12 August – Just a short drive from the Wolfgangssee, past Salzburg to Berchtesgaden crossing the border into Germany. There is a legend that the angels got a fright when god growled at them for taking so long to distribute the beauty spots around the world and they dropped them all in this area. I think they probably dropped a few in NZ first! It is a beautiful valley with the spectacular Berchtesgaden Alps on all sides. We rode our bikes along a great cycleway beside the river, past Berchtesgaden village and thru to the emerald green lake Konigssee. The area was packed with tourists. We caught a small electric ferry (no power boats) down the lake to the little St Batholoma church. Beautiful but very touristy. It started to drizzle while we were there and everyone suddenly wanted to return so we had to wait in a huge queue for a ferry. We stopped in Berchtesgaden village on the way home. Very cute.

13 August – It rained in the night and the cloud was down over the mountains. It did not look good for a visit to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, built for his 50th birthday by Martin Bormann in 1937. At lunch time the skies cleared a bit so we rode to town and caught the local bus up the hill where the next bus took us up a private road (spectacular) to the car park below the Eagle’s Nest. The last 124m was in an ornate brass lift which ended in the building. It was easy to imagine the old Mercedes Benz cars dropping off Hitler and his officers and them going up the lift. Unfortunately the building is now a restaurant so there is no admission. We walked around the building and climbed the last few 100m up to summit of the Kehlstein at 1837m. The views were great. The building itself was a bit disappointing however. We had decided to walk down from the summit to the local bus stop about 6 kms. The first 4 kms were on a great track but the last part we had to follow the road. We were a bit leg weary when we got back to our camp.

14 August – A beautiful clear day and stunning drive thru the mountains and villages to Innsbruck. We crossed the border back into Austria. The camp is 7 kms from the city with views of the mountains all around. It is very flash with a man-made swimming lake and a man on a Segway to show you to your site, but expensive! We caught the free bus into the city which has hosted 2 Winter Olympics (easy to see why) and enjoyed the old town with some unusual buildings. We sat and had a beer at a café watching the sights go by. Many people actually wear traditional Austrian costumes. It’s like they are all going to a fancy dress party. The Inn River flows thru the town (hardly a brook) looking like a typical glacier fed river. (grey/green) The whole city is dominated by the towering mountains in every direction. We are still a bit stiff and sore after our down hill hike yesterday.

15 August – Another great drive thru alpine mountains and villages to Fussen. We are back in Germany and this is the starting point for the Romantic Road which we will follow for a bit. We are in a camp about 4 kms out of the village on the shores of a lake. The area is dominated by two castles built by King Ludwig II. We biked to the most spectacular one, the Neuschwanstein Castle. It was built in 1869 and is a fairy tale theme. The Walt Disney Castle is based on this one. As usual there were heaps of tourists and we joined them to walk around the castle. We did not queue up to go inside as it is only partially completed. We walked up the hill behind the castle for a view from a bridge. This bridge crosses a water fall 100m below. It was packed with tourists also there for the view. We both got a bit nervous as it just seemed to be too many people on the bridge. After a quick photo we got off. Perhaps they have not heard of Cave Creek here! We biked back to Fussen. Halfway there the skies opened and it teemed. We were soaked to the skin despite our parkas. Unfortunately we got lost going back to the camp which was a bit miserable. We have never biked in such heavy rain!

16 August – We continued up the Romantic Road thru pleasant farming country. After a shop up we turned right (off the Romantic Road) towards Munich and stopped about 30 kms outside the city at a nice camp with another lake. After lunch we enjoyed a swim in the lake and a lie in the sun. We rode to the bahnhof (railway station) to investigate our visit to Munich tomorrow.

