DAY 11 - ATHENS

11) FRIDAY, 8 JULY 1977: 175KMS .. - ATHENS.

On the way from  KONSTANTINOS to ATHENS  before ARKITSA, we  found  a  beach almost deserted, so we  parked for a rest and swimming,  as well as cleaning  interior of our campervan and clothes  with fresh water of  limited quantity  20- liters. Since we  left Munich  for 10 days, this was the first time that we had a chance to wash our clothes. 

First day of laundry under olive tree on the beach

I used a nylon rope stretching between two olive trees  as  clothes hanging line. Then I cooked (steamed) rice and made  spicy Chinese sausages salad  (that Yai-PONGTHEP  has  given us before departure from STUTTGART)  I had it together with  red chili paste.  Around 6.00 pm, we began driving to ATHENS.

We need to pay for roads toll 20.- Drachmen for the highway useing.  The Greek highway, anyhow, was not as wide as German Autobahn and  no dividing barricade on the road.  Most Greeks seem to  drive  well (?) , as well as Thai people (!), zigzaging from  left to right and enjoyed using horns  for fun without reason. Even worse were those trucks with color lamps at the front and both sides  (not much different from Thailand),  causing nervous tension and frustration. I seemed having got  used to German standard  during the past 4 years  in Germany that I never heard anyone used the horn !

Omonia roundabout (old photo) - Phot : Binbg images search

We arrived  ATHENS  about 8.30 pm. Tilo prefered to park outside the city as we were afraid of finding parking lot . At first, we though it was not far from the city center but we were wrong and had to walk quite  a long way. There was no sign that we would reach the city center,  we passed nearly  40 building blocks  until we reached  OMONIA roundabout, where  we  had some  sweets and cakes that look like Thai dessert made from egg yolks dipped in syrup (called Dhong-yhib and Foythong).   

Omonia square nowaday - Photo : Wikipedia / Bing images search

We walked  to look around  and saw people sitting at tables, generally having grilled meat and dessert.   Around  11.00 pm we went back to the parking  and drove off to find a better parking near the park not far from the National Museum.  Until we found the ideal parking spot, we had to drive around a OMONIA roundabout many times .


At last ..... something unexpected happened ....

After cleaning ourselves with wet towels as usual and we were preparing  our bed, we heard  a knock at the side of the campervan.   As soon as Tilo opened the back doors, we heard the voice announcing “Police !”  Of course, the policemen ....they asked to check our passports . One of them climbed up without our invitation.  He asked us to lift up the seating boards in the sleeping compartment and searched for  illegal materials but found nothing.  

I wondered and asked them what they wanted to search for. The answer was that because they saw our campingvan  moving and  making  several stops. Because parking area was hardly to find and we wanted to find the best area that was the reason Tilo drove around and stopped once in a while to have a look !  The police should have thought that  we might be drugs traffickers (oh well !? )  Actually Tilo had noticed  a car following us but didn’t mention it to me as he thought it was a taxi.

Athens - Photo : Bing images search

After having found nothing illegal and some converstions exchanged till clearly understood for both parties, the police politely asked for apologizing and bade us good night and wishing us a wonderful time in GREECE before driving away. So it was time to bed finally.

Athens by night and Acropolis - Photo : worldpress / Bing images search

DAY 10 - KONSTATINOS

10) THURSDAY, 7 JULY 1977 : 197KMS . - KONSTANTINOS

Monastery of Agia Triada - Photo :Bing images search

In the morning, we visited  METEORA Kloster , a Greek Orthodox Christian monastery on top of the hill, which looks weird, something like Monument Valley as seen in Western films with cowboys.

It was very quaint, characterized by a lump or large rocks with building (Monastery) located on a hilltop where space is limited .

Roussanou Monastery - Photo : Bing images seasrch

About 7.30 pm. we left  LAMIA, one of  interesting big cities of GREECE.  We took  the road along the coast toward the capital city ATHENS.  Today we spent the night in  HAG. KONSTANTINOS.

On both sides of the road  they were plantations of potatoes, tomatoes , watermelons , etc. I found the irrigation of GREECE was  very well managed. However, it seemed to me that farmers did not rely on government assistance alone. Farmers may have deep well pumps for underground water sources of their own and for their own use of watering plants on their farmlands.

