6 July – We were up early and off to the ferry terminal in Corfu. We were loaded at 8:30 am and sailed on time at 9:00am for the 1 ¾ hour crossing to Igoumenista on mainland Greece. The trip was basically on inland waters with many small islands. We drove 50 kms to the beach resort of Parga and found a camp close to the town and beaches. This is a popular resort with several beaches and coves a little like Paleokastritsa on Corfu. We explored the town, (very cute) which is located along the water front and harbour, on our bikes. Two great beaches with more beautiful clear water and even a few fish to be seen. On our way back from the beach we shopped at a small supermarket. In the afternoon we went to the closest beach for a couple of hours. The beaches are packed and you end up much closer to people than we would be comfortable with in NZ. In the cool of the evening we walked back to the town and explored the many tourist shops and even did some shopping. The town was packed with everyone doing the same as us.

7 July – Back to the beach for 1½ hours before driving to our next camp on the island of Lefkada. The island is accessed by a causeway and swivel bridge. Very quiet after Parga. We had a cool off in the camp swimming pool before a nice bike ride along the waterfront. We stopped at a nice little taverna for a beer and a chat with a girl who spoke great English.

8 July – After a shop we left the island and continued south along the coast to Patra where we crossed a huge modern suspension bridge (13 euro toll) into the province Peloponnisos in the south of Greece This bridge spans the mouth of a inland sea which goes east as far as Corinth (150kms). We are camped at Kato Alissos where we had a swim on a very nice quiet beach. Quite a contrast from the last few days. We will stay here tomorrow as we are now close to Olympia. It is now getting quite hot! 33 degrees all day and 25 degrees at night.

9 July – A quite morning and we listened to Crusaders being beaten in the S15 final on the computer. We have discovered (belatedly) that we can listen to ZB on line. Back to the beach for a couple of swims in very choppy water.

10 July – We drove down the coast and inland to Olympia. As we arrived at only 11:00 am we off loaded the bikes to explore the town and find out about the tickets etc to the archaeological site. Our plan was to relax in the pool until the late afternoon and then see the ancient Olympic site in the cool. We discovered that, although all the signs said that the site was open to 8:00 pm, for some reason (not obvious) today it would close at 3:00 pm. We biked back to the camp for money and better hats, water etc and returned to buy our tickets and see the sites. The Olympic site is set in a lush valley. It was very hot (midday) but the walk around was great with good signs (in English) explaining the various buildings. Gymnasiums, dressing rooms, baths, temples and accommodation for the athletes and officials. The highlights were the main temple dedicated to Zeus and the main Stadium which held 45,000 seated on grass embankments. The ancient Olympics started in 337 BC ran until to 832 AD (1169 years). They were held every 4 years without a break in this period. All male competitors (naked) with a lot of the modern disciplines. The main Stadium was a long thin shape. Running races were either one length of the stadium (197m) or two lengths run between a lines of stones at each end. We also went to the Archaeological Museum and the Athletic Museum. Both fascinating and a bit cooler. We had an ice-cream on our way back to camp and jumped into the pool to cool off. This is the hottest day so far (as we are inland) 38 degrees.

11 July – We continued inland on a windy road into the central mountains in this area. The scenery was beautiful with great mountain villages and cute Greek Orthodox churches. There were little old ladies in heavy skirts and head scarves, old men sitting around, and priests with long black robes, long white beards and pill box type hats. The real Greece! We climbed up thru a pass at 1300m. There are ski resorts here. We never realised you could ski in Greece. On the other side the road widened and we eventually joined the motorway to Corinth. We are camped 4 kms from Corinth at a nice beach where we spent most of the afternoon.

12 July – Back to this lovely beach for a couple of hours before leaving and following the motorway to Athens. Around Corinth we crossed the canal which links the inland sea extending from Patra to Corinth, to the sea around Athens allowing ships to sail west from Athens without going around the bottom of Greece. The canal, which is 6 kms long 23m wide and 90m below the ground level, was started by the Romans (Nero) but abandoned and not completed until the 19th century. We are camped 7 kms from Athens on a very noisy road. Not much here but a good base for exploring Athens.

13 July – We set off into the city using a local bus and the metro. All very easy and only taking ½ hour. The metro station was at one of the entrances to the Acropolis. The ancient ruins are all set on a hill in the centre of Athens. After paying our entrance fee (12 euro) we climbed past the Theatre of Dionysos to the Parthenon and Erechtheion on the top of the hill. Some parts of the ruins were quite crowded and being restored but it did not detract from the spectacular buildings and views of modern Athens. We walked back down the hill thru the ruins of the Agora, the political, social, and business part of the ancient town. At the exit at the other side of the Acropolis is the flea market and many restaurants. We had a beer and a great souvlaki for lunch before wandering thru the shops and back around the Acropolis to our metro station and back to the camp. It has been another hot day so we cooled off in the shade and drank lots of water. Unfortunately there is no pool at this camp. Should be for the price!! We met another NZ couple who had just come thru Albania with no problems. In the cool of the evening (30 degrees!) we walked to a local supermarket.