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Lion Gate Contents Introduction Opening Hours Tickets Parking What to See My Other Blogs on Greece 1. Introduction to Mycenae Mycenae is one of the most important archaeological sites of Greece. The period of Greek history from 1600 BC to 1100 BC was called the Mycenaean period because of its importance. At Mycenae's peak in 1350 BC, the citadel and lower town had a population of 30,000 people. Mycenae is a very popular and busy site. The main path from the Lion Gate to the Citadel can look like Mount Everest on summit day! All groups stop at Lion Gate and are given a talk there. As a result Lion Gate becomes very congested and it is difficult to take photos. It is important to time your visit to Mycenae so it doesn't coincide with the peak time of tour groups visits. It is best to arrive at Mycenae early or late in the day and this also avoids the summer heat. In the mornings aim to arrive at opening time but by 09.00 at the latest. In the afternoon you should arrive after 17.00, the later the better. Parking will also be a lot easier. We visited the nearby archaeological of Tiryns ( Tiryns: Travel Guide ) and the Palimidi Fortress in Nafplio ( Nafplio Travel Guide ) on the same day. Many organised tours also visit Epidaurus ( Epidaurus: Travel Guide ) on the same day. 2. Opening Hours at Mycenae Winter: From 1 November to 31 March 08:30-15:30 Summer: April : 08:00-19:00 2 May - 31 October : 08:00-20:00 Good Friday: 12.00-17.00 Holy Saturday: 08:30-15:30 Holidays 1 January 25 March 1 May Easter Sunday 25 December 26 December 3. Tickets for Mycenae Tickets for Mycenae cost Eur 20. There is free admission for EU citizens up to the age of 25. From October 1 to 31 May a 50% reduction is granted to over 65's from EU countries. Documentary proof is required for these reductions. Admission to Mycenae is free on the following days: 6 March 18 April 18 May The last weekend of September. 28 October Every first Sunday from November 1st to March 31st. 4. Parking at Mycenae There is a car park at Mycenae which is usually full with buses. You can park along the road but at peak times you may have a problem finding a parking place. 5. What to See at Mycenae It would take about 1.5 to 2 hours to see everything at Mycenae including the museum. It all depends on your level of interest in ancient Greece. The main sights at Mycenae are: 5.1. Lions Gate Mycenae is fortified with Cyclopean walls of huge irregular stones and has two triumphal entrances. Mycenae's larger entrance is the Lion's Gate and it was built around 1400-1300 BC. The heads of the lions are missing, but they would have faced frontally to fulfil their role as guardians of the entrance. The Lion Gate at Mycenae 5.2. The Cyclopean Walls Mycenae's Cyclopean walls are the most famous example of Cyclopean masonry. The term derives from the mythical Cyclopes. He was believed to be the one who built them as only he would have had the strength to move such huge boulders. There are good views of the Cyclopean walls to the right of Lions Gate, before entering it. Very few people come here. Fantastic Stonework Mycenae's Cyclopean Wall 5.3. Grave Circle A Grave Circle A is a 16th-century BC royal cemetery. The burial complex was initially constructed outside the walls of Mycenae. It was later enclosed in the acropolis when the fortification was extended during the 13th century BC. A total of nineteen men, women, and children were buried here. Among the funerary gifts found were several gold death masks, full sets of weapons, ornate staffs, gold jewellery, as well as gold and silver cups. It has been estimated that Circle A contained about 15 kilos of gold. Grave Circle A View of Grave Circle A from the Top of the Citadel 5.4. Mycenae's Royal Palace Mycenae's palace is in a central location atop the citadel and was the main building within the fortified walls. The state rooms were arranged around a central court which led to the Megaron (a grand reception hall). The ruins are only at ground level but you can distinguish what was a great court, the throne room, the megaron and the royal apartments. Looking up the Site to the Citadel and Palace 5.5. The Royal Tombs There are 3 spectacular royal tombs outside the walls of Mycenae. We found them to be the most interesting thing after Lion Gate. They aren't busy like the rest of the archaeological site. 5.6. The Tomb of Aegisthus The Tomb of Aegisthus is among the earliest examples of Tholos Tombs. It was built of small stones in the early 15th century BC. Aegisthus organized the assassination of Agamemnon along with his mistress. There is no evidence that Aegisthus was buried in this tomb. Tour groups usually just look down into the tomb and don't bother to go down and enter it. It is worth doing so. Aegisthus Tomb at Mycenae Interior of Aegisthus Tomb at Mycenae, Greece. 5.7. The Tholos Tomb of Clytemnestra Near the tomb of Aegisthus is the Tholos Tomb of Clytemnestra, the legendary wife of Agamemnon. Its name implies that Clytemnestra was buried in it but there is no such evidence. The tomb was looted by Veli Pasha during the Ottoman rule, but otherwise is in excellent condition and shows exceptional masonry craftsmanship. When we visited Mycenae we had the tomb to ourselves! Tholos Tomb of Clytemnestra 5.8. The Treasury of Atreus The Treasury of Atreus is four hundred metres down the road from Mycenae's main site. It was built between 1350 and 1250 BC and is the best preserved Tholos tomb. It's an architectural masterpiece displaying the high level of craftsmanship reached by the Bronze Age masons. The entire monument is constructed with exceptionally well cut stones. The tomb was never buried by earth and always remained visible throughout the centuries. It was robbed in antiquity and there is no indication of who was buried there. Its function as the tomb of Atreus, the father of Agamemnon, is by no means certain. Tomb of Atreus at Mycenae Tomb of Atreus at Mycenae 5.9. The Museum The entrance to the archaeological site of Mycenae includes the museum. It contains many valuable items excavated from this site. Unfortunately the gold masks found in Grace Circle A by Schliemann, the archaeologist, aren't here. There is a copy of one. Mycanae's Museum 6. My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8

Essaouira, Morocco Contents 9 April 2024 - Granada to Ronda, Spain 10 April 2024 - Ronda, Spain 11 April 2024 - Ronda to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain 12 April 2024 - Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras, Spain 13 April 2024 - Algeciras to Asilah, Morocco 14 April 2023 - Asilah to El Jadida, Morocco 15 April 2024 - El Jadida to Essaouira, Morocco 16 April 2024 - Essaouira, Morocco Links to other blogs about our road trip 9 April 2024 - Drive from Granada to Ronda, Spain We drove from Granada to Ronda and stopped on the way to walk the Caminito del Rey which is a walkway attached to the walls of a steep and narrow gorge. It was finished in 1905 and it took 4 years to construct. T he Caminito del Rey was built to provide access for the workers at the hydro electric power plant. The original path for the Caminito del Rey was constructed of concrete and steel. It deteriorated over the years and the concrete collapsed in numerous sections. Several hikers died on the old walkway and it was closed. The Caminito del Rey was rebuilt and it reopened in 2015. The Caminito del Rey is an easy walk with great views but it has become extremely popular and commercialised. You have to buy tickets for specific start times and most of the tickets for the Caminito del Rey are for guided walks with a group. We didn't want to walk with a group and I only just managed to buy tickets online for doing the Caminito del Rey on our own. There were a lot of people doing the group walks. We paced ourselves so that we slotted in between two large groups on guided tours and managed to enjoy most of the Caminito del Rey in relative peace. We arrived in Ronda at 18.00 and checked into a 3 bedroom duplex apartment. It was very spacious and comfortable and only a 10 minute walk to Ronda's historic centre. There was also free off the road parking. We booked the apartment through Booking.com and paid Eur 235 for 2 nights. 10 April 2024 - Ronda, Spain In the morning we walked around Ronda which is probably the most well known and popular White Town (Pueblo Blanco) in Andalusia. Ronda is perched on a massive rocky outcrop straddling a deep gorge. Ronda was one of the last Moorish strongholds to fall to the reconquest in 1485 because of its impregnable position. We walked across the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) to reach Ronda's old town. The bridge was completed in 1793 and was the world's highest bridge until it was surpassed by a French bridge in 1839. There is a chamber inside the bridge that was used as a prison. During the civil war both sides used the prison as a torture chamber for captured opponents. Some prisoners were thrown to the rocks at the bottom of the gorge. Our first stop in Ronda was to the cathedral of Santa Maria la Mayor. It was built on the site of a 13th century mosque. The original Minaret and Mihrab of the mosque still stand. Afterwards we visited the nearby 14th century Palacio de Mondragon which was probably the palace of the Moorish kings. In the afternoon we drove from Ronda to 3 other White Towns. They are fortified hilltop towns and all the buildings are painted white. We first stopped at Setenil de las Bodegas. The main sights were the castle and the houses built into the cliffs. We then drove through beautiful countryside to Olvera and climbed up to the fort. The last white town was Zahara de la Sierra with its fort perched high above. We decided not to climb up to the fort as it was hot and getting late. 11 April 2024 - Drive from Ronda to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain We left Ronda at 11.00 in beautiful sunshine and fortunately the air conditioning was working as it got to 28 centigrade today! We were heading for Arcos de la Frontera which is another White Town. We reached Arcos de la Frontera at 14.00. I had booked a 2 bedroom apartment with parking through Booking.com for Eur 72. We opted to have a rest at the apartment, to avoid the heat of the day, before heading off to see the sights. We paid to enter the church of Santa Maria de la Asunción and climbed up its bell tower. It was built in the 15th century on the remains of a former Moorish mosque. There is a castle on the same square as the church. It was built as an Arab fortress but became the residence of the Duke of Arcos after the Reconquest and remains in private hands. It isn't possible to visit it. We then continued walking along the main street of Arcos de la Frontera past a convent and the church of St Peter to a Mirador. The views from the Mirador weren't very good and unfortunately the better Mirador by the castle was closed due to construction. For supper we bought a whole grilled chicken, chips and salad and ate it in our apartment. 12 April 2024 - Drive from Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras, Spain It is only a 1.25 hour drive from Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras. We stopped off at Medina Sedonia on the way. It's a reasonable sized White Town and its medieval walls, the Church and the Alcazar (fort) are the main historic sights. Unfortunately the Alcazar isn't open to visitors. In Algeciras we stayed at the Hotel AC Algeciras which is a Marriott Hotel. It cost a very reasonable Eur 70 and was only 10 minutes drive from the ferry port. 13 April 2024 - Algeciras, Spain to Asilah, Morocco We got up early at 06.15 to catch the 09.45 ferry to Tangier Med as our tickets stated we had to be at the port of Algeciras 2 hours before departure. As I suspected this wasn't really necessary and a few cars arrived at the port only 30 minutes beforehand. I had read that the ferries to Morocco were often late and I was therefore pleased to see that our ferry was at the port. However, the ferry only sailed at 10.30 despite the ferry not being very full. We had a good view of Gibraltar as we left Algeciras and soon afterwards had a view of the coast of Africa. The ferry took 1 hour 45 minutes to reach the port of Tangier Med which is 40 kilometres from the city of Tangier. It took us over an hour to clear customs as all cars were being X-rayed by a large machine mounted on a track. If this is done in the peak season there will be chaos. We then spent another hour buying 3rd party car insurance and obtaining Moroccan SIM cards and dirhams. At Tangier's port a lady representing the Inwi telecom company tried to sell us a very expensive SIM card and data package for Eur 60. I knew it should be a lot cheaper and declined. Fortunately the car insurance agency sold SIM cards with 7.5 GB of data and they only cost Eur 10! As we needed 2 SIM cards it was a big saving. I had reserved a very nice hotel room in Asilah through Booking.com for Eur 48. Asilah is south of Tangier on the Atlantic coast and was only an hour's drive away from the port of Tangier Med. It was an easy drive on a toll highway and a good introduction to driving in Morocco! After checking into our hotel we walked to Asilah's interesting medina. The Medina is largely residential with white houses decorated with lots of vivid blue. It is surrounded by sturdy fortified walls built by the Portuguese in the 15th century. There are two main gates and several towers spread along the walls. We had dinner at a local fish restaurant outside Asilah's medina's walls. We both had mixed platters of seafood and chips and it only cost Eur 8 per platter. 