The direct route via Egypt is closed for 4×4 vehicles (see information), so we take the small detour via Turkey and Iran into account.
On July 15 we start according to plan. However, a loss of oil on the front axle has put us in shock again. But not so tragic – it is not the Simmering, but in the area of the kingpin and looks worse than it is. We can live with that for the time being and consider a repair, e.g. in Turkey. After all, we still get the necessary spare parts delivered.
We are happily driving towards the Gotthard Pass, but soon get stuck in a traffic jam. An RV had caught fire. Since no information about the duration of the congestion can be obtained, we decide to detour via the San Bernardino Tunnel.
Even before Lugano again heavy traffic jam – “somehow they just do not want to let us go” we feel. But at least we can do it until Chiasso. Early in the morning we take the bypass from Milan and drive to the port of Ancona. Before Bologna a thick column of smoke – again a vehicle burns on the highway. We drive past it carefully. Apparently, the driver could get out in time and nobody was injured.
In Ancona, we stay overnight at the harbor. The check-in area of the ferry port is closed at 22:00 at night. Right next door, there’s a truck parking lot that we can use for the night. Not bad we are amazed when suddenly a family clan sets up his tents in the middle of the truck parking lot and starts to live there.
Our feelings are mixed. Anyway, no world or long-distance travel feeling spreads. Rather, we feel like we’re going on vacation like we used to.
For the ferry crossing, only Minoan Lines had room for us and we were lucky enough to get hold of the last two-person outside cabin.
Two hours late, the Cruise Olympia appears and with two hours delay, she leaves with us on board. The fact that people lie around in the corridors on mats or even set up their tent on deck is new to us. If we think back to the dignity, pride and, service of the formerly Greek ships much has not necessarily changed for the better. The sea is calm and so is the night.
Very unspectacular we reach Igoumenitsa, Greece. We stay one night in Igoumenitsa. But unfortunately, you can not stand free on the beach here anymore, which is why we had to stay on the untidy and gloomy campsite.
On the recommendation of a Greek tankman with the best English, we drive to Glycki, to the sources of the Acheron River. The food right on the river under plane trees tastes excellent. The springs that bubble directly from the mountain are impressive and the water cool and clear.
The E06 goes over a nameless but beautiful pass over to Ioannina, where we want to do some small work on the campsite Limnopoula. In particular, we are planning our trip through Turkey here. Download maps and plan the route with Garmin BaseCamp V2.6 (V2.7 should not be used).
Two days before the planned onward journey, I am struck by abdominal pain, heavy flatulence and fever, combined with watery diarrhea. We want to go to the doctor, but he sends us straight to the hospital two kilometers away. 6 hours we spend there with waiting and numerous investigations:
The hospital needs an urgent renovation, but we were able to observe that all the work of the doctors and the nursing staff was carried out professionally. Although many people were waiting for help, the whole thing was an orderly and calm principle.
Nevertheless, grateful not to stay in this hospital, we spend the next few days at the campsite Limnopoula with its extremely friendly crew. The antibiotics make you tired and heavy, I have to force myself to eat and drink, I am without energy and often simply lie around.
What else is there other than looking to the sky and counting the clouds?
It goes up slowly. After the nightly hustle and bustle for a place directly at the lake of the invading camper hordes, we are pleased to finally break up. Our next stop is the Kerkini Reservoir where there are pelicans and other birds. Here on a short grased meadow to stand on the lake is restful and we enjoy the peace, also the tinkling of sheep and cows, grazing past us.
Groups of pelicans perch on the shore and brush their plumage. In between, herons and seagulls and other bird species are strutting.
The journey continues along the sea to Alexandroupolis, where we find a corner for us on the overcrowded campsite. Alexandroupolis is the starting point for the next stage, Turkey.
2 Comments. Leave new
Wow how wonderful to hear from you again. Thankyou for the information. Where will you enter Africa. When can we expect to see you. Regards Nelus
Thanks a lot Nelus
We are likely to enter africa in sudan. If we receive the Saudi Arabian transit visa, we will arrive from Jeddah by ferry in Sudan. It is very difficult to say anything about our arrival in Africa or South Africa. We hope to be in Sudan in October / November. South Africa not before the end of 2020.