnant at exactly the same time! And not to their male cat either, he is gay...not that Christos and Georgia mind, being open minded parents and all ;) So within a week of each other they suddenly ended up with 12 kittens! And luckily they have managed to find homes for all but one!

So once again piling into the car we head to lunch. Sabine has been trying to order musaka at every restaurant we ate in the entire time we have been in Greece, but without any luck. The Gods are must be smiling on her today because for our last lunch in Greece musaka appears!

The meal is amazing once again with way too much food being eaten by all. Two home cooked meals in a row. We must be doing something right :)

Once back home I crash out within a minute of walking in the door. Everyone else follows suit and it's 18:30 before we wake back up. The plan is to head off this evening so we can make Turkey tomorrow. It's time to start packing.

One of the kittens finds the solid cat biscuits and digs in. She is loving it and we all watch in astonishment as she continues to gobble them up. Sure enough five minutes later she is a bit unsteady on her feet and starts making funny noises. She looks hilarious! Big eyes watering, ears drooping and making little squeaks as she tries to work out what is happening.

Then the inevitable happens, she throws up and before the vomit even hits the ground she is trying to eat it back up again :) We are all in hysterics!

I go to do some last minute filming and am very unimpressed to discover one of the cameras has died...three weeks after the warranty ran out!!!!!! Fucker :)

Finally finishing all our packing it's time to go. Saying our goodbyes we hit the road., but not before our hosts load us up with a bottle of chippero and some chocolates. It was a perfect break. Thanks guys!!!

Making it 8kms we find a little bar for dinner, get warned about the dangers of walking in Turkey by the bar owner, then find a little spot to set up our tents. Our last night in Greece...

Antheia 24/05/08

A day off! Aaahhhh....it's a good feeling.

Sleeping in, then just lounging around till lunchtime, the day is off to a great start. Every saturday Christos and Georgia go for lunch with Christos's mum and today we are invited. It's good to see Christos, like all Greeks, has a lot of respect for his mother and covers his "Muff Diving Instuctor" T-shirt for the family lunch. Classic!

Maria is also an extremely entertaining woman. Warmly inviting us in to her home we get treated to some home-made strawberry liquor as we sit down. mmmm mmmm :) Then lunch is an amazing feast of pork chops, meatball and a variety of salads. Superb! Over the meal we find out Maria is a singer as well (no...not balck metal ;) ), and local TV personality too.

Feeling so full we can hardly walk we all pile back into the car, head home and crash out. Waking again around 6pm it is time for a bit of sight seeing. The highlight of Alexandroupolis is the lighthouse, said to be the tallest in the Balkans, so after getting our "tourist shots" it's straight to the internet.

As we are making our way back to the meeting spot guess who we randomly run into...Maria! There is a charity event on and the local TV stations are in attendance, so after a few quick words in the cameraman's ear we get bundled up for an interview. It was great!!! Thanks!

She then takes us down to the local theater where a concert is being performed and promptly disappears. I remember tonight is Eurovision night...I bet she has snuck home :)

We also had to sneak away because our hosts, and Sabine, were extremely excited about Eurovision too...

Now even though I have spent quite a few years in Europe, Eurovision is never something I have understood. It looks to me like an overly lit up school talent quest, but tonight I'm being forced to watch the WHOLE show. Will I ever be the same again???

So armed with pizzas and a couple of bottles of chippero (home-made ouzo) we head back to the flat, switch on the TV and get comfortable. I'm sure the chippero helps but the experience isn't half as painful as I was expecting. I even find myself cheering and applauding as Greece moves up the table. It looks like they might win and I'm looking forward to the parties tonight if they do...but it isn't to be. Russia comes through at the end, leaving us to get an early(ish) night :)

Pilgrimage from Makri to Antheia 23/05/08

The nuns have a service from 04:30 to 06:30 which we would like to catch some of...some that is ;) This little pilgrim isn't getting out of bed at 04:00 :)

But 05:45 is OK and I'm impressed that we get it together! We are seated in the church by 06:15 and it is well worth it. The service is great, once again with a lot of singing and with the birds still chirping outside it's magical.

Sister Gregoria meets us for breakfast and is happy to chat away while we eat. The meal is wonderful and we find out most of the produce is made right here in the Monastery. The other interesting thing we find out is that all the nuns of this order have to have University degrees. Pretty cool!

Their generosity is awesome, not only have the nuns provided us with two meals and a roof over our head, but as we go to leave we get given a bag with about 5kgs of food! Home-made biscuits, bread, chocolate and more. We can't express our thanks enough. I love Greece :)

So with full bellies and in wonderful spirits we leave to make the remaining 15kms to Alexandroupolis,. It is still early and not yet hot so we make great time.

As we are passing through Nea Chilli I hear...

"Ben, Ben"

Looking to the side I see a car pull up...