14 April 2023 - Drive from Asilah to El Jadida, Morocco We drove southwards from Asilah to El Jadida on the toll road. Google Maps estimated that the drive would take 4 hours but it actually took 6 hours. The toll road was very busy between Rabat and Casablanca and there weren't enough lanes open at the frequent toll stations. Police were everywhere, particularly on the bridges crossing the toll road where there were usually 4 policemen monitoring the traffic. El Jadida is on the Atlantic coast and was founded by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. In the late afternoon we walked from our apartment hotel along El Jadida's sea front to the Portuguese fortress. There is a long sandy beach, which is very popular with Moroccans, but it didn't look very appealing to us. We got to the fortress's ramparts at 17.50 just as they were closing the access to the walkway along the top of them. The ramparts were meant to be open up to 18.00. The only other attraction in El Jadida was the famous Portuguese cistern but it has been closed for a few years due to structural issues. The Portugese cistern is likely to remain closed for a long time due to the lack of funds for restoration. We walked around El Jadida's fort but it was neglected and dirty. Unfortunately our 1 bedroom apartment had also seen better days. We wished we hadn't stopped off at El Jadida! 15 April 2024 - Drive from El Jadida to Essaouira, Morocco We drove from El Jadida to Essaouira today, relieved that the car's air conditioning was working as the outside temperature hit 35 centigrade! The first part of the journey was along toll roads which were so much quieter than yesterday. It seems that many people had visited family at the end of Ramadan and had been making their way home yesterday. After a while the toll road ended and we drove on public roads through bustling towns. I had to drive very carefully as people, carts pulled by donkeys, motor bikes etc were all over the road. The scenery was much more arid and rural than it had been coming down southwards from Tangier to El Jadida over the past two days. We passed sheep farms and farmers were ploughing their fields using horses. There were lots of carts being pulled by horses and donkeys. Essaouira is on the Atlantic coast and it was a bit cooler because of a breeze. Strong trade winds make its crescent shaped beach popular with wind and kite surfers. We had a quick walk around Essaouira's medina in the late afternoon. We have 2 nights in Essaouira and have plenty of time to explore. We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment which we had booked through Booking.com for Eur 61 per night. We were very pleased with it as it was a modern apartment, quiet and a pleasant 10 minute walk to Essaouira's medina. 16 April 2024 - Essaouira, Morocco In the morning we walked along the promenade to Essaouira's harbour. It was absolutely packed with fishing boats and there were a lot of stalls selling an interesting variety of fish. We wanted to visit the bastion at the harbour as it has a good view of Essaouira. However, they charge an entrance fee of Eur 5 which is far too much. Instead I took photos of Essaouira from the nearby beach. After that we spent a few hours wandering around the medina. Essaouira's medina has a mixture of restaurants, art galleries, tourist shops, hotels and homes. It is an interesting medina with good facilities and no hassles. I can understand why Essaouira is very popular with foreigners. Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Contents 17 April 2024 - Essaouira to Agadir 18 April 2024 - Agadir to Sidi Ifni 19 April 2024 - Sidi Ifni to Tafraoute 20 April 2024 - Ait Mansour Gorge nea r Tafraoute 21 April 2024 - Tafraoute to Taroudant 22 April 2024 - Taroudant and Tioute 23 April 2024 - Taroudant to Marrakesh Links to other blogs about our Road Trip 17 April 2024 - Drive from Essaouira to Agadir It took just over 3 hours to drive south from Essaouira to Agadir. Agadir is a large resort town on Morocco's Atlantic coast and it is popular with foreigners seeking winter sun. We drove through misty weather which thickened into a sea mist by the time we arrived in Agadir. It was only 20 centigrade in Agadir whereas it had reached 31 centigrade further inland on the drive down. In 1960 Agadir suffered the most destructive and deadly earthquake in Moroccan history. Most of the city was destroyed and about 15,000 people died. Agadir was rebuilt in the 1960's and only the beach is of interest to tourists. We therefore only stayed for a one night in Agadir to break up our journey southwards. We had booked a 2 bedroom apartment at an Agadir hotel through Booking.com for Eur 59. The staff were very helpful and gave us a quiet room as requested. The apartment was better than expected. It took us 10 minutes to walk from the apartment to Agadir's beach. Even though the weather was misty the beach seemed very nice. There is a huge expanse of sand and lots of Moroccans were playing soccer on the beach. We walked for about half an hour along the beach to have a meal at a restaurant on the esplanade. The weather started to clear in the evening and we hoped that the next day's weather would be better. 18 April 2024 - Drive from Agadir to Sidi Ifni Fortunately the weather improved and we continued our drive southwards to Sidi Ifni. It was mostly dual carriageway as we left Agadir but there were far too many roundabouts. Agadir sprawls out in a messy development. It took about an hour to get out of this very poorly planned area of Agadir. We stopped off for lunch at the seaside town of Aglou Plage. Sadly it has been ruined by overdevelopment as there is a mass of ugly holiday accommodation for Moroccan holidaymakers. My old Lonely Planet guidebook described the next 40 kilometres of coast from Aglou Plage to Mirleft as "exceptionally picturesque". The coastline didn't seem very special to us and there was ugly development on sections of it. Twenty years ago Mirleft had a "totally undeveloped beach" according to Lonely Planet but now Mirleft is a large and ugly resort town. We were relieved to find that Sidi Ifni has retained its character. Spain was given Sidi Ifni by treaty after the Spanish-Moroccan war of 1859, which Morocco lost. Spain didn't take full possession of Sidi Ifni until 1934 and most of the buildings only date back to then. Spain handed Sidi Ifni back to Morocco in 1969. There isn't much to see in Sidi Ifni but it is a pleasant and laid back town. Sidi Ifni is a popular surfing destination and is also popular with foreign recreational vehicles. There were more than 30 camper vans lined up along the sea front. We couldn't be bothered to swim but did walk along the beach. Afterwards we had dinner at a seafront restaurant and watched the surfers. We stayed at the Logis la Marine Guest House in Sidi Ifni and it cost Eur 86 for their best and newest room on the top floor. It was a really nice room overlooking the sea. We live next to the sea in England but were still surprised at how much louder the waves were here. 19 April 2024 - Drive from Sidi Ifni to Tafraoute We left the coast of Morocco today and headed north east to Tafraoute which is at an altitude of 1,200 metres in the Anti Atlas mountains. Tafraoute is known for its palm groves where almonds and olive orchards grow. Tafraoute is also popular with climbers, hikers and tourists. We were pleased to be heading inland as the scenery on Morocco's Atlantic coast isn't very interesting. We won't see the sea again until we reach the port of Tangier in 2.5 weeks time! I didn't want to repeat yesterday's drive along the more commonly used road between Sidi Ifni and Tiznit. Instead we drove on roads (P1918 and P1916) that weren't on our map but were on Google Maps. The road was good, except for one section, until about 5 kilometres from Tafraoute. Then the road really deteriorated and the surface was badly corrugated. This bad section of road was very scenic. We booked a suite at the Hotel Salama in Tafraoute for Eur 42 a night. The Hotel Salama was very good value for money as we had a living room and a bedroom. It was very central and we could park our car in front of the hotel. 20 April 2024 - Ait Mansour Gorge near Tafraoute It felt surprisingly cool in the morning as it was about 17 centigrade and there was a chilly wind. We drove to the Ait Mansour Gorge which is a 50 minute drive south of Tafraoute. There is a tarred road there but it is narrow in places I parked the car on the road side just before the Ait Mansour Gorge and a woman immediately appeared and said she was a parking attendant. We were pleased to have secure parking even though we would have to tip her. We walked along the narrow road through the best section of the Ait Mansour Gorge. The green oasis at the bottom of the Ait Mansour gorge was a stunning contrast to the pink hills and rocks towering above the gorge. After the Ait Mansour Gorge we continued driving south to the village of Afla Ighir and then had the choice of retracing our steps to Tafraoute or doing a circular route via the Tizerkine gorge. I wasn't sure about the condition of the road through the Tizerkine gorge. However, a Tripadvisor forum report from about a year ago indicated it was driveable in a saloon car. We decided to try the circular route and the road to Tizerkine was excellent. I was surprised that we didn't see any other vehicles and I soon found out why! The condition of the road deteriorated badly as soon as we passed Tizerkine although the scenery was excellent. The road surface alternated between broken up tar and dirt! The mountain road was also very narrow and in several sections it wouldn't have been possible to get past any oncoming vehicles. Luckily there were none! I drove very carefully to avoid damaging our Ford Focus as last year we had broken a front spring in Greece. It was a relief to reach the village of Taghaout where the condition of the road improved. From there it was a pleasant drive back to Tafraoute. The entire circular drive through the Ait Mansour Gorge had taken about 5 hours. 21 April 2024 - Drive from Tafraoute to Taroudant We drove 4 hours from Tafroute to Taroudant in the Sous valley. The first part of our route followed the road to Agadir and then we branched off north-east to Taroudant. The mountain road out of Tafraoute was narrow and just wide enough for 2 cars to carefully pass. There wasn't much oncoming traffic and I slowed down to a crawl for oncoming vehicles as the Moroccan drivers hardly slowed down at all. It was possible to pull off the road but neither myself or the oncoming vehicles wanted to. The scenery on this section was very good. After about an hour the road widened and there was then a good road all the way to Taroudant. I hadn't been sure about the condition of the road that branched off to Taroudant as it wasn't shown on my map but the road was on Google Maps. We stopped in the countryside for a picnic lunch and there were wild camels everywhere. We eventually joined the main Agadir to Taroudant road. The scenery was bleak and we drove through numerous scruffy developments. I had booked a room at Riad Amnay in Taroudant's medina. A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house built over two or more storeys around a central courtyard which usually contains a fountain. We had been given the location of a nearby parking lot but the challenge was to find it. We had the location on Google Maps but with the one way streets inside Taroudant's city walls it was difficult to locate. A motor bike rider kindly stopped to help us and we followed him to the parking lot. He then walked us to the Riad. I gave him Eur 2 for his help which was probably too much. Riad Amnay was of a high standard and had very good reviews. Lani was very happy with it. However, the rooms in Riads are usually dark as the windows face into the courtyard and I like natural light. Otherwise it was very good. We booked through Booking.com and paid Eur 54 a night. 