None what-so-ever.
Oh dear and it’s not even been a month yet
Austin and I have finally arrived in the sun. Not that it wasn’t dry and sunny in Croatia, Serbia and Macedonia, but we now have the real heat of Greece; that boil your brain at lunchtime heat. We headed down the Aegean highway looking for the campsites that Mum, Dad and Jimmy stayed at. Jimmy had been the climber and had led my parents up and down either side of the Alps in Slovenia and Austria, but it was Greece that my Dad loved. Mum loved the sunshine, the warm Med and the beaches, but Dad loved Greece, the food the people, the whole thing. Once the sun had been on him for a few minutes he blended in like a chameleon eating mousaka.
Greece is thread through my life like the veins in marble. My parent's adventures had drip fed into my soul on long rainy afternoons and boring car journeys. So it was with a great deal of excitement and trepidation that I crossed the border and headed to Platamon in the shadow of Mount Olympus looking for their first campsite. They had planned to climb mount Olypmus but by this time even Jimmy had become a lotus eater.
I arrived at the beach front with its multitude of campsites just in time for a Greek national holiday and the place was rammed. After a worrying 45 minutes I found a place and Austin and I breathed a sigh of relief; we had survived our first day of real heat.
I don’t imagine Platamon looks much today like it did in 1967. The beach looks familiar but the sheer volume of campsites and visitors would undoubted surprise the three original members. Personally I found the sandy stretch of beach along the front a little too crowded. Since I stopped surfing my physique has somewhat, how shall we put it? Softened? And if I lie on the beach I fear Greenpeace will rush out of the bushes, grease me up and attempt to roll me back into the sea. So I moved around the corner and beneath the castle high on the cliffs above, I walked along the old train lines and found myself a rocky cove where I could dive into that special blue of the Med and wash away the sweat and dirt. Holy moley it felt good to be back in the sea. The last time I had seen the ocean was back in Ostend and that was far from inviting.
Mum and Dad at Nea Kifissia campsite 1967
After a few days break to recharge my batteries, dry all my camping stuff and let the Greeks go home Austin and I headed south to Athens and to Nea Kifissa. It was another long, hot, sweaty day that mainly consisted of me handing over fistfuls of cash to the toll booth operatives. I pay tax, so I have already paid once for the Greek road system it seems a little unfair that I have to do it again.
Mum and Jimmy at the Acropolis
After a fretful search for the campsite we found it and the present owner/manager Katrina was lovely and amazed to see the photos from the original trip. In the morning I left Austin to have a lie in and I went into town to have a look at the Acropolis.
Today a great deal of love and attention is being put into this icon of western history and while it is still certainly very grand it did look a lot like a building site in places with all the cranes. Yet it was much better than I thought. As you can see the original trio wandered happily in and out of the column’s exploring the ruins, but the sheer volume of visitors (and of course the percentage of idiots such numbers would mean) means that this is no longer possible. However, instead of the big fences I had expected there was simply a rope barrier that took always like of the grandeur of the place. If you visit it make sure you go to the new Acropolis museum is lovely, really nice, calm and fascinating.
the return journey was equally expensive, but off to Turkey, perhaps the single largest challenge Austin and I have faced so far.
There a new Greece gallery over at the Facebook page.
There a new Greece gallery over at the Facebook page.
Have a good week folks
And again soz if there are any typos.
Cheers Matt
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