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The Temple of Apollo Our visit to Delphi was part of a 3 month road trip from the UK to the Greece. See my blog North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4  for our daily trip report covering Delphi. Contents When to Visit Delphi Entrance Tickets Opening Hours Parking & Toilets Delphi's Main Archaeological Site Delphi's Museum The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia Accommodation My Other Blogs on Greece 1. When to Visit Delphi The main factors to consider when visiting Delphi are the heat and the crowds: 1.1. The Heat at Delphi From mid June to mid September it is likely to be very hot and tiring walking up and around Delphi's archaeological site. The solution would be to visit early or late in the day. If you visit early aim to get there when Delphi opens at 08.00. Walk around the archaeological site first and the museum afterwards If you visit Delphi later get to the ticket office between 17.00 and 17.30 and visit the museum first. Unless you have a special interest in archaeology 2.5 hours is sufficient to see the museum, the main archaeological site and the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. 1.2. Crowds at Delphi The main problem at Delphi is tour groups and there can be many of them! Just 2 to 3 large groups in the museum can spoil your experience. It will be crowded and noisy. There is more space at the archaeological site but large groups can still spoil your visit. The way to avoid the tour groups at Delphi is to come at opening time or later in the day. Many tours come from Athens. They won't arrive until mid morning and will leave mid to late afternoon. We visited Delphi in the off season (mid May) and when we arrived at 14.45 we saw the last of the tour buses leaving. 2. Entrance Tickets at Delphi The admission cost is Eur 12 and the ticket covers both the archaeological site and the museum at Delphi. There are 2 ticket offices and some ticket machines. If there is a long queue at one ticket office try the other one. Delphi provides free admission and reduced rates for certain people, including young people up to the age of 25, students and senior citizens. You have to provide proof of your eligibility and in most cases you must reside in an EU member-state. See the Ministry of Culture website for further details. There is no charge for visiting Delphi on 6 March, 18 April, 18 May, the last weekend of September, 28 October, and every first Sunday of each month from November 1st until March 31st. 3. Opening Hours at Delphi The archaeological site and museum at Delphi are open from 08.00 to 20.00 every day except Tuesday. On Tuesday Delphi's opening hours are 10.00 to 17.00. The exceptions to this are: 1 January: closed 6 January: 08:30 - 15:30 Shrove Monday: 08:30 - 15:30 25 March: closed Good Friday: 12:00 - 17:00, Last admission 16:40 Holy Saturday: 08:30 - 15:30, Last admission 15:10 1 May: closed Easter Sunday: closed 15 August: 08:00 - 20:00 25 December: closed 26 December: closed 4. Parking & Toilets at Delphi There is a small free car park near Delphi's museum but if it's full you have to park on the road. It can be difficult to find a vacant spot and that is another reason to avoid peak times. There are modern and clean free toilets outside Delphi's museum but none in the archaeological site. 5. Delphi's Main Archaeological Site Delphi's archeological site is on a hill with the stadium at the top. Some visitors and tour groups don't walk up to the stadium but I think it is worth the effort. It took us slightly more than an hour to see everything on Delphi's main archaeological site. There were a lot of ruins but Delphi was one of the most interesting ancient archaeological sites that we saw in Greece. The main things to see are: 5.1. The Treasury of the Athenians This is the first building that you will encounter as you walk up the site. This impressive building was constructed to house offerings to the sanctuary of Apollo. It was originally built in 490 BC and was completely reconstructed in 1906. The Treasury of the Athenians 5.2. The Temple of Apollo This temple dates back to the 4th century BC. There are only six columns standing and they were re-erected after the temple was uncovered in the late 1800's. The Temple of Apollo 5.3. The Serpent Column The Serpent Column was an offering dedicated to Apollo at Delphi in 447 BC by the 31 Greek city-states which had fought in the Battle of Plataea. In 324 BC it was moved to Constantinople by Constantine I the Great and it is still there. In 2015 a replica of the column was made and erected at Delphi. The Serpent Column 5.4. The Theatre This impressive theatre was constructed in the 4th century BC and it could seat 5,000 people. The Theatre 5.5. The Stadium The stadium was built in the 4th century BC and is in a scenic location. The Stadium 6. The Museum at Delphi Some people recommend visiting Delphi's museum first so you can obtain an understanding of the archaeological site. However, apart from an illustration of what the site may have looked like in ancient times the information at the museum was only about the artifacts on display. I am not a huge fan of museums but I enjoyed this one. It is in a modern building and the artifacts are well displayed. We visited the museum first and wandered around for 45 minutes. There were some interesting displays, but a lot of the narrative was complex and difficult to understand. Charioteer of Delphi The Twin Kouroi The Sphinx of Naxos Statue of a Philosopher 7. The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia The Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia is a 10 minute walk, or a 2 minute drive, east along the main road from Delphi's museum. Entrance is free. The main thing to see is the ancient Tholos which is a circular building with a conical or vaulted roof. The Tholos 8. Accommodation at Delphi We stayed in the pretty town of Arachova which is a 10 minute drive from Delphi. We booked a 1 bedroom apartment through Booking.com at a cost of Eur 45.50 per night. See my review on the blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " 9. My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide Andros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8

Essaouira, Morocco Contents 9 April 2024 - Granada to Ronda, Spain 10 April 2024 - Ronda, Spain 11 April 2024 - Ronda to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain 12 April 2024 - Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras, Spain 13 April 2024 - Algeciras to Asilah, Morocco 14 April 2023 - Asilah to El Jadida, Morocco 15 April 2024 - El Jadida to Essaouira, Morocco 16 April 2024 - Essaouira, Morocco Links to other blogs about our road trip 9 April 2024 - Drive from Granada to Ronda, Spain We drove from Granada to Ronda and stopped on the way to walk the Caminito del Rey which is a walkway attached to the walls of a steep and narrow gorge. It was finished in 1905 and it took 4 years to construct. T he Caminito del Rey was built to provide access for the workers at the hydro electric power plant. The original path for the Caminito del Rey was constructed of concrete and steel. It deteriorated over the years and the concrete collapsed in numerous sections. Several hikers died on the old walkway and it was closed. The Caminito del Rey was rebuilt and it reopened in 2015. The Caminito del Rey is an easy walk with great views but it has become extremely popular and commercialised. You have to buy tickets for specific start times and most of the tickets for the Caminito del Rey are for guided walks with a group. We didn't want to walk with a group and I only just managed to buy tickets online for doing the Caminito del Rey on our own. There were a lot of people doing the group walks. We paced ourselves so that we slotted in between two large groups on guided tours and managed to enjoy most of the Caminito del Rey in relative peace. We arrived in Ronda at 18.00 and checked into a 3 bedroom duplex apartment. It was very spacious and comfortable and only a 10 minute walk to Ronda's historic centre. There was also free off the road parking. We booked the apartment through Booking.com and paid Eur 235 for 2 nights. 10 April 2024 - Ronda, Spain In the morning we walked around Ronda which is probably the most well known and popular White Town (Pueblo Blanco) in Andalusia. Ronda is perched on a massive rocky outcrop straddling a deep gorge. Ronda was one of the last Moorish strongholds to fall to the reconquest in 1485 because of its impregnable position. We walked across the Puente Nuevo (New Bridge) to reach Ronda's old town. The bridge was completed in 1793 and was the world's highest bridge until it was surpassed by a French bridge in 1839. There is a chamber inside the bridge that was used as a prison. During the civil war both sides used the prison as a torture chamber for captured opponents. Some prisoners were thrown to the rocks at the bottom of the gorge. Our first stop in Ronda was to the cathedral of Santa Maria la Mayor. It was built on the site of a 13th century mosque. The original Minaret and Mihrab of the mosque still stand. Afterwards we visited the nearby 14th century Palacio de Mondragon which was probably the palace of the Moorish kings. In the afternoon we drove from Ronda to 3 other White Towns. They are fortified hilltop towns and all the buildings are painted white. We first stopped at Setenil de las Bodegas. The main sights were the castle and the houses built into the cliffs. We then drove through beautiful countryside to Olvera and climbed up to the fort. The last white town was Zahara de la Sierra with its fort perched high above. We decided not to climb up to the fort as it was hot and getting late. 11 April 2024 - Drive from Ronda to Arcos de la Frontera, Spain We left Ronda at 11.00 in beautiful sunshine and fortunately the air conditioning was working as it got to 28 centigrade today! We were heading for Arcos de la Frontera which is another White Town. We reached Arcos de la Frontera at 14.00. I had booked a 2 bedroom apartment with parking through Booking.com for Eur 72. We opted to have a rest at the apartment, to avoid the heat of the day, before heading off to see the sights. We paid to enter the church of Santa Maria de la Asunción and climbed up its bell tower. It was built in the 15th century on the remains of a former Moorish mosque. There is a castle on the same square as the church. It was built as an Arab fortress but became the residence of the Duke of Arcos after the Reconquest and remains in private hands. It isn't possible to visit it. We then continued walking along the main street of Arcos de la Frontera past a convent and the church of St Peter to a Mirador. The views from the Mirador weren't very good and unfortunately the better Mirador by the castle was closed due to construction. For supper we bought a whole grilled chicken, chips and salad and ate it in our apartment. 12 April 2024 - Drive from Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras, Spain It is only a 1.25 hour drive from Arcos de la Frontera to Algeciras. We stopped off at Medina Sedonia on the way. It's a reasonable sized White Town and its medieval walls, the Church and the Alcazar (fort) are the main historic sights. Unfortunately the Alcazar isn't open to visitors. In Algeciras we stayed at the Hotel AC Algeciras which is a Marriott Hotel. It cost a very reasonable Eur 70 and was only 10 minutes drive from the ferry port. 13 April 2024 - Algeciras, Spain to Asilah, Morocco We got up early at 06.15 to catch the 09.45 ferry to Tangier Med as our tickets stated we had to be at the port of Algeciras 2 hours before departure. As I suspected this wasn't really necessary and a few cars arrived at the port only 30 minutes beforehand. I had read that the ferries to Morocco were often late and I was therefore pleased to see that our ferry was at the port. However, the ferry only sailed at 10.30 despite the ferry not being very full. We had a good view of Gibraltar as we left Algeciras and soon afterwards had a view of the coast of Africa. The ferry took 1 hour 45 minutes to reach the port of Tangier Med which is 40 kilometres from the city of Tangier. It took us over an hour to clear customs as all cars were being X-rayed by a large machine mounted on a track. If this is done in the peak season there will be chaos. We then spent another hour buying 3rd party car insurance and obtaining Moroccan SIM cards and dirhams. At Tangier's port a lady representing the Inwi telecom company tried to sell us a very expensive SIM card and data package for Eur 60. I knew it should be a lot cheaper and declined. Fortunately the car insurance agency sold SIM cards with 7.5 GB of data and they only cost Eur 10! As we needed 2 SIM cards it was a big saving. I had reserved a very nice hotel room in Asilah through Booking.com for Eur 48. Asilah is south of Tangier on the Atlantic coast and was only an hour's drive away from the port of Tangier Med. It was an easy drive on a toll highway and a good introduction to driving in Morocco! After checking into our hotel we walked to Asilah's interesting medina. The Medina is largely residential with white houses decorated with lots of vivid blue. It is surrounded by sturdy fortified walls built by the Portuguese in the 15th century. There are two main gates and several towers spread along the walls. We had dinner at a local fish restaurant outside Asilah's medina's walls. We both had mixed platters of seafood and chips and it only cost Eur 8 per platter. 14 April 2023 - Drive from Asilah to El Jadida, Morocco We drove southwards from Asilah to El Jadida on the toll road. Google Maps estimated that the drive would take 4 hours but it actually took 6 hours. The toll road was very busy between Rabat and Casablanca and there weren't enough lanes open at the frequent toll stations. Police were everywhere, particularly on the bridges crossing the toll road where there were usually 4 policemen monitoring the traffic. El Jadida is on the Atlantic coast and was founded by the Portuguese in the early 16th century. In the late afternoon we walked from our apartment hotel along El Jadida's sea front to the Portuguese fortress. There is a long sandy beach, which is very popular with Moroccans, but it didn't look very appealing to us. We got to the fortress's ramparts at 17.50 just as they were closing the access to the walkway along the top of them. The ramparts were meant to be open up to 18.00. The only other attraction in El Jadida was the famous Portuguese cistern but it has been closed for a few years due to structural issues. The Portugese cistern is likely to remain closed for a long time due to the lack of funds for restoration. We walked around El Jadida's fort but it was neglected and dirty. Unfortunately our 1 bedroom apartment had also seen better days. We wished we hadn't stopped off at El Jadida! 15 April 2024 - Drive from El Jadida to Essaouira, Morocco We drove from El Jadida to Essaouira today, relieved that the car's air conditioning was working as the outside temperature hit 35 centigrade! The first part of the journey was along toll roads which were so much quieter than yesterday. It seems that many people had visited family at the end of Ramadan and had been making their way home yesterday. After a while the toll road ended and we drove on public roads through bustling towns. I had to drive very carefully as people, carts pulled by donkeys, motor bikes etc were all over the road. The scenery was much more arid and rural than it had been coming down southwards from Tangier to El Jadida over the past two days. We passed sheep farms and farmers were ploughing their fields using horses. There were lots of carts being pulled by horses and donkeys. Essaouira is on the Atlantic coast and it was a bit cooler because of a breeze. Strong trade winds make its crescent shaped beach popular with wind and kite surfers. We had a quick walk around Essaouira's medina in the late afternoon. We have 2 nights in Essaouira and have plenty of time to explore. We stayed in a 2 bedroom apartment which we had booked through Booking.com for Eur 61 per night. We were very pleased with it as it was a modern apartment, quiet and a pleasant 10 minute walk to Essaouira's medina. 