22 April 2024 - Sightseeing in Taroudant and Tioute We had booked two nights at the Riad in Taroudant. In the morning we drove 40 minutes to the village of Tioute to see the old Kasbah on the hilltop and the oasis below it. On the way we saw several goats in the trees eating leaves. We had read about goats climbing trees and had wanted to see it. Tioute's Kasbah was a huge disappointment. It was built in 16th century and is described as being magnificent, perched on the hill overlooking the oasis. Sadly, most of Tioute's Kasbah is falling to pieces and has been closed off. The only part open was a large restaurant that has been built in the Kasbah and tour groups come for lunch. We then visited Tioute's Oasis which unfortunately is very popular with tour groups. A guy on a motor bike wanted to give us an hour's tour for Eur 15. Eventually we settled on Eur 5 and we followed him in our car to a parking lot by the Oasis. He then told us he wanted Eur 15 and drove off when we didn't agree to pay it. We were pleased as he had led us to the Oasis and we could wander around by ourselves. It was pleasant but Tioute's Oasis has been spoiled by tourism. The paths through the Oasis are paved. There are a few cafes, handicraft stall and locals offering donkey rides. Not our scene at all and it was a wasted morning When we got back to Taroudant we again had problems finding the parking lot. This time the driver of a Caleche stopped to help us and we followed him to the parking lot. He was a nice man and I gave him Eur 2 for his help. We had lunch in the nearby square and the same Caleche driver came over to say hi. He spoke English and he asked if we wanted a ride in his Caleche around the 7 kilometre long city walls. Apparently Taroudant is referred to as Little Marrakech because of its ramparts. We wouldn't normally ride in a Caleche but we wanted to see Taroudant's city walls and walking around in the heat wouldn't have been fun. We had been told that the fair rate was Eur 10 per hour and that was what he offered. We therefore agreed to meet him at 15.00. We enjoyed the ride and certainly wouldn't have enjoyed walking. Afterwards we wandered around the large under cover market in Taroudant. I buy very little but needed a leather belt. The asking price was Eur 31! I wouldn't negotiate as he started with an absolute rip off price. In the end I got the belt for the Eur 5 that I initially offered. 23 April 2024 - Drive from Taroudant to Marrakesh via the Tizi n'Test Pass The fastest route from Taroudant to Marrakesh is on the A3 toll road and it would take about 3.25 hours. However, there is a much more scenic road over the 2,100 metre high Tizi n'Test mountain pass which Google Maps said would take about 5.5 hours. I wanted to drive over the Tizi n'Test pass to see the Atlas mountains even though the road is much more difficult to drive on. Unfortunately it was a hazy day and it spoiled the views on the south side of the Tizi n'Test pass. This area was badly affected by the earthquake of September 2023. Over six hundred thousand people were affected and many are still living in tents and temporary buildings. The road over the Tizi n'Test  pass was also damaged by the earthquake. On the south side of the Tizi n'Test pass there were many cracks along the side of the road and pull over areas were cordoned off. On the north side of the Tizi n'Test pass sections of the road surface were badly damaged. A lot of fallen rocks had been cleared to both sides of the road. The first hour of the journey was along the main road east of Taroudant. It is pretty bleak road that goes through messy towns and the scenery isn't great. It is very similar to the main road west of Taroudant which I also disliked. The scenery improved once we turned off the main road and headed north towards the Tizi n'Test pass. Initially it was a very good two lane road. As we got nearer to the top of the Tizi n'Test pass it became a one lane tarred road but it was easy and safe to pass other vehicles. Before we reached the top of the Tizi n'Test pass the road surface deteriorated and didn't improve for the next 50 miles! It was very slow going and tiring constantly watching out for potholes. We finally reached Marrakesh after 7 hours of driving and checked into our 3 bedroom apartment in the suburb of Gueliz. We booked it through Airbnb for Eur 75 a night. We were too tired to go into Marrakesh and had 3 nights there anyway. We spent the evening relaxing and did some much needed laundry. Links to other blogs about England to Morocco Road Trip Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

The Theatre at Delphi Contents 10 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Lake Ohrid 11 May 2023 - Lake Ohrid to Meteora, Gr eece 12 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Meteora, Greece 13 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Meteora, Greece 14 May 2023 - Meteora to Delphi, Greece 15 May 2023 - Delphi to Nafplio, Greece 16 May 2023 - Day Trip from Nafplio to Corinth Links to My Other Blogs 10 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Lake Ohrid It continued raining during the night, but to my relief it was dry when we woke up. We had a leisurely start and at 10.30 started to drive 30 kilometres south from Ohrid Town along the lake to the 16th century Monastery of Sv Naum. It is virtually on the border with Albania. The Bradt guide book says that the road is narrow and can be quite busy. I didn't think the road was particularly narrow and luckily it wasn't very busy. It took about 30 minutes to drive to the Monastery of Sv Naum and there was good car parking for Eur 0.60. We were concerned that the Monastery of Sv Naum might be overwhelmed with tour groups, but we were relieved to see only 1 coach in the car park. The 2 chapels in the old monastery are very small and beautiful. We were pleased that for most of the time we were the only ones in the chapels. By the time we got back to Ohrid Town the weather was brightening up. We could have driven to a couple of villages on the north western side of Lake Ohrid, but decided to have a relaxing afternoon and walk around the very nice town of Ohrid again. See my blog Ohrid Town, North Macedonia: Travel Guide . 11 May 2023 - Lake Ohrid to Meteora, Greece We woke up to cloudy weather again, but since we were driving down to Greece it didn't matter. We left Lake Ohrid at 10.30 and soon found that our sat navigation was directing us towards Albania! It probably did that as it may be the quickest route to Greece. However, we don't have car insurance for Albania and it isn't possible to buy it at that particular border crossing. I therefore input the name of the Greek border town and that put us on the correct route. The cost of petrol is 37% higher in Greece than North Macedonia so we filled up just before the Greek border and also used all our left over North Macedonian currency. It only took us about 10 minutes to cross the border. Both the Greek passport officer and the customs officer were very friendly. Our UK car insurance covers us for Greece so we didn't have the hassle and cost of buying car insurance at the border. As we got closer to Meteora it began to rain. Google maps as usual was very good at finding our apartment, although it didn't help that we had been told the wrong street number. We arrived at 16.40 but we had lost an hour due to Greece being in a different time zone. The apartment was compact but nice. We bought some groceries at Lidl's and had our evening meal at the apartment. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further details of the apartment. 12 May 2023 - Sighteeing at Meteora, Greece Meteora is famous for its medieval monasteries that are perched on high pinnacles of rock. See my blog " The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide " for useful information about visiting Meteora. Unfortunately none of the 6 monasteries at Meteora open before 09.00 and they all close by 17.00. We woke up earlier today as my plan was to start visiting Meteora's monasteries early in order to avoid the tour groups for an hour or so. We left our apartment at 08.25 and it was a 20 minute drive to the first monastery of Agios Stefanos (St Stephen's). We got stuck behind a tour bus and as we drove up we could see several other tour buses ready to depart for the monasteries. It seemed that my plan wasn't going to work! We managed to get to the entrance gate of St Stephen's monastery before the tour groups. When it opened at 09.00 we were the first people at the ticket office and then we immediately walked to the small chapel. We had the chapel to ourselves for 5 to 10 minutes before the tour group arrived and broke the tranquility. The Chapel at Agios Stefanos (St Stephen's) Tour groups take over the monasteries and have little consideration for others. Luckily we had seen enough of the chapel and looked around outside. More and more groups came and soon there was a long queue to enter the chapel. By the time we returned to the car park there were 13 tour buses parked there! After visiting Agios Stefanos (St Stephen's) we drove to the nearby monastery of Agia Triada (Holy Trinity). Agia Triada is famous for being a film location in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. It is certainly in a very spectacular location. Luckily it isn't frequented by many tour groups. We parked at about 09.50 and there was only 1 tour bus parked there. It was about a 10 minute walk from the car park to the ticket office and we could see a small queue of people waiting to enter, as the Agia Triada monastery only opens at 10.00. The queue had dissipated by the time we got to the ticket office. We looked around the exterior of the Agia Triada monastery until the tour group had left the chapel so we could enjoy the chapel in relative peace. At 11.00 we drove back to our apartment for an early lunch. We intended to visit the Monastery of Great Meteoron after our lunch. My plan was to visit Great Meteoron at about 12.30 when hopefully the tour groups were having lunch and the half day tours had been completed. As we drove from our apartment to the Great Meteoron we could see a lot of tour buses parked outside restaurants. At the monastery itself there were only 2 tour buses but a lot of cars. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the entrance and we were pleased to see a large group of school children leaving the monastery. The Great Meteoron is the largest monastery at Meteora and probably the most popular. We spent an hour looking around and our visit wasn't spoiled by too many visitors. Our final monastery visit for today was the small nunnery of Roussanou. Parking was easy to find and it was a 10 minute walk down to the Roussanou nunnery. The chapels at the Meteora monasteries are small and this was no exception. Roussanou Monastery Roussanou Monastery Before driving back to our apartment we drove to a couple of view points so that we could admire the dramatic scenery of Meteora. 