Off the beaten track
Day Seven – Monday, 17 July
Took the jeep up into the mountains to explore the national park around mount Aenos (1,628m). We went via Kastro again where we stopped at the castle – unfortunately it was closed, but we didn’t mind because we wanted to adventure into the rural mountainous area.
At Mihata, where they have the Robola vineyard, we tried to find a short cut. On the map it was marked as a white road. This usually means unpaved. We got totally lost, but it was brill. The track was a rocky cart track winding through olive groves, vineyards and abandoned villages.
At one point the road was only wide enough for our narrow jeep. Any other vehicle would have struggled to get through. There were no passing places and few spots where I could turn around, so we went on and on along the side of the mountain cutting across dried out river beds and through olive groves. It was great fun.
Tom really enjoyed it, although we both got a bit worried a few points along the way. At one point we had to go down into a dried out river bed down an incline of about ¼ and then up the other side again.
It was touch and go whether we would make it. I stalled on the way up and had to drop back and take a run at it. We made it and decided to turn round after Tom saw a sign which we guessed meant ‘No Through Road’ or ‘No Vehicles’. It made sense, I don’t expect a vehicle other than a tractor had been along there for years. W
e finally got back on the main road and went up to the national park. We seemed to be driving on dirt roads for ages when we decided to turn back. We passed a middle aged couple who looked weary.
I offered them a lift, which they enthusiastically accepted. Appartenly they had walked further than we had driven up the mountain, but didn’t realise how far they had gone. She was trying to do it in white sandals. It was crazy because the ground underfoot was rocky and unstable. They climbed in and we found out they were from St Helens and had been here last year.
They are staying in Skala, which is where Ant and Linda stayed. They raved about it, as did Ant, which gave us another view on the place. Ours had been a bit tainted by the fact that the motorboat guy had tried to rip us off. We had not really explored it. Perhaps Skala is okay afterall.
We headed into Argostoli for a kebab at a place we had been eyeing up all week only to find it was closed, but we found another place a few doors down and bought our kebabs and ate them on the prom.
A quick visit to the Internet café for Call of Duty, news and email and we headed home for our afternoon siesta. We are avoiding the hottest part of the day on purpose.
Had another good swim in our cove just down from the Dolphin supermarket. Showered and changed for out last meal at the Phaedra. Tom had chicken grilled with mozerella and parmegan cheese with spaghetti and I had chicken kebabs. We rounded off with greek deserts with ice cream.
After, Tom asked to go for a walk to the lighthouse. It was a lovely evening and it was a great idea. However, we had only got half way when we both mneeded the loos. So we stopped by at Oscar's Taverna for a drink and used their toilets. It was nice walking as the sun went down. It was a lovely end to our last full day, although Tom got fed up with me because I kept wanting to stop for a wee.
Took the jeep up into the mountains to explore the national park around mount Aenos (1,628m). We went via Kastro again where we stopped at the castle – unfortunately it was closed, but we didn’t mind because we wanted to adventure into the rural mountainous area.
At Mihata, where they have the Robola vineyard, we tried to find a short cut. On the map it was marked as a white road. This usually means unpaved. We got totally lost, but it was brill. The track was a rocky cart track winding through olive groves, vineyards and abandoned villages.
At one point the road was only wide enough for our narrow jeep. Any other vehicle would have struggled to get through. There were no passing places and few spots where I could turn around, so we went on and on along the side of the mountain cutting across dried out river beds and through olive groves. It was great fun.
Tom really enjoyed it, although we both got a bit worried a few points along the way. At one point we had to go down into a dried out river bed down an incline of about ¼ and then up the other side again.
It was touch and go whether we would make it. I stalled on the way up and had to drop back and take a run at it. We made it and decided to turn round after Tom saw a sign which we guessed meant ‘No Through Road’ or ‘No Vehicles’. It made sense, I don’t expect a vehicle other than a tractor had been along there for years. W
e finally got back on the main road and went up to the national park. We seemed to be driving on dirt roads for ages when we decided to turn back. We passed a middle aged couple who looked weary.
I offered them a lift, which they enthusiastically accepted. Appartenly they had walked further than we had driven up the mountain, but didn’t realise how far they had gone. She was trying to do it in white sandals. It was crazy because the ground underfoot was rocky and unstable. They climbed in and we found out they were from St Helens and had been here last year.
They are staying in Skala, which is where Ant and Linda stayed. They raved about it, as did Ant, which gave us another view on the place. Ours had been a bit tainted by the fact that the motorboat guy had tried to rip us off. We had not really explored it. Perhaps Skala is okay afterall.
We headed into Argostoli for a kebab at a place we had been eyeing up all week only to find it was closed, but we found another place a few doors down and bought our kebabs and ate them on the prom.
A quick visit to the Internet café for Call of Duty, news and email and we headed home for our afternoon siesta. We are avoiding the hottest part of the day on purpose.
Had another good swim in our cove just down from the Dolphin supermarket. Showered and changed for out last meal at the Phaedra. Tom had chicken grilled with mozerella and parmegan cheese with spaghetti and I had chicken kebabs. We rounded off with greek deserts with ice cream.
After, Tom asked to go for a walk to the lighthouse. It was a lovely evening and it was a great idea. However, we had only got half way when we both mneeded the loos. So we stopped by at Oscar's Taverna for a drink and used their toilets. It was nice walking as the sun went down. It was a lovely end to our last full day, although Tom got fed up with me because I kept wanting to stop for a wee.
posted by BPRA @ 8:43 am
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