Konstatinos on sea - Photo : Aralik Sokak / Bing images search

Interesting Airvuz Video of Meteora, Greece

III. GREECE : DELICIOUS GRILLED GOAT MEAT ON SKEWERS AND BRAYS OF DONKEYS

DAY 9

9) WEDNESDAY, 6 JULY 1977: 370KMS. - METEORA

I woke up almost at 10.00 am., we tried a new alcohol burner bought from SKOPJE.  It works effectively. Our old burner using kerosene pump didn’t work well because of the high flame making cooking pot black and dirty.  Once we started boiling water, a young guy came to have a look at what we were doing. His home might be close to our parking area.  We invited him for  coffee,  we could rarely talk but using sign language in inviting him. After a cup of coffee, he  took out 10 Dinars and extended to us but we did not accept it anyway. The young guy went back and  we began to clean dishes, sweep and vacuum inside our campervan. We had no sooner finished cleaning than the boy was back again with an armful of nearly 10 tomatoes, evidently from his farmland beside the road.

To this point, I have felt admiring Yugoslavs that they are so kind and friendly, really thoughtful considerate, and fun-loving people. They always smile all the time like Thai people. ... Goodbye  my friendly Yugoslavs.

Leaving our overnight parking, we headed towards  PRILEP, BITOLA,  to the Greek border town NIKI.

Not far from the border, we drove passing a large field of sunflowers on both sides of the road. Adjacent to sunflower field, there were rectangular wooden boxes on the ground periodically to collect bee honey. This is not a bad idea to gain both benefits from sunflower planting for sunflower seeds (used in making oil and margarine) as well as to collect honey in the meantime. In fact, we should do the same in my country* because the weather in Europe during this month is as hot as (or hotter than) in Thailand. We arrived the border  about 3.00 pm. No problem for customs and papers checking at the border, we could pass through GREECE easily.

(* Note: 36 years ago- in 1977, farming or planting of sunflowers in Thailand did not exsist like today).

Photo : ucanr.edu / Google images search

From the border, some changes of sceneries of sunflower fields to harvested wheat fields. We saw light brown stubbles, some were burned in black, It looks the same as when farmers burn their fields in my homeland. Mountains are rarely covered with trees. There are, however ,  small bushes in distant areas. I wondered if people could take benefit of the soil for agriculture in this bald mountainous areas.  Otherwise, there was not a single  house to be seen but looking so peaceful.

Photo : worldpress / Bing images search

On the way down  to the south to KOZANI, we came to a stream, so we parked near the bank to take a bath and shampooing. Since the water in the stream was at a low level, we had to use a plastic bowl taking water from the stream and poured it on to our bodies, just like taking a bath Thai way.  Feeling refreshed after a Thai bath, we went on to KOZANI, GREVENA and KALAMBAKA.

Bathing "Thai" way

We arrived KALAMBAKA about 8.30 pm.Yugoslavian time but by the new adjusted time in   Greece , which is faster 2 hours, it was about 10.30 pm.  Dinner time for this evening, it was very tasty and affordable.  We had grilled goat meat (like Thai pork skewers)  5 skewers for each with a bottle of red wine. It costed us only 92.- Drachmen  (1 DM = 13.- Drachmen / Drachmas).  

Greek is known as the best in preparing of the most delicious grilled goat meat. They must have special way or secret tips on how to marinate or cook meat - a little bit lean meat with aromatic spices (probably origano and fennel) and the smell of grilled meat on it. I thought that both goat meat and mutton  were consumed widely in this area.

 

Photo : Bing images search

And there is also tasty  feta cheese, made from goat milk as well. It looks like white curd  and has rather strong odor.

Feta cheese - Photo : Bing images search

The further we are away from Germany, the cheaper everything costs.  Oil is not so expensive,  a liter diesel as a station before KOZANI costed approximately 48 Pfennig only.

After we were  filled with our grilled meat dinner, we  went for a walk around.  I noticed there were not many people coming out for a walk together,  like in those cities of Yugoslavia. On the contrary, people sat in a restaurant opened until late at night like in my country Thailand. Then we drove away and stopped overnight in METEORA

Photo : Jurek D. (Flickr) / Bing images search

From the border, I observed that on both sides of the road, especially at some curves and intersections, there were small shrines, looking like spirit houses in Thailand. Some are totally in glass like tiny greenhouses and some have little lamps or lightings as well as a figure/photo of  Mary or Jesus inside.Some shrines are beautiful and the sizes are quite big... 