13 May 2023 - Sighteeing at Meteora, Greece We had 2 more monasteries to visit today. We went to the Agios Nikolaus (St Nicholas) monastery first and reached the steps leading up to the monastery 10 minutes after it had opened. We were pleased to see that there were very few cars parked there and even happier that there weren't any tour buses! Apparently Agios Nikolaos isn't usually visited by tour groups due to the steep climb up to it. It is certainly a steep climb up and it took us about 10 minutes. We went straight to the 2 room chapel and spent about 15 minutes enjoying the beauty of the chapel in relative tranquility. Independent visitors are usually quiet and don't spend too much time in the chapels. In comparison tour groups take over the entire area whilst the tour leader explains the paintings at great length. At Agios Nikolaos visitors only have access to the chapel and roof top. There are really good views of Meteora's impressive scenery from the roof top. Agios Nikolaus (St Nicholas) Monastery at Meteora After visiting Agios Nikolaos we drove to the view points that we had visited yesterday. Apart from the dramatic scenery there are very good views of Meteora's monasteries. A lot of visitors come here at sunset, but yesterday it was cloudy and this evening there is meant to be a nice sunset. At 11.15 we returned to our apartment for an early lunch like we had yesterday. The plan was to visit Varlaam Monastery when the tour groups were having their lunch. We got to Varlaam monastery at 12.30 and although it was busy there were very few tour buses parked there. It took about 10 minutes to climb up to the ticket office and we had to queue for about 5 minutes to buy our tickets. Unfortunately we had a group in front of us and some of the women had to buy wraps as they weren't wearing dresses. We got to the chapel before the group and could enjoy it before they arrived. When the group took over the chapel we decided to stay and benefit from the tour leader's commentary! We left at 13.30 and by then groups were streaming into Varlaam monastery and it was like a zoo. I much preferred the 4 smaller monasteries to the 2 largest and most popular monasteries at Meteora. Varlaam Monastery 14 May 2023 - Meteora to Delphi, Greece We woke up to grey skies and light rain. At 09.45 we started driving from Meteora to Arachova and Google maps showed that the journey should take 3 hours 10 minutes. Arachova is 10 kilometres from Delphi and is a nicer town to stay in. The weather improved as we drove south and after a couple of hours it was sunny and 22 centigrade. About an hour before Arachova we were stopped by a policeman as we were entering a town. We feared the worst, but he just wanted to inform us that we should take a new and better route. Neither Google maps nor our Tomtom sat navigation liked this change of route and directed us back into the town on another road. This time 2 policemen stopped us and told us that we should continue on the new road as it was better. In reality there must have been something happening in the town and they didn't want us to enter. The new road was in a very good condition and it went over the mountains. It was very scenic and we could see snow on the distant mountain. However, it was certainly longer than our original route and we only arrived at Arachova at 13.50. I had booked an apartment and a reviewer had reported that the streets around the apartment were narrow and difficult to park on. He was unfortunately right! We checked in and very soon afterwards drove to the archaeological site at Delphi. See my blog " Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide " for useful information about visiting Delphi. By the time we reached Delphi at 14.45 the number of visitors had greatly subsided and virtually all the tour buses had left. As a result we found a very convenient parking spot, which would have been very difficult to find earlier in the day. We visited Delphi's museum first and wandered around it for 45 minutes. They had some nice displays, but a lot of the narrative was complex and difficult to understand. The most famous exhibit is the bronze Charioteer that dates back to the fifth century BC. Afterwards we walked around the archaeological site of Delphi which is on a steep hill. It was a bit underwhelming to begin with but became more interesting as we went on. It was quiet and peaceful as there were very few visitors and no groups. It was also hot and I wouldn't want to visit Delphi in the summer. We spent 3 hours at Delphi and then returned to Arachova for dinner. We walked around the nice town in the evening. 15 May 2023 - Delphi to Nafplio, Greece We had a relaxing morning in Delphi and only left for Nafplio at 11.30. The drive was very scenic through mountainous countryside. We easily managed to locate the apartment we had booked and were very pleased with it. It is very spacious with 2 floors, 2 bathrooms and 2 balconies for about Eur 78 per night. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further details of the apartment. In the early evening we walked into Nafplio and wandered around. It is fairly upmarket and is popular with well off Athenians as it is less than a 2 hour drive from Athens. See my blog " Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide " for useful information on visiting Nafplio. There are 3 fortresses in Nafplio and we wandered up the Akronafplia fortress, which is the closest to the town. The fortress is derelict but there are good views from the top and it is free! 16 May 2023 - Day Trip from Nafplio to Corinth We could have stopped at Corinth yesterday on our way to Nafplio, but I was worried about the security for our luggage in our car. In hindsight we should have stopped and it would have saved a 1.5 hour round trip drive to Corinth today. See my blog " Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide " for information on visiting Corinth. We set off at 10.15 to visit Acrocorinth which is the ancient acropolis of Corinth. Its fortifications and ruins were erected by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, crusaders, Venetians and Turks. We were pleased to find on arrival that entry was free and there were no tour buses. The old, worn stones on the path are very slippery at the start and we were pleased that it was dry, as in the wet they must be treacherous. We spent an hour and 45 minutes exploring Acrocorinth's large site. The double wall fortifications are the most impressive feature of the site. We were lucky to finish just before it started to lightly rain. We had driven over the Corinth canal many years ago but hadn't stopped. In those days the main road from Athens to the Pelopennese had a good view of the canal. When we drove over the Corinth canal yesterday it was on the new toll road and we didn't see the canal at all. We therefore went back to the bridge that we drove over a long time ago. We parked the car at the southern end of the bridge and walked over both sides of the Corinth canal. Unfortunately no ships were in the Corinth canal and the weather was a bit dismal. The Corinth Canal Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide

Seceda in the Dolomites Contents 13 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Alpe di Suisi) 14 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Sassolungo) 15 July 2023 - The Dolomites to Metz, France 16 July - Metz to Cornwall, England Links to my Other Blogs 13 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Alpe di Suisi) The forecast was for rain to start late morning. After yesterday's experience we decided to take the cable car from Ortisei to the nearby Alpe di Siusi at 08.30 and walk around the plateau for 2 to 3 hours whilst it was dry. It was a good walk and it didn't rain. At midday we took the cable car back down to Ortisei and walked around the shops before returning to our apartment. The weather forecast was wrong and it didn't rain at all! I was frustrated as we could have done a longer walk. See my blog " Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites " for full details of our hikes. 14 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Sassolungo) I had intended to do today's hike in 2 sections over 2 days, but the weather prevented this. It looked like it might be feasible to do my intended route in 1 long hike. The usual routes taken are either a hard 6.5 hour hike around the entire Sassolungo massif or a shorter 3 to 4 hour circular hike around half of the mountain. The latter route involves taking a chairlift up to the Furcela de Sassolungo in the centre of the massif and then hiking down. We decided to try a variation of this latter option. Instead of doing a circular hike we would take the bus to St. Christina, take the chairlifts up to the base of Sassolungo, walk around Sassolungo to the chairlift up to the Furcella de Sassolungo, descend down to the other side of Sassolungo and then walk back to Ortisei using chairlifts where possible. We started early and at 08.30 we were the first on the chairlifts going from St Christina to the base of Sassolungo. It was a beautiful walk around to the chairlift to Furcella de Sassolungo, which is known as the "Coffin". Lani was apprehensive about the "coffin" as it was reported that it is difficult getting into the small 2 person gondolas. In reality it was a lot of fun as the attendants were very helpful and friendly. After admiring the great views from the top of Furcella de Sassolungo we started the long and steep descent down to the other side of the massif. Lani is a bit nervous descending steep slopes with loose stones so it was a bit slow going. Once down we walked along the base of Sassolongu and then took the "Florion" chairlift down to the Alpe di Suisi plateau that we were on yesterday. It was now 16.00 and it would take another 1.25 hours to hike up to the gondola that descends down to Ortisei. We were tired and weren't looking forward to that final hike up the hill. I then saw a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop and was told that it was going to the gondola station. That was wonderful news so we got on the bus. Unfortunately the bus went to a different gondola station on the other side of the plateau! A Norwegian couple had made the same mistake and together we found a bus that was just leaving that would take us down to the valley. We were shocked to find out that the fare was Eur 16 each but there was no better alternative. Once down in the valley we took one of the free buses back to Ortisei. We reached there after 18.00. It was a long and tiring day but an excellent hike with stunning views. 15 July 2023 - The Dolomites to Metz, France It was meant to be an 8 hour drive from Ortisei to Metz. This became a 10 hour drive as a section of highway had been closed. It was a hot day and in southern Germany the temperature reached 39 centigrade! I was shattered by the time we arrived in Metz. Our hotel was similar to an Ibis hotel and it was right in the centre. Metz is a very nice town and we walked around and had dinner. We had Chinese food for the first time on the trip. It made a nice change from the western food we had been eating for the last 3 months. 16 July - Metz to Cornwall, England It was going to be a long drive back to England so we got up early and left the hotel at 07.00. We were booked on the 14.00 ferry from Dunkirk. As we were getting close to Dunkirk we realised that we might make the earlier ferry at 12.00. We were fortunate as the 12.00 ferry was running half an hour late and we were allowed to board. Despite being on an earlier ferry we didn't get back home until 20.00. It was another very long day, but not as tiring as yesterday as we could relax on the ferry and Lani did some of the driving in the U.K. This was the end of a very enjoyable 3 month road trip. It went very well, but it took a lot of planning. We were concerned about driving through countries like Albania, but our fears were unfounded. We were also concerned about our 10 year old car, but there were only relatively minor problems like the broken spring and worn brake pads. The engine management warning light had been on for about 4,000 miles of the 8,000 mile trip. It turned out that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. I am now planning our next road trips. In 2024 we would like to take the ferry to Spain and drive down to southern Morocco. If the car is still in good shape in 2025 we might drive through Turkey to Armenia and Georgia. That would be a long trip and we would need at least 4 months to do it. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites

View from Alpe di Siusi in the Dolomites Contents 6 July 2023 - Drive from Rab to Rovinj, Croatia 7 July 2023 - Beach & Sighteeing in Rovinj 8 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Pula, Croatia 9 July 2023 - Drive from Rovinj to the Dolomites, Italy 10 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) 11 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Resciesa) 12 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) Links to my Other Blogs 6 July 2023 - Drive from Rab to Rovinj, Croatia There were 2 possible routes from Rab to Rovinj. They would take about the same amount of time: Return to the mainland on the ferry that we had come over on and then drive northwards up the coast to Rovinj. Drive 20 minutes north to Lopar and take a 1.5 hour ferry ride to Valbiska on Krk Island. Then drive from Krk to Rovinj. Krk Island is now connected to the mainland by a bridge. We decided on the second option as it meant less driving and we could also visit Krk Town, which is yet another historic Venetian town. See my blog " Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide ". When we reached Rovinj we were very pleased with the apartment we had booked. In the evening we wandered around Rovinj and had dinner there. Rovinj is an exceptionally nice old town and it was packed with tourists. See my blog " Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide " 7 July 2023 - Beach & Sighteeing in Rovinj It is now hot every day and we drove over to the nearby Zlatni Rt Nature Reserve to swim and relax by the sea. It is a popular area, but we found a good shady spot to spend the day, swimming from the rocky coastline. Zlatni Rt Nature Reserve near Rovinj In the late afternoon we drove into Rovinj again to have a good look around and to have an evening meal. We are finding that restaurant meals in Croatia are no cheaper than in the U.K.. We like seafood but fish is quite expensive. We therefore usually have calamari which is better value. Rovinj 8 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Pula, Croatia Pula is a Roman town about 45 minutes' drive from Rovinj. The main site in Pula is the fairly well preserved Roman amphitheatre. Unfortunately they were constructing a stage and screen for summer shows that somewhat spoiled the experience. They do this all too often at historical sites and there is never a compensatory reduction in the entrance fee. There are a number of other historical sites to see in Pula and we spent an enjoyable morning wandering around. See my blog " Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide " 9 July 2023 - Drive from Rovinj to the Dolomites, Italy It was a 7 hour drive from Rovinj to Ortisei in the Italian Dolomites. This was the last week of our holiday and I had booked 6 nights in Ortisei so we could hike for 5 days. I had skied in the Dolomites in 2017 and 2018 and was so impressed with the scenery that I wanted to experience the Dolomites in the summer time. We were grateful to be driving northwards from Rovinj as the traffic going south was very congested. I believe the school holidays in Germany have now begun and families are now travelling to southern Europe. Once we reached the Dolomites the mountain roads were a lot slower but the scenery was spectacular. The pictures below were taken on the final section of our journey through the Dolomites to Val Gardena. 10 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) The weather forecast for the Dolomites was good for the first 2 days and it was important to take advantage of it. We walked into Ortisei to buy a hiking map and then to the nearby Ortisei-Furnes-Seceda cable car. This takes you just below the summit of Seceda mountain (2,518 metres) in 2 stages. Unfortunately we had a late start and we didn't reach the top of Seceda until 10.30 a.m. By then Seceda was far too busy for my liking. As the Seceda trail was narrow it was difficult to pass people and therefore slow going. After an hour of walking the trail became a lot quieter and much more enjoyable. The scenery was spectacular. We walked to the Col Raiser cable car that descends to St. Christina and from there took a bus back to Ortisei. See my blog " Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites " for full details of our hikes We had pizza again for dinner. We are surprised by how few restaurants there are in Ortisei. We will probably eat at our apartment in future. It will be cheaper and it will avoid a steep 15 minute walk back to our apartment. 11 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Resciesa) We decided to start hiking as early as possible today and reached the Ortisei to Resciesa funicular just before the publicised opening time of 09.00 a.m.. Frustratingly the opening time had been changed to 08.30 a.m. so we could have started even earlier. Fortunately there were very few people and the funicular set off shortly after we arrived. Initially the mountains were obscured by low cloud or fog but it cleared after an hour. It was another very good walk. We walked down to the Ortesei to Furnes cable way and took the gondola back to Ortisei. It was a hot day so we bought some drinks and ice cream there. We had bought 6 day lift passes for Eur 135 each. We therefore decided to take advantage of them by taking the Alpe di Suisi cable car from Ortisei to Mont Seuc (2,005 metres). There is a fantastic view of Sassolungo from there. We walked for 1.5 hours on the plateau before returning to Ortisei. 12 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) The weather forecast for today wasn't good. Forecasts in the mountains are often unreliable and as it was dry when we woke up we decided to do a hike. I had planned a walk near Sassolungo. That involved taking a bus to St. Christina and then a chairlift from there. Unfortunately it started to rain on the way to St. Christina. We sheltered in a building for over an hour waiting for the rain to stop but it never did! The rain just got heavier. We therefore took the bus back to Ortisei and ate our sandwiches in our apartment. The rain stopped at midday and we decided to go up to Seceda to walk on some of the trails we hadn't already done. The weather was fine in the afternoon and I wished that we had done a more challenging hike. With hindsight we should have had a relaxing morning in our apartment and then done a good hike in the afternoon. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites

Hvar Town Contents 29 June 2023 - Day Excursion on Brac Island to Sutivan, Vidova Gora & Skrip 30 June 2023 - Day Excursion to the Island of Hvar, Croatia 1 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Bol, Croatia 2 July 2023 - Brac to Rab Island, Croatia 3 July 2023 - Beach Day at Lopar on Rab Island 4 July 2023 - Beach Day on the Frkanj Peninsular near Rab Town 5 July 2023 - Beach Day on the Frkanj Peninsular near Rab Town Links to my Other Blogs 29 June 2023 - Drive on Brac Island to Sutivan, Vidova Gora & Skrip We drove around Brac island today and our first stop was the small town of Sutivan. It is very picturesque and not at all touristy. Lozisca Our next stop was the 778 metre high peak of Vidova Gora, which is the highest point of all the Adriatic islands. There were excellent views of the famous Zlatni rat beach at Bol and also across to Hvar Island. We took out our camping chairs and ate our sandwiches there. We made our way back to our apartment via the village of Skrip. Our guide book raved about the stone houses, but there weren't many of them and there wasn't much to see or do in Skrip! Our plan had been to stop at Lovrecina Bay for a swim. The road to Lovrecina's beach was very steep and narrow and we decided not to risk damaging the car. It was a good decision as I later saw on Tripadvisor that several people found the road to be very nerve wracking. See my blog " Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide " for further information on visiting the island of Brac. 30 June 2023 - Day Trip to the Island of Hvar, Croatia We had been to the island of Hvar about 16 years ago and really liked it. We therefore decided to take a passenger ferry over for the day to visit Hvar Town again and also the town of Stari Grad. There is a fast ferry between Milna on Brac Island and Hvar Town that sailed at 09.50 and returned at 19.10. We wandered around Hvar Town for an hour and a half before taking the bus to Stari Grad. We had 2 hours in Stari Grad before the bus returned to Hvar Town. This gave us enough time to see the old town of Stari Grad. We then had another 4 hours to explore and enjoy Hvar Town. We walked up to the fortress, which for some reason we hadn't visited the last time. It was a steep and hot walk but there were very good views. The cost of entering the castle is too high and like a lot of other people we didn't enter and enjoyed the views from the base of the fortress. Hvar Town was trendy and popular when we were last there and it is even more so now. It is still a very nice town but expensive. See my blog " Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide " for further information about visiting Hvar island. 1 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Bol, Croatia Bol is the main resort area on the Island of Brac as it has Zlatni rat, which is Croatia's most famous beach. It should have been a 45 minute drive to Bol from our apartment in Supetar, but there was severe traffic congestion in Supetar due to cars queuing to board the ferry. This delayed us by half an hour and made us aware that we must get an early ferry when we leave Brac tomorrow. Parking in Bol was surprisingly easy and we walked into the town for lunch. Bol is a very pleasant town despite not having many old buildings. Afterwards we walked half an hour from Bol to Zlatni rat beach along a very pleasant tree lined promenade. Unfortunately we didn't have our swimming gear and we decided not to go naturist! 2 July 2023 - Brac to Rab Island, Croatia Unfortunately there isn't a ferry from Brac Island to Rab Island. This meant we had to take a ferry back to Split, drive 4 hours northwards along the coast and then take another ferry to Rab Island. After experiencing yesterday's congestion at the port we got up early to catch the 07.45 ferry from Supetar to Split. There was no problem in boarding the ferry at this time and it took less than an hour to reach Split. The second half of the journey from Split to Rab Island was very scenic. After Zadar the road follows the coast through Paklenica National Park to the small ferry port at Jablanac. The long and narrow island of Pag across the water is very dramatic due to its stark and desolate terrain. There is an hourly ferry from Jablanac to Misnjak on Rab Island. We waited for about half an hour and boarded the next ferry. It was a short 15 minute ferry ride and then half an hour drive to our apartment in Rab Town. Our apartment was nice, but we soon found that we had a very noisy family above us. I complained to the owners who were aware of the problem as they lived in the apartment above the noisy family. They very kindly offered to refund our money for the remaining 3 nights. Fortunately I found another good apartment that had a cancellation. It was better than the original apartment, but was 50% more expensive. It was worth it and we couldn't have endured another 3 days of the noise at our original apartment. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " for further information about the apartment. 3 July 2023 - Beach Day at Paradise Beach on Rab Island It was a hot day so we drove 25 minutes northwards to Paradise beach near the village of San Marino. We rented sun loungers and an umbrella and spent 5 hours relaxing there. Paradise beach is very nice for families as it is very shallow and there are a lot of facilities. It was too shallow for us as we had to walk out very far to reach a depth of about 2 feet deep. Paradise beach was also too commercialised and busy for our liking. I have found that Rab Island is too developed with buildings everywhere. However, Rab Town itself is very nice and unspoilt. See my blog " Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide " for further information. In the evening we moved into our new apartment. It is very comfortable and also very quiet! 4 July 2023 - Beach Day on Frkanj Peninsula near Rab Town It was another hot day and I didn't want to spend it driving around the over developed island of Rab. We decided to have another beach day and to try the nearby Frkanj peninsula as it looked undeveloped. The Frkanj peninsula was only a 10 minute drive from our apartment in Rab Town and there was parking by a small taverna. We found a nice shaded spot a few metres from the sea and had a very nice day swimming and reading. In the evening we went to our usual restaurant in Rab Town and walked around the town afterwards. Rab Town has a vibrant lower section with shops and restaurants. The upper part has 4 churches with bell towers and an attractive wooded parkland to the east of it. 5 July 2023 - Beach Day on Frkanj Peninsula near Rab Town We went back to the Frkanj peninsula today as we enjoyed it so much yesterday. We have done a lot of driving and sightseeing over the last 11 weeks and just wanted to relax. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide

Boat to the Lady of the Rock Island at Perast Contents 21 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Perast & Herceg Novi, Montenegro 22 June 2023 - Kotor Serpentine Road & Lipa Cave, Montenegro 23 June 2023 - Budva & Solila Beach 24 June 2023 - Walk up Kotor's Fortress Walls 25 June 2023 - Kotor to Trogir, Croatia 26 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Split, Croatia 27 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Omis, Croatia 28 June 2023 - Trogir to the Island of Brac, Croatia Links to my Other Blogs 21 June 2023 - Sightseeing in Perast & Herceg Novi This morning we drove along the north side of the beautiful Gulf of Kotor to see the village of Perast and the town of Herceg Novi. We left fairly early as I was concerned about finding parking at Perast and wanted to see Perast before the arrival of tour groups. We did find parking at Perast and also got there before the tour groups. Perast is an attractive village with numerous old buildings. The main attraction though is the Our Lady of the Rock island which is about a 5 minute boat ride away from Perast. We took a small boat ride from Perast to the Our Lady of the Rock island for Eur 10 (return). Unfortunately there wasn't much to see and the church only opened when we were leaving by 09.30. Initially there were very few people on the island, but after 10 minutes of peace a large group arrived. We continued our drive along the Gulf of Kotor until we reached the large town of Herceg Novi. Our guide book had warned that parking was difficult and it was! Fortunately as we were struggling to park a friendly man directed us to a multi storey car park near Herceg Novi's historic centre. I liked Herceg Novi as there is quite a bit to see and there is a nice seafront promenade. The sights are a bit spread out and we didn't attempt to see everything. On the drive back from Herceg Novi to Kotor we took a short ferry ride from Kamenari to Lepetane on the southern side of the Gulf of Kotor. The road from Lepetane to Kotor is very scenic, but in many places it is only a single lane. It was a bit nerve racking whenever traffic came the other way. See my blog " Perast & Herceg Novi: Travel Guide " for further information. 22 June 2023 - Kotor Serpentine Road & Lipa Cave The Kotor Serpentine Road is a narrow historic road that snakes up the mountains to the east of Kotor to Lovcen National Park. There are 25 hair pin bends and the road is too narrow at places for vehicles to pass. It was another nerve racking drive and I was pleased to see that tour buses were coming the same way as us. It would have been very difficult to pass them and vehicles were having to reverse back to allow them through. Unfortunately there weren't many places where we could stop on the Kotor Serpentine Road and it wasn't safe to admire the views whilst driving! I was pleased when we reached the top and got on a good new road going through Lovcen National Park. We stopped off at Njegos Mausoleum, but we didn't pay the excessive charge of Eur 8 a person to enter. There are meant to be excellent views from the mausoleum but it was very hazy today. Lovcen National Park was very scenic. We drove on to the Lipa Cave and joined a 1 hour tour. Lipa Cave is extensive and there are several galleries with colourful stalagmites, stalactites and other formations. We really enjoyed the tour. See my blog " The Kotor Serpentine Road to Lipa Cave " for more information. 23 June 2023 - Budva & Solila Beach Budva is Montenegro's main resort and the roads can be very congested as a result. We therefore had another early start in order to avoid the congestion and find parking. Our drive to Budva went well and the additional benefit of being early was that Budva's Old Town was deserted. It was a hot day and after walking around Budva's Old Town we walked eastwards along the seafront promenade. Budva's beaches were heaving with people and I hate being on beaches like that. We did have our beach stuff in the car, but we decided not to swim there and go elsewhere. See my blog " Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide " for more information. Sveti Stefan Island is near Budva and it is the most well known landmark in Montenegro. There are good views of Sveti Stefan Island from a couple of pull ins off the main road. However, there are even better views from St. Sava Church on a nearby hillside. Afterwards we drove back towards Kotor and stopped at Solila beach. There was a restaurant and good facilities there. Solila beach was much nicer than the beaches at Budva and we spent the afternoon there. 24 June 2023 - Walk up Kotor's Fortress Walls It costs Eur 8 per person to access Kotor's city walls that climb steeply up the hillside to the Church of Our Lady of Health and the Fortress of St Ivan. Neither of them are that special, but there are excellent views of Kotor and the Gulf of Kotor the entire way. It took us 45 minutes to reach the Fortress of St Ivan but we had numerous photo stops. See my blog " Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide " for further information. 25 June 2023 - Kotor to Trogir, Croatia There had been warnings on the Tripadvisor forum there could be long delays at the Montenegro/Croatia border at this time of year. They recommended using the smaller border crossing on the coastal road and said that it should only take an hour to cross. We therefore left Kotor as early as we could (08.30 a.m.) and drove to the border on the coastal road. There were no other cars there and it took us less than 5 minutes to cross the border and enter Croatia! It took us about 6 hours to reach Trogir and along the way we had an excellent view of Dubrovnik. In the evening we walked into Trogir for dinner and wandered around. The tourist season was in full swing and it was very busy. See my blog " Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide " for information on visiting Trogir. 26 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Split, Croatia It took 45 minutes to drive from our apartment in Trogir to Split. I had researched the car parking in Split and knew that it might be difficult. It was! We had to circle around the car park 3 times before finding a vacant spot. Each time we had to exit and then re-enter the car park. We reached Split about half an hour before the tour groups started to crowd out the main sights. Split is a very interesting town packed with ancient sights. We spent the morning there and returned to our apartment after lunch in Split. See my blog " Split, Croatia: Travel Guide " for information on visiting Split. 27 June 2023 - Sighteeing in Omis, Croatia Omis's Old Town is very compact. It mainly consists of one long street with restaurants and shops and with a castle above it. The castle is interesting and there are excellent views. It is a steep climb up and the roof of the castle is reached by climbing a metal ladder. Omis is very scenic and many people take a boat ride up the river. We just missed the hourly boat by a few minutes and decided not to wait an hour for the next one. There is also a decent beach in the Omis's new town. However, we didn't want to walk back to the car in the heat to get our swimming things. See my blog " Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide " for further information. 28 June 2023 - Trogir to the Island of Brac, Croatia I had made a booking for the ferry from Split to Supetar, which is on the Island of Brac. In Croatia ferry bookings for vehicles aren't for a specific time like with the Greek ferries. Boarding of vehicles is done on a first come first served basis. If there isn't space left you have to wait for the next ferry. We arrived 75 minutes before the ferry we wanted to board was due to depart and had no problem boarding the ferry. I was relieved that we were directed to park on the main deck. Vehicles behind us were directed down a very narrow ramp to the next level. The ramp was so narrow that the vehicles' tyres were almost touching the sides of the ramp. I had booked a small apartment on the edge of Supetar which was convenient to reach by car and only a 10 minute walk from the centre. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " for further information about the apartment. Supetar is a small and pretty town and we wandered around and had dinner there. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide Day Trip to Perast & Herceg Novi The Kotor Serpentine Road to Lipa Cave Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide

Livada beach near Himare, Albania Contents 14 June 2023 - Gjirokastra to Himare, Albania 15 June 2023 - Palermo Castle and Old Himare, Albania 16 June 2023 - Dhermi & Livada Beach, Albania 17 June 2023 - Himare to Berat, Albania 18 June 2023 - Berat, Albania to Kruje, Albania 19 June 2023 - Kruje to Koto, Montenegro 20 June 2023 - Sightseeing in Kotor Links to my Other Blogs 14 June 2023 - Gjirokastra to Himare, Albania Before going to Albania we had read that the roads were bad, but so far they have been fairly good. The first part of today's journey was from Gjirokastra to Saranda. The road went through the mountains and it was an impressive new road with great scenery. Unfortunately there were very few places to stop for photos. The mountainous coastal road from Saranda to Himare was in reasonable condition and had good sea views. It was only a 2.5 hour drive from Gjirokastra to our next accommodation in Himare. See my blog " Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro " for further information about driving in Albania. Our apartment was a couple of kilometres north of Himare on a dirt road. On arrival we received a very warm welcome from the owner and she gave us coffee, liquor and cake. As we were the only people staying at the apartment building we looked at some of the other apartments. We decided to upgrade to a deluxe penthouse apartment for an extra Eur 30 per night. It was definitely worth it as it had 2 large balconies with excellent sea views and the interior of the apartment was very nice. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " for further information about the apartment. It was a steep 10 minute walk down to the excellent Livada beach. We had free use of a sun umbrella and sun loungers and the sea was warm and great for swimming in. In the evening we drove to Himare for dinner. As we got there we saw a police car and realised that we didn't have the car papers or my driving license. It took the edge off our dinner as we didn't want to have a problem with the Albanian police. We didn't particularly like Himare as it is a bit ramshackle and poorly developed. It has a beach, but Livada beach near our apartment is much nicer. We managed to drive back to the apartment without being caught by the police. Luckily there are quite a few foreign cars so our car doesn't stand out as much as on the Greek islands. See my blog " Himare, Albania: Travel Guide " for information on visiting Himare. 15 June 2023 - Palermo Castle and Old Himare, Albania We drove from Himare half an hour southwards along the coast to Palermo Castle. On the way we stopped at a viewpoint from where we could see an old sea tunnel that the Soviet Union used for their submarines in the 1950's. We were fortunate to obtain a parking spot at Palermo castle. The parking was very limited unless you were willing to risk driving down a very rough track to the beach. Palermo Castle was only built in the early 19th century but we enjoyed wandering around it. We drove from Palermo castle to the hill behind Himare to see the remains of old Himare. They weren't very impressive but the views were nice. We then drove to Livada beach for a nice lunch of fish and a swim. We could see Corfu in the distance with storm clouds all around. It looked as if there would be a storm so we went back to the apartment and got there just before it rained. 16 June 2023 - Dhermi & Livada Beach, Himare Today we drove northwards up the coast to the coastal resort of Dhermi. It was until recently a village, but upmarket hotels have now been built and even more are being constructed. However, Dhermi does look nice and has been developed much better than Himare. We could have swam at Dhermi but decided to go back to Livada beach instead for lunch and a swim. The weather clouded over so we returned to our apartment before the rain started again like yesterday. 17 June 2023 - Himare to Berat, Albania We left Himare today to drive 4 hours northwards to the historic town of Berat. Unfortunately the weather forecast wasn't good and by the time we reached the top of the over 1,000 metre high Llogoraja pass we were driving through rain and cloud. The scenery is meant to be spectacular but we couldn't see much! After Llogoraja pass there is a new road known as the Vlore Bypass that has been cut through the hillsides. It is a good road, but there is rock fall as measures haven't been taken to stabilise the cut away hillsides. We could see the coastal town of Vlore from the road and it didn't look very nice. As we reached Berat it started to pour with rain. I parked the car in yet another difficult underground car park and was happy that the apartment owner guided me. Our Euro 45 per night penthouse apartment was fantastic and incredible value. We relaxed there for a couple of hours until the rain stopped. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " for further information about the apartment. We then walked up to the interesting Berat Castle. It is spread over a large area and contains mosques, houses and shops. Berat's old town is on the river below the castle. It is much nicer, and more interesting, than Gjirokastra. There are 2 main historic areas in Berat. Mangalemi on the north side of the river is the Moslem area and Gorica on the south side is Christian area. See my blog " Berat, Albania: Travel Guide " for more information on visiting Berat. 