17 August – After a relaxing morning we had an early lunch and rode the short distance to the bahnhof and after some help from a kind lady bought a day partner pass for the S Bahn to Munich. (3/4 hours). We eventually found the tourist information in the huge central railway station and set off into the city. The whole centre is pedestrian only with very wide streets, shops on each side and cafes and bars down the centre. We climbed the St Peter’s Cathedral tower for a great view of the city, which is flat. The city was busy but as the streets were so wide it did not seem crowded. We passed the town hall with its famous clock and eventually found the Hofbrauhaus (the famous beer hall) and felt obliged to have a beer. We sat with a local who told us of the beer hall and its history. As it was still early, and the band was having its 2 hour break (it plays from 11pm until 4 pm and then from 6 pm until??) we walked to the English Gardens, a huge park bigger than Central Park, in NY. Hundreds of people were sun bathing and swimming in the very swift river that follows thru it. We passed the Chinese Tower with a Bavarian band playing for a huge crowd in the beer garden. Boy, do these Munich citizens know how to drink! We headed back to the Hofbrauhaus and found a table (they are actually long benches which you share. Part of the charm.) The band started and we got our beers. Luckily it was before 6 pm so Val could have a ½ litre stein. After 6pm they only serve 1 litres! The music was “um-pa-pa” Bavarian stuff with everyone standing and drinking for an Ein Prosit every 20 minutes. We had a typical Bavarian meal, roast pork and dumplings and pickled pork knuckle. The waitresses are huge frauleins in traditional costumes. Great muscles from carrying the huge steins! We retraced our steps to the Bahnhof (railway station) and caught a train labelled back to our town. Two stops from the town the driver made an announcement (in German naturally) and we stopped. The train was almost empty so we sat waiting to continue. The next thing the lights go out and the doors lock. We pushed an emergency button and the lights came back on and the doors unlocked. The driver spoke no English but signalled that we should wait and eventually a train would come and take us the rest of the trip. Fortunately he was right and we were reunited with our bikes for a ride home in the dark.

18 August – We rejoined the Romantic Road. It has been a bit disappointing as it is poorly signed. We passed thru the large town/city of Augsburg before ended up on the motorway to our camp near Donauworth, where the Danube River follows thru. After lunch and a rest we cycled the 6 kms to the town on a cycleway thru beautiful farming country with fields of corn, turnips, chives and parsley. The town was great with 2 beautiful churches. The Holy Cross Monastery had some fantastic frescoes. After an ice-cream in the square we returned to our camp. We will follow the Danube east for a couple of days now.

19 August – We headed east along the Danube River. It very quickly changed into a wide navigatable waterway. We have not had internet for the last few days so we stopped at a McDonalds to clear our emails. We are at a great camp on the banks of the Naab River, a tributary of the Danube. We have a great site 3m from the river. The camp game for young and old is to walk up stream and float down the slow flowing river to your site. The water was cool but very enjoyable. There are many canoes and kayaks on the river. Some thunder and rain. It is cool at night and damp in the morning.

20 August – After washing, we biked 28 kms (return) up the Naab River along a great cycleway passed some beautiful little villages. Every village, regardless of its size, has a spectacular church, most with stunning interiors and frescoes. There were lots of people enjoying the cycleway or on the river. Back to the camp for a late lunch and some more “floating down the river”. There plenty of signs of fish in the river but no one fishing seriously.

3 August – We followed the coast road winding in and out of the bays and coves. The further north we got the drier the country became until eventually the hills and coast were nothing but gray rock with a few stunted trees. The off shore islands were just a yellow gravel. At some points the road dropped down to the water where there was a small village and sometimes a camp. At one village we fuelled up. I had thought the fuel gauge was faulty as we had done so many kms since our last fill up in Montenegro but it was just the type of driving we had done. Better than 10L/100kms!! We chose a large sprawling camp which was set on a series of terraces down to the beach. We were able to choose any area you fancied as there were no marked sites. We parked under a tree with a great view of the water. The beach was small but there were a series of coves along the camp edge. We swam in beautiful clear warm water again. I think the reason the water is so clear is that where are no rivers or run off from the land to make it cloudy. We found a discarded deck chair (very Paul Seddon like!) so I cut the webbing off it and Val has repaired our dilapidated beach chairs.

4 August – We drove north again and passed the large city of Rijeka, where we shopped, and onto the Istrian Peninsular where we are camped. Just as we set up the thunder and lightning started followed by heavy rain. After it stopped we went for a short walk. This camp is bloody dear so we may stay only one night. We are very near the Slovenian border. This area is called the Medveja Riviera.

