Zambolis apartments

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Friday 24 May 2013

The Greek mainland by car

My small but inexpensive-to-maintain Hyundai Accent- which is always covered in a thin film of dust, reflecting the climatic change noticed among Cretans which is windier than it used to be, with more red rain falling these days than it did in the past - has served me well for nearly 14 years, and continues to get me from A to B, as well as providing lifts to my colleagues whose old BMWs and/or Audis are too costly to drive these days.

When we travel in Greece on holiday, we always take the car - Evritania, 1200m above sea level, Central Greece, 2011.
Needless to say, they are unable to afford another German car themselves. German cars are also getting increasingly more difficult to re-sell - nobody wants to buy used cars that are uneconomical, and owners don't want to accept a low price for something that was overpaid.

Free press Cretavoice, Issue 8, May 2013: Fuel consumption reaches nadir levels - many Hania petrol stations in the red. I used to pass 7 petrol stations in the space of 5km when driving my kids to school - it was only to be expected that some would close down (two did). But they all sell petrol too expensively, so I hardly ever use them, preferring instead one close to my office. We can't really claim that the crisis is to blame - another crisis was brewing before the financial one. The silver lining in the expensive petrol prices is that the roads are quieter as there are fewer joy-riders.  
I may have never owned a German car myself, but at least I can still afford to drive the one I have. Admittedly, the car is getting old and will need to be replaced some time soon. I would like to buy another new one, but it's a buyer's market these days in the used car trade, so I know my next car will not be a new one. However, it will probably be a German model: apparently, used Audis sell for less than new Asian models, according to my husband. He once owned a VW Passat taxi, which came to an untimely end after a decade of dedicated service (someone crashed into him and the car was a write-off). He has since bought two Skodas, which haven't treated him badly, but he remembers the German car with greater affection. Whatever our next cars are, they won't be new. Why spend more when you know you can spend less?

If there is one thing that makes me angry about the crisis, it is that it has made it difficult for my family to take an annual summer road vacation in Greece. Mainland Greece is not as well known as the Greek islands. We rarely visit islands because we live on one. A car trip in Greece is now every expensive for the average Greek. I'm not talking about about the taverna meals or overnight accommodation - they are relatively cheap. But ferry tickets (including the cost of transporting a car), petrol costs and toll station fees make travelling by car around Greece rather expensive. The economic crisis has not stopped us travelling abroad to European destinations - cheap flights are easy to find these days. But absolutely nothing can compare to a Greek summer holiday. The Greek landscape offers much more than just coastline and good beaches. We have snowy mountains, rushing rivers, dramatic waterfalls, picturesque villages, war memorials, ancient sites, religious communities, natural landscape, railroad attractions, lake districts, rugged coastline, culinary delights, and above all, the perfect climate to enjoy it all in.

What follows is the highlights of our Greek summer road trip in September 2011, the last time we travelled through mainland Greece. The end of a summer is a good time to travel in Greece as most of the tourists have gone back home. I hope you all enjoy the photos - they show a very different Greece to the one I present from my hometown.


Milies, Pilio

A non-descript rocky beach, Pilio

Dinner by the seaside at a coastal village in Pilio

Pilio architecture, with Volos and the Pagasitiko Gulf in the horizon

Pilio architecture

Meteora monastery

Meteora monastery

Islamic architecture, Ioannina

Near the home of Ali Pasa, on the Island in the Lake of Ioannina

Souvlaki at Ioannina

Ioannina Lake and the surrounding fields, viewed from the Perama cave exit

The artificial lake of Kremaston

The old bridge in Arta

River in Epirus

Dinner at Karpenisi

Karpenisi forest

Refreshments at Mikro Horio, Evritania

Velouchi mountain, Evritania

Small waterfall in Evritania

Abandoned carts, Evritania

Lunch in a small village in Evritania

Bakery at Karpenisi

Abandoned German machinery, Evritania

Picnic

A local in the area of Evritania

Haystacks

Lake Plastira

The dam at Lake Plastira

Pistachio trees, Makrakomi

Abandoned taverna on the old national road between Thebes and Athens

Toasted bakery bread

Hope I've whetted your apetite.

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4 comments:

  1. 'Thanks for the photos Maria , I can never have enough of them. leonard.

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  2. Hi Maria, I too find that September is the best time of the year to visit Greece. Here in Portugal how economic situation is not very different from yours, so I do relate with many of the things you describe in your posts.

    I wish I could return to Greece pretty soon, have sooooo much to visit both in the mainland and in the islands. In fact, I would love to live in greece, and my boyfriend, who lived there for 8 years, would also be happy to return.

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  3. Loved your photos, Maria. I have never been to Greece and regret saying that maybe I never will travel there! I don't want to sound like a doomsayer but I pretty much live with the thought that "life as we know it now" is going to drastically change in the next years. My husband and I have discussions about cars. If we have to buy another car, and our car is getting old, we would want the most fuel efficient one we could get. We agree that it's foolhardy to buy a NEW car in these times. That will not change. I really believe that if I could, I would stop driving almost anywhere. We may not have that choice in the near future anyway. Someone, somewhere has to decide that WE MUST STOP SPEWING HYDROCARBONS into the air. It should start with us. But...we still have to drive 28 miles to our work. We cannot live without working. So we have talked about giving up our farm in the country and "moving to town." But... in town we could not raise chickens and pigs. The rules are set up so that in town one cannot try to become self sufficient by raising animals for food. But...if one lives on a farm, one cannot afford to drive to work. It's, as they say, CATCH 22. We just have to do the best we can, while we can, and try to enjoy life.
    Maria, read James Howard Kunstler's book, "World made by hand." That will make you think long and hard about the future. (not that you don't already do so!)
    He also writes a blog. I don't want to type his rather nasty blog title here. Just Google his name and "blog," and you will find it.
    He firmly believes things are not going good in the US, either, and I agree with him.

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  4. Nowadays specialist tour operators offer trips in mainland Greece like this one in Karpenissi http://www.ramblersholidays.co.uk/?pageID=3&HolidayID=1545 which follows the E4 long distance path and ends in Delphi. I would describe mountainous mainland Greece as a place far from anything giving out a sense of peace and solitude as it has luckily attracted very little attention in the sense of "development".

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