18 June 2023 - Berat, Albania to Kruje, Albania I had enjoyed driving in Albania until we got closer to Berat yesterday afternoon. Until then we had mainly driven through the countryside, but then that changed and we drove through numerous uninteresting towns. Unfortunately the drive from Berat to Kruje was just as unattractive and the police were out in force with radar guns. We were warned most of the time by oncoming drivers flashing their lights. I didn't reciprocate as so many Albanians drive too fast and dangerously that they deserve to be caught. There were also quite a few pot holes in the roads which we hadn't come across before in Albania. However, before coming to Albania I had expected most of the roads would suffer from potholes! We had booked the best hotel in Kruje as it was very good value, in the centre and had parking. We were fortunate to be given a good room with a balcony facing Kruje's castle and bazaar. See my review of Hotel Panorama on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " . It made all the difference having a good room as although Kruje is nice there isn't much to see. It is very frustrating that guide books and travel blogs too often give false positive images of places. See my blog " Kruje, Albania: Travel Guide " for information on visiting Kruje. 19 June 2023 - Kruje to Kotor, Montenegro The road from Kruje to the border with Montenegro was in good condition and scenic. The Albanian passport control just waved us through and the Montenegro passport control was quick. We bought a green card from a very friendly guy at an office at the Montenegro border for only Eur 15 for a 2 week period. The cheapest green card for the entire trip. It took us about 5 hours to drive from Kruje to Kotor and our apartment in Kotor was easy to locate. We went into the centre of Kotor in the evening for dinner. We walked along the promenade and had a look around Kotor's very interesting walled Venetian town. 20 June 2023 - Sightseeing in Kotor, Montenegro Today we explored Kotor and swam in the estuary near our apartment. See my blog " Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide " for further details. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Budva, Montenegro: Travel Guide Day Trip to Perast & Herceg Novi The Kotor Serpentine Road to Lipa Cave Kotor, Montenegro: Travel Guide Himare, Albania: Travel Guide Berat, Albania: Travel Guide Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro Kruje, Albania: Travel Guide

Agios Petros beach on Andros Island Contents 7 June 2023 - Hike in Northern Tinos 8 June 2023 - Ferry to Andros Island 9 June 2023 - Drive around Andros Island 10 June 2023 - Beach Day on Andros 11 June 2023 - Hike on Andros 12 June 2023 - Ferry to Athens & Drive up to North Greece 13 June 2023 - Greece to Albania Links to My Other Blogs 7 June 2023 - Hike in northern Tinos, Greece We are both having problems with our British Telecom Sim cards so we couldn't contact the garage to find out whether the brake pads had arrived from Athens. We drove over to the garage and were pleased to find they had arrived and the mechanic quickly fitted them. Unfortunately he also found that one of the front springs was broken (see picture). I think it happened on 20th May when I hit a bad pot hole on the way to our accommodation in Koroni in the Peloponnese. The car has been handling well since then which is surprising. Unfortunately he couldn't replace the spring as it has to be ordered from Athens. It wouldn't arrive until tomorrow, which is when we are going to the island of Andros. We will therefore have to try to find a garage on Andros to replace it. The mechanic recommended that we replace both the front springs and the shock absorbers and estimated that it would cost about Eur 400. We then drove up to the northern end of Tinos island and stopped at the pretty village of Kardiani on the way. As usual there are several churches in Kardiani. Dovecotes for pigeons are very popular on Tinos and there were some in Kardiani. We did a circular walk from the inland village of Marlas down to the coastal village of Mali and then of course back up again! The trail was well marked and in good condition and it took us about 2.5 hours. Before Covid a lot of trails were opened and signposted on Tinos, but unfortunately many of them are now overgrown and difficult to walk on. In the evening we had another walk around Tinos Town and for the first time entered the church of Panayia Evangelistria which is frequented by pilgrims. See my travel blog " Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide " for information about visiting Tinos. 8 June 2023 - Ferry to Andros Island, Greece Our ferry from Tinos was scheduled to depart at 11.30 for the 40 minute voyage to Andros. We arrived at the port an hour ahead of time as recommended by the ferry operator. Generally we found that half an hour was more than sufficient! As usual there was no indication of where to wait at the port and nobody was around to ask. After half an hour a couple of other cars seemed to be waiting for the ferry to Andros so we drove over and joined them. It was the right decision! The officials at the port, and on the boat, were super friendly and the boarding process was easy. When we arrived at Andros we immediately drove to a nearby garage. I had found it on the internet the previous night and the owners of our apartment at Andros confirmed it was a good garage. They ordered the parts from Athens and told us to come on the 10th to have them fitted. The cost was Eur 550 which was a bit more than it would have cost us on Tinos. The drive to our apartment was up a steep mountain with hair pin bends. The fairly narrow entrance to the property was off a very steep section of the road and it was a bit nerve racking. The mother and daughter were waiting for us there and were very hospitable. The sea view from the house is spectacular. In the evening we drove 20 minutes to the small coastal resort of Batsi. I accidentally drove down a 1 way street angering another driver. We had souvlaki again for supper. See my blog " Andros, Greece: Travel Guide " for more information on visiting Andros. 9 June 2023 - Drive around Andros Island, Greece Our accommodation is on the west side of Andros island and in the morning we drove half an hour over to the east side to visit Andros Town. Usually the port would be in the main town of the island but the east side of Andros is too windy. There is limited parking at Andros Town and we were lucky to find a parking spot. Andros town juts out onto a peninsular and is quite attractive. Andros Town isn't spoilt or touristy as most visitors stay on the north west side of Andros island. It only took just over an hour to wander around Andros Town. Afterwards we drove along the coast southwards to the coastal town of Korthi. It was mountainous and the scenery was spectacular but unfortunately there were few places to pull over and stop. We had grilled calamari for lunch at Korthi. Afterwards we continued driving around the coast of the island until we reached the port of Gavrio in the north west of Andros island. This is where our ferry from Tinos docked yesterday. We had now driven on most of the decent roads on Andros and didn't want to risk driving on the more remote roads. 10 June 2023 - Beach Day on Andros Island, Greece In the morning we took our car to the garage. We were pleased that the parts had arrived from Athens so they could do the repair. It was going to take about 4 hours. Luckily for us the garage was opposite the beach at Agios Petros, which is one of the best beaches on Andros. We were the first people on the beach at 09.00! A taverna had sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach which were free as long as food or drinks were ordered. We could actually see our car in the garage so it was super convenient. Luckily it wasn't windy today and for once it was good beach weather. Our car was repaired by 13.00 and we returned to the apartment for lunch and then relaxed there in the afternoon. 11 June 2023 - Walk on Andros Island, Greece We drove to the nearby village of Paleopoli and then walked about half an hour down to a beach near some ancient ruins at Paleopolis. We spent about an hour on the beach and then walked back. The trail to Paleopolis was in good condition unlike a lot of the trails on Andros that are overgrown. We drove to the small coastal resort town of Batsi for a souvlaki lunch. Batsi is a nice town and we have had one meal there every day. 12 June 2023 - Ferry to Athens & Drive up to North Greece In the morning we took a 2 hour ferry from Andros to the port of Rafina in Athens and arrived just after midday. It was then a 6 hour drive to the coastal resort of Parga in northern Greece. We only spent 1 night at Parga, which is a shame as we really liked our accommodation and Parga. The Greek islands had been very quiet and there hadn't been many tourists. In contrast Parga was bustling with lots of holidaymakers. Normally I wouldn't like that but it made a nice change. Unfortunately we only had time to wander around Parga and have dinner. It would have been nice to have walked up to the Venetian castle and explored the surrounding area. 13 June 2023 - Greece to Albania It was a 4 hour drive from Parga to Gjirokastër in Albania. We didn't have any problems at the Albanian border, although we were surprised that at the Greek side of the border we had to get out of our car to present our passports. At all the other borders we have just driven up to the passport control booth. On the Albanian side of the border we bought 15 days of 3rd party insurance for Eur 49 and it was very straightforward. See my blog " Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro " for information on driving in Albania. We had problems locating our apartment in Gjirokaster. After a frustrating half an hour driving around we stumbled across it. After checking in we walked up a steep hill to Gjirokastër castle. The castle is impressive and we spent an hour looking around. Afterwards we walked down to Gjirokastër's old bazaar which is very attractive. It consists of about 4 streets of shops and restaurants, but unfortunately they are mainly catering for tourists. It started to rain so we sheltered in a cafe and had a drink. The Bradt guide book raves about Gjirokastër's cobbled streets and nice houses. We weren't that impressed and can't understand why Gjirokastër is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were glad that we only had 1 night in Gjirokastër. See my blog Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Himare, Albania: Travel Guide Berat, Albania: Travel Guide Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special! Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro Kruje, Albania: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide

Lighthouse on Papargyros Cape, Tinos Contents 31 May 2023 - Mount Zas Hike on Naxos Island 1 June 2023 - Beaches on Naxos Island 2 June 2023 - Melanes/Flerio/Potamia Hike on   Naxos Island 3 June 2023 - Drive to the north of Naxos Island 4 June 2023 - Villages of Halki & Filoti on Naxos Island & the Ferry to Tinos 5 June 2023 - A Wasted Day on Tinos! 6 June 2023 - Hike & Sightseeing on Tinos Links to My Other Blogs 31 May 2023 - Mount Zas Hike on Naxos Island Rain was forecast at midday, but as the weather forecasts have often been wrong we decided to climb up Mount Zas. Mount Zas is 1,003 metres high and the summit is the highest point in the Cyclades Islands. We drove up to an elevation of about 700 metres before starting the hike up Mount Zas so the elevation gain was only 300 metres. It wasn't a difficult hike and the round trip took us 2.5 hours. Unfortunately the weather forecast was correct! We reached the summit of Mount Zas in cloud and there was no view as a result. Soon after having our lunch we heard thunder and decided to descend as fast as we could. It soon started to rain lightly and it made the rocks slippery. Luckily we each had a hiking pole which made the descent a lot safer. Some hikers without poles really struggled. See my blog " Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide " for more information about visiting Naxos. 1 June 2023 - Beaches on Naxos Island As the weather was sunny and hot we decided to explore the beaches south of Naxos Town. These beaches are the best on the island. We started by driving as far as we could to the south west of Naxos Town and then slowly driving up the coast back towards Naxos Town. Agiassos Bay was the first beach we saw and we had the large sandy beach to ourselves. We swam there, but after a while the wind picked up and we moved on. We next stopped at a beach on the Alyko promontory known as Hawaii beach due to the vibrant blue colour of the water. We didn't swim there though. A bit further is Mikri Vigla beach, which is very popular with kite surfers. There were lessons taking place. It was fascinating to watch people learning to kite surf. Just before we reached Naxos town we parked at the popular Ayios Prokopios beach and had a walk there. 