I have also seen usage of donkeys for transportation and for loading things on the roads we passed today. I have heard for the first time, strange sound like someone coughing. Try to do it yourself and listen if it sounds like brays of donkeys !
Hack, hack, hack ...... that's the sound !

There were herds of goats walking with their goatherds, assisted in tending the herds by dogs. These dogs are trained to help controlling and herding the goats.

Interesting landscape with a lone tree, on the way in northern Greece.

The wind here was very strong. I saw some monks of the Greek Orthordox church, also known as the Rabbi with long beard on their faces, wearing a long coat or robe to the length of ankles, walking in the area.

(Some Greek words I've learnt :
  Efgaristo = danke, thank you
  Palagalo = bitte, please
  Gala = milch, milk)

DAY 8 - TITO VELES

8) TUESDAY, 5 JULY 1977: 320KMS. - PRILEP / (TITO) VELES.

From MOJKOVAC via IVANGRAD we continued towards the east  passing KOSOVSKA MITROVICA, to PRISTINA. In SKOPJE, we stopped to change money and buy alcohol burner from a fully air-conditioned and  modern shopping center (like Siam Square). It seems that SKOPJE is very modernized  than any other cities in Yugoslavia that we passed.

After SKOPJE, we came across with horse or donkey-drawn wagon of Gypsy caravan, this minority frequently seen living in Rumania.

 

Horse drawn Gypsy caravan - Photo : Robert & Mihaela Vicol @ publicphoto.org  / Google images search

We drove passing a vast field full of yellow sunflowers  and also farmlands growing  apples and grapes.  People are the same friendly as everywhere here in this country. When driving through various villages or passing people, we had to wave our hands to people and children,  staring at our campervan. It was just like we were somebody they knew !

 

Photo : Bing images search

We reached TITO VELES  almost  at twilight.  In TITO VELES, like every city in Yugoslavia, many  people  especially  young teenagers are prominent on paths of pedestrian streets in the city. Some of them clustered into groups chatting on the streets.  It looked like there was a fair or people were having some celebrations. We sat in a coffee shop looking at those teenagers walking back and forth for several different rounds. Girls huddled together and boys were walking together among them.  I thought this was a sort of cultural practice, allowing opportunities for teenagers to meet as well as  good chances for them to make friends or flirting in public.

(Tito) Veles - Photo : Eugene Hamil "Spirit of photography" / Bing images search

Wherever  we moved to in the area, it seemed to get  attention of more people . Whichever way I looked to, my eyes met with others keeping theirs towards us. The people kept calling and provoked each other to look at us . Probably, there were not many of narrow-eyed, Asian look like me or Thai people ever came to this place.  There were those brave passers-by  and were not shy, came straight to us questioning us with their smily faces as from which part of the world I (we) came.  Only few people know whereabout of my country, Thailand.  So I had to mention that it was near Vietnam. Most people thought  I was from China as they know about a Hong  Kong filmstar, Bruce Lee, who is very popular in Kung-Fu movies. Otherwise, they thought I was a Japanese instead.

Bruce Lee - Photo : Bing images search

Believe it or not, at TITO VELES this evening, I (or we) became a teen idol in no time. Those teenage boys doing sports had given special attention and came together to talk to us, starting with small groups and  gradually became a larger group of about  20-30 people posing different questions and listened to what we said attentively.  It was funny, we couldn’t  respond to all questioins they poured to us. All of them seemed very willing to provide assistances and invited us to join them for a cup of coffee at their tables. Moreover, there were those wanting also to invite us to their homes to teach them karate as they likely misunderstood that I was karate expert. (I  even didn’t know how to do Karate but only some self-defense Thai boxing ! :-D )

(Tito) Veles - Photo : wikipedia.org / Bing imagres search

Most young people here can speak English very well as they learn English as a foreign language (I was told). Other foreign languages are French, German and Russian as a sequence. But so far we found less people speaking other foreign languages, particularly English speaking people just can be found in this city. Before that,  we used sign language as a hint  to communicate with people.

A walk and hanging around in the city lasted until around 11.00 pm., from where we drove out toward PRILEP and found a nice parking for camping under a tree by the roadside (away from TITO VELES about 30 km).

Until now I have learnt  2 Yugoslavian words : “qvala”  : means thank you and “dobre”  : means  good/ well.