Thursday 22nd June
Stuck in Greece and waiting, waiting, waiting. Wash bedding √. Yoga √ . Empty toilet √. Read motorhome manual again √. Wash floor √. Check route through Italy √. Check bank accounts √. Sort photos √. Update blog √. Answer emails √. Research next campsites in Italy √. Etc √. Etc √. Etc √. Have swim in the sea……nice.
Friday 23rd June
We’re still waiting to move. So we moved….. on bicycles. It had reached 31C by mid-morning, but we got on our bikes and cycled along the road out to a headland with a long, long beach on one side and lagoon on the other. Then we sat on the noisy beach watching all the ferries plough back and forth in front of us. For dinner, I tried Prawn Saganaki, having seen it on menus in lots of places; now is the time to try it if we are leaving Greece tomorrow. The dish comprises prawns, with heads still intact, immersed in a thick tomato and cheese sauce. Not a soup, not a casserole and served with nothing else. It was OK, but a bit weird; I don’t think I would have it again.
Saturday, 24th June.
Empty the loo. Clean the loo. Strap bikes back on rack. Wash exterior. Last bit of hand washing. Charge bike batteries. Eat. Close the hatches. Close the windows. Strap down anything that moves. Rotate the seats. All knobs in. Check the fridge door ten times. Stow the levellers, table, chairs, tarpaulin. Reset the GPS, etc., etc. We checked out of Camping Drepanos at 11:30am and drove out along the spit of land, looking for a spot to park under trees beside the beach. Still feeling stressed, I lost it completely at one point. But finally we found a good shady spot, re-opened all the windows, vents and back door to wait out more hours, now without the fan. I had two pee swims, Rodney only had one and then around 4:00pm a car parked right in front of our chairs, blocking our view of the sea and the desperately needed sea breeze. When I put my arms in the air and expressed disappointment, his partner ran off to the beach and he gave me the finger! Before we drove off, I gave him a large fallen branch across his wing mirror. Sorry, but he picked a very bad time to pick on us. We drove into Igoumenitsa, bought some water and food supplies, knowing that we will hopefully be arriving in Italy, but it will be on a Sunday, therefore, no shops open.
The long waterfront at Igoumenitsa had plenty of street parking, thank goodness. Then we set off in search of dinner. We drove to the port to collect paperwork for boarding and that turned into another struggle. Only Rodney can drive through customs, immigration in Reggie and I have to go separately with the foot passengers. I went back to the desk and asked her if that was really the procedure and, treating me like an idiot, she confirmed it, but said that I would be able to get in the van before Rodney drives on board. I can’t see how he can stop and hold up all the trucks and cars if I get held up. It sounded like total madness and a very stupid system. He won’t be able to hand anything out of the windows if there’s a man in a booth, because we’re right-hand drive and I won’t be there to hop out and help him manoeuvre if needed. Fingers crossed this weird setup of the Greeks’ will work tonight.
Every restaurant in Igoumenitsa was selling the same, same food and it seemed like the completely wrong thing to do, but we found a stylish Italian restaurant and shared a pizza, before arriving in Italy.
And so to the end of the day. As instructed, at 10:30pm I went through my passport control and the important person waved me through. Then the police wanted to check my passport and ticket too. I finally got through to the other side ……. no Rodney. He was having the van searched at his passport control area. We finally found each other and drove at random across a massive tarmac area looking for other motorhomes, then remembered we’d been told go to ‘7’. Initially we couldn’t see any numbers, they were hidden by the parked vehicles, and when we spotted them, we realised we were sticking out on the end of what could have been ‘8’ or ‘7 ½’. There was no-one pointing directions, no signs, and a ship was disgorging vehicles that were trying to get through the rear of our lines. Rodney manoeuvred to try and be more in line with the number ‘7’ then a man in a t-shirt, told him we needed to be back between 7 and 8, because the 7 queue was going to Ancona, NOT Bari. We tucked ourselves back in behind the already full line of motor homes and Rodney walked the line to check that they were all definitely going to Bari, with ‘camping on board’ signs. A ship came in, the Ancona one. We were still anxious. It was all so unnecessarily stressful, especially at that time of night. Our ship finally sailed around 12:30 in the morning. It’s been a tough time and I feel we will never be returning to mainland Greece.
