We are up early this morning for breakfast and the ride back to the ferry. A warm, drizzly day and all goes smoothly thanks to Emmie, our tour director. Today we are driving south along the coast.
Nice scenery as we catch the rocky coast now and then. Lots of coves and inlets. For a break, we stop at the small town of Parga. The sun is shining by the time we arrive there. We wander into the town and there are many folks enjoying the day. There are a few big rocks, like sea stacks, an old fortress (we are beginning to think that any town of size has at least one!), and a quaint town with pastel painted homes.
There are a group of school children painting the town scene from a pier that extends into the water. We go by a few shops and then come across Diane and Doug at a small café. We join them for a gyro and a drink. The gyro is wrapped in warm pita bread and includes meat (pork), tomatoes, tzatzki sauce and French fries. And a greek salad - always great!
Very good.
Back to the bus and we head further south. We pass some fish farming areas which, because of overfishing in the seas, is quite popular – and necessary. Mountains continue. There is some quarrying in Greece, but marble from Italy is easier to mine and cheaper, so not much is done in Greece.
Many oranges are grown in Greece but because of agreements with the European Union, it isn’t very profitable and sometimes oranges are dumped. We pass miles of olive trees.
We listen to a DVD about Greek mythology as we drive and turn inland. Here, Emmi says, history and legend blend and it isn’t always clear which is which. As we approach Patma we begin to see many more vineyards as well as the everpresent olive trees.
Next stop is the Hero’s Garden in the town of Misilonghi. It is a war memorial garden which features well-known fighters of the war of Independence as well as other wars. Everything is in Greek, but it is a good opportunity to stretch our legs.
Lord Byron, the English poet, was enamoured with Greece and did much to support the battle for independence. He was loved by the Greeks and died here in his late 30’s, probably from malaria. There is a large statue of him here and supposedly his heart is buried here as well.
Many flowers and assorted dogs and cats snoozing. We grab an ice cream from a small kiosk before getting back on the bus and heading to the small town of Rio, which is really a neighborhood outside Patmas. We crossed this bridge.
Our hotel here is nice, but not quite the caliber of the others. The beds are very hard and Greg has hard time getting hot water, though it is fine later on. We have a nice dinner buffet here at the hotel. The usual, with spinach pie especially tasty. There is a casino here and we feel like it is more a casino with a hotel than the other way around. There are many citroen cars - some group doing a tour of Greece.
No comments:
Post a Comment