GREECE
And Hit by the Worst Rain
30th August - 6th September | 2023
Coming closer to the Marmara Sea and Istanbul, you could already see the smoke in the air of the catastrophic fires that destroyed massive parts of Eastern Greece!
In Istanbul James got his new brake pads installed by MotoProf as he had pre-ordered them via Aran the other day. It was so nice to see Emre and his team!! Of course, they were curious about our trip!!
From there it was not far to the border crossing of Ipsala into Kipoi Greece. That was so far the worst border crossing as the most biker-friendly! We were not allowed to pull up to the front; James even went to the front to ask politely So we got grilled in the sun by 35°C - Hallo Migraine tonight!! 2 hours of moving forward slowly! Finally, we got through the Turkish side, and then it was queuing up for the Greek side. Luckily the military let us pass immediately the bridge to the Greek side - at least they know what it is like being all day in uniform in the sun!! The Greek side was also slow as there were still many cars, but within 1 hour we were back in the EU!
We had picked a camping spot at the sea and on the way there, we passed already a lot of the burned area. You could still smell the smoke in the air. It was so depressing seeing the damage!
The next day, we carried on along the coast. In Xanthi, we had booked a hotel, as tonight is the video call with the Travelers Event in Portugal. The internet seems very good, and to be safe, I even went down to the reception area. As Portugal is 2 hours behind, it was about midnight when we made the video call! Well we tried, but there was a problem with the sound - they couldn't hear me! We tried all sorts of methods, but all we managed was an image and no sound from my side! That was very depressing as I was so much looking forward to it! We agreed, to try tomorrow evening again; they would squeeze me in between two other talks. Well, as I said, I´d rather have tested it this afternoon under real conditions and not a week ago! Well, for sure tomorrow a wild camping spot with good 4G will have to do it as I am not willing to pay for another night in a hotel!
The next day, we found on iOverlander another camping spot close to the sea, but the track was about 20km offroad, and the last bit was still under construction! We didn't like the spot as too many hippies were hanging about and no 4G internet! So we drove all the offroad back and found further along a quiet and clean camping spot along the beach - with 4G! Well, I was supposed to be ON by about midnight again, but on their side, all got delayed due to a rain shower! In the end, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, so I sent a video message to them at the event. To be honest, I was really disappointed, but knowing “my '' Portuguese people it was not a surprise!
The next day we drove the remaining fingers around Chalkidiki having a great view of the famous Mt Athos. Unfortunately, the weather forecast predicted rain for the next few days, so we had to look into a hotel again. We found a guesthouse close to Polygyros (I like the name ;-) ), but as most of the time in Greece unfortunately the price and quality ratio is in no relation!
The next morning the rain started and wouldn't stop for the next few days! We drove to Thessaloniki where we stayed in the hotel I stayed in May. On the way to the hotel, we were lucky to find a curbside restaurant that was happy to serve us even though we were so messy as we were so wet! They felt so sorry for us! We were happy to have a nice hotel room with a shower and a place to dry our clothes.
The next day it was still raining, it hadn't even stopped! We planned to get to Lamia today, but the hotel prices were out of the question. The reason was the WRC held over the weekend! Great, so option A was either already Larissa or B Volos, both not really a great option, but at least cheaper accommodation!
On our way to Larissa, we stopped for a cafe to get out of the rain for some 20mins! Whilst we were there, we checked hotels again. Parallel I was chatting with Christos about places to stay, but Volos was no more an option as under red alert! What!!! People are not allowed to leave their houses due to the rain and heavy sea! So let's go first to Larissa and reevaluate the situation.
In the afternoon we arrived at a cafe shop on the outskirts of Larissa. Whilst we had a cafe, we started checking hotel options and finally opted for one in town. It was not the best, but it had dry parking and we could dry our clothes. Yannis and Christos, my new Greek friends, started to get really concerned about us as the weather forecast was really bad for this area. They sent me satellite pictures and it looked really bad!! Well, one more day and we will be in Athens!
The next morning, still raining, we started to try leaving the Larissa area towards the south. We got 3x turned around by the police due to flooded roads! So in the end we had to take the motorway. About 10km after we had paid the toll, right at an exit of the motorway, we had to stop as the motorway was flooded. They were busy working on it with big JCBs to clear it, but instead of getting it better, the water got higher. In the meantime, the police came and we got escorted by the police in the other direction. Well, after about 5km we had to stop as the motorway there was flooded too. We were trapped! So we turned around again and went back to where they were busy clearing. Whilst we waited, the water was just flushing down the fields along the motorway and took everything with them that was in their way! We saw rubbish bins (the big ones on wheels) swimming along! It was really scary seeing the power of the water!!
Finally, they cleared that bit and we finally could pass through the water and carry on the motorway. To our right was a complete field of solar panels washed away - only stumps left over!! It was like riding through a Hollywood movie. After Valentino, we had to get off the motorway again. Great, and now? Due to the police, we couldn't go towards Farsala as the road was flooded, and Volos was already a no-go. Before we started to try to find a way I needed some fuel, so we started to drive towards Volos as on that road there should be some fuel stations. The first one had the flood gone through, the 2nd one was very unfriendly, so we left, but at the 3rd one I got lucky. After that we went back to the motorway direction, to check the situation before we started to look into alternatives. Luckily the minute we arrived, they just opened it again - perfect timing! We carried on towards Lamia, passing so many flooded fields - what a nightmare!
In Thiva we stopped for another cafe, as I needed a short break. Then it was to tackle the last 80km to the apartment in Athens. It suddenly got dark, even though it was another 2 hrs until sunset. OsmAnd took us on the old road, which is surely a biker's heaven on a sunny day! But not in that bad weather!!! It rained so heavily that I thought the water was running uphill! Imagine you are driving in your car, wipers full blast and still nothing to see...that was our ride!! For me it was a nightmare as you couldn't see much, only snailing along to get forward, towards Athens! Once over the mountain, approaching the outskirts of Athens, it got brighter and guess what?! Blue sky and sunshine! It was like a joke!! Well, at least we will get a bit dry! However, by the floods on some streets, you can see that that rain shower has passed here too. By 18h00 we were finally at our apartment. Summary: 300km and 8 hrs, including using the motorway! Not too bad, or?
We used everything we could find to dry our clothes and stuff/paperwork that got soaked.
As you can imagine, there are not many pictures existing as we only drove, drove, drove to get to Athens in that bad rain! However, it was a nightmare for us, but imagine all the places destroyed by the floods! Whilst you are waiting for the next blog, it is time for an Ouzo :-D
Places | Cities:
TURKEY:
Istanbul
GREECE:
Xhanti, Chalkidiki, Thessaloniki, Poligyros, Larissa, Athens.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 21530 km
Information Border Crossings:
A really bad one at Ipsala as long queues and no shade. Turkish side passport and vehicle documents to check out.
Greek side passport, vehicle documents and insurance documents (green card).
Maintenance | Breakdown:
./.
Health issues:
./.
Special thanks to:
Christos and Yannis to support us with the latest information about the current weather situation.