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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

The Castle in Methoni, Greece Contents 17 May 2023 - Day Trip to Epidaurus 18 May 2023 - Nafplio to Monemvasia 19 May 2023 - Monemvasia 20 May 2023 - Monemvasia to Koroni, Greece 21 May 2023 - Rest day in Koroni 22 May 2023 - Day Trip to Koroni 23 May 2023 - Day Trip to Methoni and Pylos Links to My Other Blogs 17 May 2023 - Day Trip to Epidaurus, Greece Epidaurus is best known for it’s ancient theatre that dates back to 320 BC. The theatre could seat 14,000 people and has excellent acoustics. Epidaurus is a large site and also has a stadium and the remains of the medical and spa facilities it was renowned for. Epidaurus is only a half hour drive from Nafplio and we arrived there at 08.30. We went to the theatre first and there were only 2 other people there. Unfortunately the tranquility was ruined by someone noisily strimming the grass. We spent half an hour appreciating the impressive theatre. As we left the theatre at 09.15 we saw the first tour group and by the time we had walked to the rest of the site there were several more groups! Unfortunately most of the other buildings at Epidaurus were just ruins and we weren’t that impressed by them. Before leaving Epidaurus we returned to the theatre and now there were lots of tourists. Each group demonstrated the incredible acoustics by clapping and dropping stones on the middle of the stage. See my blog " Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide " for more information on visiting Epidaurus. Afterwards we drove from Epidaurus to the coastal village of Palea Epidhavros to visit the Ancient Theatre of Epidhavros. However, we couldn’t find it, even with the aid of Google maps and road signs. It seems that it is closed. The coastal village was very pleasant though. Palea Epidhavros We returned to our apartment for lunch and had a restful afternoon in Nafplio. 18 May 2023 - Nafplio to Monemvasia, Greece The 18th May is International Museums Day in Greece and there is free admission to both museums and archaeological sites. We had therefore decided to visit 3 archaeological sites on our drive from Nafplio to Monemvasia. This would save us Eur 48 in entrance fees. The first site was the Palamidi fortress above Nafplio which was mainly built by the Venetians in the early 18th century. It was a 15 minute drive from our apartment in Nafplio to the Palamidi Fortress, but it would have taken a lot longer if we had climbed up the 900 steps to it! We spent about an hour and a quarter wandering around the Palimidi fortress in warm and sunny weather. There are excellent views of Nafplio and the coast. There were very few people in Palimidi's upper fortress and although the lower fortress was busier it didn’t spoil our visit. The second archaeological site was Tiryns which isn’t very well known and isn't visited by groups. Tiryn's fortress is over 3,000 years old and inside are the remains of the settlement and a palace. The main feature of Tiryns are the impressive remains of the huge fortress walls. It only took about half an hour to walk around Tiryns. See my blog " Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide " for further information about visiting Tiryns. The third site was Mycenae which is about 3,500 years old. Unfortunately Mycenae is very well known and visited by tour groups. There is usually an entrance fee of Eur 12 and we wouldn’t have visited if it hadn’t been free, as there isn’t enough to see to justify the entrance fee. We arrived there at 12.15 and I hoped that a lot of groups would have left the site to have lunch. Some coaches had left, or were leaving, but there were still a significant number of coaches in the car park. We could see tourists snaking up Mycenae's hilly archeological site. Not my idea of fun, but luckily it was free! We mainly wanted to see the huge walls of the fortress and Mycenae's famous Lion Gate. Initially there were just too many people in front of the Lion Gate to be able to appreciate it, but fortunately the groups left after a while. We spent about an hour at the Mycenae. The highlights for me were actually off the main path. There were great views of Mycenae's fortress walls to the right of Lion Gate and no one else was there. Just below the walls were 2 large and impressive tombs and again we were the only people visiting them. For further information about visiting Mycenae see my blog " Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide ". Whilst we were driving from Mycenae to Monemvasia the engine malfunction light lit up on the dashboard. This had happened 9 months ago, whilst we were in Ireland, and we had been very concerned. After a few days the light had disappeared and it hadn’t lit up again until now. I checked the oil and as the engine seemed fine we decided to continue and hope for the best! We arrived at Monemvasia at 16.30 and were pleased with the apartment that we had booked. It was compact, but had everything we needed and the hostess had left us oranges, eggs, cake and jam. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further information on the apartment. 