16 April 2024 - Essaouira, Morocco In the morning we walked along the promenade to Essaouira's harbour. It was absolutely packed with fishing boats and there were a lot of stalls selling an interesting variety of fish. We wanted to visit the bastion at the harbour as it has a good view of Essaouira. However, they charge an entrance fee of Eur 5 which is far too much. Instead I took photos of Essaouira from the nearby beach. After that we spent a few hours wandering around the medina. Essaouira's medina has a mixture of restaurants, art galleries, tourist shops, hotels and homes. It is an interesting medina with good facilities and no hassles. I can understand why Essaouira is very popular with foreigners. Links to other Blogs about our Road Trip from England to Morocco Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 3 - Southern Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Contents 17 April 2024 - Essaouira to Agadir 18 April 2024 - Agadir to Sidi Ifni 19 April 2024 - Sidi Ifni to Tafraoute 20 April 2024 - Ait Mansour Gorge nea r Tafraoute 21 April 2024 - Tafraoute to Taroudant 22 April 2024 - Taroudant and Tioute 23 April 2024 - Taroudant to Marrakesh Links to other blogs about our Road Trip 17 April 2024 - Drive from Essaouira to Agadir It took just over 3 hours to drive south from Essaouira to Agadir. Agadir is a large resort town on Morocco's Atlantic coast and it is popular with foreigners seeking winter sun. We drove through misty weather which thickened into a sea mist by the time we arrived in Agadir. It was only 20 centigrade in Agadir whereas it had reached 31 centigrade further inland on the drive down. In 1960 Agadir suffered the most destructive and deadly earthquake in Moroccan history. Most of the city was destroyed and about 15,000 people died. Agadir was rebuilt in the 1960's and only the beach is of interest to tourists. We therefore only stayed for a one night in Agadir to break up our journey southwards. We had booked a 2 bedroom apartment at an Agadir hotel through Booking.com for Eur 59. The staff were very helpful and gave us a quiet room as requested. The apartment was better than expected. It took us 10 minutes to walk from the apartment to Agadir's beach. Even though the weather was misty the beach seemed very nice. There is a huge expanse of sand and lots of Moroccans were playing soccer on the beach. We walked for about half an hour along the beach to have a meal at a restaurant on the esplanade. The weather started to clear in the evening and we hoped that the next day's weather would be better. 18 April 2024 - Drive from Agadir to Sidi Ifni Fortunately the weather improved and we continued our drive southwards to Sidi Ifni. It was mostly dual carriageway as we left Agadir but there were far too many roundabouts. Agadir sprawls out in a messy development. It took about an hour to get out of this very poorly planned area of Agadir. We stopped off for lunch at the seaside town of Aglou Plage. Sadly it has been ruined by overdevelopment as there is a mass of ugly holiday accommodation for Moroccan holidaymakers. My old Lonely Planet guidebook described the next 40 kilometres of coast from Aglou Plage to Mirleft as "exceptionally picturesque". The coastline didn't seem very special to us and there was ugly development on sections of it. Twenty years ago Mirleft had a "totally undeveloped beach" according to Lonely Planet but now Mirleft is a large and ugly resort town. We were relieved to find that Sidi Ifni has retained its character. Spain was given Sidi Ifni by treaty after the Spanish-Moroccan war of 1859, which Morocco lost. Spain didn't take full possession of Sidi Ifni until 1934 and most of the buildings only date back to then. Spain handed Sidi Ifni back to Morocco in 1969. There isn't much to see in Sidi Ifni but it is a pleasant and laid back town. Sidi Ifni is a popular surfing destination and is also popular with foreign recreational vehicles. There were more than 30 camper vans lined up along the sea front. We couldn't be bothered to swim but did walk along the beach. Afterwards we had dinner at a seafront restaurant and watched the surfers. We stayed at the Logis la Marine Guest House in Sidi Ifni and it cost Eur 86 for their best and newest room on the top floor. It was a really nice room overlooking the sea. We live next to the sea in England but were still surprised at how much louder the waves were here. 19 April 2024 - Drive from Sidi Ifni to Tafraoute We left the coast of Morocco today and headed north east to Tafraoute which is at an altitude of 1,200 metres in the Anti Atlas mountains. Tafraoute is known for its palm groves where almonds and olive orchards grow. Tafraoute is also popular with climbers, hikers and tourists. We were pleased to be heading inland as the scenery on Morocco's Atlantic coast isn't very interesting. We won't see the sea again until we reach the port of Tangier in 2.5 weeks time! I didn't want to repeat yesterday's drive along the more commonly used road between Sidi Ifni and Tiznit. Instead we drove on roads (P1918 and P1916) that weren't on our map but were on Google Maps. The road was good, except for one section, until about 5 kilometres from Tafraoute. Then the road really deteriorated and the surface was badly corrugated. This bad section of road was very scenic. We booked a suite at the Hotel Salama in Tafraoute for Eur 42 a night. The Hotel Salama was very good value for money as we had a living room and a bedroom. It was very central and we could park our car in front of the hotel. 20 April 2024 - Ait Mansour Gorge near Tafraoute It felt surprisingly cool in the morning as it was about 17 centigrade and there was a chilly wind. We drove to the Ait Mansour Gorge which is a 50 minute drive south of Tafraoute. There is a tarred road there but it is narrow in places I parked the car on the road side just before the Ait Mansour Gorge and a woman immediately appeared and said she was a parking attendant. We were pleased to have secure parking even though we would have to tip her. We walked along the narrow road through the best section of the Ait Mansour Gorge. The green oasis at the bottom of the Ait Mansour gorge was a stunning contrast to the pink hills and rocks towering above the gorge. After the Ait Mansour Gorge we continued driving south to the village of Afla Ighir and then had the choice of retracing our steps to Tafraoute or doing a circular route via the Tizerkine gorge. I wasn't sure about the condition of the road through the Tizerkine gorge. However, a Tripadvisor forum report from about a year ago indicated it was driveable in a saloon car. We decided to try the circular route and the road to Tizerkine was excellent. I was surprised that we didn't see any other vehicles and I soon found out why! The condition of the road deteriorated badly as soon as we passed Tizerkine although the scenery was excellent. The road surface alternated between broken up tar and dirt! The mountain road was also very narrow and in several sections it wouldn't have been possible to get past any oncoming vehicles. Luckily there were none! I drove very carefully to avoid damaging our Ford Focus as last year we had broken a front spring in Greece. It was a relief to reach the village of Taghaout where the condition of the road improved. From there it was a pleasant drive back to Tafraoute. The entire circular drive through the Ait Mansour Gorge had taken about 5 hours. 21 April 2024 - Drive from Tafraoute to Taroudant We drove 4 hours from Tafroute to Taroudant in the Sous valley. The first part of our route followed the road to Agadir and then we branched off north-east to Taroudant. The mountain road out of Tafraoute was narrow and just wide enough for 2 cars to carefully pass. There wasn't much oncoming traffic and I slowed down to a crawl for oncoming vehicles as the Moroccan drivers hardly slowed down at all. It was possible to pull off the road but neither myself or the oncoming vehicles wanted to. The scenery on this section was very good. After about an hour the road widened and there was then a good road all the way to Taroudant. I hadn't been sure about the condition of the road that branched off to Taroudant as it wasn't shown on my map but the road was on Google Maps. We stopped in the countryside for a picnic lunch and there were wild camels everywhere. We eventually joined the main Agadir to Taroudant road. The scenery was bleak and we drove through numerous scruffy developments. I had booked a room at Riad Amnay in Taroudant's medina. A Riad is a traditional Moroccan house built over two or more storeys around a central courtyard which usually contains a fountain. We had been given the location of a nearby parking lot but the challenge was to find it. We had the location on Google Maps but with the one way streets inside Taroudant's city walls it was difficult to locate. A motor bike rider kindly stopped to help us and we followed him to the parking lot. He then walked us to the Riad. I gave him Eur 2 for his help which was probably too much. Riad Amnay was of a high standard and had very good reviews. Lani was very happy with it. However, the rooms in Riads are usually dark as the windows face into the courtyard and I like natural light. Otherwise it was very good. We booked through Booking.com and paid Eur 54 a night. 22 April 2024 - Sightseeing in Taroudant and Tioute We had booked two nights at the Riad in Taroudant. In the morning we drove 40 minutes to the village of Tioute to see the old Kasbah on the hilltop and the oasis below it. On the way we saw several goats in the trees eating leaves. We had read about goats climbing trees and had wanted to see it. Tioute's Kasbah was a huge disappointment. It was built in 16th century and is described as being magnificent, perched on the hill overlooking the oasis. Sadly, most of Tioute's Kasbah is falling to pieces and has been closed off. The only part open was a large restaurant that has been built in the Kasbah and tour groups come for lunch. We then visited Tioute's Oasis which unfortunately is very popular with tour groups. A guy on a motor bike wanted to give us an hour's tour for Eur 15. Eventually we settled on Eur 5 and we followed him in our car to a parking lot by the Oasis. He then told us he wanted Eur 15 and drove off when we didn't agree to pay it. We were pleased as he had led us to the Oasis and we could wander around by ourselves. It was pleasant but Tioute's Oasis has been spoiled by tourism. The paths through the Oasis are paved. There are a few cafes, handicraft stall and locals offering donkey rides. Not our scene at all and it was a wasted morning When we got back to Taroudant we again had problems finding the parking lot. This time the driver of a Caleche stopped to help us and we followed him to the parking lot. He was a nice man and I gave him Eur 2 for his help. We had lunch in the nearby square and the same Caleche driver came over to say hi. He spoke English and he asked if we wanted a ride in his Caleche around the 7 kilometre long city walls. Apparently Taroudant is referred to as Little Marrakech because of its ramparts. We wouldn't normally ride in a Caleche but we wanted to see Taroudant's city walls and walking around in the heat wouldn't have been fun. We had been told that the fair rate was Eur 10 per hour and that was what he offered. We therefore agreed to meet him at 15.00. We enjoyed the ride and certainly wouldn't have enjoyed walking. Afterwards we wandered around the large under cover market in Taroudant. I buy very little but needed a leather belt. The asking price was Eur 31! I wouldn't negotiate as he started with an absolute rip off price. In the end I got the belt for the Eur 5 that I initially offered. 23 April 2024 - Drive from Taroudant to Marrakesh via the Tizi n'Test Pass The fastest route from Taroudant to Marrakesh is on the A3 toll road and it would take about 3.25 hours. However, there is a much more scenic road over the 2,100 metre high Tizi n'Test mountain pass which Google Maps said would take about 5.5 hours. I wanted to drive over the Tizi n'Test pass to see the Atlas mountains even though the road is much more difficult to drive on. Unfortunately it was a hazy day and it spoiled the views on the south side of the Tizi n'Test pass. This area was badly affected by the earthquake of September 2023. Over six hundred thousand people were affected and many are still living in tents and temporary buildings. The road over the Tizi n'Test  pass was also damaged by the earthquake. On the south side of the Tizi n'Test pass there were many cracks along the side of the road and pull over areas were cordoned off. On the north side of the Tizi n'Test pass sections of the road surface were badly damaged. A lot of fallen rocks had been cleared to both sides of the road. The first hour of the journey was along the main road east of Taroudant. It is pretty bleak road that goes through messy towns and the scenery isn't great. It is very similar to the main road west of Taroudant which I also disliked. The scenery improved once we turned off the main road and headed north towards the Tizi n'Test pass. Initially it was a very good two lane road. As we got nearer to the top of the Tizi n'Test pass it became a one lane tarred road but it was easy and safe to pass other vehicles. Before we reached the top of the Tizi n'Test pass the road surface deteriorated and didn't improve for the next 50 miles! It was very slow going and tiring constantly watching out for potholes. We finally reached Marrakesh after 7 hours of driving and checked into our 3 bedroom apartment in the suburb of Gueliz. We booked it through Airbnb for Eur 75 a night. We were too tired to go into Marrakesh and had 3 nights there anyway. We spent the evening relaxing and did some much needed laundry. Links to other blogs about England to Morocco Road Trip Week 1 - Salamanca, Toledo, Cordoba & Granada Week 2 - Spain to Morocco Week 4 - Marrakesh to Todra Gorge Week 5 - Todra Gorge - Merzouga - Fes - Chefchaouen Week 6 - Morocco to Cadiz & Seville Week 7 - Seville to Portugal Week 8 - Porto to Pontevedra, Spain Week 9 - Muxia & the Lighthouse Way Week 10 - Muxia, Spain to Plymouth, UK

Lake Bled, Slovenia Contents Introduction Piran Koper Izola Ljubljana Skofja Loka Radovljica Lake Bled Lake Bohinj Vrsic Pass My Other Blogs on Slovenia 1. Introduction We visited Slovenia for one week at the end of April 2023 while driving from the UK to the Greek islands. We were on a 3 month road trip visiting interesting places on route to and from Greece. The aim wasn't to cover everything in the countries that we visited. See my blog Venice to Serbia - Week 2  for the daily trip report of our week in Slovenia. It would have been preferable to visit Slovenia towards the end of our trip in late June. The weather would then have then been warm enough to swim in the sea and in the lakes. By then the snow would have melted on the Julian Alps and we could have hiked in the higher alpine areas that I enjoy. Unfortunately Slovenia is too busy and expensive at that time of year. So we decided to visit Slovenia at the start of our trip and to enjoy the coasts of Albania, Montenegro and Croatia on the way back. We were lucky with the weather as it was warm and sunny when we were on the coast. It was cloudy, but dry, in Ljubljana. The weather forecast for our 3 nights at Lake Bled and Lake Bohinj was abysmal, but it was dry until the day we left. Then it poured! We were very impressed with Slovenia and it was a very easy country to travel in. The roads weren't busy and driving was very straightforward, even for someone used to driving on the wrong side of the road! Most Slovenians spoke English and were very courteous and friendly. The accommodation in Slovenia wasn't particularly cheap and we found cheaper accommodation in all the countries we visited south of Slovenia. Petrol though was about 20% cheaper in Slovenia than in the UK, France, Switzerland Italy and even Greece. 2. Piran, Slovenia 2.1. Accommodation in Piran Piran is similar to the many historic towns further south in Croatia. However, the accommodation is more expensive than Croatia, even in the off peak season. This might be because Slovenia has a very small coastline for Slovenians to visit. Piran is absolutely packed in July and August. We rented a compact apartment in the small village of Pobegi for 1 night at a cost of Euro 75 through Booking.com . Pobegi is 4 kilometres from Koper and a 25 minute drive to Piran. The apartment was very well equipped and in pristine condition. I have reviewed the accommodation on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " (number 6). 2.2. Parking in Piran Parking in Piran is very expensive and it cost Euro 2.60 per hour. We parked in the Fornace parking lot and there is a free shuttle for the short distance into Piran. 2.3. What to see in Piran Half a day in Piran is ample for wandering around the old town. Piran is an unspoiled historical town with Venetian architecture. The main square in Piran is Tartinijev Trg and it is surrounded by attractive historic buildings. It is very near the sea front as it was originally the inner harbour of Piran. In 1894 the harbour was filled in to create the main square. The tourist office is in this square. We climbed up the road to the Cathedral of St George and its Bell Tower. We continued up the hill to the old Walls of Piran. It costs Euro 3 to enter a small section of the walls and 3 of the walls' towers. There are very good views of Piran from the towers. It was open until 20.00. We wandered around the streets in Piran's lower town and there were hardly any other visitors. Most of the restaurants and cafes are along the seafront. It was warm enough in late April for us to sit outside on the waterfront for our evening meal of calamari and sardines. From the parking lot below the entrance to the walls there are steps that descend steeply back to the Piran's old town centre. It makes a good circular walk around Piran. The Harbour at Piran, Slovenia The Seafront Promenade at Piran, Slovenia View of Tartinijev Trg in Piran, Slovenia Tartinijev Trg in Piran, Slovenia The Cathedral of St George in Piran, Slovenia The Interior of the Cathedral of St George The City Walls of Piran, Slovenia The City Walls of Piran, Slovenia A View of Piran from the City Walls 3. Koper, Slovenia We visited Koper and Izola on the way to Ljubljana and we had most of the day to explore these towns. 