Instead of arriving at 7am, we got to Venice (or rather the ferry port south of it) at 10am. Disembarkation happened at 10.30am. From here, we drove home. Lunch happened in Brescia and was amazing. Switzerland drove Flo nuts, especially the two hour trafic jam before the Gotthard tunnel. However, he wanted to get home and just kept driving. We were home at 2am.
Our campground was so close to the ferry port, we only had to get up at 4am to make it into the queue at 4.30am. Flo got coffee and some snacks at this ungodly hour (I guess a port never sleeps?) and then we waited. And waited. And waited some more until our ferry arrived. Boarding was surprisingly quick and we were happy to have our own cabin. Venice, see you tomorrow.
To take the stress out of this day, we had opted to camp quite close to Igoumenitsa already. So we had time to waste. First, we hang around Sofas beach camping until 1pm. Then, we had a really late and long lunch. Afterwards, we checked in at the port in Igoumenitsa which didn’t take long at all. What now? Shopping, cleaning the car and some ice cream later, we decided to stay on a campground for half a night and get up at 4am istead of hanging around the port parking lot trying to get some sleep in the car.
Our felt last day was used for Vikos Gorge in an area called Zagori. It’s a mountainous area full of tiny villages and a big canyon. The best place to see the gorge is from Beloi viewpoint which you can only reach after a short hike.
Afterwards we drove to a lovely cafe in Kapesovo.
On the way back, we stopped at Kokkorou, an old stone bridge to take more photos.
Tomorrow is our last day in Greece and we won’t even get a full night’s sleep as we will have to queue for the ferry at 4am. To make it easier on us, we opted for a campground close to Igoumenitsa and returned to our first Greek campground, Sofas beach, for our last night.
As a last hurray for Meteora, we headed to the Monastery of St. Barbara of Roussanou. At least one of the monasteries deserved to be visited. For this one, housing nuns, I was required to wear a skirt. They were handed out at the entrance.
Afterwards, we drove all the way to Ioannina for lunch. Unfortunately, it was about 2pm when we finally arrived at the taverna and everybody was really hungry. Luckily, the buffet style place had something on offer for everyone.
Afterwards, we explored Ioannina, the Municipal Ethnographic Museum and took a boat ride to Ioannina Island in the middle of the lake as a surprise for the kids.
We camped right in town so we could have an early start into the mountains of Zagori tomorrow.
After breakfast, we only hopped to Volos, the bigger town on the peninsula to charge the car to maximum. A fast charger gives you just enough time for a coffee which is exactly what we did. Afterwards, it was a long drive from the Pelion Peninsula to Meteora. Number 3 felt pretty sick again.
Meteora is just stunning. We were super lucky with the weather but all we did today was take the scenic route and enough the viewing “rocks” to look around.
With a stop at a supermarket, we were on the campground just in time for some home-cooked pasta. Greek food is delicious but we really craved something different for one evening.
We weren’t entirely sure what to do on the Pelion Peninsula. In the end, we decided to go on a round trip and give the kids some more time at a couple of beaches. The first beach we stopped at was Mylopotamos. It turned out to be lovely and we stayed to play with the stream and the rocks. Up the stairs again for a great lunch at Aggelika. Now, we wanted to move on but the Agent had found three girls to go exploring with for the second time. So a second exploration it was.
Afterwards, we finished the loop with a stop at Agios beach and a ride through the apple orchards in Zagora. Back to Camp Sirka for the night.
About an hour’s drive north of Delphi lay our next destnation: Iti National Park. I’d read up on it, opted for a hike to a waterfall and felt generally prepared. Flo did a quick stop at the bakery to buy pastries for lunch and we were all set to start.
And then the hike turned out to be much more involved than I had wanted. The kids and Flo loved it, while I fought vertigo and anxiety seeing my kids move over streams and tree trunks, up steep inclines and hanging from ropes.
In the end, the waterfall was absolutely stunning. It wasn’t the one I had chosen but it was beautiful and we had made it. Plus, when I finally made it there, we met about three classes of Greek pupils aged about 12 years old who did this hike as a field trip.
Driving to Sirka on the Pelion Peninsular afterwards meant another late arrival. But we did the best and opted for dinner in the taverna which was lovely.
Despite arriving super late last night, we had managed to get a super nice campground. Flo made his round this morning, talking to other campers. Our neighbours helped us out with the hole in our tent (happened yesterday while putting up the tent in the dark) and then Flo came across Rick and Sylvie from https://www.instagram.com/seitert2sydney/
We talked and they knew people we know so…it was a very pleasant conversation. 🙂 Good luck on your travels!
Afterwards, we drove the 15km back to the cute town of Arahova which we’d passed last night. Had great lunch with local home-made pasta, a first since we’ve arrived in Greece.
Checked out the archaelogical site in Delphi where the oracle could be consulted. Back early to the same pretty campground to enjoy the view, the pool and some baklava.
Today was mostly about seeing the Parthenon and being on top of the Akropolis. In the morning, we visited the Roman Agora and the Museum of Greek Musical instruments before having lunch. After lunch, at 2pm it was our time slot to visit the Akropolis. After a last “farewell Athens” coffee, we drove 2 1/2 hours to our next campground in Delphi.
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