Xyniada May 9, 2024 🇬🇷
Xyniada… not exactly the heart of Greece, but a beautiful, quiet campsite right next to a monastery. On our way to the campsite, we meet a very nice Swiss couple who are traveling by bike. We have coffee and chat a bit about traveling. And just like that, time flies by…We reach our campsite in the late afternoon after taking the wrong highway entrance—which always comes with a cost in Greece…. For all those who are always complaining about the vignette: we’ve been in Greece for 7 days now, and our current total is CHF 60.82 in tolls. On our way to the campsite, we see countless solar farms under construction… The main supplier seems to be Yingli Solar—I wonder where that company is from?
Euboea, May 9, 2024 🇬🇷
We’re ready for the island… this time we’re heading to Euboea / Evia! Where is that, anyway? About 90 km from our last campsite lies the small village of Glyfa. From there, we’ll take the ferry to Agiokampos on… Euboea! From there, we’ll head to Edipsos, where we have our first campsite. The coastal village of Edipsos is known for its hot springs, and we’d like to enjoy them too. However, the weather isn’t on our side yet, and it’s still raining through Saturday. So we’re enjoying the pre-season atmosphere on the promenade and waiting for better weather.
Edipsos, May 10, 2024 🇬🇷
The story of our second day in Edipsos is quickly told… it rains all day. We use the time to tidy up a bit inside the Joey. It’s not much fun, but it has to be done. Toward evening, the rain finally stops, and we stretch our legs a bit with a walk through the village. Tomorrow’s supposed to be better… we’ll see.
By the way, the swimmer in the picture is there purely by chance—it’s not Livio without his toupee…
Nea Artaki, May 12, 2024 🇬🇷
We leave Edipsos and take a very winding scenic route across the island of Euboea. Our destination for today is the coastal town of Nea Artaki near the main town of Chalkida. We take a lunch break in Prokopi, a place that doesn’t mean much to us at first. We actually just want to fill up our fresh water tank, but the “good” faucet sprays water pretty much everywhere except at the spout itself, so that plan falls through. So we settle for a coffee and then move on…. While drinking our coffee, we notice the bustling activity around us, and out of curiosity, we take a quick stroll through the village. After doing a bit of research, we realize that Prokopi is an important pilgrimage site. It’s packed with tourists, restaurants, and souvenir shops… we hadn’t expected that at all.
After this somewhat longer break, we set off for today’s campsite. We find a good water fountain and refill a few liters of fresh water. Later in the afternoon, we arrive in Nea Artaki. The campsite is beautifully situated by the sea, secluded and with a great view. It’s a nice place to stay….
Nea Artaki, May 12, 2024 🇬🇷
Since it’s so lovely, we’re staying another day… We set off on foot toward Nea Artaki. The village turns out to be a beautiful coastal town in the early season. One lovely restaurant follows another, and the vast majority are filled with local guests. I wonder what it’s like here in the summer? In any case, we enjoy the still somewhat sleepy atmosphere over a good cup of coffee. We take a little stroll through the village before heading back along the coast. We spend the afternoon at the campsite, where we’re the only ones there until late afternoon. Then another Austrian camper arrives… is this perhaps a good sign for today’s Ice Hockey World Championship match against our neighbors?
Athens, May 14, 2024 🇬🇷
Today we’re heading to Athens, where we’ve found a campsite in Piraeus. Conveniently located next to the subway line to Athens, the spot is perfect for our visit to the capital. But first, we’re heading to the harbor—Piraeus is supposed to have quite a few yachts. And what we see there eclipses everything we’ve seen so far. The yachts are huge, and a little research reveals unbelievable rental prices of well over 500k per week. Well… for us, the first stop is Lidl to do some shopping, and afterward we treat ourselves to an espresso with a view of the marina.
Even though 50% of our team isn’t exactly eager to head to Athens today, we go anyway. So off to the metro to enjoy the evening in Athens… and I’ll admit, it was a good idea. A great seafood restaurant with a view of the illuminated Acropolis… magical. Afterward, we took the slightly aging metro back to Piraeus.
Athens, May 15, 2024 🇬🇷
Today we’re visiting Athens, and the itinerary includes the main highlights. The first one falls by the wayside due to budget constraints—we’re not spending 60 euros to “look at rocks” again. We decide to admire the Acropolis by taking the walking tour from the bottom up. Most of the highlights are within walking distance, which makes Athens ideal for a long walk. The final highlight is buying shoes. Adriana picks out a great pair of Camper shoes, and I replace my Birkenstocks with the same model—which ends up getting thrown away a few hours later.
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