"Are you Ben?"

I must have forgotten something at the monastery. "Yes"

"Hi, it's Christos from Couchsurfing!"

It turns out the guy that has just pulled up is the person we are hoping to stay with tonight, 10kms the other side of Alexandroupolis,! What luck!

He eagerly offers us a lift to his house and I explain that I have to walk. But for Sabine it is an offer too good to refuse. The walk into cities is never any fun so she jumps in and I tell them I will see them in a few hours :)

Twenty meters down the road a guy comes out of a bakery and calls me over...

"Where are you from" (Said in Greek but I've started to get the idea)

"Australia"

"Aaaahhhhhh!!!! Australia! Australia!" He grabs me by the hand and drags me back in to the bakery...

It turns out his cousin is inside and is actually an Australian citizen, but now lives here. He explains that they were just discussing life back in Australia when they saw me, hence the guys enthusiasm. We have a good chat and the guy who can't speak english buys me a coffee. Great people!

I make it into Alexandroupolis and head straight for the internet. It's been a while and I'm behind with everything! By 13:00 I decide to make a move, there is still 11kms to go...

The walk out of town is typical industrial area, it's boring and hot! Not much fun at all, so I just stick my head down, bum up and slog it out. Not stopping for a rest I make it to Antheia by 15:00. Two minutes after arriving in to town Christous pulls up. He was on his way to check where I was up too...great timing again!!!

Christos and Georgia live in a great little apartment with ocean views, four cats and 12 kittens!!! (So if you are in need of a cat let me know ;) ) Makes it a very entertaining house. The other entertaining thing is that Christos sings in a black metal band called Crossover. They seem to have quite a decent following around Europe and regularly tour.

And that's one of the great things of being open to whatever the universe is offering...one night we are staying with the nuns in a monastery, the next staying in an apartment with pentagrams and upsidedown crosses on the wall :) I love life!!!

They are both perfect hosts, a couple of hours after meeting us they are comfortable enough to give us the keys to their apartment as they go to work. Wonderful people :)

After a great dinner in a local restaurant our hosts return to go out for a bit of a drink...it is friday night after all ;)

Pilgrimage from Maronia to Makri 22/05/08

Getting out of bed by 7am we are on the road by eight. The country has made a dramatic change. Gone are the flat farmlands full with spring crops. Instead we are walking through dry rolling hills spotted with olives...and all the infrastructure has suddenly disappeared, even the roads are now dirt.

Before long we stumble across another piece of history, a big theater built in the Roman times...and now being rebuilt by a team led by a woman with an American accent who rudely tells us we can't take pictures before disappearing back into her bubble of self importance :)

The walk is awesome, passing rocky headland after rocky headland with the waves of the Mediterranean splashing up on the rugged coast. I'm in great spirits!

But of course our road soon ends! I don't know how or why this always happens...but it always does :) Our map marks this road as a major route so we were expecting an easy walk, but it's just not to be.

Luckily the vegetation is not very thick and we end up playing a fun little game...

Find a goat track...

Loose the goat track...

Find a goat track...

Loose the goat track...

After many wrong turns and a few dead ends we finally stumble back on to a road. Let's hope this one takes us to our destination! We are both sick of being lost for the moment ;)

Even though this part of Greece doesn't have any facilities at all, it appears this wasn't always the case. Passing archaeological site after archaeological site we ponder what happened to all these towns as we stroll along.

The only other sign of civilization is the occasional army base, but these aren't looking so inviting. I'm not sure what they would think if we asked for lunch ;)

Around early evening we come across our first holiday town. About time! But it looks like we are still a few weeks too early, no lunch here :(

As we head up the hill out of town I have my MP3 player on and am in my own little world. I glance around to check if Sabine is still with me but she is nowhere to be seen. I wait...and wait...and wait...

Ten minutes pass and I figure I better go back to ensure she is Ok. Dropping my pack I backtrack calling out every 30-40 meters, but no response...

Spotting her backpack lying on the side of the road things are starting to look a little strange...

"Sabine!!!"

"Saaabbbbbiiiinnnne!!!"

Still no response. Towards the ocean there is a steep incline before dropping off to a big cliff. Surely she wouldn't have picked that side of the road to go to the toilet! Surely???

I sit and contemplate my options. How long do I give her before trying to see if I can get a view over the edge of the cliff? Where else could she be?

As I'm weighing up my options I see some movement in the town below. I can't quite make out if it is a person or not but after getting out my video camera it's confirmed, someone is walking down there. I can't see if it is her or not but I figure it must be. When we were down there we didn't pass a soul. She must have forgotten something pretty important.

Much to my relief, fifteen minutes later she walks back into sight.

"What did you forget?"

"The video camera!