5 August – The beach here is about 80% private so everyone is crammed into the rest. We found a spot and had a couple of great swims. If you are sick of me going on about the clear warm sea you will be relieved to know that this will be the last time. We will not be on the coast again until northern Germany in about 7 weeks. After lunch (we made the most of the expensive camp fees, $76 NZ!) we drove north thru the border into Slovenia. What a change. It was like throwing a switch. As we climbed away from the coast came into green forests and villages very much like Switzerland. We stopped at an “Aires” in a car park for the Postojnska Caves. After some investigation we decided to pay the 22 euro and see them. They are huge and attract a large crowd. They are so large that you travel the first 4.7kms into the mountain by a narrow gauge train passing large caverns and down low tunnels. At the end of the train ride you line up with your appropriate language group and are guided for a 2 km walk. We thought it would be hard to top the Perama Caves in Greece but these were better. The tour was less personal but the limestone formations were spectacular. The “Aires” filled up but we were able to sit on grass in the shade behind “Lefty”. It was a very cool night. Great for sleeping!

6 August – 7 degrees when we woke this morning! We drove north following the motorway to bypass Lubljana and turned off to Bled. This is a beautiful lake and we will come back to it in a couple of days. We are now in a great camp on the side of Lake Bohinj. It is cloudy with a few spots of rain. This is a National Park and right in the Julian Alps. After lunch we hoped on our bikes and rode 4kms (up hill) to the start of a short track to the Savica waterfall. It all looks like NZ but the bush is different. When we returned (down hill phew!) we had a swim in the lake. More warm clear water. (Sorry but it’s not the sea).

7 August – It is a cloudy morning but Val did a huge wash. After lunch we walked 4 kms along a track following the lake shore to the village. 1 km from the village the skies opened and it teamed. There was a beautiful church in the village, St John the Baptist, with great frescoes depicting his beheading. We had intended to catch the small ferry back to our camp but as views were obscured by cloud we decide to walk back. The washing was soaking and the rain set in for the night.

8 August – It is still raining and we drove the 20 kms to Bled. The camp is on the lake shore a short distance from the town with a great view of the church on the island. It rained all day so we sat inside, played Scrabble and watched a movie on the computer. We play Scrabble most evenings (with a drink). The score is 37 to 39 in Val’s favour! I have developed a “modified Scrabble” which makes for much closer games. The vowels and consonants are separated into two bags and you draw 4 consonants and 3 vowels. You retain this ratio thru the game. Try it. It takes some of the luck out of the game. I cooked roast chicken, roast potatoes and broccoli for dinner. Not bad with just a sailor’s frying pan!

9 August – It dawned cloudy but the skies cleared and out went the washing, parkas, towels and caps to dry. We set off on the bikes along the lake shore into the town. Great views of the castle on the hill and the churches. We continued on around the lake to the camp. Lake Bled is the venue for the 2011 World Rowing Cup (last year in NZ) The course just fits into this tiny lake. There are very few signs of preparations for this event which starts in 3 weeks. A small media tower and small open grandstand (neither new) and some work clearing a grass area. Perhaps this is why NZ lost $2 million!!! After lunch we hired a lovely wooden boat and rowed to the island and visited the church. There is a tradition that you make a wish and then ring the bell. (casted in 1534) The bell rings all day!! We rowed down part of the World Cup course to return the boat. Dinner at the camp restaurant (cooks night off) with a couple of old guys playing Slovenian songs on a squeeze box and a guitar. Very pleasant.

10 August – A beautiful morning and we headed north out of Slovenia and into Austria. We bought a motorway toll pass as we were heading into the high mountains only to find that it worked for the motorways but we had to pay extra for the two longest tunnels (8 kms and 7 kms.) The drive thru the Austrian Alps was great with spectacular peaks all around. We are now in the north of Austria at Wolfgangsee, a lovely lake about 30 kms from Salzburg. It is now much cooler and we’ve had track pants and jerseys on. We even put the duvet back on the bed.

11 August – After skyping the girls we caught the bus into Salzburg. The bus stopped at the Schloss Mirabell palace and gardens. This is “Sound of Music” country and part of it was shot in these picturesque gardens. We cross the Salzach River (in flood) into the old town (pedestrian or horse and cart only) and visited some of the great churches. Mozart lived here and we saw his birth place and home. There are shops totally devoted to Mozart stuff. We climbed the hill to the Hohensalzburg Fortress which dominates the city and gives a great view. After lunch we caught the bus back to our camp. After a rest we hopped onto the bikes and followed a cycle path to Strobl at the head of the lake. (12 kms) Very picturesque.

