Our next destination should be Nafpaktos, where we want to stay over night in a wellknown camping ground named Platanitis. The morning after we want to transfer to Peloponnes.
The road via Preveza, passing Aktio (tunel), Vonitsa, Paleros, Mitikas, Astrakos und Etoliko is wellknown by us since our yourney 2002. This time the swallows are flying high and the turtles are hidden in their shadowy bushes.
Before
we arrive Paleros we make a stop at a small AVIN-station. Oops! The swallows are
not flying as high as we thougt. Two of them hit nearly our unhelmet heads. The
friendly man in the petrol station is guiding us in his small house. On the wall
in front of a small barroom there is a big clock. Astonishing the swallows are
breeding there.
After
the next stop at Perithori, where we get some fruits from a very friendly patrol
shop owner, suddenly Rudi is disappeared from Tjakys rear-view-mirror. She waits,
goes back to look for him. Suddenly Rudi is coming. Now Tjaky has to turn again.
But very difficulty. The bike is leaning dangerously at one side. Tjaky jumps
sideway in the last moment. She cannot lift the bike by herself and Rudi is waiting
anywhere. Therefore she tries hitchhiking. A dark limousine stoppes and a white
one behind too. Two men get out and look very pussled. Tjaky signs them to help
her with the bike.
They
help her. The bike is on the road again. First look: everything is ok. Except
some minor scratches on mirror and luggage.Tjaky thanks them with "Efcharisto" and tells them they can leave her now. "And you are really ok?" they ask her sceptical. "Yes, sure!" she laughs - then they leave her.
After some diffculties at the start she manages to get the bike ridden. The first meters are very hard, especially because the shift lever lays more inside.
At the next parking place we investigate the bike more closer. There is nothing wrong on it, indeed. But we get now the experience how important the right balance of luggage is. A little too heavy on the left, too much in the top-case - and the balance is missing in simple situations.
Then we continue our way to Nafpaktos.
Arriving at Camping Platanitis, we find it closed. But it is supposed to be open since May 15. The next camping in a distance of two kilometers seems closed too. We decide to take a boat to Patra and look at Peloponnes for a nocturnal lodging.
Without
problems we find the harbour in Andirio. We follow the signs "Ferry Boat"
and the main traffic. But we have no idea how the transfer will work. First we
wait in the traffic, than we pass by the cars.Two ferries are in front of us. We want to drive on the boat, but the instructor does not allow and send us to the other ferry. Finally drived through the wild curving and backwards driving cars to the other boat, we are allowed to see closing her ramp and sailing away.
We are confused and place our bikes at the information office where we ask what to do now. The information officer tells us to wait for the next ferry. They have intervals of only 15 minutes. The police man tells us we should enter the ferry, which is the very one we were refused to go some minutes before.
O.K.
Second try. Now the usher (can anybody unserstand the greec ushers?) is allowing
us to enter and to park our bikes at the side. Than the last cars were loaded.
At the end of the line are some other bikes and mofas. They are standing with
the tail to the ramp.The ramp is closed. We put to sea. During the 15-minutes passage two boys collect the price of transportation: 2.10 Euro for each motorbike.
On the peloponnesian side the bikers have to leave the ferry backwards. One biker is helped by professional stuff, some have to manage it by themselves. For us it is easy, because our bikes are in the right position.
Wanting to spend the night on the first camping we will find, we leave Patra an take the old federal highway, finding it by following the labels to Athen and intuition.
We were told that the old federal highway would not be so good. We are pleased about the kurvy street, which is really nice and lead us through many little villages. But if you are in hurry, take the new highway!
Back to our lodging problem. The first sign to a camping place is not followed by another. The second sign leads us on a steeply small street downhill. But we do not find a camping place. Back to the federal road! After a few kilometers, the third sign near Egio: now it's OK, camping there, door open, we are allowed to stay.