I tried calling out but you didn't hear me and I didn't want to wait any longer. A car drove past which I tried to get a lift with but they couldn't understand anything I was saying and the old woman didn't move over when I tried to jump in. Then another car turned up and I stopped them and just jumped in even though they couldn't understand me either.

When I got to the bottom where we had our break the video camera was nowhere! I know I had it in this town but couldn't remember where I put it down. But then luckily I remembered that I filled up with water and when I went down there it was still sitting on the side of the road."

That was a pretty close call :) But all turned out well...

I start to run low on water so seeing an old guy working in his garden, head over to see if he can help out. He is more than happy to oblige and as we are leaving i hear him say to Sabine...

"Come, come"

Turning around to see where he is taking her I'm just in time to witness him present her with a gorgeous rose. That was super sweet ;)

After finally locating a restaurant around 6pm we have a well earned feed. It has been a pretty exhausting day!

We still want to get another 7 or 8 kilometers completed and once we get moving again start to feel OK. Passing a tourist sign all in Greek pointing down a little side street we figure we should go have a look. Wandering around, not quite sure what we are looking for we finally end up in a car park. It turns out we have hit another monastery!

I start taking some pictures and upon entering see a nun leading Sabine away making sleeping motions. This is looking good! Sure enough they are offering us a place to stay, and they don't even know what we are doing yet...I'm impressed.

The Sister rushes off and comes back with Sister Gregoria who speaks perfect English. It turns out they get a few pilgrims passing by every year and she makes us feel more than welcome.

We get our own little hut by the beach and a great dessert of home-made sweets. Falling asleep to the sound of the nightingales I feel very content :)

Pilgrimage from Adriani to Maronia 21/05/08

Sleeping in again it's 9am before we get moving. We both feel pretty sluggish so when our first town appears 20 minutes later we are happy to stop for frappe. Asking the bar owner if he does food, he leads us next door to a Mini-Mart. Not quite what we are hoping for but better than nothing. He must feel sorry for us because five minutes later he comes out with a big Greek salad each. Awesome :) And after finding out we are walking he decides we need a bit more help and gives us another coffee before leaving. This definitely gets us going!

The road soon turns to dirt and it isn't long before we are wondering through the fields just guessing on where to go. Spotting a church in the distance we figure this must be our town, but upon arriving town is still a kilometer away. The church is out in the middle of nowhere! :)

After finally locating Imeros it's time for lunch. Sitting down for a well earned beer, I put my feet up and relax. Life's feeling good...

Once again we get a negative response when asking about food and once again we must look so miserable that the owner then decides that they do, just as we get our backpacks on to leave she comes running out with some fish and bread. We sit back down to eat and two minutes later we get a big salad as well. It must look like we haven't eaten for a week because five minutes after this another plate arrives full of organs and rice. From the "baaaaaa"ing sounds she is making I take it it's sheep or goat liver. But whatever it is it tastes great. And she doesn't even charge us for it! We pay for our drinks and try to leave a tip but she doesn't want any of it :)

Making it back to the coast we stop for a rest and promptly fall asleep. The deep rumbling of thunder drags us out of our slumber and we get moving quick smart. There are dark clouds brewing on the horizon and it is a long way to our next town. The thunder ensures we aren't slacking but we soon realize the storm seems to be getting farther away, looks like we are in luck!

Finding a beach bar coming in to the next town we are disappointed after realizing it has yet to open. The workers are busy busy, ensuring it will be ready in ten days time, but the owner is more than happy for us to take a seat anyway. He comes over bearing Sprite and again doesn't let us pay...it is just one of those days :)

At the next town we manage to get pizza and after a couple of ouzos don't feel like moving any further. This feeling isn't helped by the sound of heavy raindrops on the roof, but luckily they only last a minute. As it's getting dark we get back into it. The ouzo has definitely made the walking easier but we still only make another 5kms before calling it a night.

Pilgrimage from Porto Lagos to Adriani 20/05/08

Even though it was 01:30 before we got to sleep last night we are up bright and early this morning. The monks are doing a service to St Nicholas from 07:30-09:30 and we would like to watch.

We planned to get out the door by eight but we are a bit sluggish and don't manage till 08:30. the monastery is still two kilometers back up the road so we are in a hurry. Sticking out our thumbs at every passing car I'm sure we will get a lift...but it isn't to be. Even when we want to drive somewhere we can't get it together!!! The joys of a pilgrimage :)

We rush in by nine and it ends up being well timed. The service is great. I much prefer a church with singing and chanting rather than sermons, especially when it is in a different language ;)

The ceremony climaxes with us all walking in under an arch formed by two guys holding a relic (or something), then kissing the bishops hand, eating some bread, before finally filing back out for the cake. It has the appearance of a wedding cake but made of something strange...and tastes delicious :)

As I'm waiting for Father Niphon, Father Matthew ensures we are well looked after. Here is another man with a very comfortable aura and steady gaze, something that all the monks at this monastery have in common. I am very impressed. It isn't so often that I enter a religious establishment and find a whole group of people I would be comfortable calling truly religious. Even without the beards and robes, here is a group of men the world could learn a lot from.

The monastery was said to have been built in 800 or 900 AD but they have just discovered some foundations dating back to 500 AD. The highlight here is a copy of a relic they have in Mt Arros which is said to perform miracles, especially for the heart. Father Mathew retells some of the recent stories to us, pretty cool...

Before we realize it's 12:30 and father Niphon is still busy with the Bishop. Asking Father Matthew to pass on our "thanks" we go to leave. Just then Father Niphon appears...

"What, you are leaving already?"

"Yes, we would love to stay but we still want to make our 30kms for today and it's getting late."

"But you haven't even eaten lunch! Here quickly come this way."

He leads us into the kitchen and once again we are presented with a huge feast. It is wonderful, and with our bellies full we say our thanks and hit the road. After a kilometer I turn around and see Sabine looking slightly pale, holding her belly.

"I think I ate too much" :)

There's nothing else to do but sleep it off ;) So we do. Finding a small dirt road we both pass out for a couple of hours.

Hitting Nea Kallisti around 4pm it is time for a coffee. We figure since we have 20kms to go and it is already getting late we will be walking in the night, but it's a full moon anyway so it should be good. Sabine's German has come in very handy through Greece and once again we keep the locals entertained with our stories. So much so that one guy paid for our coffees as he left. Cheers mate :)

Neo Sidirochi is marked on our map as a major town and as we hit the outskirts I'm thinking to myself "I hope this is not it!". We are in wide open streets with street lights everywhere, numerous dogs barking at us...but no shops and no people! It is 10:30pm and I'm sure there should at least be a bar open. But no such luck. We manage to pass through the whole town without even spotting a church!!! Very strange!

The next town is only 2kms down the road but ends up being much the same. It looks like we are going to bed without dinner :( So tired, hungry and sore we find a camp spot and call it a night...

Pilgrimage from Dafni to Porto Lagos 19/05/08

After a great sleep-in we don't get moving till 8:30. Knowing that it is only 7kms down the road to Avdira we are not too concerned. The plan is to get there, get some food, sit on the internet for a while, then walk another 10kms to another hot springs marked on our map. Sounds like a great day.

The walk to Avdira goes well and we are in town by 10am. Finding an internet cafe straight away we settle in. I watch in amazement as Sabine orders her third frappe (iced coffee) in as many minutes. She is keen!

By the time we finish on the net it's 13:30 and we are pretty hungry. Heading to the Mini-Mart to buy some cheese, ham and chocolate we then go in search of a bakery...but everything is shut :( So a restaurant it has to be...again we are out of luck! So far Greece has been great with the ease we are able to find food, but over the last few days the restaurants are wearing thin...

On the way out of town we spot a our first cherry tree with ripe cherries! Well, semi-ripe anyway. We can't resist. As it is hanging over the footpath, all the good ones are quite high up. Standing on the fence I reach up...

A woman comes rushing out onto her balcony yelling and screaming with her hands waving everywhere. Of course we can't understand a word she is saying but I'm sure it went something like...

"Get your filthy hands off my bloody cherries! Piss off you smelly beggars!!!"

But at this stage my filthy hands are already on my cherry and there's no way I'm letting go :) Hopping down from the fence I pop the cherry in my mouth, smile sweetly and in my best greek say "thank you". She continues to rant and rave as we start wandering down the road. She comes across as the type of person who sits at her window all day just waiting for the kids to come buy to steal her cherries...so I'm glad all her effort wasn't wasted today ;)

The road east is dead straight. For the next ten kilometers there is hardly a bend and there is not much to look at. Pretty exciting stuff.

Finally we come across our spa complex but we are ten years too late, it's a ghost town. On this pilgrimage I have come across some pretty useless maps, and this one definitely rates up there. I think it was made in the time of Alexandra the Great and has never been updated. Some of the towns marked don't even exist, while the others aren't where they are meant to be. And to top it off the distances are only accurate to about a factor of 10! Absolutely useless!!!

So feeling a bit disappointed we continue walking...

Porto Lagos is 7kms ahead of us and is situated between a big lake and an inlet, looks like a perfect little tourist place. On the way there we even spot a sign for a yacht club so we are expecting something pretty ritzy.

Walking past a hotel coming in to town we um and are about whether to see if they have rooms or not. Deciding it's better to find a restaurant first, then get a hotel on the way out of town we keep walking.

The center of town consists of a cute little church and a single bar! Not what we are expecting at all. Asking at the bar if they have food we get the reply...