27 July – We walked down to the little harbour and caught the ferry to Dubrovnik. On the way we passed more signs of the war with bombed out buildings and a no go area which has not been cleared of mines yet. The Serbs came to within one hill of capturing Dubrovnik but were repulsed. Some of the old town has been rebuilt because of the war damage. Approaching Dubrovnik from the sea is great, as you can appreciate the beauty of the old city and the area. The water is a beautiful blue contrasting the stone work and the tile roofs. Our ferry arrived at 10:30am and we had a return ferry at 2:30pm which gave us plenty of time to explore this great city as the old part is quite small. There were lots of tourists from two huge cruise boats anchored outside the harbour. We wandered the streets and alleys enjoying the great buildings and churches before climbing onto the city wall and following it right around the city giving spectacular views. After a nice sandwich and a beer we caught the ferry back to our village and spent the afternoon on the beach. In the evening we managed to skype Canada and caught up with Lynne, Paul and our Canadian friends.

28 July – A nice quiet morning catching up on washing and cleaning the dirt of Albania off “Lefty”. We changed some more euros for kuna (local currency). 7.3 kuna to 1 euro so everything looks hugely expensive until you do the sums. As we can not use our euro card to get money out of an ATM in this part of the world we have stashed cash in various hiding places around the camper. In the afternoon we went back to the beach and enjoyed 3 hours of sun and swimming.

29 July – Woken with the wind and I hopped out of bed to save the awning, then the heavy rain started followed by thunder and lightning. It all lasted about an hour. We drove north up the 210 km coast road between Dubrovnik and Split. This has been described as the best coastal drive anywhere and it’s pretty spectacular. Just north of Dubrovnik we crossed the border into Bosnia. There is a bizarre 10km stretch of Bosnian coast before crossing back into Croatia. Fortunately we were waved thru both border crossings. On the right there are the mountains and on the left is the coast. There are many islands just off the coast so the sea is very sheltered. At times it looks more like a lake than the sea. We wound thru many coves with villages and beaches in each one. Unfortunately it rained off and on so the colours were not as good as they could have been but it was still great. We are now in a large camp 6 kms from Split. It has a nice beach so we will stay at least 2 nights here. We went for a walk and found the information centre where they told us we can ride our bikes into Split.

30 July – We set off around the coastline on mainly cycle paths to Split about 8 kms away. A great ride passing some nice beaches and bays. Split is where the cruise ships can moor at a wharf so the place was packed. It has a great water front where the old city is. We followed a map and navigated the lanes thru squares and lovely old buildings including the cathedral. After a gelato we hopped on our bikes and returned to our camp and beach.

31 July – We drove north again following the coast. The mountains are now further away and the land is flatter and drier. We hoped to find a nice quiet camp in a cove but after several attempts (camps full) ended up in a very busy holiday camp but right on the sea front. We can only stay one night here but that will be enough. The beach is very crowded but we found a spot and enjoyed a swim. A pro beach volley ball tournament was in progress so we watched the women’s final. The local girls won much to the delight of the crowd. After dinner we walked down to the village (Filip Jakov) which had been transformed into a lively outdoor market. Many families wandering around enjoying the atmosphere.

1 August – Back on the road north again along the coast. We drove until we found a nice quiet family camp with a great beach. We will spend a couple of nights here. The swimming is great. The water is a little cooler as we are now in northern Croatia.

2 August – We spent the morning with domestic duties including washing the bedding and giving Val a hair cut. (much to the amusement of the Slovenian family next door) The beach is great here and very quiet. This is the height of the holiday season so we are lucky that this camp is small. There are a lot younger children. There are no villages close so it probably does not suit families with teenagers. This area has a peninsular opposite so the sea is very flat again, more like a lake.