3.1. Parking in Koper We stopped off at Koper first and there were plenty of parking spaces, unlike at Piran. It would usually cost Eur 1 per hour but a kind local told us that it was free as it was a public holiday in Slovenia. We had all our luggage in our car. It seems that Slovenia has less theft than many other European countries. 3.2. What to see in Koper We walked into the centre of Koper along the seafront promenade and then to the main square called Titov Trg. It is an attractive square surrounded by historic buildings. The tourist office is also located there. Surprisingly there were very few other tourists in Koper, just like at Piran. We paid Euro 4 each to climb up the 36 metre high City Tower and there were good views of Koper from the top. Every town in Slovenia seems to have a tower to climb and we decided not to go up towers in future as the cost soon mounts up. Koper's historic centre is very interesting, but not that extensive, so it took less than 2 hours to see. 3.3. Restaurants in Koper It was lunch time when we finished sightseeing and we went to a cheap seafood eatery outside Koper's market called Fritolin . Fritolin is recommended in the Lonely Planet guide to Slovenia and it was busy with locals. We ordered 2 portions of grilled calamari and french fries for a total cost of Euro 21 and ate it at an outside table. It was very tasty and the portions were good! There are many other cheap eating spots and cafes in Koper's market area. The Cathedral of the Assumption & the City Tower in Titov Trg A View of Koper from the City Tower A View of Koper's Port from the City Tower View of Titov Trg from the top of the Bell Tower at Koper, Slovenia The Praetorian Palace in Titov Trg, Koper Venetian Gothic Loggia in Titov Trg, Koper The Fontico at Koper, Slovenia The Promenade at Koper, Slovenia The Cathedral of Assumption at Koper, Slovenia The Da Ponte fountain in Prešernov Trg in Kroper, Slovenia The Barbabianca Palace in Koper, Slovenia 4. Izola, Slovenia Koper's helpful tourist office had told us that it was a 6 km walk to Izola along the seafront promenade and that we could then take a bus back to Koper. We decided to do this as we needed the exercise and didn't fancy trying to find parking in Izola. The walk to Izola took 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was a very pleasant walk and was popular with the locals who were cycling, roller blading and walking. There were several free toilets along the way. We had a quick walk around Izola and then took the short bus ride back to Koper. Izola is a pleasant town but there aren't many historic sights to see. The bus runs regularly between Izola and Koper. Even on a holiday the bus ran every half an hour most of the day. The tourist office at Koper provided us with a sheet detailing the departure times and told us where the bus stops were. Our bus ride from Izola to Koper cost Euro 1.30 per person. Besenghi degli Ughi Palace at Izola, Slovenia The Parish Church of St Maurus at Izola, Slovenia The Church of St Mary at Izola, Slovenia 5. Ljubljana, Slovenia 5.1. Introduction Slovenia is such a compact country that it only takes an hour drive from Ljubljana to the coast, 40 minutes to Lake Bled and 30 minutes to Skofja Loka. The roads in Ljubljana weren't congested at all. Ljubljana would be a convenient base to visit places like Lake Bled and Skofja Loka. I wondered if there would be enough to do in Ljubljana as I had read that there wasn't much to see apart from Ljubljana Castle. Ljubljana is a picturesque city and we enjoyed wandering around for a couple of hours. Half a day is adequate for sightseeing in Ljubljana unless you want to visit the museums. 5.2. Ljubljana Castle Ljubljana Castle is the main site. It is a steep 15 minute walk from the city centre. There is also a funicular railway from the centre of Ljubljana to Ljubljana Castle and it costs Eur 3.30 one way or Eur 6 return. Entrance to the central courtyard of Ljubljana Castle, and a small section of the castle's wall, is free. To see a bit more of the castle is expensive and, in my opinion, not worth it. Much of the castle's interior has been renovated and doesn't look ancient. The entrance ticket of Eur 15 enables you to go up the viewing tower and enter the Puppetry and Slovenian History museums. To appreciate the History Museum you need to pay an additional Eur 4 for an audio guide as there aren't sufficient signs in English. It is worthwhile seeing the Ljubljana Castle from the outside and the free interior sections. I wouldn't buy a ticket unless you want to take a photo from the tower or are interested in puppetry. Details of the current ticket prices are on the Ljubljana Castle website . Ljubljana Castle Viewed from Congress Square (Kongresni Trg), Ljubljana, Slovenia A View of the Julian Alps from Ljubljana Castle 5.3. The Bridges in Ljubljana The Ljubljanica river bisects the city centre and there are 3 well known bridges crossing it. They are not very old, nor particularly beautiful, but most travel books refer to them. You would probably have to cross them while looking around the Ljubljana. The Dragon Bridge was built in 1888 and has a dragon on each corner. It is northeast of the Ljubljana's old town. There are public toilets on the southwest side of the bridge. The Triple Bridge is south of Presernov Trg. The central section was built in 1842 and in the 1930's two pedestrian side bridges were added. The Cobbler's Bridge was rebuilt in 1931 and is south of the other 2 bridges. It is a pedestrian bridge and in medieval times shoemakers lived and worked on the bridge. The Dragon Bridge at Ljubljana, Slovenia One of the Dragons on the Dragon Bridge, Ljubljana The Triple Bridge in Ljubljana, Slovenia The Ljubljanica River 5.4. A Circular Sightseeing Walk in Ljubljana A good way of seeing Ljubljana is to do a circular walk. You could start anywhere. We began at St James Bridge in the south and walked northwards to Dragon Bridge along the west bank of the river. We then crossed Dragon Bridge and walked back to St James Bridge on the east bank of the river. Some of the main areas of Ljubljana that we saw were: Novi Trg, an old area of Ljubljana. Kongresni Trg, which has an excellent view of Ljubljana Castle. There are some attractive buildings in the square like the University of Ljubljana and the Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity. Presernov Trg, Ljubljana's main square and is surrounded by some beautiful buildings like Hauptman House and the Franciscan Church of the Annunciation. The Triple Bridge Miklosiceva Cesta, which runs from the railway station to the river. This street has some of the finest a rt nouveau buildings in Ljubljana. Trubarjeva Cesta, a bustling street lined with shops, restaurants and cafes. Dragon Bridge. Ljubljana Castle. The Central Market in Vodnikov Trg, which has a large open air food market. Pogacarjev Trg, which has a covered market and a fish market. On Fridays there is a weekly food fair known as the Open Kitchen. Ljubljana's Old Town, which runs along the east side of the river from Triple Bridge in the north to Hercules Fountain (near St James Bridge) in the south. Hauptmann House in Presernov Trg, Ljubljana Franciscan Church of the Annunciation in Presernov Trg, Ljubljana The University of Ljubljana in Kongresni Trg, Ljubljana Ursuline Church of the Holy Trinity in Kongresni Trg, Ljubljana The Fruit and Vegetable Market in Vodnikov Trg, Ljubljana Open Kitchen in Pogacarjev Trg, Ljubljana Hercules Fountain in the Old Town of Ljubljana 6. Skofja Loka, Slovenia 6.1. Getting to Skofja Loka It was surprisingly easy to drive out of Ljubljana. Once we had got off the highway we drove on pretty, rural roads with the snow covered Julian Alps in the background. We reached the historic town of Skofja Loka after about 30 minutes. Parking was easy to find in Skofja Loka and free. Scenery on the Drive from Ljubljana to Skofja Loka 6.2. What to see at Skofja Loka Skofja Loka has quite a large historic core and we spent about 2 hours wandering around. If you visit the castle museum you will need longer. The main site in Skofja Loka is the 13th century Loka Castle and it is a steep 10 minute walk up to it. There are good views from Loka castle and it is pleasant wandering around the grounds. Otherwise there isn't much to see unless you visit the museum and the entrance fee is Eur 5. Loka Castle at Skofja Loka, Slovenia The other main place of interest in Skofja Loka is Mestni Trg. It is surrounded by colourful 16th century houses. The most famous of these is Homan House which was built in 1511. Other things to see in Skofja Loka are: Jakoba Church dating back to the 13th century. It is free to enter. Capuchin Bridge dating back to the 14th century. Spodnji Trg with a 16th century granary. Mestni Trg in Skofja Loka, Slovenia Mestni Trg in Skofja Loka, Slovenia Homan House in Skofja Loka, Slovenia A Street in Skofja Loka, Slovenia Jakoba Church in Skofja Loka, Slovenia The Interior of Jacoba Church in Skofja Loka, 7. Radovljica, Slovenia The Lonely Planet guide book says that " The town of Radovljica is filled with impossibly cute, historic buildings ". That is very misleading as the historic part of Radovljica is limited to Linhartov Trg. Trg means Square but in reality Linhartov is a street. This street is lined with 16th and 17th buildings. It doesn't take long to see them. We spent half an hour wandering around Radovljica. There is nothing else of interest to see in Radovljica. Vidic House at Radovljica, Slovenia Linhartov Trg in Radovljica, Slovenia Linhartov Trg in Radovljica, Slovenia Church of St Peter in Radovljica, Slovenia 8. Lake Bled, Slovenia 8.1. Getting to Lake Bled It is only a 45 minute drive from Ljubljana to Lake Bled as Slovenia is a compact country. Lake Bled was very congested as it was a warm and sunny holiday weekend in late April. I dread to think what it would be like in summer! We turned off at the first parking sign we saw near Lake Bled and the charge was Euro 15 for 4 hours or Euro 25 for the whole day! That's as expensive as it was in Venice. We decided to pay Eur 15 for 4 hours rather than drive around the congested streets of Bled to find somewhere cheaper. 8.2. Walking around Lake Bled There is a 6 kilometre paved path going all the way around Lake Bled. It was congested near the town of Bled but not bad otherwise. Apart from the number of people it is a very beautiful and easy walk with great views all the way around Lake Bled. It should only take about 90 minutes but we took 3 hours with a lot of stops for photos. Lake Bled is very photogenic with the island, the castle perched above the lake and the snow covered Julian alps in the distance. Some people were swimming in Lake Bled and the water didn't feel too cold, even though it was the end of April. 8.3. Bled Island You can take a boat over to Bled Island. Only row boats and electric boats are allowed to prevent noise pollution. We didn't bother as it is expensive and Bled Island appears to be a tourist trap. A Pletna boat, which looks like a large gondola row boat, costs Eur 15 per person. An electric boat from Bled town costs Eur 14 per person. You can also rent your own rowing boat but it doesn't work out much cheaper. On Bled Island you have to fork out another Eur 12 to enter the church and bell tower. So for the 2 of us it would have cost Eur 54 for a 1 hour to 1.5 hour experience at a tourist trap! 8.4. Bled Castle It is a steep 15 to 20 minute walk up to Bled Castle, but that is not as steep as the Eur 15 entrance fee! You can also drive up and there is paid parking at Bled Castle. The main reasons to visit Bled Castle are for the views and the museum. Bled Island, Slovenia Bled Castle, Slovenia Bled Island, Slovenia A Church on the Shore of Lake Bled, Slovenia 9. Lake Bohinj, Slovenia 9.1. Towns and Accommodation at Lake Bohinj There isn't a town called Bohinj. The only settlement on Lake Bohinj is Ribcev Laz on the south eastern corner. It is the main hub for Lake Bohinj. We stayed in nearby Stara Fuzina, an unspoiled village a 10 minute walk from Lake Bohinj. Ukanc, the only other settlement near the lake shore, is a very small village on the western shore of Lake Bohinj. We booked a 1 bedroom apartment through Airbnb for Eur 98 per night. I have reviewed it in my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " (number 8). Stara Fuzina on Lake Bohinj, Slovenia A View from Stara Fuzina on Lake Bohinj, Slovenia A Church in Stara Fuzina, Lake Bohinj, Slovenia 9.2. A Hike around Lake Bohinj The Lonely Planet guide says that Lake Bohinj is more beautiful than Lake Bled. I don't agree with that but Lake Bohinj is certainly less crowded and less touristy. We hiked from our apartment in Stara Fuzina clockwise around the Lake Bohinj. The hike is 12 kilometres long and it took us 3 hours. Unfortunately the trail on the south bank of Lake Bohinj follows the road and the views are often blocked by trees. At the western end of Lake Bohinj it was more open and there were good views of the lake and mountains. The north side of Lake Bohinj is more popular for walking. There isn't a road nearby but unfortunately trees often obscure the views. This is the more popular side of Lake Bohinj for walking and I can understand why. In my opinion it is better to hike there and back on the north side instead of walking around Lake Bohinj. The disadvantage is that it is busier but you could probably get around that by starting early in the morning or late in the afternoon. View on the Walk from Stara Fuzina to Lake Bohinj The Church of St John the Baptist at Ribcev Lab on Lake Bohinj Lake Bohinj from the South East Shore near Ribcev Laz The Holy Spirit Church between Ukanc and Rivcev Laz on Lake Bohinj Lake Bohinj from the Western End near Ukanc Lake Bohinj from the North West Shore 10. Vrsic Pass Drive 10.1. About the Vrsic Pass The Vrsic Pass is in north western Slovenia near the border with Italy. It was built during the first world war and there are 50 hair pin bends up and down the 1,611 metre high Vrsic pass. Vrsic Pass is closed in winter which means it is closed from November to April, depending on the snow. You can check whether it is open on the AMZS website . The road to Vrsic pass goes from Kranjska Gora on the eastern side to Bovec on the western side. The drive to Kranjska Gora takes 45 minutes from Lake Bled and 1 hour 15 minutes from Lake Bohinj. 10.2. The Road up the Eastern Side of the Vrsic Pass The road up Vrsic Pass was a bit narrow going around some of the hair pin bends, but otherwise it wasn't a difficult drive. There are several parking spots on the road from where you can enjoy spectacular views of the Julian Alps. When you reach the top of Vrsic pass you could turn around and drive back down. The longer alternative is to drive down the western side of Vrsic pass and complete a circular route back to Lake Bohinj or Lake Bled. It would make the drive even longer if you started at Lake Bled. 10.3. The Road down the Western Side of the Vrsic Pass We did the circular drive and continued over Vrsic pass down 24 hair pin bends to Bovec. The hair pin bends weren't as tight, and the scenery wasn't as dramatic, as on the way up. We looked out for the Russian Chapel built as a memorial in 1916 by the Russian prisoners of war who constructed the road. Unfortunately we missed it and decided not to drive back up Vrsic Pass to find it. From Bovec we drove south on road numbers 203 and 102. We then turned east on the narrow and mountainous road number 403 to return to Lake Bohinj. It took us 3 hours 45 minutes to drive back from the top of Vrsic pass to Lake Bohinj. In comparison it only took us 2 hours to drive up to the top of Vrsic pass. On the way up Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View On the way up Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View On the way up Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View On the way up Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View On the way up Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View at the top of Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View at the top of Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View at the top of Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View on the way down Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View on the way down Vrsic Pass, Slovenia View on the Drive back to Lake Bohinj, Slovenia Church of the Virgin Mary in Pri Cerkvi-Struge, Slovenia View on the drive back from Vrsic pass to Lake Bohinj 11. My Other Blogs about Slovenia Venice to Serbia - Week 2 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1

The Beach at Agios Petros Contents Introduction Andros Town A Drive around Andros island The Beach at Agios Petros Batsi and Gavrio Hiking on Andros Car Repairs on Andros Accommodation on Andros My Other Blogs on Greece 1. Introduction I first heard of Andros about 4 years ago when I read a newspaper article about the wonderful hiking trails. Unfortunately when we got there the trails didn't live up to expectations. Andros isn't particularly popular with foreign tourists despite being only a 2 hour ferry ride from Athens. Another reason why we visited Andros is that we had our own car and there are several daily car ferries from Andros to Athens and Naxos. We arrived from Naxos (see my blog Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide ) . 2. Andros Town 2.1. Parking in Andros Town The centre of Andros Town is pedestrianised and the streets around the centre are a bit narrow. There is limited parking. Google maps show 2 car parks and we went to the car park to the north of Andros Town. The car park was small and we got the last space. The car park is very convenient as it is on the seafront and near the centre. The other car park is to the west of the town centre. 2.2 What to See in Andros Town Andros Town is very attractive and juts out into the sea on a rocky spur . It isn't spoiled, or touristy, as most visitors stay on the northwest side of the island. We spent a pleasant hour or so wandering around the streets of Andros Town. There are two museums and beaches on either side of Andros town. A View of Andros Town from the Coastal Road The Main Street in Andros Town A Street in Andros Town Agios Georgios Church in Andros Town A Church in Andros Town At the back of Andros Town A Church in Andros Town A Church in Andros Town An Alley in Andros Town 3. A Drive around Andros Island We drove from the northwest of Andros island to Andros Town on the east coast. We then drove southwards to Korthi where we stopped for lunch. The road crosses back over to the west coast after Korthi and we drove up to Gavrio. The drive around Andros island took 5 hours and the scenery was beautiful. Unfortunately there were few places to pull over on the mountain roads to enjoy the views and take photos. View of Andros Town from the Road Korthi Korthi 4. The Beach at Agios Petros There are lots of good beaches on Andros island but we only visited the one at Agios Petros. It is an excellent sandy beach but it is fairly open and could be affected by wind. Most of Agios Petros beach is for public use but at the southern end there are 2 roadside tavernas that have sun loungers and umbrellas on the beach. There was no charge, but at least Eur 8 of food or beverages had to be ordered from the taverna. I think this is Eur 8 for 2 people. There was plenty of parking near these tavernas. The Beach at Agios Petros 5. Batsi and Gavrio View towards Batsi from our Accommodation 5.1. Batsi Batsi is the main resort on Andros island. There is nothing of historical interest but Batsi has been developed well. We usually had our evening meals at one of the waterfront restaurants followed by a pleasant stroll on Batsi's seafront. There is a large beach in the centre of Batsi and plenty of free parking in June. The Harbour at Batsi 5.2. Gavrio Gavrio is the port for Andros island. It is a small pleasant town with very little for visitors to do. There are free car parks at the southern end near to where the ferries dock. The Seafront at Gavrio 6. Hiking on Andros 6.1. Overview Andros was the last of the 4 Cyclades islands that we visited. On the other 3 islands the hiking trails were well signposted but often overgrown. Hiking trail 11 on Andros passed within 100 metres of our accommodation so it was the first hike we attempted. Unfortunately the first section was overgrown so we abandoned the hike. We ended up only doing one short hike on Andros island. This was due to concerns about trail maintenance and because I couldn't find circular hikes that appealed. 6.2. Planning Hikes on Andros The Andros routes website is run by volunteers who hike, and maintain the trails. There is a page that details all the hikes and another page that provides information on path maintenance . It does seem that they try to maintain the trails. The AllTrails website shows trails for 48 hikes. They all have reviews providing useful information. If the reviews are recent they can provide a good guide to the condition of the trails. 6.3. Trail 9A - Paleopolis Archeolgical Site This short trail is described on the Androsroutes and AllTrails websites. It takes about half an hour each way and is in good condition. The Androsroutes website showed the route condition as " open, with a lot of overgrown vegetation at parts ". Bizarrely there was no overgrown vegetation in June 2023. Whereas for trail 11 the website didn't report any overgrown vegetation but we found it to be a problem. The route on the Alltrails website starts above the main road. We parked in a layby off the main road, just past the museum at Paleopolis. When driving from the north the layby is on the right hand side and has space for about 10 cars. From the layby walk back along the road to Paleopolis until you see a 9A sign pointing to the left. Don't descend the steps before that. There is a sign indicating that there is no access. Half way down you can go left or right. These paths lead to different ends of the beach. At the north end of the beach there are rocks from where a couple of people were swimming. At the far south end there is a small sandy beach, but you have to clamber over a large boulder to reach it. We didn't see any archaeological remains. A View from the Main Coastal Road at Paleopolis The Initial Steps Down Half Way Down to the Beach The Northern End of the Beach Looking towards the Southern End of the Beach On the Way Back Up A View up to the Coastal Road 7. Car Repairs on Andros We had to have the front springs and shock absorbers replaced on our car. I found AutoTechnics on the internet and the owners of our accommodation recommended them. The garage ordered the parts from Athens and they received and fitted them 2 days later. They did a good job and the cost was reasonable. It was very convenient. They are located at Agios Petros, across the road from a great beach. We spent half a day on the beach while they fixed our car. We could see our car in the workshop from our sun loungers! 8. Accommodation on Andros We stayed in a 3 bedroom house on the mountainside high above Batsi which we booked through Booking.com for Euro 65 per night. It was very good value which is probably because the house is a 10 minute drive up a steep hillside. I reviewed the accommodation on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " (number 4). 9. My Other Blogs on Greece Monemvasia, Greece: Travel Guide Mycenae, Greece: Travel Guide Tiryns, Greece: Travel Guide Epidaurus, Greece: Travel Guide Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Naxos, Greece: Travel Guide Mystras, Greece: Travel Guide Tinos, Greece: Travel Guide Syros, Greece: Travel Guide North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8

We spent a week in the first half of July 2023 hiking in Val Gardena and we based ourselves in Ortisei. Ortisei is a fantastic area for hiking and the chairlifts and buses make it so easy. This blog provides information gleaned during our stay there. Contents Planning Hikes in the Dolomites Crowds in the Dolomites When to Go to the Dolomites Weather in the Dolomites Chairlifts in Val Gardena Hiking Maps for Val Gardena Buses in Val Gardena Sassolungo Hikes Rescesia Hike Seceda Hikes Alpe di Siusi Hike Accommodation in Ortisei My Other Blogs on Italy 1. Planning Hikes in the Dolomites I found the planning of hikes in the Dolomites to be the most difficult part of organising our 3 month European road trip. Click here to see the blogs of our road trip. It di dn't help that most towns in the Dolomites have 2 or 3 names. For example Ortisei is also known as St. Ulrich and Urtijei! The Dolomites is a large area and it takes time to drive from one area to another on the mountain roads. So I wanted to base ourselves in one area and to hike there. I bought the Cicerone Guide Book on Day Walks in the Dolomites which costs GBP 13.67 from Amazon . This seems to be the best English guide book on walking in the Dolomites but it didn't help in determining the best area to be based in. In the end I decided on Val Gardena as a number of websites said it was a good base for hiking in the Dolomites. It turned out to be a good decision and there were plenty of good hikes for our 5 days in Val Gardena. I then wanted to plan some hikes in Val Gardena which involved using the chairlifts to reach high alpine areas with mountain views. I tried using the Cicerone Guide book and travel blogs. The maps were confusing as the path numbers referred to meant nothing to me. I should have bought a hiking map from Amazon as the book and blogs would have made more sense. Once we arrived in Ortisei I bought a map and also got the free map from the tourist office. It was then easier to plan hikes and some other hikers gave us some advice. The short hikes listed on the reverse side of the free "Summer Hiking Map" provided by the Ortisei tourist office gave me some ideas of where to hike and the time required. I could then modify the hikes and make them longer if necessary. 2. Crowds in the Dolomites We were in Ortisei from the 9th July to the 15th July. The first hike we did was on Seceda. The start of our hike was delayed so we could buy maps. We didn't start hiking until mid morning. I was shocked by the number of people when we reached the top of the Seceda gondola station. I thought the number of people would quickly decrease as we hiked away from the Seceda gondola station but it took over an hour. A lot of people had no hiking etiquette and didn't allow faster walkers to pass on the narrow trail unless asked. I was despairing as I knew I wouldn't enjoy hiking in the Dolomites if it was that crowded. On subsequent days we left earlier and took chairlifts soon after they opened. This made a big difference as we could get away from the chairlift stations before too many people arrived. 3. When to Go to the Dolomites Try to avoid weekends as the Dolomites will be even busier with day hikers from nearby towns and cities and people coming for a weekend break. The period after the first week in July to the end of August will be very busy and more expensive. The 2nd half of June is a good time to hike in the Dolomites unless you intend to hike in areas where snow might linger. September is also a good month and all the chairlifts are still open. Some chairlifts close in the first week of October. 4. Weather in the Dolomites Mountain weather is very fickle and therefore hard to forecast. One morning we decided to risk hiking despite a bad weather forecast for Val Gardena. We took the bus from Ortisei to St. Christina and when we got there it rained heavily. After sheltering for well over an hour we abandoned our planned hike. The forecast for the next day was for rain at midday. So we took an early gondola from Ortisei up to the Alpe di Siussi and hiked up to midday. It didn't rain all day! Meteoblue is a good weather website. There is a Radar and Precipitation Nowcast at the bottom of the page. This is a good way of determining if any bad weather systems will hit your location in the next 3 hours. You have to pay to get this information for longer than a 3 hour period. 5. Chairlifts in Val Gardena One of the attractions of hiking in the Dolomites is that you can often use chairlifts to reach the higher alpine areas. This saves slogging up wooded mountains to reach open alpine areas with views. Hiking purists might not agree! The lifts are expensive in the Dolomites. For example a return ticket from Ortesei to Seceda costs Eur 52. We decided to buy a Val Gardena lift pass so we wouldn't have to think about the cost each time we wanted to hike. Lift passes are also expensive, but it does work out cheaper if you hike every day. Val Gardena lift passes cost Eur 118 for 3 consecutive days or Eur 152 for 6 consecutive days. As the lift passes are for consecutive days you lose out if bad weather or sickness prevents use of chairlifts. Another issue we had is that we were in Val Gardena for 5 days and lift passes can only be purchased for 3 days or 6 days. We ended up buying a 6 day pass as we figured it would be cheaper than buying a 3 day pass and then paying for individual lifts for the remaining 2 days. We were right! The Val Gardena pass doesn't cover 6 lifts on the Alpe di Siusu. The Val Gardena website doesn't make this clear as it states that the pass covers all lifts in Val Gardena. On another page it states that the 6 lifts are excluded! 6. Hiking Maps for Val Gardena 6.1. Free Tourist Office Map You can obtain a free " Summer Hiking Map " fpr the Val Gardena area from the Ortesei Tourist Office. It is a useful topographical map which clearly shows forested areas. I try to avoid walking in forests as I prefer open views. The hiking map also shows all the summer lift routes including those not covered by the Val Gardena lift pass. There are details of suggested hikes on the reverse side. The free map has a few drawbacks: The major drawback is that north is at the bottom of the map so everything is upside down! So if you buy another map, which you should, it is very difficult to use both maps to plan a route. The other drawbacks are that you need good eyesight to see some of the path numbers and not all the paths are shown. We didn't hike any paths indicated as "difficult" on the map. We hiked paths indicated as "easy" or "moderately difficult". None of these paths were at all difficult. 6.2. Tabacco and Kompass Maps I bought a 1:25,000 Tabacco map covering Val Gardena from the Tourist Office for Eur 7. It is a good map clearly showing the hiking paths and summer lifts. It was torn by the end of our 6 night stay in the Dolomites. It can also be bought from Amazon for GBP 12.99 and this map may be laminated. The Kompass maps are also good and can be bought from Amazon for GBP 10.33 . I mainly used the Tabacco map when hiking as it was much easier to read and more detailed than the free map. 6.3. Chairlift Map When we bought our Val Gardena lift passes we were given a map showing all the chairlifts covered by the pass. On the back it states the opening and closing times of each lift and the cost if you don't have a pass. It doesn't show the 6 chairlifts on the Alpe di Siusi that are excluded from the pass. You can get lift maps at the main lift stations and probably from the tourist office. This map is also on the Val Gardena website . 7. Buses in Val Gardena Virtually all accommodations in Val Gardena provide a free Val Gardena Mobil card that provides 7 days of free bus transport from the time it is first used. The bus times can be determined from the valgardena.it/en/ website. The bus service is excellent and the buses run frequently. We didn't use our car at all for the 6 nights we were in Val Gardena. It was a welcome change after 3 months of driving around Europe! You are meant to tap your card onto a machine when entering the buses but the machines were usually broken. It was only on the final day that we got on a bus that had a working machine! The free buses for Val Gardena also include the bus that goes to Bolzano if you want to do some sightseeing. At Bolzano you can ride the historic Ritten railway for free with the Mobil Card. 8. Sassolungo Hikes 8.1. The 3 Main Hikes for Sassolungo The hikes around Sassolungo are very popular as it is a spectacular mountain and the terrain isn't difficult. The paths are mainly out in the open so the views are excellent. As a result the trails are busy. The 3 main hikes for Sassolongu are: A full circuit around Sassolungo that takes about 6.5 hours. A half circuit of Sassolungo. This involves taking the "Coffin" gondola up from Passo Sella up to Forcella del Sassolungo (2,685 metres) in the centre of the massif and hiking down the northern side. If you then hike back to Passo Sella around the eastern half of the mountain it will take about 5 hours. A hike up to 2,958 metres on path 527 from the south east of Sassolungo. You can go down a different way to meet the path descending from the gondola station. There is a section at the top shown as being for expert hikers. I doubt that this trail would be busy. 8.2. Our Planned Hike around Sassalungo I decided to do a variation of the half circuit but it turned out to be as long as the full circuit! My plan was to: Take a bus from Ortisei to St. Christina. Take the chairlifts from St. Christina to Monte Pana and then from Monte Pane to Mont Seura. Walk around the eastern section of Sassolungo on paths 526 and 526C to the "Coffin" gondola station at Passo Sella. Take the "Coffin" gondola up to Forcella del Sassolungo (2685 metres). Walk down on path 525 to the junction with paths 526 to the east and 527 to the west. Walk on path 527 on the western side of Sassolungo until the junction with path 9A. It would probably be quicker to take the earlier turn off onto path 531A instead of path 9A. Follow path 9A and then path 7A to the Florian chairlift. The Florian chairlift descends to Saltner and is not covered by the Val Gardena pass. It costs Eur 14. Walk up path 9 to the Sonne to Alpe di Siusi chairlift. It saves a 20 minute uphill walk to the gondola that descends to Ortisei. Take the gondola down to Ortisei. 8.3. Our Actual Hike around Sassolungo We set off early and we were the first people on the St. Christina to Monte Pana chairlift when it opened at 08.30. Monte Pana to Mont Seura Chairlift above St Christina We then had the choice of either path 526 or 526A along the northern base of Sassolungo. We took the slightly lower 526 path as it looked a bit easier and walked eastward. Initially it descended in to forest but after a while it was very open and we enjoyed great views. At one point two cows blocked the narrow path. In the UK cows can be dangerous so we were cautious and scrambled up the steep bank to get around them. View from Path 526 along the northern lower slopes of Sassolungo View from Path 526 along the northern lower slopes of Sassolungo View from Path 526 along the northern lower slopes of Sassolungo View from Path 526 along the northern lower slopes of Sassolungo View from Path 526 along the eastern lower slopes of Sassolungo View from Path 526 along the eastern lower slopes of Sassolungo View of Sassolongu from Path 526 along the eastern lower slopes of Sassolungo We followed paths 526 and 526C until we reached Passo Sella. Everyone was excited about going up in the "Coffin" to Forcella del Sassolungo (2,685 metres). The attendants were very helpful and friendly. Two people can squeeze into the gondola. Each person is allocated a separate spot to stand in anticipation of having to individually jump into the gondola. They quickly lock the door and when you reach the upper station they unlock it. You quickly jump out one after the other. It is great fun and nothing to worry about at all. The "Coffin" Chairlift from Passo Sella to Forcella del Sassolungo There is a mountain hut at the top station which is at an altitude of 2,685 metres. There are very good views both to the north and south. It is then a steep descent down the rocky and barren mountainside. It took us just under 2 hours to descend but it can be done a lot faster. Walking sticks definitely make it a lot easier. View south eastwards from the Forcella del Sassolungo View north eastwards from the Forcella del Sassolungo The Descent from the Forcella del Sassolungu The Descent from the Forcella del Sassolungu The Descent from the Forcella del Sassolungu The Descent from the Forcella del Sassolungu From there we turned westward onto path 527, rather than eastward for the half circuit hike of Sassolungu. I was conscious that the Florian chairlift down to the Alpe di Suisi closed at 16.00 and time was running out. We rushed along path 527, and then path 9A, and reached the Florian chairlift at 15.30. Path 527 on the north western lower slopes of Sassolungu The Florian chairlift took us down to Saltner on the Alpe di Siusi. From there it is at least a 1 hour uphill walk to the Sonne - Alpe di Siusi chairlift. That chairlift closes at 17.00 and I doubted we would get there in time. If we missed it, it meant a steep 20 minute walk up to the upper station for the gondola to Ortisei. As we walked through Saltner I saw a bus stop with a lot of people waiting. It was going to Compaccio and some people told us that this was the gondola station. We were delighted as it would save a tiring walk. We had already been walking for 6.5 hours. The bus soon came and we paid the Eur 3 fare. Unfortunately, on the way, I could see that we were going to the wrong gondola station on the other side of the Alpe di Siusi plateau! When we reached Compaccio we met a Norwegian couple who had made the same mistake. It seemed from Google that the best solution was to take a bus down from the Alpe di Siusi plateau. Luckily there was one leaving very shortly. The bus fare was an exorbitant Eur 16 but we had no choice. The bus went part of the way to Ortisei and we then had to transfer onto another bus that was free. We reached Ortisei at around 18.00 which was 10 hours after we had set off. We could have got back to Ortisei by 17.45 if we had continued walking from Saltner and taken the gondola down to Ortisei. It would have been possible for someone to do this hike faster and get back to Ortisei by 16.30 as: We spent time watching the "coffin" at both ends. We were slow descending from the Forcella del Sassolungu. It would probably be quicker to take the earlier turn off onto path 531A instead of path 9A. It was a fantastic hike and I highly recommend that you do a half or full circuit hike of Sassolungu. It was busy in sections but that didn't spoil the hike for us. 9. Resciesa Ridge Hike A funicular takes you up 800m from Ortisei to the Resciesa ridge. In the summer time the Resciesa funicular opens at 08.30 and runs every 15 minutes. At the top there is an easy and scenic circular hike that takes about 3.5 to 4 hours. The route runs through high alpine countryside and there is very little increase in elevation. At the end of the hike you descend to the upper station of the Furnes to Ortisei gondola. If you want more exercise you can walk all the way down to Ortisei! The first section of this walk is described on the reverse side of the free "Summer Hiking Map" that can be obtained from the tourist office. It is route number 9. As I stated earlier north is shown at the bottom of the map! We went up the Resciesa funicular at 09.00 as I thought that was the opening time. There weren't many people and it took 10 minutes to ascend to the upper station which is at an altitude of 2,093 metres. Riding on the funicular from Ortisei to Resciesa It was cloudy at the top so initially I didn't take many photos. We walked westwards on path 35 to the small and simple Holy Cross Chapel and then on to the Crucifix at Resciesa di Fuori (2,281 metres). Initially the walk is through forest but it soon opens up. There are meant to be fantastic views but unfortunately there was too much cloud around when we were there. Crucifix at Resciesa di Fuori (2281 m) From the crucifix we followed path 31 eastwards along the upper part of the Resciesa ridge. Path 31 heading eastwards from the Crucifix at Resciesa di Fuori Looking back to the Crucifix from Path 31 View of Seceda from Path 31 Path 31 eventually joined path 35 and we continued walking eastwards towards the Rifugio Brogles. On the ridge above Rifugio Brogles there was a sign saying it was closed for renovation so we didn't descend. We had a picnic lunch on the ridge and there were fantastic views of Seceda. Luckily the weather had cleared and we could appreciate the views. Unfortunately there were too many cows and they disturbed our lunch. View of Seceda from Path 35 From the 2,119 metre high ridge above the Rifugio Brogles, path 5 descends steeply through forest down to Ortisei. Half way down at Furnes (1,691 metres) we turned eastwards onto path 8. Very soon afterwards we reached the gondola station and took the gondola back to Ortisei. It is an easy and scenic half day walk. We weren't tired so in the afternoon we took the gondola up to the Alpe di Siusu and did a short walk there. 10. Seceda Hikes 10.1. Introduction to Seceda Hikes Seceda is a very beautiful area to hike in, but the area from the upper gondola station to the viewpoint (2518 m) is very popular and busy. The path from the viewpoint along the mountain edge and onto Refugio Pieralongia on path 2B is also very popular. As the path is narrow it is difficult to get past slower walkers. I found this section to be very frustrating when we hiked in mid morning. The solution is to go early to avoid the casual walkers and sightseers. Then you will be able to fully enjoy the scenery on this fantastic part of Seceda. 10.2. Our Hike on Seceda Hike number 6 on the Tourist Office's free "Summer Hiking Map" provides details of a 3 hour circular hike. It looks like a good hike. It could be shortened at the end by taking the Fermeda to Seceda chairlift back to the gondola station rather than hiking the 400 metres up. Our hike on Seceda was a variation of hike 6. We followed the same route to the Refugio at Pieralongia. Quite a few hikers then descended on path 4A but we continued walking eastwards on path 2B. View of Sassolungo from the Seceda Gondola Station View from the Seceda Gondola Station Seceda View of Sassolungo from Path 2B View from Path 2B About 15 minutes after passing Refugio Pieralongia there are 2 very distinctive triangular shaped rocks. It is a good spot to have your photo taken. We continued eastwards along the fairly quiet path 2B until it ended at a junction with Path 2-3. View from Path 2B on Seceda Path 2B near the Pieralonga Hut on Seceda View from Path 2B on Seceda View from Path 2B on Seceda View from Path 2B on Seceda View from Path 2B on Seceda When we reached path 2-3 it was initially signposted as path 2. We turned right and descended northwestwards. We had to descend a section of scree that had no path. Fortunately a hiker came the other way and we could see that we had to be on the left hand side of the scree. View from Path 2-3 on Seceda View from Path 2-3 on Seceda View from Path 2-3 on Seceda View from Path 2-3 on Seceda Path 2-3 descended to Refugio Firenze (2,037 metres). From there we took Path 4 up to Col Raiser (2107m) and descended to St. Christina on the gondola. We took the free bus back from St. Christina to Ortesei Instead of taking the gondola to St. Christina we could have walked a short distance to the Fermeda to Seceda chairlift. This would have taken us to the gondola station on the top of Seceda which in turn would have taken us down to Ortisei. The hike took us about 3 hours and I highly recommend it. 11. Alpe di Siusi Hike 11.1. Introduction The Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm in German) is the largest high altitude Alpine meadow in Europe. It has a spectacular setting, particularly the view towards Sassolungo. There is some infrastructure on the plateau and there are roads and several chairlifts (not covered by the Val Gardena lift pass). There is even a bus service between Compaccio in the east and Saltner in the south. There isn't much change in elevation across the Alpe di Suisi so it is easy walking with fantastic open views. A blogger mentioned that it was better to cycle on the Alpe di Siusi than walk as the views are very similar wherever you are on the plateau. The roads and paths are ideal for cycling. As we aren't cyclists we did a 2 to 3 hour walk and really enjoyed it. There is a gondola from Ortisei to Alpe di Siusi. There are excellent views from the upper gondola station across the plateau to Sassolungo. 11.2. Our Hike on Alpe di Siusi We did a slightly longer variation of hike number 3 on the reverse side of the Tourist Office's free "Summer Hiking Map". From the Alpe di Siusi gondola station we walked westwards along path 6A. There are excellent views the entire way and initially the path is very level. The path eventually gently descends southwards to a short section of road (path 6) . View of Sassolungo from the top station of the Ortisei to Alpe di Siusi Cableway A View from the top of the Alpe di Siusi to Sonne Chairlift View from Path 6A of the Alpe di Suisi and Sassolungo View from Path 6A of the Alpe di Suisi and Sassolungo The road isn't busy but it is the least enjoyable section of the walk. Fortunately it is a short section and we soon turned eastwards onto a wide track (Path 6B). There were no vehicles. View eastwards from Path 6B Path 6B would have taken us northwards back towards the gondola station. We continued eastwards by turning onto Path 19. We walked on path 19 until we reached the junction with path 9. View of Sassolungo from Path 19 View across the Alpe di Siusi from Path 19 on the Alpe di Siusi There is a bench as the junction of paths 19 and 9 and we sat there enjoying the views. Path 9 runs between Saltran to the south and the Alpe di Siusi gondola station to the north. We contemplated walking down to Saltran but we didn't think that the views warranted the effort. Instead we walked northwards on Path 9 to the chairlift at Sonne. View across the Alpe di Siusi to Seceda from Path 9 View of Seceda from Path 9 View of Sassolungo from Path 9 on the Alpe di Siusi A signpost on the Path Since we had a lift pass we took the short ride up the Sonne to Alpe di Siussi chairlift. This chairlift ascends to an area close to the upper station for the Alpe di Siussi to Ortisei gondola. It probably saved a 20 to 25 minute uphill walk. View of Sassolungo from the bottom of the Sonne to Alpe di Siusi Chairlift 12. Accommodation in Ortisei Accommodation is expensive in the Dolomites. In the peak summer months of July and August it is necessary to book early. We booked a reasonably priced 1 bedroom apartment in Ortisei for 6 nights and we were very happy with it. We booked it through Bookiply.com for Eur 111 per night. It can also be booked through Booking.com for a bit more. I reviewed the apartment on my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " (number 16). 13. My Other Blogs on Italy Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13

The View from Renjo La Contents Tripadvisor Posts Vlogs Webcam Nepal Live (Lukla, Namche, Khumjung & Pheriche) Links to my other Everest Base Camp Trek Blogs 1. Tripadvisor Posts for the Everest Base Camp Trek My blogs on trekking in the Everest Region are based on my trek to Everest Base Camp in May 2014 and the Everest 3 Passes trek in May 2022. See my blog My Daily Reports on the Everest 3 Passes Trek . I am also an active participant on the Tripadvisor forum for Nepal. I follow this forum every day and obtain a lot of useful and up to date information. I have included some of this information in my blogs. It can be difficult to find relevant and useful trip reports on the Tripadvisor forum later on. I have therefore listed below some of the best trip reports regarding the Everest Base Camp and Everest 3 Passes treks. For easy reference the headings are linked to the posts on Tripadvisor. Some of the posts have over 300 threads and in such instances I have provided a summary of the most relevant and helpful postings. 1.1 Warning: Heavy Smoke Across Nepal This 2024 post highlights the problem from wild fires and pollution in Nepal during Spring. This wasn't the first year that it has happened but Spring of 2024 was particularly bad. Internal flights in Nepal were cancelled and this included flights to Lukla for trekkers doing the Everest Base Camp trek. Views on the Everest Base Camp trek were affected by the pollution particularly at lower altitude. The wild fires were put out by rain on 6th May 2024. In the past the pollution from wild fires hasn't been a problem from about this date. 1.2 How My Guide Almost Killed Me on the Everest 3 Passes Trek This Thorntree trip report about the Everest 3 Passes trek was written by a Canadian lady in 2014. She had a bad guide and they got lost in poor weather when crossing the Ngozumpa glacier near Gokyo. They spent the night on the Ngozumpa glacier and she suffered frost bite as a result. It is a fascinating trip report and highlights the risk in crossing the 2 glaciers on the Everest 3 Passes trek. In May 2022 I met several trekkers who had got lost on the Khumbu glacier after crossing the Kongma La. Luckily the weather was clear and warm. See my blog Guides, Porters & Trekking Agencies in Nepal . 1.3 Trekking in Nepal after April 1st 2023 - Live Reports The Nepal Tourist Board unsuccessfully tried to ban independent trekking in Nepal from April 2023. This post provides up to date information on this matter. 1.4 A Walk in the Khumbu in October/November 2021 This is a very interesting, and informative, trip report for the Everest 3 Passes trek from a German trekker (aka Dharma Bum) who travels very lightly. He walks to Everest Base Camp from Dhap and does the Everest 3 passes trek. His backpack weighed 4.26 kgs ! He didn't take a sleeping bag even though he did the Everest 3 Passes trek in November. He used the lodges' not so clean blankets and duvets. He is a fast trekker so take that into account when he mentions trekking times. Before the trek he asked Tripadvisor forum members to critique his proposed itinerary for his Everest 3 Passes trek. After the trek he posted trip reports for his 29 day trek. It ends up being a very long thread with 192 posts from himself and other trekkers, many of whom know the Everest 3 Passes and Base Camp treks very well. If you just want to read his trips reports these are the relevant links: Post 114 - Day 1 (Dhap) to Day 3 (Junbesi) Post 118 - Day 4 (Junbesi) to Day 8 (Namche Bazaar) Post 125 - Day 9 (Namche Bazaar) to Day 12 (Pangboche) Post 136 - Day 13 (Dingboche) to Day 16 (Lobuche) Post 140 - Day 17 (Pangboche) to Day 21 (Gokyo) Post 144 - Day 22 (Gokyo) to Day 27 (Namche Bazaar) Post 153 - Day 28 (Namche Bazaar) to Day 29 (Lukla) 1.5 Live report: Everest Base Camp Three Passes Trek in Spring 2022 An entertaining, informative and well written live trip report on the Everest 3 Passes trek from an American (Ling) based in Thailand. He has done the Everest 3 passes trek numerous times but until now always in the winter months. His Everest 3 Passes trek started on 30th March 2022 when the number of trekkers was fairly low due to Covid. There are 302 posts in this thread due to all the feedback from Tripadvisor forum members! Post 1 - Day 1: Flight to Lukla & trek to Namche Bazaar Post 21 - Day 2: "Rest day" in Namche and his day hike to Mong and Khumjung. Post 29 - Day 3: Namche Bazaar to Phortse Post 117 - Day 4: Phortse to Dingboche Post 148 - Day 5: Dingboche to Chukhung Post 170 - Day 6: "Rest day" in Chukhung Post 175 - Day 7: Chukhung to Lobuche via Kongma La Pass Post 180 - Day 8: Lobuche to Dzonglha Post 198 - Day 9: Dzonglha to Gokyo via the Cho La Pass Post 211 - Days 10 & 11: "Rest days" in Gokyo Post 232 - Day 12: Day hike from Gokyo to Renjo La Pass Post 256 - Day 13: Rest day in Gokyo Post 272 - Day 14: Gokyo to Namche Bazaar via Renjo La Pass Post 292 - Days 15–18: 3 Rest days in Namche Bazaar & the walk back to Lukla 1.6 Liveish Report: EBC Three Passes Trek December 2022 Another Everest 3 Passes trip report by Ling! Post 7 - Day 1: Kathmandu to Namche Bazaar Post 9 - Day 2: Rest day around Namche Bazaar Post 24 - Day 3: Namche Bazaar to Phortse Post 41 - Day 4: Phortse to Dingboche Post 53 - Day 5: Dingboche to Chukhung Post 58 - Day 6: "Rest day" in Chukhung with a stroll up Chukhung Ri Post 69 - Day 7: Chukhung to Lobuche via the Kongma La Pass Post 77 - Day 8: Lobuche to Dzonglha Post 81 - Day 9: Dzongla – Cho La Pass - Dragnag Post 96 - Day 10: Dragnag to Gokyo & Climb up Gokyo Ri Post 111 - Day 11: Hike to Gokyo Fifth Lake & Scoundrel's Viewpoint Post 132 - Day 12: Gokyo to Thame via the Renjo La Pass 1.7 Another Khumbu Report, off the beaten paths - October 2022 A trip report for an extremely exploratory trek in the Everest/Khumbu region. A lot of what he did is beyond the capability of the average trekker. That definitely includes me! The posts of interest to the ordinary trekker, looking to do side trips during the Everest Base Camp and Everest 3 Passes treks, are: Post 13 - The trail southwards of Thame that climbs up to Kongde and then descends to Toktok. Post 17 - Sunder Peak (5,368 metres) north west of Thame Post 33 - Lodges at Thyangbo (4,320 metres) on the way from Thame to Tashi Lasbsta 1.8 A Side Trail with Great Views between Lobuche and Gorak Shep Post 142 provides details of a very scenic route that runs from the Pyramid Lodge (north of Lobuche) towards Gorak Shep. It runs above, and parallel to the main Everest Base Camp trail. The trail is very scenic and not difficult. It is also possible to walk westwards from this path up a grassy slope to about 5,300 metres. 1.9 Daily Meal & Beverage Costs for the EBC 3 Passes Trek & trek in from Jiri Post 4 is by Ling again and he details all the daily meal and beverage costs he incurred during his December 2021 Everest 3 passes trek. Costs will have increased since then! 1.10 Pikey Peak on the way to the EBC Trek - where to sleep & eat? This Tripadvisor forum post provides pre Covid information on the trek from Dhap to Namche Bazaar. It is a thread of 20 posts with contributions from some trekkers who have hiked a lot in Nepal. 1.11 Dhap to Pikey Peak Trek Questions Another more recent Tripadvisor forum post on the Pikey Peak trek from early 2022. It is a thread of 59 posts. 1.12 Dharma Bum’s Recipe for Happiness: Boudhanath This post provides a lot of information on accommodation, restaurants and what to see at Boudhanath. 1.13 Back for more cake: Everest Three Passes Trek deep thoughts A trip report for Ling's Everest 3 passes trek in December 2023. In post 138 (written on 4 January 2024) he recounts his near fatal fall while crossing the Ngozumpa glacier near Gokyo! 1.14 Dharma Bum's Guide to Paths Less Travelled: Khumbu Edition   Information about alternative trails and day hikes when doing the Everest 3 passes and Everest Base Camp treks. 1.15 First Half of November Crowds on the Everest Base Camp Trek This post provides information about the number of trekkers doing the Everest Base Camp trek in the first half of November 2024. Surprisingly it didn't appear too busy as usually it is a very popular and busy period. 2. Vlogs There are quite a few interesting vlogs covering the Everest 3 passes and Everest Base Camp treks. Watching one or two will give you a feel for the scenery and what to expect. I find that they usually provide little factual information and are not that useful for planning the Everest Base Camp trek. I have provided links to a few of the better English speaking ones. 2.1 Everest Three Passes Trek This is a vlog by an Australian couple who were driving from Australia to Europe. They drove from Kathmandu to Salleri in their vehicle and then did the Everest 3 Passes trek in 21 days. They were later arrested and imprisoned for almost 3 months in Iran for flying a drone! 2.2 Motor Bike to Bupsa & then the Everest Base Camp Trek This is a video by a Nepalese couple who ride a motorbike from Kathmandu to Tham Danda, which is north of Bupsa. It gives a good idea of the road if you want to drive in rather than fly to Lukla. The road appears better than I thought it would be, but after rain it would probably be a mess. After walking to Namche Bazaar they take the standard route to Everest Base Camp. The only thing I didn't like was that they took a helicopter back from Gorak Shep. 2.3 Gokyo Trek (Part 1) - Lukla to Ama Dablam Base Camp The trekker is German so there is also a German version of this vlog. It covers the first part of his trek to Gokyo. He first hiked to Ama Dablam Base Camp to acclimatize. 2.4 Gokyo Trek (Part 2) - Pangboche to Gokyo This video is of his trek up the Gokyo Valley to Gokyo and then back to Namche via the Renjo La and Thame. 3. Webcam Live Nepal This YouTube site has links to several webcams set up along the trail for the Everest Base Camp trek. There are webcams at Lukla airport, Namche Bazaar, the Everest View Hotel above Namche Bazaar, Khumjung and Pheriche. This is very useful when you are sitting at Kathmandu or Ramechhap airport wondering if the weather will improve in Lukla so your flight can take off! 4. Links to my other Everest Base Camp Trek Blogs My Daily Reports on the Everest 3 Passes Trek Day Hikes on the Everest Base Camp Trek Lodges and Tea Houses on the Everest Base Camp Trek When to trek to Everest Base Camp What to take for the Everest Base Camp Trek Kathmandu to Lukla and Back Guides, Porters and Trekking Agencies

Thikse Monastery Contents Introduction Leh, Ladakh Stok & Spituk Shey, Thikse, Matho & Hemis Likir, Alchi, Lamayuru & Kanji Nubra Valley & Pangong Lake Taxis, Restaurants, Hotels & Laundry Links to my other blogs on Ladakh 1. Introduction I spent a very enjoyable 6 weeks in Ladakh during August and September 2024. I mainly went to trek in Sham Valley, Markha Valley and Zanskar. However, I took advantage of being in Leh and did a lot of sightseeing whilst there. Leh is a very nice town and there are few hassles like in many parts of India. The people are friendly and welcoming and Leh hasn't been overwhelmed by traffic like in so many Asian towns. It helps that Leh's main shopping street is pedestrianised. Leh is a good base for day trips to many of Ladakh's ancient Buddhist monasteries. It is important to be selective as there are so many monasteries in the vicinity of Leh. I visited most of the most important monasteries and this blog covers them. Trekking is another popular way to see Ladakh. The Markha Valley and Sham Valley treks are 2 short and easy treks near Leh. They can be done independently or you could join a group trek arranged by many of the travel agencies in Leh. See my blogs on trekking in Ladakh for information about these treks. I didn't do the popular 2 or 3 day trip from Leh to the Nubra Valley and Pangong Lake. It is very scenic but also touristy. 2. Leh, Ladakh 2.1 Central area of Leh The long pedestrianised shopping street called the Main Bazaar is the centre of Leh. At the northern end of the Main Bazaar is the Jamia Masjid mosque. On the west side there is a Tibetan Refugee market. There are local markets south of the pedestrianised area and to the east a local shopping street runs parallel to it. Leh Palace can be seen from the northern end of the Main Bazaar and Leh's dilapidated old town is east of the mosque. It is worth wandering through the old town on the way up to, and down from, Leh Palace but there aren't many buildings of interest. The Chokhang Vihara Temple was consecrated in 1980 and is in an area just north west of the Main Bazaar. It is worthwhile having a quick wander around this peaceful part of central Leh. The main pedestrianised shopping street in Leh Tibetan Refugee Market in Leh Chokhang Vihara Temple in Leh 2.2 Leh Palace Leh Palace looks spectacular from the Grand Bazaar and it is lit up at night. It's definitely worth visiting Leh Palace and the entry fee was only INR 300 (USD 4) in 2024 for foreigners. The nine storey Leh Palace was constructed in 1630 and visitors enter on the fourth level. The Royal Shrine and a couple of rooms with exhibitions are on the fourth and fifth levels. Otherwise most of the rooms in the Leh Palace are empty. There are good views of Leh from the top floors. View of Leh Palace from the old town Leh Palace View from Leh Palace The Royal Shrine in Leh Palace View from Leh Palace 2.3 Leh Old Town Leh old town with Leh Palace in the background Leh old town 2.4 Shanti Stupa The white Shanti Stupa was built in 1991 on a hill about 100 metres high. It's a 10 minute walk past the Hotel Omasila in the north western part of central Leh. There are 566 steps from the road to the stupa and there is a cafe at the top. Shanti Stupa is a popular spot at sunset as there are good views over Leh. Shanti Stupa in Leh View from Shanti Stupa in Leh View from Shanti Stupa in Leh 3. Stok & Spituk I spent 6 hours visiting Stok and Spituk by taxi that cost INR 2,500 (USD 30). The first section of the journey from Leh to Choglamsar went through an unattractive urban sprawl but the Choglamsar to Stok road was scenic. I returned to Leh via Spituk and the scenery from Stok to Spituk was excellent. It made a nice outing. 3.1 Stok The main places to see at Stok are the Palace, the Golden Buddha on the hill, the monastery and a heritage house. Stok village sprawls over several kilometres and is not worth walking around. Stok Palace was built around 1820 and became the royal residence in 1834. There is a museum and temple included in the small admission charge of about INR 200. Part of Stok Palace is now a heritage hotel. Photography isn't allowed in the museum and temple. The Golden Buddha is a couple of kilometres from Stok Palace. It's 22 metres high and was built in 2012. The Buddha is right above a modern monastery and the nearby shop has the key. There are excellent views from the Buddha. There is monastery nearby dating back to the 14th century. I didn't visit it but wish I had. The Gyapthago Heritage Home is a few kilometres further on. I had a tour of the old house and a nice lunch for INR 500 (USD 6). Stok Palace Rear of Stok Palace Stok Palace Courtyard View from Stok Palace Buddha on a hill near Stok Palace Kitchen in Gyapthago heritage home in Stok Gyapthago heritage home in Stok Making Tibetan butter tea 3.2 Spituk Monastery & Village The impressive monastery at Spituk is built on a rocky outcrop and can be seen from several kilometres away. It is one of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh and dates back to the 11th century. There are about 4 chapels and chambers that can be entered but photography isn't allowed. Spituk village is built on the steep rear side of the monastery. My taxi took me around to this side and I walked up through the old and atmospheric village. There is a long line of white chortens at the base of Spituk village. Spituk monastery Spituk monastery Spituk village Spituk village Spituk village View from Spituk 4. Monasteries at Shey, Thikse, Matho & Hemis These famous monasteries are south east of Leh and can be visited on a long day trip from Leh. 4.1 Shey Palace There is a 2 storey temple in Shey Palace which contains Ladakh's most famous statue of Buddha. It is large and very impressive. The entrance fee for Shey Palace is only INR 40 (USD 0.50). There is a dilapidated fortress on the hill above Shey Palace. It's possible to clamber to the top from where there are good views. There are restaurants in the village just below Shey Palace. Shey Palace Buddha in Shey Palace Shey Palace View from Shey Palace Shey Fortress 4.2 Thikse Monastery Thikse monastery dates back to the 15th century. It is one of the biggest and most impressive monasteries in Ladakh and shouldn't be mis sed. Photography is allowed in the prayer rooms unlike at several of the other monasteries. The entrance fee is INR 50 (USD 0.60). Thikse Monastery Thikse Monastery Thikse Monastery Thikse Monastery Thikse Monastery Thikse Monastery Thikse Monastery View from Thikse Monastery 4.3 Matho Monastery Matho monastery dates back to the 15th century and photography in the interior is permitted. The entrance fee is INR 50 (USD 0.60). Matho Monastery Matho Monastery Matho Monastery Monks at Matho Monastery View from Matho Monastery 4.4 Hemis Monastery Hemis monastery dates back to the 17th century and is probably the most famous monastery in Ladakh. It houses around 500 monks and there are about 5 chambers that can be visited. Hemis Monastery Prayer wheels at Hemis Monastery Chortens above Hemis Monastery 5. Likir, Alchi, Lamayuru & Kanji It is about a 2.5 hour drive westwards from Leh to Lamayuru monastery which would make a long day trip if the monasteries at Likir and Alchi were visited on the way. It would be far more relaxing to spend the night at Lamayuru where there is plenty of accommodation. There are at least 2 decent hotels in Lamayuru that have rooms with attached bathrooms. The interesting and attractive Tibetan village of Kanji is only a one and a quarter hour drive from Lamayuru. There is a homestay in Kanji and the night could be spent there instead of at Lamayuru. If you organise this trip yourself do ensure that you obtain a Protected Area Permit as you often need to show it at police road blocks. It only costs INR 600 (USD 7) and can be obtained quickly through most travel agencies in Leh. See my Markha Valley trek blog for further details. On the road from Leh to Alchi there are a couple of quick pull overs: The first one is Magnetic Hill where vehicles which have stopped appear to move uphill due to an optical illusion. In reality the road goes downhill. The next one is Sangam viewpoint which is above the confluence of the Indus and Zanskar rivers. Sangam Viewpoint Sangam Viewpoint 5.1 Likir Monastery Likir monastery was founded in the 11th century and there are now around 100 monks practising there. Likir monastery sits impressively on a hill that is about 5 kilometres off the Leh to Srinagar road. There are 2 main chapels and a museum that can be visited. Behind Likir monastery there is a 25 metre high golden image of the Maitreya Buddha. The entrance fee is only INR 50 (USD 0.60) and the opening hours are 08.00 to 13.00 and 14.00 to 18.00. Photography is allowed in the chapels but not in the museum. Likir Monastery Interior of Likir Monastery Interior of Likir Monastery View from Likir Monastery 5.2 Alchi Monastery Alchi Monastery is one of the oldest in Ladakh and is different from most of the other monasteries. It doesn't have a spectacular setting and is very small. However, Alchi monastery's 3 very small chapels were very atmospheric and impressive. Alchi Monastery is open from 09.00 to 13.00 and from 14.00 to 18.00. At the entrance all cameras must be put in individual lockers. I visited Alchi at midday and fortunately there were no other visitors in the small chapels. However, when I left Alchi just before the monastery reopened at 14.00 there were groups waiting to visit. The chapels wouldn't be so magical if there were too many other visitors. The best restaurant in Alchi is the popular Alchi Kitchen run by women. Alchi monastery Prayer wheels at Alchi monastery Alchi Kitchen 5.3 Lamayuru Monastery Lamayuru monastery is one of the most impressive and largest monasteries in Ladakh. It is surrounded by a moonscape landscape and there are several viewpoints in the vicinity from which this moonscape can be fully appreciated. It takes about 2 hours to explore Lamayuru's fascinating monastery complex and there are around 4 chapels that can be visited. Photography isn't allowed in most of the chapels. Lamayuru monastery Lamayuru monastery Lamayuru monastery Lamayuru monastery Prayer wheel at Lamayuru monastery Prayer room at Lamayuru monastery View from above Lamayuru monastery Lamayuru monastery Moonscape near Lamayuru monastery Moonscape near Lamayuru monastery 5.4 Kanji It is about a 1.5 hour drive from Lamayuru to the interesting and very scenic Tibetan village of Kanji where there is a homestay . The road to Kanji goes over the 4,108 metre high Fatu La which is the highest point on the Leh to Srinagar road. Just before Kanji the road goes through a spectacular canyon. I walked through it and met up with my vehicle on the other side of the canyon. Fatu La between Lamayuru & Kanji View from Fatu La Gorge before Kanji Gorge before Kanji Kanji village Kanji's monastery Chortens in Kanji Prayer wheels in Kanji Tsha tsha in Kanji Tunnel in Kanji Kanji Kanji View from Kanji, Ladakh Kanji, Ladakh 6. Nubra Valley & Pangong Lake The scenic drive to Nubra Valley and Pangong Lake is very popular. You can either arrange your own taxi or join one of the tours organised by the numerous travel agencies in Leh. When I was in Leh the reputable Ancient Tracks travel agency were advertising tours shown on the photo below. I didn't do this trip as I didn't have enough time and I was going to see a lot of Ladakh's wonderful scenery during my 6 weeks trekking in Markha Valley, Zanskar and Sham Valley. 7. Taxis, Restaurants, Hotels & Laundry 7.1 Taxis Taxis aren't usually hailed in the street. There are 2 main taxi stands in Leh, one is near the Main Bazaar and the other is by the bus station. There is a taxi union in Leh and they set the rates to each destination in Ladakh. The 2022/23 rate sheet is on their website . The cost of a taxi from the airport to Leh was INR 550 (USD 7) in 2024. 7.2 Restaurants in Leh There are a lot of good restaurants in Leh. I mainly ate at the following ones: Chopsticks Tibetan Kitchen Bon Appetit Most restaurants in Leh don't serve alcohol but Bon Appetit does. 7. 3 Hotels in Leh There are a lot of good looking hotels in Leh. I stayed at the Hotel Omasila which was one of the first hotels in Leh. Hotel Omasila is set in nice grounds and the rooms are spacious but need updating. The staff were very pleasant and helpful. My room at Hotel Omasila in Leh View from my room at Hotel Omasila in Leh Exterior of Hotel Omasila in Leh 7.4 Hotels in Lamayuru The Grand Moonland and the Dragon Hotel in Lamayuru get good reviews. Both hotels have attached bathrooms. I think I stayed in the old Hotel Moonland which was fine. I had an attached bathroom which was more than I expected. 7.5 Homestay in Kanji I camped at Kanji as it was the start of my Zanskar trek . I saw the Thankar Painter Homestay whilst wandering around the village. The Thankar Painter Homestay in Kanji 7.6 Laundry There are 2 laundries near the Hotel Omasila in Leh. They are both on the same side of the road as the hotel and one is before the hotel and the other one after it. Usually laundry handed in by 21.00 it will be ready for collection the following evening. The cost is very reasonable. 8. Links to my other blogs on Ladakh 2024 Guide for the Markha Valley Trek 2024 Guide to the Sham Valley Trek 2024 Zanskar trek - Part 1 2024 Zanskar Trek - Part 2 2024 Zanskar Trek - Pa rt

