Panne in Griechenland

Now I remember - the real travel experience begins when you meet people.

Before that, it's landscapes, places you pass. Sometimes incredibly beautiful, you never want to miss having traveled the corners of the world. Nature beguiles all the senses. The sun warms the winter cold skin. The sea breeze smells incomparable. So do the eucalyptus trees and pine forests.

But you have only really arrived in a country when you are in the midst of the culture, the language, the food, and its scents. When you are cooked for, when you become, yes, dependent on others. You come into contact with the most unlikely people. There - as just with us - Greek is flung around our ears, there they surpass themselves with helpfulness, you may reject everything, only not their hospitality.

Anything can happen... Even the engine of our Loki can die and force us to an abrupt stop in life.

But let's start at the beginning...

Arrival in Greece

As we leave Albania behind, we get a little culture shock. It's January 2022, and the world is in turmoil. Pandemic! Pandemic! Life in danger.

In Albania, we didn't notice any of it. Maybe once we put on a mask (when we entered a bank; hard to believe in another age).

The first thing we had to do at the border was to show a quick test, despite the certificate. Second, we were asked about vaccination at the campsite in Ioannina, in northern Greece. Thirdly, we were told to put on a protective mask even outdoors (even two on top of each other for shopping in certain supermarkets). Ok, it takes some getting used to.

Then the Greek weather welcomes us with a storm. We almost drown at the lake of Ioannina together with our camper. We would have liked to see more of the city and its cultural assets; but not in this weather.

Lefkada

So we spurt on. Towards the sea, towards, we hope, the sun. And so it happens. On the island of Lefkada, we find Greece's natural beauty as we remember it.

What we also find are other campers and all kinds of drivable and habitable vehicles. From the roughest four-wheel monsters to ordinary camper vans. Rarely they are as old as our Loki. In Albania, we were often the only tourists.

In Lefkada I notice it for the first time: oil drops on the ground... This has to be examined soon.

Peloponnese - a Dream

We continue south, over the immense Rio Andirrio bridge to Patras. From there down the western Peloponnese. Like magnets, hot springs attract us. So does the thermal spring at Kaiafas Lake.

Here bathe not only locals but also many campers (the place is in the park4night app after all). From Swiss, who are on the road together in several respectable mobiles, we learn about Elea Beach, the Mecca of (mainly German) campers who spend the winter here and in other parts of the Peloponnese.

The beach stretches over several kilometers, so the people spread out well. In summer, mainly Greeks come here for their beach vacations. But now we meet hippie families, young people in sometimes very fancy motor homes and also older couples. Striking: The many expensive truck campers (from converted trucks to army trucks to Mars expedition vehicles).

We stay for a while. Water is available and we can make bonfires, what else do we need!

At the local mechanic, who speaks Greek very well, but no other language, we exchange a gasket in the engine after a few start-up difficulties. The oil leak seems to be plugged. For the time being.

A few kilometers south, still in the far west of the Peloponnese, we meet Moritz and Karo, who offer us campers a cheap place to set up on their rented property to tap into electricity and water, be creative and meet other travelers.

We stay a few nights longer than planned. The social environment feels good, after all, it is always the two of us sitting and driving in the four walls of our van.

On the way from Kalamata over the mountains to Sparta, it is gray and rainy. The further the road winds up, the colder it gets. Only a little traffic comes our way. At some point, the rain turns to snow and the gray road in front of us is suddenly white. Earlier, a delivery truck came towards us. The driver waved us off and shouted something in Greek. Shrugging, we continued uphill.

The snow on the road gets thicker and thicker and we now realize what the driver meant.

"The Greeks turn back because of a little snow. We Swiss are used to it. Just a few more turns, maybe just under 2 kilometers, then we'll be over the pass," I say as the wheels start to spin. "Oh, oh... Come on, we can still make it."

We can't. Probably in the last curve before the pass we have to admit defeat.

Very gently I roll back down the road, certainly for a quarter of an hour. Then the snow turns to slush again and we can turn around.

"What now? Back to Kalamata and around? That's probably a 3-hour detour," I say angrily. "I guess there's nothing else for us to do," Seraina replies. "Very well, I guess we don't want to spend the night up here."

I shift gears as a snow removal vehicle approaches. "Haha! Lucky again! We'll follow that up the mountain now."

Half an hour later, we're on the other side. Without help, we probably would have ended up in the ditch. In thanks, we wave and honk as we pass our rescuers.

I already contacted Aggelos a few days ago. We met him - do you remember? - with Yannis in Mexico and Guatemala in 2010, and visited him again on the island of Paros in September 2013. I wonder how he is doing? What have the last nine years made of him?

His answers in Messenger are concise and in broken English: "I will be in skala tomorrow or in sunday i stay there tow day's after i going to mani and monevasia for a few days."

And: "And my plan I think I go now to Scala send me messenger."

We just miss each other a few times. Until one day, we are on the road with our bikes in the middle of the three fingers of the southern Peloponnese, on the Mani peninsula, when a car passes, stops, and drives back next to us.

I'm still wondering what he's doing, when someone calls out, "Hey, how are you?"

We had almost given up hope that it would work out with our meeting because we wanted to drive back towards Albania soon and we would not have too much time left. And then, out of the blue, Aggelos and his wife Nicole are standing next to us in the middle of the road.

What a joy to see each other again in this way! We talk only briefly, agree to reunite in Monemvasia, where the two are headed.

Monemvasia is our last destination, the southernmost point of our journey. So this meeting point suits us perfectly. As fast as he stopped next to us, so fast the two disappear again in the dust of the highway.

Just before I said to Seraina: "Somehow I don't really feel Greece, we could be anywhere." Now that would soon change.

As mentioned at the beginning, people make the experience.

Reunion in Monemvasia

So we meet in Monemvasia the following day. There, the same thing happens again. We are just walking out to the old town of Monemvasia on the imposing rock that juts out of the sea here in the eastern Peloponnese. It is the weekend and there are many visitors. I spy two figures moving above us along the rock through the bush and wonder what they have lost up there and soon these figures turn out to be Aggelos and Nicoletta as if we had arranged to meet right here.

First I'd like to tell you about the upper and lower old towns of Monemvasia because they are something special. We walk along the road that leads out to the rock, then along the rock, parked cars lined up on the left, the sea on the right. After a little more than a kilometer we are in front of the walls of the lower town. Inside, narrow alleys, many souvenir stores, and restaurants.

At first I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the tourists. Fortunately, they concentrate on the entrance to the city. Through a maze of alleys and up a steep staircase we reach the upper town, built in the middle of the rocks. The old fortress has a rich history, which you can read about on Wikipedia if you like. What's left now are mostly ruins and a well-kept church. The view is phenomenal! The old fortress has a rich history which you can read about on Wikipedia if you like. What's left now are mostly ruins and a well-kept church. The view is phenomenal!

The next day, we drive with Aggelos' friends to Neapoli, an hour south of Monemvasia, to see the fossils at the Agios Nikolaos Geopark. Nice, but the real highlight is yet to come. In the evening we drive back to Neapoli, a sleepy fishing village, and find a restaurant open in the off-season.

The Greeks order. The table fills with new delicacies as soon as we have emptied it. The sun sinks blood-red in the sea in front of us. And then... "Hey! Look, dolphins!"

And there they jump. A whole school of dolphins is playing with each other not far from the beach. Again and again, they outdo each other with acrobatic interludes. The perfect end to a perfect day.

A day later, we continue our journey north. We have now left the furthest point behind us and are slowly, very slowly heading north towards home. On the way we spend a few nights in the mountains, where a cold snap with snow surprises us, a day later we are back in the sun by the sea.

Leonidio is known for its red rocks and climbing culture. We enjoy the beautiful view, go for bike rides and use the campsite (one of the few open in winter) for a hot shower and laundry.

But soon it's time to move forward a bit. We would like to go back to Albania to spend a week or two with Dona and Roberti.

Until Corinth, the end of the Peloponnese, everything goes well. Then the problems start. We can hardly get the gears in. We choke and jam the gears. What's going on?

Aggelos and Nicole are already home in Varkiza, 20 kilometers south of Athens. They like to call it the Miami Beach of Athens because especially well-off people use it as a vacation and weekend resort.

We arrive at their place by the skin of our teeth. The next day, Saturday, we spend looking for a suitable mechanic. For Aggelos it is a matter of course that he supports us. And honestly, without him, we would be lost. Without Greek and knowledge of the area, we would not have been able to get anywhere.

We wait until the next working week finally dawns and sleep one last time in our camper which we have grown very fond of.

Once more we are stranded in an old car. Once more at the right place. Aggelos and Nicole take us in without any ifs and buts, while our Loki wanders from one mechanic to the next.

As the week progresses, the problems pile up. The gears are quickly readjusted, provisionally at least. But they are only a minor matter. The engine turns out to be much bigger trouble. Dimitris, the truck mechanic, has been working on it for the last two days to find the cause.

Meanwhile, Kevin, our mechanic in Switzerland, is supporting us from afar. He has distant relatives here in Athens. It only takes a phone call and half an hour later they are standing with us at the mechanic's and translating for us.

That's how they are, the Greeks. We are in trouble, of course, they help. No discussion.

It looks like a long surgery. It is still uncertain whether the engine can be saved. Dimitris, the mechanic, assures us that he will do his best to make our Loki roadworthy again.

The next morning. We are called to Dimitris again. And there, the bad news: total loss. At least for the engine. So we are again a small step further and know: If we can find a replacement engine that is not too expensive, we could still get home. But this task is not so easy.

At least we can be sure of one thing: we are in Greece. The last days we were surrounded by their language, their food, their generosity, and their natural serenity. Sure, the matter is annoying, we had other plans, but if we didn't have this breakdown now, we wouldn't have met all these dear people, wouldn't have gotten to taste this unique Greek cake. Let's hope that it does not last too long, because too much Greek cake makes you fat!

Update March 4, 2022

It has taken a while. We have put out feelers in all directions, and help has come from everywhere.

Greece, Switzerland, Italy... Where do we get a replacement engine?

Seraina became active and searched the Internet using the engine number. Some that she found turned out to be rotten eggs.

In the end, we decided to get to the root of the problem and trust the Italians. After all, they made the Ducato.

Well, a good two weeks after we wound up at the mechanic's, we're still waiting for the replacement part to arrive.

Not so easy to organize a shipper to deliver from Italy to Greece. They are several, I suppose. How many hands our over 200 kg package has to go through, I don't know. Nor whether it is the correct engine. And whether it works at all.

So far, at least we know that an engine is on its way to us. Better than nothing.

We spend the waiting time exploring Athens. We have already crisscrossed the city and got to know very different corners. We are not bored here, the city is bubbling with sights, cafes, and bars.

Update March 10, 2022

Just a quick update today:

We just got word that the replacement engine has arrived at our mechanic. Tomorrow we will find out if it fits, if it runs, and if we will get home with it or not.

I also just finished the article on Athens. You can have a look at it here:

Update March 14, 2022

The engine arrived last Thursday but in a desolate condition.

We bought a cat in a bag, but the cat was dead. So do not buy from this company!

Our mechanic here has been tinkering with the two engines since Friday to make something useful out of them after all so that we can still maybe and possibly drive home.

Every day we have been put off until tomorrow. So also just now.

Tomorrow we have to get the final decision about the surgery. Because then we have to know how to get home...

Update March 20, 2022

Suddenly everything happened very quickly. We twiddled our thumbs all day, then the call came.

"So ready, you can pick her up."

Huh? Right now?

That was last Tuesday. Wednesday we said goodbye to all our friends and hit the road. The engine purred like never before.

We spent one night in Xilokastro, halfway to Patras.

Then Thursday on the ferry, Friday arrival in Ancona, Italy.

Saturday evening we crossed the border into Switzerland in one piece. And today?

Today is Sunday and we are just covering the last kilometers back home, where we first want to visit our dear parents who shared our suffering.

After one month in Athens, we have completed this adventure.

Which means that the next one is already lurking around the next corner. We are curious!

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