Day 37

Kaliméra,

We have been a bit extravagant and hired a car to have some fun with, an Audi A3 convertible. Well, Koro has been extravagant. We really wanted to hire a Fiat 500, a little Babina, but there were none available. Koro's very happy with the gearbox, which behaves itself properly, unlike the gearbox in the Clio.

We checked out of the hotel, walked down the road with our bags to the hire car company, collected our car and drove away from Athens.

Driving in Greece is different to New Zealand, but far more relaxed and sensible compared to Italia. The Police in Greece seem to do their actual jobs, and have a far greater visible presence. We have seen police pulling over drivers and ticketing illegally parked cars.

We still see a few people riding scooters and motorbikes without helmets. Yesterday we watched a pair of motorcycle policemen who had parked up their bikes. They were standing beside a busy road and watching for motorcyclists or scooter riders without helmets. If they saw anyone, they would blow their very loud whistles and walk out into the middle of the road with their hands up, stopping the traffic and dragging the un-helmeted riders to the side of the road to be fined. Grandma joked that they would easily have made their quota for the day.

The motorways are in a lot better condition that the Italian Autostrada. Not just the road surface, but they are also clean and the grass on the verge and in the median strip is kept mowed as well. Some of the motorways are brand new.

Every few kilometers is a public toilet stop. These also look brand new. They are free to use (very rare for a public toilet in Europe, usually you have to pay €1) and the one we used was nice and clean.

Lots of tolls booths. We much ave spent over €20 in tolls for a 300km drive. I guess this is how they pay for the motorways and their upkeep.

It felt a bit weird driving on some of these roads, because there was so little traffic. It felt like we were the only ones on the road.

Kalabaka is a pretty little town, in the centre of mainland Greece. It feels very much like an alpine village, like Queenstown or Interlaken in Switzerland. The village is waiting for the winter when the snow will come and the skiers with it.

We found a couple of very modern, trendy cafes that served great food, had great seating, a spectacular view and great service. Lunch was delicious, huge portions of pasta that we couldn’t finish, and so cheap.

The camera got a rest today, but tomorrow is a big day and the camera is sure to be working overtime. The weather is cold and cloudy, but that is also supposed to change tomorrow.

Love to you all from Grandma and Koro and Buzzy Bee. XXX OOO.