19 May 2023 - Monemvasia, Greece We had a leisurely start and only left our apartment at 11.00 for the short walk to old Monemvasia. It is on a small island and is now connected to the mainland by a causeway. Monemvasia was founded in the 6th century, but most of the buildings date from the 11th century onwards. The Causeway to Monemvasia We were pleased to find that there weren’t many tourists, or large groups, wandering around Monemvasia's old lower town. It was very pleasant wandering around the picturesque old streets and walls. The weather was sunny and the sea views were excellent as a result. After wandering around Monemvasia's lower town for an hour we started the climb up to the upper town and the citadel. There is an impressive entrance gate and tunnel between Monemvasia's lower and upper towns. Most of the population used to live in Monemvasia's upper town, but now the majority of the houses are in ruins. The main surviving buildings are the impressive Church of Hagia Sophia, which was built in the 12th century, and the Citadel. We had a picnic lunch at the Citadel and returned back to our apartment at 14.30. See my blog " Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide " for further information on visiting Monemvasia. We wanted to have a cheap dinner so we went to a restaurant that served gyros and souvlaki. I had a gyros, which is a pitta bread stuffed with slivers of chicken, salad and french fries. Lani had the souvlaki, which turned out to be the same, except there were chunks of chicken instead of slivers of chicken! They both cost Eur 3.50 each, but we made the mistake of also ordering one Greek salad for Eur 8 and we struggled to finish it. 20 May 2021 - Monemvasia to Koroni, Greece Our accommodation for the next 6 nights is a 3 bedroom house in Koroni. It’s only a 3 hour drive from Monemvasia to Koroni, but we wanted to go via the site of Mystras. Mystras is an abandoned Byzantine town dating back to 1249 and is fairly well preserved. We left Monemvasia at 09.00 so we could reach Koroni at a reasonable time. It took 1 hour and 45 minutes to drive to Mystras and we parked at the entrance to the lower section of Mystras. Mystras is on a steep hill with a lower town, upper town and a fortress at the top. This meant that we had a steep climb up to the fortress, but coming down would be easy. The alternative was to park at the entrance of Mystras's upper town, but we thought most groups would do this. We thoroughly explored Mystras in 3 hours. The houses and fortress of Mystras are in ruins, but there are several churches and a palace that are intact and in good condition. There were a few tour groups but we managed to avoid them. We were disappointed to find that the massive Depot’s Palace was closed for restoration. When I consulted my 2004 edition of the Rough Guide it stated that it was closed for restoration “that looks set to continue for a number of years ahead” . I am sure they didn’t think it would take over 19 years to restore it! See my blog " Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide " for further information about visiting Mystras. The Palace of the Depots at Mystras There are 2 routes from Mystras to Koroni. The old way is over the Langadha pass, but a new toll highway has been built which is longer in distance but shorter in time. I wanted to drive over the scenic Langadha pass and selected that route on Google maps. Unfortunately something went wrong and we ended up on the new highway. It was probably for the best as the engine malfunction light was still lit up on the dashboard and driving over the pass would have put the engine under more strain. We were also delighted to find that there were no toll charges because of the national elections. We stopped off at a Lidl’s on the way to stock up on groceries and reached the house at 16.30. It is a very nice 2 bedroom modern house set in olive trees and with good sea views. Just after we had unpacked it began to rain and the wind gusted strongly the whole evening. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further information about the house. 21 May 2023 - Rest day in Koroni, Greece Today was a rest day and we wanted to enjoy the setting of the house. The house is in an olive grove and on a hill overlooking the sea and the Mani peninsula. We woke up to sunshine, which was a surprise as the weather forecast predicted rain for most of the day. We had breakfast on the balcony and by mid morning had to move to a shaded area as it was too hot in the sun. I took advantage of the hosepipe at the house to wash a month of dirt off the car! The weather changed for the worse in the early afternoon and we spent the rest of the day inside relaxing. 22 May 2023 - Koroni, Greece It was meant to rain again this morning, but it was actually partially sunny when we woke up. We decided to look around the nearby town of Koroni in the morning as the revised forecast was for rain in the afternoon. The buildings of Koroni mainly date back to the period 1206 to 1500 when the Venetians occupied the town and used it as a fleet supply base. There is a fortress on the hill above Koroni and we started our visit by wandering around it. The interior of Koroni's fortress now contains several buildings including the nunnery of Timiou Prodhromou. We particularly liked the small church of Saint Sophia that dates back to the 8th century. We then walked down to the town of Koroni and wandered along the seafront. We were hoping to have an early lunch in one of Koroni's seafront restaurants, but decided not to as none of them displayed their prices. The main shopping street is one block inland from the seafront and we wandered along there looking for restaurants and bakeries. Koroni In the end we decided to go back to the house for lunch and on the way back bought a large bag of about 40 oranges for Eur 6.20. Our house has a juicer and we love fresh orange juice! 23 May 2023 - Day Trip to Methoni and Pylos We woke up to nice sunny weather and the forecast for the rest of the day was good. After a leisurely breakfast on the balcony we drove to Methoni, which is about a 40 minute drive west from Koroni. Methoni has a very impressive fort dating back to the 13th century and we stopped there first. My old edition of the Rough Guide stated that it was open every day, but to our disappointment we found it is now closed on a Tuesday. Luckily Methoni's fort is very impressive from the outside and it is possible to walk around about three quarters of the fort. We did manage to peer inside through the gate and the exterior does appear to be much better than the interior. Afterwards we drove a short distance north of Methoni to the town of Pylos. We found a parking at the harbour and it was free, like many of the car parks that we have used so far in Greece. A nice waitress persuaded us to eat at a waterfront restaurant and as they didn’t have calamari I joined Lani in ordering chicken souvlaki and fried potato. Both the setting and food were very nice. Afterwards we walked to Pylos's fort, but we found it was also closed on a Tuesday like at Methoni. We drove a bit further up the coast and then went back to Koroni on the inland route over the mountains. Initially the road was good but it soon became narrow and had many potholes. The scenery was nice but after a while the weather changed and it rained heavily. 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 The Peloponnese to the Greek Island - 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 Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide

Lukla Airport Most trekkers start and finish the Everest Base Camp trek in Lukla. Unfortunately the Lukla flights aren't reliable due to the weather and now most of the flights to Lukla don't land or take off from Kathmandu airport. This blog provides information about flying into, and out of Lukla, and the alternatives if the weather is bad. Click here  to read my other blogs about the Everest Base Camp and Everest 3 Passes treks. Contents Lukla Flights Ramechhap Accommodation & Transportation Accommodation at Lukla Drive/Hike between Kathmandu & Lukla in 2 Days Helicopter Links to my other Everest Base Camp Trek Blogs 1. Flights to Lukla for the Everest Base Camp Trek 1.1 Flights to Lukla from Kathmandu and Ramechhap Airports Most trekkers fly into Lukla to do the Everest Base Camp trek and until recently these flights all took off from Kathmandu. Congestion at Kathmandu airport has resulted in the flights to Lukla being transferred to Ramechhap airport during the peak trekking season. This is from about mid March to the end of May and during the months of October and November. Flying from Ramechhap to Lukla is inconvenient. It is about a 4 hour drive from Kathmandu to Ramechhap at night but longer during the day due to road congestion. There are some hotels near Ramechhap airport, so you can drive to Ramechhap the previous afternoon and stay overnight. The alternative is to depart Kathmandu for Ramechhap between 01.00 to 02.00 to get an early morning Lukla flight! It is very chaotic at Ramechhap airport, even when there are no delays. Unfortunately flights are frequently delayed due to bad weather at Lukla. The effect of these delays have more impact at Ramechhap than Kathmandu as there isn't enough accommodation in Ramechhap. 1.2 Flights from Lukla Flying to Ramechhap isn't as bad as departing, as you don't have to stay there or cope with the chaos at the check-in counters. The major drawback is the drive from Ramechhap to Kathmandu, which could take 6 hours due to road congestion during the daytime. Lukla flights are often delayed, although less frequently during the normally clear weather from about mid October to mid December. Luckily this also coincides with Nepal's peak trekking season. Always try to get on the earliest possible Lukla flight as the weather usually deteriorates as the day progresses. If there are seats available on a different airline it is possible to transfer your ticket. Go to the airline office and get them to put the relevant stamp on your ticket which you then hand to the other airline. We did this at Lukla airport in 2014 and it only took 5 minutes. 1.3 Flight Cost & Weight Limit Flights between Ramechhap and Lukla currently cost $191 each way and between Kathmandu and Lukla cost $238 each way. These flights can be booked online through Yeti Airlines , although it shouldn't cost any more to book it through a trekking agency. The weight limit for these Lukla flights is 10 kilograms but the charge for excess weight is only about NPR 250 per kilo. If you are travelling with a guide he would usually have less than 10 kilograms of luggage and you can use his surplus weight allowance. 1.4 Cancelled Flights and Rebooking If your Lukla flight is cancelled you will have to rebook on the next available flight. In peak season only the later Lukla flights, which are at greater risk of being cancelled due to weather, will normally have availability. Your chances of getting rebooked onto an early flight will often depend whether your agency, or hotel at Ramechhap or Lukla, has good connections with the airlines. 2. Ramechhap Accommodation & Transportation 2.1 Hotels near Ramechhap Airport Some of the hotels within walking distance of Ramechhap airport are: Freedom Resort - This hotel gets reasonable local Google reviews and is an 11 minute walk to the airport. Rooms cost NPR 3,500 and tents NPR 2,500. The tents can be hot. Rooms and tents can be booked online through the above link. Lalu Hotel - The local reviews are also reasonable but there is no online booking. Hotel Manakamana Airport View - It also gets reasonable local reviews but again there is no online booking. 2.2 Transportation to Ramechhap Airport The first flights take off from Ramechhap airport at about 06.15. If you don't spend the night in Ramechhap you would have to leave Kathmandu around 01.15 to get there in time. This early start would probably be only a couple of days after a sleep disturbed international flight and when you are still suffering from jet lag. This isn't an ideal start for the Everest Base Camp trek. Mini buses and buses leave Kathmandu for Ramechhap around 02.00 each night and can be arranged through trekking agencies in Kathmandu. They cost about $35 per person, but you would not arrive in time for the earliest flight to Lukla. A private car arranged through a local trekking agency for the journey from Kathmandu to Ramechhap would cost from around $110 and a jeep about $160. Hiring a taxi yourself would be cheaper. 3. Accommodation at Lukla When flights are delayed for several days there isn't enough accommodation at Lukla for trekkers finishing the Everest Base Camp trek, even though there are many more hotels than at Ramechhap. Some hotels, like the very comfortable Lukla Numbur Hotel and the more basic Sunrise Lodge have connections with the airlines which makes a big difference. They can often arrange for you to get on an early flight from Lukla the next day and the early flights have a better chance of taking off. At the Lukla Numbur Hotel we didn't have to go to the airport until they told us that the incoming flights were proceeding. When we arrived at Lukla airport the hotel owner and guide had already got our boarding passes for us. 4. Drive/Hike between Kathmandu & Lukla in 2 Days The flights to Lukla for the Everest Base Camp trek are often grounded due to bad weather. It is often difficult to determine if the weather will clear or if the flights will be grounded for several days. The alternatives are taking a helicopter or doing a fairly gruelling drive and hike combination between Kathmandu and Lukla. The latter option is cheaper than flying when using shared jeeps or buses, but probably not when using a private jeep. In May 2022 we had a 06.00 flight from Lukla to Kathmandu but we woke up to rain. By 10.30 a.m. it looked like the weather wouldn't clear and an Australian at our lodge decided to hike and then take a jeep to Kathmandu. The weather suddenly cleared at 12.30 p.m. and our flight took off from Lukla at 1.30 p.m. We were surprised, and pleased, to see the Australian on the flight! He had luckily seen the weather improve and quickly hiked back up to Lukla! 4.1. Logistics The 2 day drive and hike from Kathmandu to Lukla could be split as follows: Drive on the tarred road between Kathmandu and Salleri. It could take 7 hours by private jeep, longer by shared jeep and almost 12 hours by bus (NPR 1,700 at March 2023). Stay in a lodge at Salleri. Phaplu is an alternative to Salleri but the lodges there aren't good. Drive 6 hours by jeep on the rough dirt track between Salleri and Tham Danda (just north of Bupsa). Click here to see a 16 minute video of the jeep ride. I wouldn't want to drive on this track after a lot of rain. The cost of a shared jeep was NPR 2,200 in March 2023. Then hike the same day between Tham Danda and Lukla, which takes about 5.5 hours. The hike from Tham Danda to Namche Bazaar can be done in 2 days with an overnight stop at Ghat or Phakding. The trail bypasses Lukla. 4.2. Approximate Costs of Getting from Kathmandu to Tham Danda Cost of a shared jeep from Kathmandu to Salleri was reported to be NPR 3,700 in April 2022. Cost of a bus from Kathmandu to Salleri was NPR 1,700 in March 2023. Cost of a shared jeep from Salleri to Tham Danda was reported to be NPR 2,200 in March 2023. A private jeep from Kathmandu to Tham Danda is about $420. These are ball park figures that depend on the fuel costs, road conditions, type of private jeep and your negotiating skills! 5. Use of Helicopters for the Everest Base Camp Trek The weather in Lukla can be too bad even for helicopters! It is the quickest option if flights have been grounded but not the cheapest! The normal cost is about $400 a person, but if a helicopter has spare seats you can sometimes be lucky to get a seat for as low as $150. The weather was terrible the day of our flight from Kathmandu to Lukla in May 2022. By mid morning we had given up on flying to Lukla and decided to pay $400 per person for a helicopter. However, the helicopter couldn't take off as the weather was too bad in Lukla. This proved to be lucky as at 12.30 we were told to board the plane as the weather in Lukla had cleared! We later met some young Swiss trekkers who had taken a helicopter that day from Kathmandu to Lukla and had only paid $150 each. As the weather was too bad for the helicopter to land at Lukla they were flow to Phakding instead, saving a few hours of the hike to Namche Bazaar. 6. Links to my other Everest Base Camp Trek Blogs My Daily Reports on the Everest 3 Passes Trek Day Hikes on the Everest Base Camp Trek Lodges and Tea Houses on the Everest Base Camp Trek When to trek to Everest Base Camp What to take for the Everest Base Camp Trek Forum Posts, Vlogs & Webcams for Everest Base Camp Trek Guides, Porters and Trekking Agencies

On the way to Ama Dablam Base Camp with our Guide & Porter This blog provides information on the selection of trekking agencies and the hiring of guides and porters. Click here  to read my other blogs about the Everest Base Camp and Everest 3 Passes treks. Contents TIMS Cards Nepalese Trekking Agencies Foreign Trekking Agencies Hiring Guides and Porters at Lukla Links to my Everest Base Camp Blogs 1. TIMS Cards The Nepal Tourist Board had announced that the provisions of the Trekker Information Management System (TIMS) were changing effective 1 April 2023. Prior to 1st April 2023 trekkers could buy their own TIMS Card for NPR 1,000 and trek without a guide. From 1st April 2023 the new announcement meant that only trekking agencies would be able to obtain the TIMS cards for trekkers, at the increased cost of NPR 2,000, and all trekkers had to be accompanied by a guide. There is a Tripadvisor forum topic on this subject. It has up to date information from trekkers about any enforcement of the Tourist Board's edict about guides. The reality is that it isn't being enforced and you can continue to trek without a guide except in the restricted areas of Nepal like before. The only difference is that independent trekkers can't buy a TIMs card. However, independent trekkers are no longer being required to have one. The Everest Base Camp trek is not in a restricted area but you need to buy 2 permits whilst trekking: The Khumbu Pasang Lhamu Rural Municipality Permit costs NPR 2,000 and is bought at Lukla airport. The Sagarmatha National Conservation Area Permit costs NPR 3,000 and is bought in Monjo. 2. Nepalese Trekking Agencies There are numerous trekking agencies in Nepal and some of them are very good and others aren't! Some trekking agencies only sell packages that include food and accommodation. This enables trekking agencies to make higher profits as it is difficult for trekkers to ascertain the actual costs. It can also benefit the guides as they are given a lump sum to cover costs and anything left over is theirs to keep! Good agencies will always give enough to cover all potential costs. Bad agencies will give the minimum, which can cause a problem for the trekker towards the end of a trek. The accommodation provided will usually be for a basic room. If you want a room with an attached bathroom you will normally have to pay the difference to the guide. If you do take an all inclusive package it is important to determine beforehand what food and drink is included. For example: Can you have a starter and a main course? How many hot drinks per day are included? A far better approach is to only pay the trekking agency for the cost of porters, guides and transportation. The cost of the porters and guides should always include their food and lodging. Porters and guides can be hired through agencies from about $20 a day for a porter and $25 a day for a guide. The guide will often travel with you from Kathmandu and their airfare will be extra. Their airfare is far less than for a foreigner. Porters will usually join trekkers in Lukla and any transportation costs for them is for your account. Be aware that porter guides probably won't speak English very well. Some local trekking agencies will want a deposit for the Everest Base Camp trek. The deposit shouldn't be more than the cost of the flights. Don't pay more than necessary If you want to organise your own trek I can recommend 3 local trekking agencies: Enjoy Nepal Treks . I used them in 2023 for the Kanchenjunga and the Langtang/ Gosainkunda/Helambu treks. I paid $25 a day for a porter/guide but the cost has now increased to $30 a day. I paid for my own food and accommodation but they also offer all inclusive packages. They are an excellent agency. Nepal Sanctuary Treks . They are the local agents for The Mountain Company and I have used them 3 times. They are not be the cheapest as their packages include food and accommodation. However, they will be substantially cheaper than a foreign trekking company. Visit Himalaya Treks . I have never used them but recently met one of their small groups on the way to Makalu Base Camp. I have also read the blogs of 2 frequent trekkers to Nepal who highly recommend them. Again they are not be the cheapest as their packages include food and accommodation. However, they will be substantially cheaper than a foreign trekking company. 3. Foreign Trekking Agencies Legally foreign trekking companies have to employ a Nepalese trekking agency to organise their treks. As a result their treks to Everest Base Camp are far more expensive than those of a local agency as they make a healthy profit on top of the local agency's cost. Some foreign companies send a westerner to lead treks which increases the cost even more. I wouldn't want to trek with a group when the accommodation is in tea houses/lodges as for the Everest Base Camp trek. It is better, and cheaper, to organise one's own trek through a Nepalese agency. I like to select my own accommodation and try to avoid busy lodges. You can't do this with a group and usually have to share a room. I have trekked twice with groups in Lower and Upper Dolpo as they were camping treks. They would have been expensive to organise for one person. However, some people prefer to trek with a group and most foreign trekking companies offer group lodge treks to Everest Base Camp, as it is one of the world's most popular treks. I can recommend 2 foreign companies: The Mountain Company is a British company which arranges basic  and luxury  lodge treks for Everest Base Camp with Nepalese guides. It is a good company and I used them when trekking in Upper Dolpo. Kim Bannister of Kamzang Journeys personally leads one trek a year to Everest Base Camp. She knows the area and local people very well and she has an excellent reputation. I have never trekked with her but did briefly meet her while trekking in Lower Dolpo. 4. Hiring Guides and Porters at Lukla You can hire guides and porters at Lukla airport and there are usually several touting for business as you exit the airport. It is safer to recruit through a local hotel in case any problems arise during the trek. 5. Links to my Everest Base Camp Blogs My Daily Reports on the Everest 3 Passes Trek Day Hikes on the Everest Base Camp Trek Lodges and Tea Houses on the Everest Base Camp Trek When to trek to Everest Base Camp What to take for the Everest Base Camp Trek Kathmandu to Lukla and Back Forum Posts, Vlogs & Webcams for Everest Base Camp Trek

Cordoba Cathedral Contents 31 March & 1 April 2024 - Plymouth to Santander, Spain 2 April 2024 - Salamanca, Spain 3 April 2024 - Salamanca to Toledo, Spain 4 April 2024 - Toledo to Cordoba, Spain 5 April 2024 - Cordoba to Granada, Spain 6 April 2024 - Granada, Spain 7 April 2024 - The Alhambra at Granada, Spain 8 April 2024 - Granada, Spain Links to other blogs about our road trip 31 March & 1 April 2024 - Plymouth to Santander, Spain We live a 40 minute drive from Plymouth so Brittany Ferries' sailing from Plymouth to Santander is very convenient for us. The voyage takes about 22 hours and it saves 2 to 3 days of driving. I have driven from the UK to north west Spain twice before and the scenery isn't that great. We booked a 4 berth cabin with a window as all the 2 berth cabins had been reserved. It wasn't cheap as the cabin cost £160, but it was worth having a private space with a view and some daylight. The return voyage cost £1,000 so we may not be saving much by taking our own car instead of flying and renting cars. However, the ferry is much more pleasant than taking an early morning flight. It is also convenient having everything in our own car for the entire 10 week trip to Morocco. I just hope our 2013 Ford Focus doesn't have any mechanical problems! The voyage went well and although the weather wasn't bad the ship did sway a fair amount when crossing the Bay of Biscay. Brittany Ferries use their largest ship for the Plymouth to Santander crossing and it's more stable. Unfortunately Lani went to the bathroom in the night and fell into the shower. I am glad that we weren't on the previous sailing as there was a storm then. We arrived in Santander at 15.30 the next day. It didn't take long to disembark from the ferry and to get through Immigration and Customs. From there it was a 4 hour drive to Salamanca and we arrived at the Parador de Salamanca around 20.00. We haven't stayed in a Parador before and this is the only one I have booked for this trip. It is a modern Parador about a 20 minute walk to the centre of Salamanca. I booked a superior room as these rooms have a good view of the cathedral and it cost of £87.50 per night. We were very pleased with our room at it was quiet, spacious and had a good view. 2 April 2024 - Salamanca, Spain We booked 2 nights at the Parador de Salamanca so that we would have a whole day to visit Salamanca. Rain was forecast from mid afternoon so we had breakfast as soon as the restaurant opened at 07.30. As it was our first stay at a Parador we were given a voucher that gave us one free breakfast and that saved about Eur 40 for the two of us. It was a very good breakfast and we ate far more than we normally would. Usually we would just have a bowl of porridge but the food was too tempting. After breakfast we walked into the centre of Salamanca over the old Roman bridge. Unfortunately the weather was cloudy and dreary but good weather was forecast from tomorrow. The cathedral is the main sight in Salamanca. It is massive as it consists of 2 cathedrals joined together. The old cathedral wasn't demolished when they built the new one in 1513. For an additional fee we also climbed up the tower and onto the roof of the cathedrals. The views weren't great but it was interesting see how the 2 cathedrals were joined together. We also paid to enter the Universidad de Salamanca as its buildings date back to the 12th century. The library, chapel and one old classroom were the main things to see but we weren't that impressed. The other sights in Salamanca were the Casa de las Conchas (House of Shells) which is now a library and the Plaza Mayor. The Plaza Mayor is very elegant as it enclosed by a continuous 4 storey building and the town hall. We walked around Salamanca until 15.00 when it started to rain as had been forecast. By then we had seen everything in Salamanca that we had wanted to see. Soon after we got back to the hotel the weather cleared and the sun finally came out. That wasn't forecast! In the evening we walked back into Salamanca and had a seafood Paella for Eur 36. It would have been much more expensive to eat at the Parador. 3 April 2024 - Drive from Salamanca to Toledo, Spain When we arrived in Spain we were lucky to have missed several days of wet weather that had spoiled many of the Easter religious processions in Spain. The weather forecast was for sunny and dry weather from today and it turned out that the forecast was right! We left Salamanca at midday and arrived in Toledo at 15.00, which was our check in time for our next apartment. We had booked a 2 bedroom apartment in Toledo for 1 night through Booking.com for Eur 90. We were pleased with the modern apartment and importantly we had a parking space for our car in the basement of the building. It was about a 15 minute walk in to Toledo's historic centre and we visited Toledo Cathedral first. It was constructed over 2 centuries and opened in 1493. We bought a ticket for Eur 12 that allowed entry into 7 of Toledo's historic buildings. We managed to visit the following ones before they closed at 18.30: 11th century church of Saint Tome. The main attraction here is another El Greco " The Burial of Count Orgaz" painted in 1586. Sinagoga de Santa María built in 13th century but converted to a church in 1411. There are 25 horseshoe arches and 32 columns, creating a sense of space. Real Colegio Doncellas Nobles founded in 1551, an educational institution promoting women. Monastery of San Juan de los Rey. Iglesia de los Jesuitas, We didn't visit Toledo's Alcazar (fort) as it is now an Army Museum and the Alcazar was rebuilt between 1939 and 1957 after the siege of the Alcazar during the Spanish Civil War. 4 April 2024 - Drive from Toledo to Cordoba, Spain It was sunny again today and we drove for 4 hours from Toledo to Cordoba. It seems that our car's air conditioning isn't working and we will have to try and get it fixed before we go on to Morocco. I had booked a 3 bedroom apartment in Cordoba for Eur 62 but unfortunately the sound proofing was poor and we could hear our neighbours very clearly. Fortunately they quietened down for the night and we managed to get 7 hours sleep. It was a 40 minute walk from the apartment to Cordoba's historic centre. As it was hot we took a bus in and walked back in the evening. We first visited the Mezquita as it is Cordoba's main attraction. The Mezquita is Córdoba's famous mosque which was completed in 787. In the 9th century it ranked third in sanctity in the Islamic world, behind Mecca and Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque. When the Christians conquered Cordoba in the 13th century it was converted into a cathedral. We then went to the Alcazar (fort), which is a Spanish fortress of Moorish origins, which was built in the 14th century. When we got to the entrance there was a long queue, probably about 70 people! We decided to wait and it turned out it was that busy because entry was free that day! The Alcazar housed the Inquisition (1428 to 1821) and it was then a prison until 1951. The buildings aren't very interesting but they contain some very fine Roman mosaics and a Roman sarcophagus. There are beautiful gardens surrounding the Alcazar. We finished the day by walking over the old Roman bridge and having dinner in the old Jewish quarter of Cordoba. 