%20(1).png)
Contents
7 June 2023 - Hike in Northern Tinos, Greece
We are both having problems with our British Telecom Sim cards so we couldn't contact the garage to find out whether the brake pads had arrived from Athens. We drove over there and were pleased to find they had arrived and the mechanic quickly fitted them.
Unfortunately he also found that one of the front springs was broken (see picture). I think it happened on 20th May when I hit a bad pot hole on the way to our accommodation in Koroni in the Peloponnese. The car has been handling well since then which is surprising.
Unfortunately he couldn't replace it as it has to be ordered from Athens. It won't arrive until tomorrow, which is when we are going to the island of Andros. We will have to try to find a garage there to do it. The mechanic recommended that we replace both front springs and the shock absorbers and estimated that it would cost about Eur 400.
We then drove up to the northern end of Tinos island and stopped at the pretty village of Kardiani on the way. As usual there are several churches in the village. Dovecotes for pigeons are very popular on Tinos and there were some in the village.
We did a circular walk from the inland village of Marlas down to the coastal village of Mali and then of course back up again! The trail was well marked and in good condition and it took us about 2.5 hours. Before Covid a lot of trails were opened and signposted on Tinos, but unfortunately many of them are now overgrown and difficult to walk on.
In the evening we had another walk around Tinos Town and for the first time entered the church of Panayia Evangelistria which is frequented by pilgrims.
See my travel blog "Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide" for information about visiting Tinos.
8 June 2023 - Ferry to Andros Island, Greece
Our ferry from Tinos was scheduled to depart at 11.30 for the 40 minute ride to Andros. We arrived at the port an hour ahead of time as recommended by the ferry operator. Generally we found that half an hour was more than sufficient!
As usual there was no indication of where to wait at the port and nobody was around to ask. After half an hour a couple of other cars seemed to be waiting for the ferry to Andros so we drove over and joined them. It was the right decision! The officials at the port and on the boat were super friendly and the boarding process was easy.
When we arrived at Andros we immediately drove to a nearby garage. I had found it on the internet the previous night and the owners of our apartment at Andros confirmed it was a good garage. They ordered the parts from Athens and told us to come on the 10th to have them fitted. The cost was Eur 550 which was a bit more than it would have cost us on Tinos.
The drive to our apartment was up a steep mountain with hair pin bends. The fairly narrow entrance to the property was off a very steep section of the road and it was a bit nerve racking. The mother and daughter were waiting for us there and were very hospitable. The sea view from the house is spectacular.
In the evening we drove 20 minutes to the small coastal resort of Batsi. I accidentally drove down a 1 way street angering another driver. We had souvlaki again for supper.
See my blog "Andros, Greece: Travel Guide" for more information on visiting Andros.
9 June 2023 - Day Excursion on Andros Island, Greece
Our accommodation is on the west side of Andros and in the morning we drove half an hour over to the east side to visit Andros Town. Usually the port would be in the main town of the island but the east side of Andros is too windy.
There is limited parking at Andros Town and we were lucky to find a parking spot. The town juts out onto a peninsular and is quite attractive. It isn't spoilt or touristy as most visitors stay on the north west side of the island.
It only took just over an hour to wander around Andros Town. Afterwards we drove along the coast southwards to the coastal town of Korthi. It was mountainous and the scenery was spectacular but unfortunately there were few places to pull over and stop.
We had grilled calamari for lunch at Korthi. Afterwards we continued driving around the coast of the island until we reached the port of Gavrio in the north west of Andros. This is where our ferry from Tinos docked yesterday. We had now driven on most of the decent roads on Andros and didn't want to risk driving on the more remote roads.
10 June 2023 - Beach Day on Andros Island, Greece
In the morning we took our car to the garage. We were pleased that the parts had arrived from Athens so they could do the repair. It was going to take about 4 hours. Luckily for us the garage was opposite the beach at Agios Petros, which is one of the best beaches on Andros.
We were the first people on the beach at 09.00! A taverna had sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach which were free as long as food or drinks were ordered. We could actually see our car in the garage so it was super convenient. Luckily it wasn't windy today and for once it was good beach weather.
Our car was repaired by 13.00 and we returned to the apartment for lunch and then relaxed there in the afternoon.
11 June 2023 - Walk on Andros Island, Greece
We drove to the nearby village of Paleopoli and then walked about half an hour down to a beach near some ancient ruins at Paleopolis. We spent about an hour on the beach and then walked back. The trail was in good condition unlike a lot of the trails on Andros that are overgrown.
We drove to the small coastal resort town of Batsi for a souvlaki lunch. Batsi is a nice town and we have had one meal there every day.
12 June 2023 - Ferry to Athens & Drive up to North Greece
In the morning we took a 2 hour ferry from Andros to the port of Rafina in Athens and arrived just after midday. It was then a 6 hour drive north towards Albania to the coastal resort of Parga in northern Greece.
We only spent 1 night at Parga, which is a shame as we really liked our accommodation and Parga. The Greek islands had been very quiet and there hadn't been many tourists. In contrast Parga was bustling with lots of holidaymakers. Normally I wouldn't like that but it made a nice change.
Unfortunately we only had time to wander around the town and have dinner. It would have been nice to have walked up to the Venetian castle and explored the surrounding area.
13 June 2023 - Greece to Albania
It was a 4 hour drive from Parga to Gjirokastër in Albania. We didn't have any problems at the border, although we were surprised that at the Greek side we had to get out of our car to present our passports.
At all the other borders we have just driven up to the passport control booth. On the Albanian side we bought 15 days of 3rd party insurance for Eur 49 and it was very straightforward.
See my blog "Driving through Albania: From Greece to Montenegro" for information on driving in Albania.
We had problems locating our apartment in Gjirokaster. After a frustrating half an hour driving around we stumbled across it. After checking in we walked up a steep hill to the castle. The castle is impressive and we spent an hour looking around.
Afterwards we walked down to the old bazaar which is very attractive. It consists of about 4 streets of shops and restaurants, but unfortunately they are mainly catering for tourists. It started to rain so we sheltered in a cafe and had a drink.
The Bradt guide book raves about Gjirokastër's cobbled streets and nice houses. We weren't that impressed and can't understand why Gjirokastër is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were glad that we only had 1 night there.
See my blog Gjirokaster, Albania: Nothing Special!
Comments