Corinth and Athens

Steven here, taking the reins while Linda takes a break.

With just a couple of weeks left in Greece, we decided to focus our attention on two major destinations: Corinth and Athens.

We were the only ones at the camperstop in Corinth when we arrived and we could pick any spot we liked, all of which were varying degrees of uneven. We made our choice and, as we were getting settled, another motorhome pulled up. There were plenty of spots scattered throughout the campground but our new German neighbors decided to pull up right beside us. Maybe they also spoke French and figured we’d make good camping buddies.

A page from the Safety 101 for Campers manual warns that you should never leave your electrical cord coiled up while it is plugged in. The heat that’s generated can cause a fire. Our neighbors obviously didn’t get the manual because they pulled out a big, brand new electrical extension coil and plugged it in without unraveling it. Before long, the entire thing went up in flames. The guy sort of stood there with his hands on his hips just staring at it. Linda suggested we go out and offer him our fire extinguisher, but I wanted to hold off because I was kind of fascinated by his nonchalant reaction to the mini inferno. His wife stuck her head out the door to ask about the smell and I gathered he casually mentioned that their cord was on fire. The owner of the camperstop came over to extinguish the flames and offered another extension cord. All was well in the end, although Linda was on high alert all night worried that another fire might spontaneously erupt causing us to have to scramble Bijou to safety.

We have seen our share of ancient ruins during our tour of Greece, but we were really impressed with Ancient Corinth. Without getting bogged down in the dense history, let me quote a quick summary from worldhistory.org: Corinth was a Greek, Hellenistic and Roman city located on the isthmus which connects mainland Greece with the Peloponnese. Surrounded by fertile plains and blessed with natural springs, ancient Corinth was a centre of trade, had a naval fleet and participated in various Greek wars. The biggest attraction for us was the Temple of Apollo which dates back to 560 BC. It is the most intact of the ruins with its still-standing seven columns. Once again, we were the only tourists there for most of our visit and the weather was gorgeous.

When we were done, we checked out some of the gift stores and went into one that had a huge variety of recreated artifacts from Ancient Corinth. Each item was beautifully hand-painted. The shopkeeper, who invited us to take a look at the workshop in the back, was extremely knowledgeable and shared a lot of history with us, explaining the stories and the times in history depicted on the plates and vases.

As we browsed the store we were a little surprised to find painted scenes that were extremely pornographic. Surprised is a bit of an understatement, Linda did a few wide-eyed double-takes and we both tried not to linger too long when we came across something particularly graphic. I can imagine what we both looked like from across the room: heads tilted, mouths agape. Back in classical and ancient times, folks were apparently much more open-minded regarding sex than we are today. When we were done browsing, we bought a few non-pornographic souvenirs, enjoyed a nice lunch and headed back to Bijou.

Our next destination was Athens, with a stop at the Corinth canal on the way. You should check out the canal on Google Maps, it’s kind of cool to see and it clearly shows how the Peloponnese peninsula was essentially lopped off of mainland Greece and technically became an island. The modern Corinth Canal was built from 1882-1893 to connect the Gulf of Corinth in the Ionian Sea with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. The planning of the canal had been going on for centuries and included some well-known folks: Julius Caesar considered it, as did Caligula, though he was assassinated before he could take action. It was Nero who finally started digging. Well, not him personally, except for the ceremonial first bucket full of rubble, but then he died and everyone lost interest. Unfortunately, the canal never really developed into the marvel it was intended to be. It was dug along fault lines so the walls are somewhat unstable. It is narrow, and modern ships were built with more width than the canal can handle. Today, it is mostly a tourist destination, and here we were, getting our selfie.

After leaving the canal we made our way into Athens. Having learned her lesson, Linda extensively studied the route as she would be driving just 3 kilometers from the center of this city of 3.5 million people. City driving is not our favorite thing to do, so we wanted to make sure we knew what to expect.

Camping Athens was still closed for the year so we found only one place that met our needs while we visited Athens, Parking Remiza. It is a busy parking yard with giant buses coming and going at all hours of the day and night, but it was close to the center of town and had everything we needed. And, considering its location, we thought the price was reasonable at €25 per night. We were settled in beside a big coach within a few minutes of our arrival.