2 June 2023 - Melanes/Flerio/Potamia Hike on Naxos Island The weather forecast for Naxos was for rain in the afternoon so we thought we would be able to do a walk in the morning. Unfortunately the weather forecast was wrong again and the rain began soon after we started our walk. Initially it was light rain but it soon became a bit more substantial. It was a 3 hour circular route via the villages of Melanes, Flerio and Potamia. It would have been very nice in dry conditions but by the time we got back to the car we were wet and ready for a hot shower. Unfortunately when we arrived at the house we couldn't find the house key. I must have dropped it during the hike! I tried calling the house agent, but there was a problem with our phone and she couldn't hear me. The only option was to drive to the agency office in Naxos Town. We were wet, the weather was miserable and we were miserable! Luckily the agency office was open, but they had to get the spare key from the owner and have a copy cut for me. The rain continued until 19.00. 3 June 2023 - Drive to the north of Naxos Island We drove through the mountainous centre of Naxos to the far north of the island and then returned to Naxos Town on the coastal road. The coastal road is also mountainous. Unfortunately there are very few places where you can pull over to take photos. For the driver (me!) it makes it difficult to enjoy the scenery as you can't take your eyes off the road for long. We stopped first at the hillside village of Aperathou, which is the nicest village on Naxos. We were lucky that there were very few other tourists. I could see from the restaurants and shops that Aperathou is a popular place. We next stopped on the main road above Koronos. I didn't want to risk driving down to the village as I was concerned the streets would be narrow and it would be difficult to turn around. We had a quick walk down the steep lanes to Koronos and then back up! At lunchtime we reached the small resort of Apollonas at the northern end of Naxos island. It was a bit windy and we decided not to swim. On the way back to our accommodation we stopped off near the village of Flerio to see 2 kouroi. They are partly finished marble figures abandoned around 570 BC as they were broken during transport. We could have seen these kouroi during our walk yesterday, but we were too wet and it wouldn't have been enjoyable. 4 June 2023 - Villages of Halki & Filoti & the Ferry to Tinos Our ferry to Tinos wasn't until 15.30 so after checking out of the apartment we drove to the nearby villages of Halki and Filoti. Halki is very nice, although it is popular with tourists. There are a lot of churches and also some nice walks. However, we didn't have time for a walk. There isn't so much to see in Filoti but there is a nice church. It was a 2 hour ferry ride from Naxos to the island of Tinos and we went via Mykonos. There was no indication where to wait for the ferry at Naxos port. Happily everything worked out and there was no difficult maneuvering on the ferry. In the evening we drove to Tinos town and found a restaurant that served good souvalaki and gyros. The owner was very hospitable and spoke English well. We had a quick walk around the Tinos town which was interesting as it caters for a lot of pilgrims. The street up the hill to the main church has a carpet on one side so that pilgrims can crawl up to the church on their hands and knees. See my travel blog " Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide " for information about visiting Tinos. 5 June 2023 - A Wasted Day on Tinos! It wasn't a very productive day. We relaxed at the apartment in the morning and I planned what we could do on Tinos. I found a circular walk on the Allroutes hiking app and in the afternoon we drove to the village of Falatadhos to start the hike. Unfortunately I couldn't get the app to work once we were there and the signs for the route weren't clear. A bit demoralised we drove back to the apartment. We could see a beach from our apartment and decided to drive there for a swim. We should have walked as it was difficult to find the road to the beach. We went down a couple of bad and narrow roads before we managed to locate the beach. We had a quick swim, but then noticed that the plastic protection for the car's under carriage had come loose. We went to the same restaurant in Tinos Town as the previous night and the friendly proprietor recommended a garage for fixing our car. It hadn't been a good day and it got worse as we drove back to our apartment! Two policemen at Tinos's port flagged us down and asked for our car ownership document. We had left all our papers at the apartment for safekeeping. They weren't happy when I told them we had left them at our apartment. They were even less impressed when they asked for my driving license and I told them it was at the apartment as well! We were very fortunate that we got away with a verbal warning. Luckily in Greece they can't issue on the spot fines. 6 June 2023 - Hike & Sightseeing on Tinos, Greece In the morning we drove to the garage recommended by last night's restaurant owner and arrived there at 08.30 just as it was opening. Unfortunately the mechanic only arrived at 09.15. He was very helpful and quickly reattached the plastic underneath our car. Whilst repairing the car he noticed that the front brake pads required replacing. He ordered them from Athens and said they would arrive the next morning. The cost for everything was only Eur 120 if we paid cash and he didn't want any money in advance. Very trusting! We then drove to Livada beach which is a 45 minute drive to the north west of Naxos town. The map showed that the road descending to Livada beach wasn't paved but in fact only the last 3 kilometres wasn't paved. It was a pleasant 40 minute walk on a well marked trail to the lighthouse on Papargyros Cape. The scenery was great and we had the trail to ourselves. Afterwards we drove to the 570 metre high Exobourgo "mountain" in the centre of the Tinos island. There are a number of pretty villages at the base of Exobourgo mountain. We drove around the mountain stopping at a few of them. Tripotamos was the most interesting one as it has a lot of old buildings, enclosed alleys and churches. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide

Naxos, Greece Contents 24 May 2023 - Rest Day at Koroni 25 May 2023 - Another Rest Day at Koroni! 26 May 2023 - Ferry to the Island of Syros 27 May 2023 - Day Trip to Ermoupoli 28 May 2023 - Hikes to Komito Lighthouse & North of Kini 29 May 2023 - Hike in Northern Syros 30 May 2023 - Ferry to the Island of Naxos Links to My Other Blogs 24 May 2023 - Rest Day at Koroni, Greece We woke up to sunshine and there was little wind. After having driven 4,000 miles in the last month we didn’t want to do any more driving today. There are 2 beaches a short walk from our house and we decided to go to the Agios Triada beach. It’s about a 10 minute walk down to the beach and we took our 2 camping chairs and umbrella with us. Agios Triada beach is very nice with a cliff behind it, clean sand and clear water. Initially we were the only ones there, but a few other people came later. At this time of year the water hasn’t yet had a chance to properly warm up. However, it was warmer than the sea in the UK at the height of summer! After a couple of hours the wind picked up and we lugged our stuff back to the house and had lunch on the balcony. It’s a hard life! 25 May 2023 - Another Rest Day at Koroni, Greece! In the morning we walked down to Agios Triada beach again and then returned to the house for lunch. In the late afternoon we decided to walk 40 minutes into Koroni along some narrow tracks. We had chicken gyros for supper. 26 May 2023 - Ferry to the Island of Syros, Greece We had a reservation on the 15.00 Blue Star ferry from Piraeus to the island of Syros. We didn't want to miss it as only certain ferries can take cars and we had paid for our accommodation on Syros. We therefore left Koroni at 09.00, even though it is only about a 3 hour drive from Koroni to Piraeus. It was a pleasant drive along good and uncrowded highways until we got to the outskirts of Athens. The road then deteriorated and became busy. We saw one small car pull out a bit too far and a passing lorry ripped off its bonnet. I am conscious that one small error like that could ruin our road trip. We arrived at Piraeus at 13.30 which was slightly earlier than the check in time of 14.00. We knew the ferry departed from gate 7 and the ferry was already there. There was no official controlling check in and we had no idea what to do. It was very chaotic as there isn't much land at Pireaus's port and trucks were busy moving trailers into the vessel. I parked the car on the edge of the port and Lani asked one of the officials near the ferry what we should do. He told her that we should get on the ferry not realising we had a car. He therefore wasn't too happy when I tried to drive onto the ferry! I was quickly stopped and told to park in a small area near the vessel. We waited there until 14.30 watching cars and trailers being driven onto the ferry. Then they allowed us, and the few remaining cars, to drive onto the ferry. We were the last on as the ferry was stopping at many islands and we were getting off at the first island. The chaos didn't stop there as the ferry wasn't a roll on/roll off ferry! I drove up the ramp onto the upper level for vehicles and an official told me to steer the car into several places and I had no idea where he wanted us to park. He then wanted me to reverse into the back of the vessel along a very narrow passage with cars on either side. However, he wanted me to do it by just following his hand signals. It wasn't a pleasant experience. It was a 3.5 hour ferry ride to Syros and it was warm enough to sit outside at the rear of the ferry. Luckily driving off the ferry was far less stressful! Our apartment was on the other side of Syros, but as it is a small island it only took half an hour to drive there. The apartment was very nice and the owner was very welcoming. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " for more information about the apartment. The View from our Apartment in Syros 27 May 2023 - Day Trip to Ermoupoli and Ano Syros in Greece Today we drove back to the port of Ermoupoli on the eastern side of Syros. Luckily parking was easy to find and we walked around, and up, the main streets. Unfortunately most of the churches were closed. We had a quick lunch of chicken gyros at one of the many waterfront restaurants. Afterwards we drove up to the top of the nearby hillside town of Ano Syros. Again the church at the top was closed and there wasn't much to see at the top. See my blog " Syros, Greece: Travel Guide " for more information about visiting Syros. 28 May 2023 - Hikes to Komito Lighthouse & near Kini In the morning we drove a short distance to Komito beach and then walked to the Komito lighthouse on the most southerly point of Syros. The walking only took about an hour and a quarter but it took longer as we stopped a lot to take photos and enjoy the scenery. After lunch we drove about 20 minutes north of our apartment to the coastal village of Kini. From Kini we walked for half an hour along a good track to the nudist beach at Delfini. Soon after that the trail petered out and we decided to return. 29 May 2023 - Hike in northern Syros, Greece The northern part of Syros has very little habitation and is very mountainous. It is a nice change to southern Syros that has houses and villages dotted everywhere. We drove to Kambos, which is where the road ends. We then walked to Cape Dhiapori, which is the northern point of Syros. The walk was very scenic and took us about 3 hours and 15 minutes. 30 May 2023 - Ferry to the Island of Naxos, Greece The ferry from Syros to Naxos goes via Mykonos. It was very easy driving onto the ferry and there was none of the complicated reversing that we had to do on the ferry from Piraeus to Syros. The ferry was fairly empty until we stopped at Mykonos. Several tour groups boarded the ferry there as the ferry was going on to Santorini, which is another favourite island for tour groups. There were 4 huge cruise ships anchored off Mykonos, so it was probably really overrun by tourists. The ferry only took 75 minutes to reach Naxos and we arrived there mid morning. Our accommodation was in the village of Galanado, which is a 15 minute drive from Naxos. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " for more information about the apartment. Later in the afternoon we wandered around Naxos town and had dinner there. There were quite a few tourists, but we really liked Naxos town. See my blog " Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide " for more information about visiting Naxos. Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide