We are going to shift up a gear now that we have arrived in Greece, I want to be able to tell everything before our next trip!
It was still a very pleasant late summer in the southernmost country of the Balkans and our days shifted down a gear, contrary to what has been said above. With days at the beach, walks, swimming and getting out the kayak. We went quietly from Igoumenitsa to Ammoudia, not too fast, because Amber still had to come back and landed on Corfu. For this period I let the images do the talking:
In Ammoudia we met Kortis, a 63-year-old fisherman who was convinced that he spoke good English. Unfortunately, understanding him was a real effort. In a previous life he had been an engineer in the engine room aboard a freighter or tanker and had seen the world (and learned his English…). We became acquainted when we went to test a local restaurant in Ammoudia and the Ouzo started to flow a little too richly. The next day Kortis came to visit us again on the beach and gave us a fish he had just caught. We got talking and that’s how we came up with the idea to go to Glyki, not far from his hometown. There was a gorge with water springs coming out of the mountain… Our interest was already piqued and we went a bit inland.
The river was a lot colder than the Mediterranean but a welcome change after a month of seeing the beach. Kortis also found us there, this time with a bag of grapes from his garden.
The next day we decided to enter the gorge and wade through the shallow river. And fun we had! At one point the water came up to our chests and as already mentioned, it was quite chilly! Kai was especially cold, and Moya.
It may not have been the best decision to bring my camera along on this trip, but it still resulted in some nice images.
At one point we encountered a hiker/swimmer coming from the opposite direction. He told us that there was a bridge ahead, but couldn’t tell us exactly how far that was. However, at a certain point we had to go back into the water up to our chests…
Who isn’t a fan of this tour was Moya. We let them swim but sometimes the current was too strong and Nikki had to rescue her. A little further we found a salopette that Nikki converted into a baby carrier for our little hero.
After more than two hours of wading through the water, we arrived at a bridge. Where we could climb out of the gorge and hike back on a normal hiking trail. After this fun and active intermezzo it was time to pick ‘our’ Amber back from the boat. This had meanwhile been sent back by airmail and landed on Corfu. Kai played courier service and picked her up.
Time to set sail for more southern climes. We had heard from other campers and Kortis that Levkada would be worth it. To be honest, we had already found everything worthwhile so far, so we weren’t sure how it could get even better. Levkada is an island
On Levkada we visited an abandoned NATO radar station, at the very top of the mountain. I thought that was really cool, but I’m a nerd of course. That’s for next post, but first I’m going to make a Youtube video about it. Here are some images of the remains of Nikopolis, on the way to Levkada.
Be sure to check out our video about our top 7 in Greece: