Travelling almost three days to our campground at Porto Ageranos – which is 10 kilometres south of Gythio – was a true delight. Last Wednesday, at the Feast of the Assumption, we started totally relaxed in Riemerling at 8.30 a.m.
It was a wonderful day for travelling. No trucks on the streets and no traffic jams, all the way from Munich to Venice.
After a leisurely car journey with nice breaks, we arrive at Venice in the afternoon. As always, Venice is bustling. Going on board, this time onto the Kriti II of Anek Lines, goes without a glitch. Immediately upon arrival, we are permitted to board the ship. The cooled small crate of beer we brought (a 5-litre can) has been opened in time for our departure at 6 p.m. and consumed together with the travelling fare we brought.
Another tasty dinner from the self-service shop and the first night at sea can come. We are staying in a four-person cabin. I share it with Barbara and our two daughters Anna and Maresa. Martin and Patrick found comfortable seats at the stern end of the ship on deck 6.
The Kriti II (a sister ship of and constructed in the same way as Kriti I) is not quite as high as other ferries. To make up for it, it is broader. The ship has a horse power strength of 32,000 and can do 22 knots. Its length is 191.8 metres, its width 29.5 metres. On 8 decks, you will find room for 1,477 passengers and 719 vehicles. The only thing you cannot read about in the brochure is the year of construction.
But regardless of its age, the Kriti II makes a good impression on me. Consequently, we enjoy a wonderful day on the ocean on this Thursday. In the afternoon, when the Albanian coast appeared portside, we experienced it as the high point of the day. Isn’t it just a dream how the ship literally sails past the land of the Skipetares and later, at 9 p.m., docks at Igoumenitsa? From there, we continue via Corfu to our final destination – Patras. The second night at sea, too, is very comfortable.
I also find it fortunate that the Kriti II does not arrive in Patras on time at 5.30 a.m. as the next morning dawns. Instead, the captain and crew are considerate towards their passengers and stroll across the ocean for some time. Finally, we arrive at Patras Harbour as the clock strikes 6.30 a.m. For us mere humans, this is definitely a better time for out-boarding than 5.30 a.m. would have been.
The rest of the journey towards Corinth and then south via Tripoli and Sparta is no problem. There is little traffic and no accidents. Just like last year, everything is just fine.
And yesterday, Friday afternoon, we already arrive at our favourite campsite of Porto Ageranos. The tents have been pitched, the bikes stand ready and the Kayak is also ready to go.
As we arrive at the campground, we notice that not a single car with a German licence plate can be seen. There are many Greeks, one French couple and an Italian family. That is it. Even earlier, during our drive here, we missed all those German licence plates. Normally they dominate all vacation travel, also in Greece.
Some way of other, Germans seem to have become a rarity in this part of the world. Not even the camper grandfathers were anywhere in sight. To be sure, I can only relate personal impressions. We, however, do get the impression that “The Germans” are now tending to avoid Greece as their destination during vacation time. Basically, I think this is a pity.
I hope that my impression is just a delusion. Well, it would be typically German if my fellow countrymen would now shun this wonderful country, just because of the EURO crisis (what exactly is this?), wouldn’t it?
As always, we had the impression that our Greek hosts were as friendly as ever. And we enjoy their goodwill and will not hesitate to reciprocate in kind. What a topsy-turvy Europe.
Now we will just enjoy being here. There will be nothing but living, letting things happen as they will, doing a lot of swimming, eating well, particularly fresh tomatoes, grapes, melons, fish… And plenty of bike tours – like today, Saturday, our first day, was already filled with a nice trip to Gythio. Incidentally, Gythio gets nicer and nicer: less rubbish lying around and everything looks a little more tended to. Yet, it is still completely free of all this terrible touristy look some Greek holiday resort islands suffer from.
And what is especially important: we will not allow anything to make us angry. And even if during the next two weeks the EURO will collapse – our world will not collapse!
RMD
P.S.
And as you can see on the picture, I am independent from the EURO even as far as electric energy is concerned.
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