14 July – We spent a hot morning giving “Lefty” a good clean – well needed. After lunch we caught the bus and metro back into the centre of Athens and explored the Temple of Zeus. This was a huge structure. The size can be judged by the enormous pillars that remain. Next we found the Panathenaic Stadium. This ancient stadium was restored in 1896 for the first Modern Olympic Games. It is the typical Greek shape - narrow and open at one end. We walked thru the gardens and passed the parliament buildings with the guards in their costumes including slippers with huge pompoms. We crossed Syntagma Square, full of protesters & banners opposing the cuts in government spending (retirement age raised from 50 to 65!!) so that the EU will lend them money so the country will not go broke.(Greek politics 101) We wandered thru the centre of Athens. To our surprise this is a beautiful clean city with many parks and pedestrian only areas full of restaurants and bars. At 4:00pm we meet Colin and Pam Laker (work mates from Auckland) who have been in the Greek Islands for the last 2 months. We all caught the metro and bus back to our camp for a drink and a catch up before going back into town for a nice meal at one of the many outdoor restaurants. It was a very pleasant evening and we managed to catch the last bus home at 11:00pm.

15 July – We left Athens and headed NW thru dry farming country and eventually climbed into the hills. A very pleasant drive. We stopped at one of the mountain villages which is now a ski resort before continuing on to Delphi. This is 600m above the Corinth Gulf and a little cooler (33 degrees). After a swim in the camp pool we biked to the ancient site of the Temple of Apollo. All set on the side of the mountain with a theatre and a stadium. This area was established around the 14th century BC. Our camp site overlooks the mountains and the Corinth Gulf. Very spectacular!! At a lot of the camps recently we have had parties of older school children (15 – 18) staying. At this camp there are three groups, all from France, and sleeping under the stars. It seems to be an educational trip but they still seem to have fun. A bit noisy around the pool though.

16 July – When we got back to the camp yesterday we realised we had missed the most spectacular ruin which was further along the road and fortunately free, so we left the camp and drove to the Sanctuary of Athena. We headed back into the mountains again and followed a good road north and east eventually joining a motorway and then onto the Pelion Peninsular. We are camped on a great beach at the village of Kato Gatzea. It is hot again and we enjoyed several swims on the little beach. The water is unbelievably warm and crystal clear. This is now the start of the Greek holidays and the camp is nearly full but we found a great site 1 row back from the beach. We had our final swim after sunset just to cool down.

17 July – We spent most of the day on the beach with a break around lunch time when it is just too hot to be out of the shade. After sunset we walked around to the town and the harbour and had a Greek dessert at one of the many outdoor restaurants along the water front. This is a beautiful area frequented by mainly Greek families on their summer holidays.

18 July – A repeat of yesterday. Sun (mostly in the shade), the beach and swimming.

19 July – We drove west and north slowly rising into the hills until we saw the promontories of Meteroa. In this area there are weird geological formations of huge rock pillars rising 100s of meters above the surrounding valley. The most interesting thing is that there are 6 Monasteries perched on the most impossible sites at the top of these pillars. They date back to the 14 century AD and when the monks were being persecuted. They built these monasteries, which could only be accessed by ropes, to protect themselves. After a swim in the camp pool we cycled up to Kastraki, a small town under the pillars. We decided that the best way to visit the Monasteries tomorrow will be to drive “Lefty” up the road.

20 July – The lady at the camp told us it would get to 41 degrees today so we decided to explore the Monasteries early. We were on the road by 8:30 to drive the 10kms around the sites. We visited 2 of the Monasteries. I had to put long pants on and Val had to wrap a sarong over her shorts. Most of the Monasteries are accessed by either steep steps/track or across a bridge. All the freight etc is still winched up to the sites. There still are religious sects living there and the tiny Greek Orthodox churches are beautiful. We returned via the modern town of Kalambaka where we shopped. The afternoon was spent around the pool. The lady was wrong and it only got to 40 degrees!

21 July – A bit of a strange day! We decided to drive north to Kastoria, a town on a lake close to the Greek/Macedonia border. Unfortunately the camp at Kastoria, which we had intended to stay at, did not exist. We decided to drive to Ioannina (pronounced Yanina) on a scenic road thru the mountains. 20kms down the road we passed a small sign that said the road to Ioannina was closed. We hooked a U turn and followed the motorway to Ioannina. This was a stunning piece of construction with many tunnels and viaducts. We are camped close to the town on the edge of a very pretty lake which unfortunately is very polluted. This does not stop the locals enjoying all sorts of boating sports including sailing, water skiing, rowing and kayaking. To cap off a frustrating day we discovered that my bike had a flat tyre.