"Yes, pizza"

So pizza it is. Better than nothing :)

It's starting to get dark as we head off in search of a room for the night but within 200m we are out of town! Hmmmm, doesn't look like we are getting a hotel.

Passing a big warehouse we get waved in by an old guy sitting on the loading dock. He only speaks Greek but after finding out we speak English yells out for his daughter. She speaks perfect English and is quite amused by our journey. While we are chatting away the old guy runs into the warehouse and returns with some icecream! What a champion :)

As we are searching for a spot to camp I see a dirt road heading down to the lake. Looks perfect, but my torch suddenly spots a little snake in the middle of our path. It doesn't even flinch as I stamp my feet...maybe it is dead. I give it a little nudge with my boot....

"Phsssssssst!!!!!!!!!!"

Sabine cracks up as it charges me and sends me running down the road...yes, very amusing :) Second time in as many days I've almost been got. Seems a little dangerous in these parts...

The road ends in a perfect spot to camp but just as we are about to drop our bags an old guy appears out of nowhere to shoo us away. We aren't having much luck tonight!

Five hundred meters later we come across a church out in the middle of the lake, connected to the mainland by a bridge, and even though it's 10pm the car park is full. Looks like a pretty special place so we go to investigate...

Everyone is quite well dressed and there is the feel of a party in the air, I think we have just walked into a wedding! No-one pays us any attention as we find a seat and try to suss the situation out a bit.

Spotting a sign which signals this is a monastery a wave of hope wells up...maybe we can stay :) I find one of the monks and through a young guy translating explain what we are doing and ask if it is possible to get lodging for the night. He tells me that he is not from this monastery, but thinks it isn't possible as it is probably only OK for men. I ask if he can find out for sure and he agrees to go ask the Father who looks after the place. It turns out that the party is for St Nicholas, the saint the this monastery is dedicated to, and we have stumbled upon a pretty special party. Tonight there are two Bishops present!

After finding the Father he give us his answer...

"Sorry, it isn't possible...but if you like I can pay for you to stay at the hotel in town?"

He takes my hand as I way up his offer and I get goose bumps as I see the joy on his face. Here is a man making an offer not out of obligation or trying to impress anyone, but purely for the pleasure of giving. Looking in his eyes I can see a truly religious man. Thank you Father Niphon :)

Straight away we are ushered inside for a big feast before the monks find us a lift back to town.

The hotel is great and we are straight into the shower. It has been a while...it seems even God was getting sick of the smell of us ;)

Pilgrimage from Chaidefto to Dafni 18/05/08

So...is there a bridge or is there not a bridge???

That is the question on our minds as we wake this morning. Our map has the border of two regions marked along a river about 7kms in front of us. Unfortunately, because of the border marking, we can't see whether the roads on either side of the river join or not. I know from experience that you can't take these things for granted and also that people can be slightly unreliable with their information. We have asked a few times so far and everyone agrees that we can cross...I'm still not convinced ;)

Sure enough, asking at the first little town we come too, the locals there tell us the bridge doesn't exist...

"No, definitely no bridge, you have to cross up here" Pointing at a spot on our map 32kms up stream.

Bridge - 3
No Bridge - 1

And Thirty-two kilometers!!! What a fucker!!! Now we are really praying that the bridge exists. Since we are only 5kms away there isn't much of a choice, we will have to go check it out. Maybe we can swim across :)

Having a break in a field a woman pulls up who looks like she knows the area well. And yep, it is confirmed, no bridge! We can either walk 10kms upstream and try to find the spot where you can pull yourself across on a little raft, or the path she recommends is to head 6kms down to the river mouth and hitch a ride with someone fishing...that is, IF there is someone fishing...

We take her advice and head south. The good news is that this route takes us straight in to the Nestos Delta. Now, we are not quite sure what this is but it must be some sort of wildlife sanctuary or National Park. And by the looks of all the benches around possibly somewhere famous for bird watching.

It is a beautiful walk with the chatter of birds following us continuously. The only other animals to be seen are the occasional tortoise and snake. We walk for, what seems to us as, far too long before finally spotting some beach huts...

I'm fiddling with my video camera when out of the corner of my eye I catch a slight movement. I jump back! It jumps back...coiled ready to strike if I invade it's space again, before quickly slithering off into the bushes...

This certainly got my adrenaline pumping! We have seen many snakes at close range recently but I was only a step away from landing on this one. And Sabine must have walked within a meter of it as well, she was already on the other side!

Greeted with a perfect beach we are glad we made the decision to come south. The only problem now is getting across the river. It isn't so wide, but deep enough that we will have to swim. At least it should be possible...

There is one dingy floating 100m off shore so I yell out and give them a wave...

They wave back and keep floating...

I yell and wave again...

They wave back and keep floating...

Hmmmm, looks like we are out of luck with that one. But the good news is that we have spotted an empty dingy on our side of the river which we can probably "borrow" and swim back afterwards.

As we are discussing our options Sabine notices a sandbar stretching in an arc around the mouth of the river. I hold my breath as she wades out to check if it goes all the way...success! She manages to get across without the water coming past her waist. We won't have to steal a dingy after all :)

Feeling pretty happy with ourselves we collapse on the other side. The water isn't half as cold as I was expecting, and I'm a complete wuss when it comes to cold water, so we go back in for our first swim of the summer.

The thing is, now there aren't any roads for us to take so the only option is to walk along the beach. It makes for a hard slog, incredibly beautiful, but hard! Five kilometers later we come to a line of caravans parked on the beach. Some of them are occupied, so before long a group invites us in for a quick snack. Having eaten the only food we had with us for breakfast, we are extremely grateful.

They point us in the direction of the nearest town, but on arrival we discover they don't even have a restaurant! Just a cafe selling junk food. So two packets of chips, half a chocolate bar and 1/2 a liter of cherry juice later I'm feeling like I might be able to make a move.

But as we are packing up a table comes out and people start arriving with plates of food. We go to pay our bill and the owner invites us to stay. It turns out it's a birthday party for two, two year old twins...we are in luck :)

After a bit more sustenance we head off. The heat is killing us and Sabine shortly points out that the backs of my legs are glowing red! Probably the first time they have seen sun in seven or eight months!

We want to make Avdira before dark to see if we can get a hotel, but it is looking less and less likely. After a wonderful dinner in Mangana we only make it another 5kms down the road before finding an old stable and setting camp.

Pilgrimage from Aspri Ammos to Chaidefto 17/05/08

No luck with my bloody sleeping mat! I think I will have to get a new one...even though after two months of sleeping on it empty I'm sort of getting use to it ;)

The alarm gets us out of bed by 06:45 and we are determined to get an early start. By 07:15 we are on our way :) Our small windy road leads us down the headland towards a little beach, but then disaster...it ends!!! I don't believe it, it's just someones driveway! The beach isn't very far away but our main problem is that there are two big dogs barking at us from inside the yard...

We manage to sneak down the side of the fence and getting to the beach look to see if we can "rock hop" our way around the headland. We know that there is a big port just the other side, so if we can make it around this headland there is bound to be a road. It looks possible so we give it a go...

Jumping around rocky headlands like this is normally a lot if fun, but with 25kgs on your back it isn't so nice. The strain on the knees and ankles isn't good so we take it easy.

Slowly, slowly we make it around and sure enough the port greets us on the other side. Following the road back to the highway we realize we are only 500m from where we turned off last night! Two hours walking down the drain, but the views probably made it worth it...probably ;)

We are now straight into a huge industrial area. There are big factories everywhere and car dealerships dotting the highway. All the towns start to loose the "touristy" feel they have had over the last few days. And best news is everything has suddenly halved in price! We stop at a little canteen and get charged €0.50 for a Coke and €1.50 for a hotdog. Amazing :)

By afternoon the factories have given way to farmland and even though most of the rivers and creeks we have passed so far in Greece have been completely dry, there is no shortage of water here. It has the feel of an area that has been irrigated for millenia!

The roads are long and flat with nothing but fields and dams in between. A perfect environment to plug myself in to my iPod and drift away :) And so i do...

The long straight roads continue and we are setting a good pace. Stopping for dinner we are just in time to see Nadal and Dochavich playing an epic game. It was great tennis. They are one set a piece and just as we are creeping towards the end of the match the bar starts to fill up with locals...

"Are you watching this?"

"Yes"

"Hmmm, the final for the football is about to start, how long before it ends?"

Nadal is just about to serve for the game "About five minutes"

We all watch in horror as Match Point after Match point slips by. Ten minutes later they are up to their eighth "Deuce" and I feel the locals are about to riot! Luckily the tension was all a bit too much for Dochavich as well, and we all let out a sigh of relief as he puts his dropshot into the net.

Trying to stay off the main roads as much as possible we head off into the fields, hacking a path through all the mosquitoes. There is a road marked on our map which we want to take, but there are also many roads that aren't marked all heading in the same direction!

We randomly pick one, and of cause it isn't long before we have to turn around and hike a kilometer backwards. We aren't impressed. We are lost, getting eaten alive and there are gunshots ringing out a short distance to our right...

The only consolation is the stunning sunset over the dams. Absolutely awesome!

Finding our way back to a main road, we find out we have strayed 3kms south. Oh well :) Time for bed anyway...

Pilgrimage from Palio to Aspri Ammos 16/05/07

After all that ouzo last night we were never going to get an early start. We potter around, I try once more to fix my sleeping mat, all the while trying to put off the inevitable...