5 April 2024 - Drive from Cordoba to Granada, Spain It was a hot 3 hour drive from Cordoba to Granada. The car's air conditioner definitely wasn't working and needs to be fixed. I had rented a 2 bedroom apartment in Granada through Booking.com for 4 nights at a cost of Eur 488. The price included parking which can be very difficult in Granada. After the disappointment of the apartment in Cordoba I was relieved that the apartment in Granada was very good. It was on the 2nd floor of a modern apartment building and had a small balcony. The only drawback was that it faced onto a busy street and there was a lot of traffic noise. My priority was then to have the car's air conditioner fixed. I found a car repair chain called Feu Vert which had a workshop near us. I tried to book online and they an available slot at 17.00. Unfortunately booking online was impossible as they didn't accept British registration numbers and required a Spanish tax identification number. Luckily Lani has been learning Spanish and phoned them. We got the 17.00 appointment but it cost about 50% more as we hadn't booked online. Anyway the main thing was to fix the air conditioning as it wasn't pleasant driving in the heat. 6 April 2024 - Granada, Spain We explored Granada today and visited the cathedral first. We thought it was more impressive than the guide books said. By the time we left the cathedral the tour groups were in full swing and we had to queue to get into the Capilla Real. This is the Royal Chapel built as a mausoleum for Isabel and Fernando, the Catholic monarchs who liberated the city from the Arab rulers. Their coffins are in the crypt below and their figures, carved in marble from Carrara in Italy, lie behind a beautiful grille. Sadly photos are not allowed After that we visited the: Corral del Carbon dating back to the 14th century. Palaccio de la Madraza. It is now part of Granada university but it was originally an Arab university. It has a finely decorated Mihrab (prayer niche). Monasterio de San Jerónimo, The courtyard is filled with Orange trees and there is a beautiful church. Casa de los Tiros (the House of Shots) named for the muskets projecting from it's battlements. 7 April 2024 - The Alhambra at Granada, Spain I booked our tickets for the Alhambra in January as they often sell out way in advance. You have to select a time for visiting the Nasrid Palaces which is the main attraction of the Alhambra. I got tickets for 08.30 which is when the Alhambra opens in order to be able to see the palace before it became too busy. It was therefore an early start for us as the Alhambra was 45 minutes from our apartment. We arrived early at 08.00 and were first in the queue. That worked out well as when they let us in at 08.30 the people behind us had a problem with their tickets and we had the Nasrid Palaces to ourselves. We quickly walked through the Nasrid palaces to take photos before other visitors arrived. Then we went back to the start and spent an hour slowly walking through the beautiful palace that was built in the fourteenth century. The other 2 main sites in the Alhambra are the Alcazar and the Summer Palace. We went to the Alcazar first and climbed up 2 of the towers. It wasn't busy at all but unfortunately the weather was hazy and the views were spoiled. The Alhambra is a large site and it took about 15 minutes to walk to the Summer Palace. We stopped off at a church and hammam on the way. We found the summer palace to be a bit disappointing. The gardens weren't that impressive and nothing like the magnificent gardens at Cordoba's Alcazar. The buildings that we were allowed into weren't special and the views were spoiled by the haze. We spent 3.25 hours walking around the Alhambra and afterwards walked down to the historic centre of Granada. The owner of our apartment had recommend the Los Manueles restaurant for lunch. When we arrived at 12.00 the restaurant was empty but within half an hour it was completely full. It was an authentic Spanish restaurant mainly visited by Spaniards. The food was good and not expensive. In the afternoon we walked up to the Albaicin district of Granada. There is a mirador outside San Nicolas church with views over to the Alhambra. As it was Sunday it was busy and some guys were playing traditional Spanish music and a few girls were dancing to it. There was a nice atmosphere. 8 April 2024 - Granada, Spain This was our third full day in Granada and we took it easy in the morning. In the early afternoon we walked to El Ladrillo 11, a restaurant in the Albaicin neighbourhood, for a late lunch. We arrived at 14.30 and there were only 2 other people there. We were surprised that by 15.00 the restaurant was almost full. The restaurant had been recommended by the owner of our apartment and the food was very good. As often happens a street guitarist came and played a few traditional songs. After lunch we continued walking around the pretty streets of the hilly Albaicin area of Granada and then continued on to the nearby Sacromonte district. The Sacromonte area is also on a hill and is known for its cave dwellings but we didn't see any. There was a museum with several of these cave dwellings but we weren't interested in visiting a touristy version. Another attraction of Sacromento are the excellent views of the Alhambra. Yesterday our views were spoiled by haze but the weather was much clearer today. We could clearly see the snow covered Sierra Nevada mountains. We finished by walking back along the pretty Rio Darro to the centre of Granada. Links to other blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 2 - Spain to Morocco 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, U K