The Theatre at Delphi Contents 10 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Lake Ohrid 11 May 2023 - Lake Ohrid to Meteora, Gr eece 12 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Meteora, Greece 13 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Meteora, Greece 14 May 2023 - Meteora to Delphi, Greece 15 May 2023 - Delphi to Nafplio, Greece 16 May 2023 - Day Trip from Nafplio to Corinth Links to My Other Blogs 10 May 2023 - Sightseeing at Lake Ohrid It continued raining during the night, but to my relief it was dry when we woke up. We had a leisurely start and at 10.30 started to drive 30 kilometres south from Ohrid Town along the lake to the 16th century Monastery of Sv Naum. It is virtually on the border with Albania. The Bradt guide book says that the road is narrow and can be quite busy. I didn't think the road was particularly narrow and luckily it wasn't very busy. It took about 30 minutes to drive to the Monastery of Sv Naum and there was good car parking for Eur 0.60. We were concerned that the Monastery of Sv Naum might be overwhelmed with tour groups, but we were relieved to see only 1 coach in the car park. The 2 chapels in the old monastery are very small and beautiful. We were pleased that for most of the time we were the only ones in the chapels. By the time we got back to Ohrid Town the weather was brightening up. We could have driven to a couple of villages on the north western side of Lake Ohrid, but decided to have a relaxing afternoon and walk around the very nice town of Ohrid again. See my blog Ohrid Town, North Macedonia: Travel Guide . 11 May 2023 - Lake Ohrid to Meteora, Greece We woke up to cloudy weather again, but since we were driving down to Greece it didn't matter. We left Lake Ohrid at 10.30 and soon found that our sat navigation was directing us towards Albania! It probably did that as it may be the quickest route to Greece. However, we don't have car insurance for Albania and it isn't possible to buy it at that particular border crossing. I therefore input the name of the Greek border town and that put us on the correct route. The cost of petrol is 37% higher in Greece than North Macedonia so we filled up just before the Greek border and also used all our left over North Macedonian currency. It only took us about 10 minutes to cross the border. Both the Greek passport officer and the customs officer were very friendly. Our UK car insurance covers us for Greece so we didn't have the hassle and cost of buying car insurance at the border. As we got closer to Meteora it began to rain. Google maps as usual was very good at finding our apartment, although it didn't help that we had been told the wrong street number. We arrived at 16.40 but we had lost an hour due to Greece being in a different time zone. The apartment was compact but nice. We bought some groceries at Lidl's and had our evening meal at the apartment. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further details of the apartment. 12 May 2023 - Sighteeing at Meteora, Greece Meteora is famous for its medieval monasteries that are perched on high pinnacles of rock. See my blog " The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide " for useful information about visiting Meteora. Unfortunately none of the 6 monasteries at Meteora open before 09.00 and they all close by 17.00. We woke up earlier today as my plan was to start visiting Meteora's monasteries early in order to avoid the tour groups for an hour or so. We left our apartment at 08.25 and it was a 20 minute drive to the first monastery of Agios Stefanos (St Stephen's). We got stuck behind a tour bus and as we drove up we could see several other tour buses ready to depart for the monasteries. It seemed that my plan wasn't going to work! We managed to get to the entrance gate of St Stephen's monastery before the tour groups. When it opened at 09.00 we were the first people at the ticket office and then we immediately walked to the small chapel. We had the chapel to ourselves for 5 to 10 minutes before the tour group arrived and broke the tranquility. The Chapel at Agios Stefanos (St Stephen's) Tour groups take over the monasteries and have little consideration for others. Luckily we had seen enough of the chapel and looked around outside. More and more groups came and soon there was a long queue to enter the chapel. By the time we returned to the car park there were 13 tour buses parked there! After visiting Agios Stefanos (St Stephen's) we drove to the nearby monastery of Agia Triada (Holy Trinity). Agia Triada is famous for being a film location in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. It is certainly in a very spectacular location. Luckily it isn't frequented by many tour groups. We parked at about 09.50 and there was only 1 tour bus parked there. It was about a 10 minute walk from the car park to the ticket office and we could see a small queue of people waiting to enter, as the Agia Triada monastery only opens at 10.00. The queue had dissipated by the time we got to the ticket office. We looked around the exterior of the Agia Triada monastery until the tour group had left the chapel so we could enjoy the chapel in relative peace. At 11.00 we drove back to our apartment for an early lunch. We intended to visit the Monastery of Great Meteoron after our lunch. My plan was to visit Great Meteoron at about 12.30 when hopefully the tour groups were having lunch and the half day tours had been completed. As we drove from our apartment to the Great Meteoron we could see a lot of tour buses parked outside restaurants. At the monastery itself there were only 2 tour buses but a lot of cars. It takes about 10 minutes to walk to the entrance and we were pleased to see a large group of school children leaving the monastery. The Great Meteoron is the largest monastery at Meteora and probably the most popular. We spent an hour looking around and our visit wasn't spoiled by too many visitors. Our final monastery visit for today was the small nunnery of Roussanou. Parking was easy to find and it was a 10 minute walk down to the Roussanou nunnery. The chapels at the Meteora monasteries are small and this was no exception. Roussanou Monastery Roussanou Monastery Before driving back to our apartment we drove to a couple of view points so that we could admire the dramatic scenery of Meteora. 13 May 2023 - Sighteeing at Meteora, Greece We had 2 more monasteries to visit today. We went to the Agios Nikolaus (St Nicholas) monastery first and reached the steps leading up to the monastery 10 minutes after it had opened. We were pleased to see that there were very few cars parked there and even happier that there weren't any tour buses! Apparently Agios Nikolaos isn't usually visited by tour groups due to the steep climb up to it. It is certainly a steep climb up and it took us about 10 minutes. We went straight to the 2 room chapel and spent about 15 minutes enjoying the beauty of the chapel in relative tranquility. Independent visitors are usually quiet and don't spend too much time in the chapels. In comparison tour groups take over the entire area whilst the tour leader explains the paintings at great length. At Agios Nikolaos visitors only have access to the chapel and roof top. There are really good views of Meteora's impressive scenery from the roof top. Agios Nikolaus (St Nicholas) Monastery at Meteora After visiting Agios Nikolaos we drove to the view points that we had visited yesterday. Apart from the dramatic scenery there are very good views of Meteora's monasteries. A lot of visitors come here at sunset, but yesterday it was cloudy and this evening there is meant to be a nice sunset. At 11.15 we returned to our apartment for an early lunch like we had yesterday. The plan was to visit Varlaam Monastery when the tour groups were having their lunch. We got to Varlaam monastery at 12.30 and although it was busy there were very few tour buses parked there. It took about 10 minutes to climb up to the ticket office and we had to queue for about 5 minutes to buy our tickets. Unfortunately we had a group in front of us and some of the women had to buy wraps as they weren't wearing dresses. We got to the chapel before the group and could enjoy it before they arrived. When the group took over the chapel we decided to stay and benefit from the tour leader's commentary! We left at 13.30 and by then groups were streaming into Varlaam monastery and it was like a zoo. I much preferred the 4 smaller monasteries to the 2 largest and most popular monasteries at Meteora. Varlaam Monastery 14 May 2023 - Meteora to Delphi, Greece We woke up to grey skies and light rain. At 09.45 we started driving from Meteora to Arachova and Google maps showed that the journey should take 3 hours 10 minutes. Arachova is 10 kilometres from Delphi and is a nicer town to stay in. The weather improved as we drove south and after a couple of hours it was sunny and 22 centigrade. About an hour before Arachova we were stopped by a policeman as we were entering a town. We feared the worst, but he just wanted to inform us that we should take a new and better route. Neither Google maps nor our Tomtom sat navigation liked this change of route and directed us back into the town on another road. This time 2 policemen stopped us and told us that we should continue on the new road as it was better. In reality there must have been something happening in the town and they didn't want us to enter. The new road was in a very good condition and it went over the mountains. It was very scenic and we could see snow on the distant mountain. However, it was certainly longer than our original route and we only arrived at Arachova at 13.50. I had booked an apartment and a reviewer had reported that the streets around the apartment were narrow and difficult to park on. He was unfortunately right! We checked in and very soon afterwards drove to the archaeological site at Delphi. See my blog " Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide " for useful information about visiting Delphi. By the time we reached Delphi at 14.45 the number of visitors had greatly subsided and virtually all the tour buses had left. As a result we found a very convenient parking spot, which would have been very difficult to find earlier in the day. We visited Delphi's museum first and wandered around it for 45 minutes. They had some nice displays, but a lot of the narrative was complex and difficult to understand. The most famous exhibit is the bronze Charioteer that dates back to the fifth century BC. Afterwards we walked around the archaeological site of Delphi which is on a steep hill. It was a bit underwhelming to begin with but became more interesting as we went on. It was quiet and peaceful as there were very few visitors and no groups. It was also hot and I wouldn't want to visit Delphi in the summer. We spent 3 hours at Delphi and then returned to Arachova for dinner. We walked around the nice town in the evening. 15 May 2023 - Delphi to Nafplio, Greece We had a relaxing morning in Delphi and only left for Nafplio at 11.30. The drive was very scenic through mountainous countryside. We easily managed to locate the apartment we had booked and were very pleased with it. It is very spacious with 2 floors, 2 bathrooms and 2 balconies for about Eur 78 per night. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 1 " for further details of the apartment. In the early evening we walked into Nafplio and wandered around. It is fairly upmarket and is popular with well off Athenians as it is less than a 2 hour drive from Athens. See my blog " Nafplio, Greece: Travel Guide " for useful information on visiting Nafplio. There are 3 fortresses in Nafplio and we wandered up the Akronafplia fortress, which is the closest to the town. The fortress is derelict but there are good views from the top and it is free! 16 May 2023 - Day Trip from Nafplio to Corinth We could have stopped at Corinth yesterday on our way to Nafplio, but I was worried about the security for our luggage in our car. In hindsight we should have stopped and it would have saved a 1.5 hour round trip drive to Corinth today. See my blog " Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide " for information on visiting Corinth. We set off at 10.15 to visit Acrocorinth which is the ancient acropolis of Corinth. Its fortifications and ruins were erected by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, crusaders, Venetians and Turks. We were pleased to find on arrival that entry was free and there were no tour buses. The old, worn stones on the path are very slippery at the start and we were pleased that it was dry, as in the wet they must be treacherous. We spent an hour and 45 minutes exploring Acrocorinth's large site. The double wall fortifications are the most impressive feature of the site. We were lucky to finish just before it started to lightly rain. We had driven over the Corinth canal many years ago but hadn't stopped. In those days the main road from Athens to the Pelopennese had a good view of the canal. When we drove over the Corinth canal yesterday it was on the new toll road and we didn't see the canal at all. We therefore went back to the bridge that we drove over a long time ago. We parked the car at the southern end of the bridge and walked over both sides of the Corinth canal. Unfortunately no ships were in the Corinth canal and the weather was a bit dismal. The Corinth Canal Links to My Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Corinth, Greece: Travel Guide The Monasteries of Meteora: Travel Guide Delphi, Greece: Travel Guide