But finally around 11am we get into it. Kavala is only 14kms down the road and we want to catch the Post Office before it closes, have a rest, eat dinner and still make another 10kms on top. But we will have to see, it has the feel of a very lazy day today ;)

Sitting down to breakfast I make a shocking discovery. Yesterday Microsoft sent out an update for Office 2008 and after I installed it none of my Office programs open anymore :( What a fucker!!! I need to get to an internet cafe to see if I can fix it...

Clearing a small hill we stumble upon these three having a picnic. Sure enough, even though they can't speak any English or German they invite us to join them. We are already full from breakfast but they don't take "no" for an answer. Soon enough we are about to pop, full of delicious home-made spinach pie and meat balls :)

As we round the last headland and Kavala comes into sight we are amazed with it's size! We definitely weren't expecting a big city. The other amazing thing is the long, perfect white sandy beaches. I could be in Australia ;)

Finding an internet cafe I don't have any luck fixing my problem. The only advice I get is to reinstall all the programs...a lot of good that does me when my Office CD is in Holland :) Looks like I will have to make do without Word for a while...

Kavala is another super cool city. A great harbour, relaxed atmosphere, yet still bustling with life. We find the Post Office, eat dinner and on the way out of town are blown away with the old aquaducts leading out of the city. It reminds me of Istanbul!

Making it another 7kms we come to a junction. The turnoff on our map is 500m down the road, but it is quite busy and there is another small road (not on our map) leading around the headland which looks much nicer. We opt for the headland route knowing full well it could end in disaster...

It starts to get dark and the view back to Kavala is awesome. When the fireflies start lighting up the path in front of us we have the feeling of being in a fairytale..absolutely magic!!!

As we find a campsite I wonder to myself if the repair job on my mat will finally fix the problem. The ground is super hard so I hope so...

Pilgrimage from Palio to Aspri Ammos 15/05/08

A perfect view greets us as we emerge our tents. Camping about 10m above the ocean we have rocky headland after rocky headland, perfect white sand beaches, all filled in with the beautiful deep blue of the Medeteranian. A wonderful way to start the day!

After a brief pause to admire our surroundings we hit the road. To our disgust, 200m later we see a sign for the spa! We can't believe it. After walking 37kms yesterday we stopped 200m short! We can hear God chuckling...

But now we have a decision. The spa is one kilometer off the main road and there is only a small brown tourist sign. No big welcoming "Hotel" or "Resort" signs anywhere to be seen. Do we risk it?

Hahahaha...of course not! Even if we knew a spa was up there it would be a push to walk an extra 2kms, but without the certainty it just isn't going to happen. So off we head once again.

We get directed of the road a couple of times to cafes that still haven't opened yet for the summer. But the roads closer to the coast are much more beautiful anyway, so we don't mind...

And third time lucky. We stop in to a great little tavern owned by a woman who grew up in Australia. She was wonderful! Extremely welcoming and more than happy to sit and chat with us about the "good old days" back in Oz. The highlight comes when she makes us breakfast...an amazing three egg omlette with a Greek salad side. The whole meal has the feeling of being home cooked rather than from a restaurant kitchen. It's perfect :)

Getting in to Nea Peramos around 5pm we head straight for the internet. Finding a super trendy bar called "Mosquito" it's time for an ouzo to ease the sore feet ;)

The great thing about internet cafes in Greece is that they are often also bars which are done up to look really nice. This is no exception. It is a perfect environment to catch up on all our crap...and get slightly tipsy of course ;)

Walking out of Mosquito around 8pm we are greeted with another superb view. The bay of Nea Peramos is a perfect little harbour, and the old castle perched on a hill to the south really gives it character.

Stopping at a Mini-Mart we stock up on supplies...ie ouzo ;) It's funny, at the bar we get charged €4 a glass but in the Mini-Mart we get charged €3 a bottle!!! Bit of a difference...

As it starts to get dark we hit the town of Palio. We aren't having much luck with finding a campsite so when a small church appears in front of us we have to go for a look. Much to our surprise the door's unlocked, but the church is situated in a graveyard...what is the etiquette for this???

We decide it probably isn't worth the wrath of any angry locals if we are discovered and luckily "Campsite Paradiso" appears in front of us 200m down the road. Perfect timing...and we will get a shower!!! :)

Yep, the Gods are smiling on us. We get a super hot shower, our clothes washed and all our electronics charged up, all for €5.50 each...bargain!

Now feeling human once more, we settle in to watch another movie and finish our ouzo...

Pilgrimage from Loannis to Loutra Eleftheron 14/05/08

It's a pleasure waking up in our little beach hut, but like like all good things it comes to an end too soon ;)

Within a kilometer we stumble upon a sign stating "Macedonian Tombs". Peering behind the fence we can see the entrance in the side of the hill and before I have the chance to blink Sabine has dumped her pack and jumped the gate. Why not :) So I follow suit. The tombs are pretty cool, completely empty but with an ancient feel.

Walking around the coast we are greeted with beautiful beach after beautiful beach. The sands are white, and still being early summer, nearly deserted.

Spotting a big holiday complex we decide it's time for breakfast. Three young guys are lounging around the reception...

"Do you guys do breakfast?"

Laughs..."No"

"Do you do coffee?"

More laughing and joking between themselves..."OK, yes over there"

One of the guys rolls his eyes and leads the way. We walk past a room which appears to have just sat 200 people for breakfast...Hmmmm, why did they tell us they don't do breakfast? Sabine asks our guide and it turns out this place is only for school camps, this morning they just finished with 1000 kids. I now feel lucky that they are letting us have a coffee...they are all exhausted :)

And the best news is that we are actually 4-5kms further down the road than we thought. No wonder nothing was matching up on our map!

With the thought of a hot bath at the end of the day spurring us on we make good time. The only problem is that 3kms after leaving the camp our map lets us down again (or we just couldn't read it right ;) ), so once again we don't know where we are! Our map is quite old and doesn't have the new highway marked properly...or that's what we tell ourselves anyway. Some days are just like this though, nothing is as it should be.

Spotting a sign for a "Macedonian Tomb" we go to investigate. The gates are locked but we can see from the road it looks quite impressive...so we have no choice but to jump the fence :) The place is pretty cool, completely empty but in really good condition.

We walk and walk and walk but there is still no sign of our spa. Sabine suddenly has a bad thought...

"What if the spa is just like the one we saw a couple of days ago...just old rocks where Alexander the Great took a bath?"

This hadn't occurred to us before, maybe there will be no hot bath tonight at all :( And here we are pushing our bodies to the limit for what might be no reason. Our spirits are dampened but we soldier on.

Hitting the main road again we realize we have already walked 32kms today. Probably about five more to go. The problem is that our bodies are giving up. Every step hurts and we are forced to take breaks every 45 minutes to message our feet.

After completing the next five kilometers it's 20:30 and there is still no spa to be seen! Collapsing on the side of the road once more we have a decision to make. Keep on going to what might be a sad ending, or try for a spa in the morning...

Our bodies end up making the decision for us. We are too exhausted to go on!

Finding a perfect camping spot on a cliff with a stunning ocean view we call it a night, dreaming of the hot bath we will have in the morning...

Pilgrimage from Apollonia to Loannis 13/08/05

Another amazing walk around the lake this morning. The smell of spring is everywhere, combined with the view of the lake and the wild flowers it is a treat for the senses.

As we are, once again, searching for our morning breakfast we spot a few old guys lounging around in front of a cluster shops across the road. One of them must sell coffee…

But they don’t, it’s all just tourist crap. The good news is though, next to the stalls selling tourist crap is an amazing little church. Very cute from the outside and extremely beautiful inside! We spend a few minutes getting photos and video footage as other tourists/possible locals do their hale Mary’s (or whatever the equivalent Orthodox thing is) and bowing out the door.

Finding breakfast shortly afterwards it’s then straight to the coast. As we turn east the smell of the sea greets us and we notice a definite change in the scenery. The trees become larger and greener and the foliage is much thicker. There is no way we will be going cross-country through these hills.

One thing that has surprised me in this part of Greece is the amount of snakes. Every day we see at least 3 or 4 snakes over a meter long! It’s pretty cool as they are all really scared of us and slither away at high speeds as soon as we get close. But it still keeps it interesting when we are looking for campsites in the dark ;)

Now, I wouldn’t blame you for thinking that my preferred way of travel is by foot, but it isn’t…it’s to drive :) So you can imagine my excitement when out of the blue a go-kart track appears! Five minutes later Sabine and I are zipping around in circles at high speeds. It’s great!!! So good that I have to have another go.

The problem with adrenaline is that after it wears off, so does your energy :( The walk has suddenly become a lot harder. But we plod on till Asprovalta, hoping to find an internet café. It looks like we are in luck but as I go to enter I realize it’s locked! All the computers are still running so I ask the shop across the road when they open…

Shrugs with a big smile “When he feels like it”

Yep, definitely in a Mediterranean country ;)

And that was about right…it seems like I wasn’t the only one waiting for the guy because as we sat there out the front, having a picnic on his doorstep, the locals started coming and pulling on his door too. Funnily enough they all looked disgusted as well as they walked away disappointed :)

Finally he opens and we all rush in to get our internet fix. As we go to leave I notice it’s dark outside…we have been here 2½ hours! Still wanting to get our 30kms done today we knuckle down and get into it. We have 8kms to go…

An hour and a half later we stumble upon this great little beach bar still waiting to be opened for the summer and decide to call it a night. It’s great, we don’t even need to put up our tents…