The Caprice in Comillas Contents 6 June 2024 - Muxia to Suances, Spain 7 June 2024 - Day Trip to Santillana del Mar 8 June 2024 - Day Trip to Comillas 9 June 2024 - Suances 10 & 11 June 2024 - Santander & Plymouth Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip 6 June 2024 - Drive from Muxia to Suances, Spain We were sad to leave Muxia this morning as it is a small friendly town with a relaxed atmosphere. We drove 5.5 hours eastwards from Muxia in Galacia to Suances in Cantabria. Suances is only a half an hour drive from Santander where we will be taking the ferry back to Plymouth. After driving for about two hours we encountered some very thick fog. The visibility was very poor and we followed a truck until the fog cleared after about 10 kilometres. That area must be prone to fog as they had special lights on both sides of the carriageway to guide us. The weather was pretty miserable the whole journey and clouds blocked the mountain scenery. Unfortunately the weather is meant to be bad until we return to the UK in 4 day's time. We were delighted with our very modern and bright 3 bedroom penthouse apartment in Suances. We had booked it through Booking.com for Eur 104 per night which was an absolute bargain for such a fantastic apartment. It was the best accommodation of our entire 10 week trip and I highly recommend it. Suances is a small town split into the upper town, where we're staying, and the lower beach area. Our apartment was in the centre of the upper town and after settling in we walked around Suances and did some grocery shopping. 7 June 2024 - Day Trip to Santillana del Mar We were pleased to wake up to a brighter day than had been forecast. We took advantage of it and visited Santillana del Mar which is only a 15 minute drive from Suances. Parking Publico is a very convenient car park by the tourist office and public toilets. There are ticket machines but there were signs stating it was free. Santillana del Mar is an exceptionally well preserved medieval town unspoiled by modern development. Unfortunately it can often be spoiled by a multitude of tourists as it is very popular with Spanish visitors. Santillana del Mar wasn't very busy when we visited though. Santillana del Mar has 2 main pedestrianised cobbled streets with well preserved medieval buildings. Unfortunately most of them are now shops and restaurants for tourists. The main square is the Plaza Mayor. The main sight to visit in Santillana del Mar is the Romanesque Collegiate church of Santa Juliana. It started as a monastery in the mid 12th century. A group of monks built it in an effort to contribute to the repopulation of the area and to house the relics of the martyr Juliana. It is worth paying the small fee to enter it. We had lunch in Santillana del Mar and then returned to our fantastic apartment. 8 June 2024 - Day Trip to Comillas In the morning we drove to Suance's lighthouse and walked on the headland around it. There were good views of the beaches at Suances. Unfortunately it was a gloomy and breezy morning but at least it was dry! We then drove for 30 minutes to the town of Comillas. We tried to park in the very central Aparcamiento Comillas but it isn't a large car park and was full. Parking is free and there are public toilets there. We ended up parking in the free Parking Municipal del Polideportivo which has plenty of spaces but it isn't quite as central. The tourist office provided us with a useful map of Comillas with information on all the historic buildings that can be visited. We saw the most important buildings in Comillas which were: The Palacio de Sobrellano. It was built as a summer palace in 1888 by the First Marquis of Comillas and was the first building in Spain to use electric light. The First Marquis fled to Cuba as a 14 year old and made his fortune there before returning to Spain. It is free to wander around the gardens which is what we did. The impressive University Pontificia de Comillas was founded in 1890 and is a private university. We only viewed it from the gardens of the Palacio de Sobrellano. The university was originally created as a seminary, sponsored by the First Marquis of Comillas. It is one of the most prestigious universities in Spain. The Caprice which was designed by Gaudi the famous Spanish architect. We decided not to pay to see the interior. El Duque is a 19th century English style building. It was closed for renovations. Near to El Duque is a statue of the First Marquis which was erected as homage to him for the great benefit he brought to Comillas. From the statue of the First Marquis we could see an impressive cemetery that is in the ruins of a gothic church overlooking the sea. The Iglesia de San Christobal dates back to 1617 and is next to the Corro Campios which is the main square in Comillas. We spent an enjoyable couple of hours wandering around Comillas and then returned to our apartment. 9 June 2024 - Suances We woke up to rain so we had a quiet morning in the apartment. In the afternoon the rain stopped for a while and we went for a walk along the seafront below Suances. We didn't do very much today but after 10 weeks of travelling we were happy to relax in our comfortable apartment. 10 & 11 June 2024 - Drive to Santander & Ferry to Plymouth We had to check out of the apartment at 11.00 and then drove 30 minutes to the ferry terminal in Santander. The ferry was only sailing to Plymouth at 18.30 but they checked us in and we were allowed to leave the car at the terminal while we walked around Santander. We were pleasantly surprised with Santander. A large part of it was destroyed by fire in 1941 and we expected a lot of ugly modern buildings. However, there were a number of elegant buildings and Santander is a pleasant town in a beautiful setting. As we walked along the waterfront we saw our ferry arrive so we walked back to our car. There is a shop at the port which sells booze and I bought 12 bottles of wine for about Eur 10 a bottle. Two of the assistants informed me that one of the wines I bought was served in the Vatican. A good sales pitch! The ferry sailed on time from Santanderand it was much fuller than when we came over to Spain in April. We had our own cabin again and it was a pleasant crossing as the sea wasn't rough. We arrived on time but for some reason they left us stuck in our cars for an hour before we could disembark. It has been a very good 10 week road trip. Overall we were very lucky with the weather as it wasn't too hot, cold or wet. Our 10 year old car behaved very well on the 5,500 miles trip and the only issue was that the air con needed re-gassing. Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco 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 Day Hikes on Spain's Lighthouse Way