22 July – It is much cooler here. 18 degrees when we woke and a max of 30 degrees. We went for a bike ride along the water front and into town which included getting the tyre fixed by a little old man. After lunch we biked to the next village to visit a limestone cave complex. We joined an hour long tour thru the best caves we have ever seen. The limestone formations were spectacular! This is our last day in Greece so we will go to a taverna for dinner. Tomorrow we cross into ALBANIA!! (the bad lands)

23 July – A ¾ hour drive brought us to the Albanian/Greek border. We had a about a 45 minute delay in a queue waiting to be processed. As our vehicle insurance did not cover us for Albania we paid 35 euro for a certificate which in theory covered us. What for, we never did find out!! The first 20 kms was on good roads with very careful drivers. There were many police stopping cars for unknown reasons. After a major town the road deteriorated and became very rough and bumpy with huge pot holes. The best technique was to follow a truck as they knew when to avoid the worst holes by veering all over the road. The rough asphalt turned into road works which was very rough gravel and sand. This all lasted for about 100kms!! Eventually we joined a better road and even the highway which was smooth but for some reason the bridges were either a foot higher or lower than the road. Watching the traffic in front gave you a clue when to slow from 90 kph to almost stopped to minimize these huge bumps. The country was very barren and ugly. At one stage we drove passed old oil wells with a lake of stagnant water with oil on the surface. The smell was like the gas works!! About 70% of the cars are Mercedes of all ages but surprisingly quite a few new ones. There were also horses, donkeys and many motor scooters. As we neared Durres the country and the roads improved and we found our camp easily. It was located at a beach and we had a beautiful sunset over the Adriatic sea. We met several other couples from various countries and swapped Albanian stories and road tips. Although the roads are exactly as we expected, the people seem very friendly and the children all wave. Campers are a bit rare in this part of the world.

24 July – We continued north on good roads and pleasant country up to the border into Montenegro. Sunday must be wedding day in Albania. We must have passed 20 wedding processions. The first warning is the wedding videographer leaning way out of a car followed by the bride and groom in an ornately decorated car and the guests following also leaning out of there decorated cars waving ribbons etc all travelling at 90kph. A shorter delay than the other border but we got no stamps in our passports to say that we have left Albania and are now in Montenegro and there was no possibility to buy insurance. We are not sure if we are covered so it’s a bit of a worry! The queue waiting on the other side of the border was huge. We estimated about 4 kms long. We are now at a nice holiday resort with the very authentic name of Rocky Beach. The camp is full and the beach was packed but we enjoyed the large surf. This is like a typical NZ camp in the holidays with families set up for 2 weeks with everything including the kitchen sink. There seem to be a lot of Serbian families as Serbia is shares a border with Montenegro. The guy next door is plying us with his dad’s home made brandy. He was Costa Zoo’s coach (the Russian boxer who defected after the Sydney Olympics) so he speaks good English.

25 July – Another brandy from our Serbian friend. He swears it is good for you first thing in the morning!! We drove north up the dramatic Montenegro coastline. Mountains on our right and cliffs and beaches to our left. There are not many camps in Montenegro so we stopped at one that looked promising. It is very quiet and a bit like a DOC camp with limited facilities all set in olive trees and bush. Quite a contrast from last night. It has rain off and on all day and there is not a great beach here, so we settled for a long walk between the showers. When we returned the skies opened and we had a deluge which caused a small river to run thru our site. Thank god we are not in a tent!!

26 July – We continued thru some great towns and resorts to the Montenegro/Croatia border. At one stage we used a ferry to cross Europe’s biggest fiord. Leaving Montenegro the customs guy wanted to know why we had no Environmental Tax certificate. We explained, as best we could, that there was no one at the entry border to sell us the tax. After a quick look in the camper he shrugged and said “goodbye”. At the Croatian side the camper in front of us was being completely searched. Luckily, after checking our passports we were waved thru. We followed the coast past some great beaches and are now in a tiny camp at Srebrena about 6kms from Dubrovnik. We walked down to the local beach and shops and changed some euros into kuna (local currency). When the rain cleared again we went to the beach for a swim. This place has a very nice feel to it despite there being a hotel next door that was shelled during the 1991-1995 war. We checked out the ferry to Dubrovnik which we will use tomorrow. This camp has great internet so we will post this blog and skype the kids.

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.