Seceda in the Dolomites Contents 13 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Alpe di Suisi) 14 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Sassolungo) 15 July 2023 - The Dolomites to Metz, France 16 July - Metz to Cornwall, England Links to my Other Blogs 13 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Alpe di Suisi) The forecast was for rain to start late morning. After yesterday's experience we decided to take the cable car from Ortisei to the nearby Alpe di Siusi at 08.30 and walk around the plateau for 2 to 3 hours whilst it was dry. It was a good walk and it didn't rain. At midday we took the cable car back down to Ortisei and walked around the shops before returning to our apartment. The weather forecast was wrong and it didn't rain at all! I was frustrated as we could have done a longer walk. See my blog " Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites " for full details of our hikes. 14 July 2023 - Hike in the Dolomites (Sassolungo) I had intended to do today's hike in 2 sections over 2 days, but the weather prevented this. It looked like it might be feasible to do my intended route in 1 long hike. The usual routes taken are either a hard 6.5 hour hike around the entire Sassolungo massif or a shorter 3 to 4 hour circular hike around half of the mountain. The latter route involves taking a chairlift up to the Furcela de Sassolungo in the centre of the massif and then hiking down. We decided to try a variation of this latter option. Instead of doing a circular hike we would take the bus to St. Christina, take the chairlifts up to the base of Sassolungo, walk around Sassolungo to the chairlift up to the Furcella de Sassolungo, descend down to the other side of Sassolungo and then walk back to Ortisei using chairlifts where possible. We started early and at 08.30 we were the first on the chairlifts going from St Christina to the base of Sassolungo. It was a beautiful walk around to the chairlift to Furcella de Sassolungo, which is known as the "Coffin". Lani was apprehensive about the "coffin" as it was reported that it is difficult getting into the small 2 person gondolas. In reality it was a lot of fun as the attendants were very helpful and friendly. After admiring the great views from the top of Furcella de Sassolungo we started the long and steep descent down to the other side of the massif. Lani is a bit nervous descending steep slopes with loose stones so it was a bit slow going. Once down we walked along the base of Sassolongu and then took the "Florion" chairlift down to the Alpe di Suisi plateau that we were on yesterday. It was now 16.00 and it would take another 1.25 hours to hike up to the gondola that descends down to Ortisei. We were tired and weren't looking forward to that final hike up the hill. I then saw a crowd of people waiting at a bus stop and was told that it was going to the gondola station. That was wonderful news so we got on the bus. Unfortunately the bus went to a different gondola station on the other side of the plateau! A Norwegian couple had made the same mistake and together we found a bus that was just leaving that would take us down to the valley. We were shocked to find out that the fare was Eur 16 each but there was no better alternative. Once down in the valley we took one of the free buses back to Ortisei. We reached there after 18.00. It was a long and tiring day but an excellent hike with stunning views. 15 July 2023 - The Dolomites to Metz, France It was meant to be an 8 hour drive from Ortisei to Metz. This became a 10 hour drive as a section of highway had been closed. It was a hot day and in southern Germany the temperature reached 39 centigrade! I was shattered by the time we arrived in Metz. Our hotel was similar to an Ibis hotel and it was right in the centre. Metz is a very nice town and we walked around and had dinner. We had Chinese food for the first time on the trip. It made a nice change from the western food we had been eating for the last 3 months. 16 July - Metz to Cornwall, England It was going to be a long drive back to England so we got up early and left the hotel at 07.00. We were booked on the 14.00 ferry from Dunkirk. As we were getting close to Dunkirk we realised that we might make the earlier ferry at 12.00. We were fortunate as the 12.00 ferry was running half an hour late and we were allowed to board. Despite being on an earlier ferry we didn't get back home until 20.00. It was another very long day, but not as tiring as yesterday as we could relax on the ferry and Lani did some of the driving in the U.K. This was the end of a very enjoyable 3 month road trip. It went very well, but it took a lot of planning. We were concerned about driving through countries like Albania, but our fears were unfounded. We were also concerned about our 10 year old car, but there were only relatively minor problems like the broken spring and worn brake pads. The engine management warning light had been on for about 4,000 miles of the 8,000 mile trip. It turned out that the catalytic converter needed to be replaced. I am now planning our next road trips. In 2024 we would like to take the ferry to Spain and drive down to southern Morocco. If the car is still in good shape in 2025 we might drive through Turkey to Armenia and Georgia. That would be a long trip and we would need at least 4 months to do it. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites

View from Alpe di Siusi in the Dolomites Contents 6 July 2023 - Drive from Rab to Rovinj, Croatia 7 July 2023 - Beach & Sighteeing in Rovinj 8 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Pula, Croatia 9 July 2023 - Drive from Rovinj to the Dolomites, Italy 10 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) 11 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Resciesa) 12 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) Links to my Other Blogs 6 July 2023 - Drive from Rab to Rovinj, Croatia There were 2 possible routes from Rab to Rovinj. They would take about the same amount of time: Return to the mainland on the ferry that we had come over on and then drive northwards up the coast to Rovinj. Drive 20 minutes north to Lopar and take a 1.5 hour ferry ride to Valbiska on Krk Island. Then drive from Krk to Rovinj. Krk Island is now connected to the mainland by a bridge. We decided on the second option as it meant less driving and we could also visit Krk Town, which is yet another historic Venetian town. See my blog " Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide ". When we reached Rovinj we were very pleased with the apartment we had booked. In the evening we wandered around Rovinj and had dinner there. Rovinj is an exceptionally nice old town and it was packed with tourists. See my blog " Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide " 7 July 2023 - Beach & Sighteeing in Rovinj It is now hot every day and we drove over to the nearby Zlatni Rt Nature Reserve to swim and relax by the sea. It is a popular area, but we found a good shady spot to spend the day, swimming from the rocky coastline. Zlatni Rt Nature Reserve near Rovinj In the late afternoon we drove into Rovinj again to have a good look around and to have an evening meal. We are finding that restaurant meals in Croatia are no cheaper than in the U.K.. We like seafood but fish is quite expensive. We therefore usually have calamari which is better value. Rovinj 8 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Pula, Croatia Pula is a Roman town about 45 minutes' drive from Rovinj. The main site in Pula is the fairly well preserved Roman amphitheatre. Unfortunately they were constructing a stage and screen for summer shows that somewhat spoiled the experience. They do this all too often at historical sites and there is never a compensatory reduction in the entrance fee. There are a number of other historical sites to see in Pula and we spent an enjoyable morning wandering around. See my blog " Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide " 9 July 2023 - Drive from Rovinj to the Dolomites, Italy It was a 7 hour drive from Rovinj to Ortisei in the Italian Dolomites. This was the last week of our holiday and I had booked 6 nights in Ortisei so we could hike for 5 days. I had skied in the Dolomites in 2017 and 2018 and was so impressed with the scenery that I wanted to experience the Dolomites in the summer time. We were grateful to be driving northwards from Rovinj as the traffic going south was very congested. I believe the school holidays in Germany have now begun and families are now travelling to southern Europe. Once we reached the Dolomites the mountain roads were a lot slower but the scenery was spectacular. The pictures below were taken on the final section of our journey through the Dolomites to Val Gardena. 10 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) The weather forecast for the Dolomites was good for the first 2 days and it was important to take advantage of it. We walked into Ortisei to buy a hiking map and then to the nearby Ortisei-Furnes-Seceda cable car. This takes you just below the summit of Seceda mountain (2,518 metres) in 2 stages. Unfortunately we had a late start and we didn't reach the top of Seceda until 10.30 a.m. By then Seceda was far too busy for my liking. As the Seceda trail was narrow it was difficult to pass people and therefore slow going. After an hour of walking the trail became a lot quieter and much more enjoyable. The scenery was spectacular. We walked to the Col Raiser cable car that descends to St. Christina and from there took a bus back to Ortisei. See my blog " Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites " for full details of our hikes We had pizza again for dinner. We are surprised by how few restaurants there are in Ortisei. We will probably eat at our apartment in future. It will be cheaper and it will avoid a steep 15 minute walk back to our apartment. 11 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Resciesa) We decided to start hiking as early as possible today and reached the Ortisei to Resciesa funicular just before the publicised opening time of 09.00 a.m.. Frustratingly the opening time had been changed to 08.30 a.m. so we could have started even earlier. Fortunately there were very few people and the funicular set off shortly after we arrived. Initially the mountains were obscured by low cloud or fog but it cleared after an hour. It was another very good walk. We walked down to the Ortesei to Furnes cable way and took the gondola back to Ortisei. It was a hot day so we bought some drinks and ice cream there. We had bought 6 day lift passes for Eur 135 each. We therefore decided to take advantage of them by taking the Alpe di Suisi cable car from Ortisei to Mont Seuc (2,005 metres). There is a fantastic view of Sassolungo from there. We walked for 1.5 hours on the plateau before returning to Ortisei. 12 July 2023 - Hiking in the Dolomites (Seceda) The weather forecast for today wasn't good. Forecasts in the mountains are often unreliable and as it was dry when we woke up we decided to do a hike. I had planned a walk near Sassolungo. That involved taking a bus to St. Christina and then a chairlift from there. Unfortunately it started to rain on the way to St. Christina. We sheltered in a building for over an hour waiting for the rain to stop but it never did! The rain just got heavier. We therefore took the bus back to Ortisei and ate our sandwiches in our apartment. The rain stopped at midday and we decided to go up to Seceda to walk on some of the trails we hadn't already done. The weather was fine in the afternoon and I wished that we had done a more challenging hike. With hindsight we should have had a relaxing morning in our apartment and then done a good hike in the afternoon. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Brac to Rab, Croatia - Week 11 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide Hiking in Val Gardena, Dolomites

Hvar Town Contents 29 June 2023 - Day Excursion on Brac Island to Sutivan, Vidova Gora & Skrip 30 June 2023 - Day Excursion to the Island of Hvar, Croatia 1 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Bol, Croatia 2 July 2023 - Brac to Rab Island, Croatia 3 July 2023 - Beach Day at Lopar on Rab Island 4 July 2023 - Beach Day on the Frkanj Peninsular near Rab Town 5 July 2023 - Beach Day on the Frkanj Peninsular near Rab Town Links to my Other Blogs 29 June 2023 - Drive on Brac Island to Sutivan, Vidova Gora & Skrip We drove around Brac island today and our first stop was the small town of Sutivan. It is very picturesque and not at all touristy. Lozisca Our next stop was the 778 metre high peak of Vidova Gora, which is the highest point of all the Adriatic islands. There were excellent views of the famous Zlatni rat beach at Bol and also across to Hvar Island. We took out our camping chairs and ate our sandwiches there. We made our way back to our apartment via the village of Skrip. Our guide book raved about the stone houses, but there weren't many of them and there wasn't much to see or do in Skrip! Our plan had been to stop at Lovrecina Bay for a swim. The road to Lovrecina's beach was very steep and narrow and we decided not to risk damaging the car. It was a good decision as I later saw on Tripadvisor that several people found the road to be very nerve wracking. See my blog " Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide " for further information on visiting the island of Brac. 30 June 2023 - Day Trip to the Island of Hvar, Croatia We had been to the island of Hvar about 16 years ago and really liked it. We therefore decided to take a passenger ferry over for the day to visit Hvar Town again and also the town of Stari Grad. There is a fast ferry between Milna on Brac Island and Hvar Town that sailed at 09.50 and returned at 19.10. We wandered around Hvar Town for an hour and a half before taking the bus to Stari Grad. We had 2 hours in Stari Grad before the bus returned to Hvar Town. This gave us enough time to see the old town of Stari Grad. We then had another 4 hours to explore and enjoy Hvar Town. We walked up to the fortress, which for some reason we hadn't visited the last time. It was a steep and hot walk but there were very good views. The cost of entering the castle is too high and like a lot of other people we didn't enter and enjoyed the views from the base of the fortress. Hvar Town was trendy and popular when we were last there and it is even more so now. It is still a very nice town but expensive. See my blog " Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide " for further information about visiting Hvar island. 1 July 2023 - Day Excursion to Bol, Croatia Bol is the main resort area on the Island of Brac as it has Zlatni rat, which is Croatia's most famous beach. It should have been a 45 minute drive to Bol from our apartment in Supetar, but there was severe traffic congestion in Supetar due to cars queuing to board the ferry. This delayed us by half an hour and made us aware that we must get an early ferry when we leave Brac tomorrow. Parking in Bol was surprisingly easy and we walked into the town for lunch. Bol is a very pleasant town despite not having many old buildings. Afterwards we walked half an hour from Bol to Zlatni rat beach along a very pleasant tree lined promenade. Unfortunately we didn't have our swimming gear and we decided not to go naturist! 2 July 2023 - Brac to Rab Island, Croatia Unfortunately there isn't a ferry from Brac Island to Rab Island. This meant we had to take a ferry back to Split, drive 4 hours northwards along the coast and then take another ferry to Rab Island. After experiencing yesterday's congestion at the port we got up early to catch the 07.45 ferry from Supetar to Split. There was no problem in boarding the ferry at this time and it took less than an hour to reach Split. The second half of the journey from Split to Rab Island was very scenic. After Zadar the road follows the coast through Paklenica National Park to the small ferry port at Jablanac. The long and narrow island of Pag across the water is very dramatic due to its stark and desolate terrain. There is an hourly ferry from Jablanac to Misnjak on Rab Island. We waited for about half an hour and boarded the next ferry. It was a short 15 minute ferry ride and then half an hour drive to our apartment in Rab Town. Our apartment was nice, but we soon found that we had a very noisy family above us. I complained to the owners who were aware of the problem as they lived in the apartment above the noisy family. They very kindly offered to refund our money for the remaining 3 nights. Fortunately I found another good apartment that had a cancellation. It was better than the original apartment, but was 50% more expensive. It was worth it and we couldn't have endured another 3 days of the noise at our original apartment. See my blog " UK to Greek Islands Accommodation - Part 2 " for further information about the apartment. 3 July 2023 - Beach Day at Paradise Beach on Rab Island It was a hot day so we drove 25 minutes northwards to Paradise beach near the village of San Marino. We rented sun loungers and an umbrella and spent 5 hours relaxing there. Paradise beach is very nice for families as it is very shallow and there are a lot of facilities. It was too shallow for us as we had to walk out very far to reach a depth of about 2 feet deep. Paradise beach was also too commercialised and busy for our liking. I have found that Rab Island is too developed with buildings everywhere. However, Rab Town itself is very nice and unspoilt. See my blog " Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide " for further information. In the evening we moved into our new apartment. It is very comfortable and also very quiet! 4 July 2023 - Beach Day on Frkanj Peninsula near Rab Town It was another hot day and I didn't want to spend it driving around the over developed island of Rab. We decided to have another beach day and to try the nearby Frkanj peninsula as it looked undeveloped. The Frkanj peninsula was only a 10 minute drive from our apartment in Rab Town and there was parking by a small taverna. We found a nice shaded spot a few metres from the sea and had a very nice day swimming and reading. In the evening we went to our usual restaurant in Rab Town and walked around the town afterwards. Rab Town has a vibrant lower section with shops and restaurants. The upper part has 4 churches with bell towers and an attractive wooded parkland to the east of it. 5 July 2023 - Beach Day on Frkanj Peninsula near Rab Town We went back to the Frkanj peninsula today as we enjoyed it so much yesterday. We have done a lot of driving and sightseeing over the last 11 weeks and just wanted to relax. Links to my Other Blogs Cornwall to Venice - Week 1 Venice to Serbia - Week 2 Serbia to North Macedonia - Week 3 North Macedonia to Greece - Week 4 Nafplio, Greece to the Peloponnese - Week 5 Peloponnese to the Greek Islands - Week 6 The Greek Islands - Week 7 The Greek Islands to Albania - Week 8 Albania to Montenegro - Week 9 Montenegro to Croatia- Week 10 Rab to Dolomites, Italy - Week 12 Dolomites to Home - Week 13 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 1 UK to Greek Island Accommodation - Part 2 Hvar Island, Croatia: Travel Guide Split, Croatia: Travel Guide Trogir, Croatia: Travel Guide Omis, Croatia: Travel Guide Krk Town, Croatia: Travel Guide Brac, Croatia: Travel Guide Rab, Croatia: Travel Guide Rovinj & Pula, Croatia: Travel Guide