We were plugged into electricity and fresh water was convenient from a nearby hose. The shower room was equally close. We had to alert the office about 15 minutes before taking a shower so they could turn the hot water heater on. Once inside the shower room, it resembled a closet you would typically find underneath a staircase. We had to hunch over to avoid the angled low ceiling and the hose was perched on the wall so that it kind of hit you with a horizontal stream. It was a bit of a physical challenge but at least the water was hot.

In order to empty our toilet cassette, I had to walk through the office with said cassette, go all the way to the back where the workers had their lunch break and empty all our black goodness in the men’s potty. I tried to confine that activity to early in the morning before anyone got there.

The “good wifi” we had read about was non-existent. Also, despite being there for 10 days, the guy at the office told us there was nowhere to empty our gray water. That required some creative problem-solving and that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

The day after our arrival was Monday and we had planned to go into the city to get Linda’s sunglasses. You may recall she had the lenses redone and sent to an optical store in Athens. It was a little far to walk so we dusted off the Uber app and ordered ourselves some transport. I must say, Uber proved to be a godsend while we were in Athens. It was super cheap to get around and, not having to worry about fumbling for change and trying to communicate in Greek made the whole thing much more enjoyable.

The new lenses were perfect for Linda and the guy was really helpful and made sure everything was perfect before we left the store. A few doors down, we found a hair salon and Linda decided to get her hair chopped off. Personally, I think it’s the best haircut she’s gotten in a long time. She really liked it too.

Even though we had kind of decided to visit the Acropolis and see the Parthenon later in the week, the weather was great and it wasn’t too far on foot so we decided to just go. After a good lunch where we had an interesting chat with an American couple, we headed up the hill for another afternoon of ancient ruins.

The ticket line was short so we didn’t have to wait long and, when we got to the top, it is not an exaggeration to say that it was glorious. There is a reason why this is a world-class attraction. I always hope there won’t be scaffolding around these great structures, but the truth is, there’s always some kind of maintenance going on. It’s probably why they are still standing. The Parthenon was partially covered in scaffolding and there was evidence of construction elsewhere but it really didn’t distract from all there was to see.

I think the most surprising views to me were the ones of the city of Athens below. It wraps around an entire 360 degrees and there are no skyscrapers in sight at all. Instead you see a sprawl of flat white buildings that stretch all the way to the distant mountains. It’s just an amazing sight. I couldn’t help taking what felt like about a thousand photos of the same scene. The whole experience that day surpassed our expectations. With just a few kilometers between the Acropolis and Bijou, we decided to walk home. Along the way, we found some really interesting outdoor vendors, more ruins and an abundance of beautiful architecture. There are few places you can go in this part of Athens that don’t grab your attention.

A couple of weeks before arriving in Athens we had booked a service appointment for Bijou. The roof vent above our living room sprung a slight leak. We weren’t sure if it was a gasket or something more serious. I had made some McGyver-style repairs back in Rome using my trusty duct tape but it didn’t help. The place wasn’t far from Parking Remiza but getting there was a logistical nightmare. It was on the opposite side of the highway and we had to find an exit to get turned around way past the stop. Google Maps had suggested we go the wrong way down a busy one-way street and then walk there across the train tracks. Good job we checked! When we finally got there, we sat in Bijou outside their workshop while the guy replaced the gasket. He spoke no English but gestured for me to climb up on the ladder when he was done. While up there, we noticed that there was a significant crack in the plastic frame. He fixed that up and Bijou is now as good as new.

Our next big planned event in town was a walking/food tour, but we had a few days to chill before that happened. In the meantime we stayed home to get some things done. While out on our morning strolls we got to know our wonderful little neighborhood called Akadimia Platonos, literally meaning Plato’s Academy. (Yes, THAT Plato!) It became a ritual for us to walk to the local bakery, order a Freddo Cappuccino and buy a selection of treats. Within one day the barista knew our order (mine with sugar, Linda’s without) and the other lady gathered the cookies and pastries we chose. Linda coveted the Artemis drink blender that was used to make our coffees. It is not a matter of “if” she gets one, it is a matter of “when”. I just hope she doesn’t toss any of my stuff to make room for it. On our last day in Athens, the ladies at the bakery gifted us a big fat loaf of delicious olive bread. How sweet is that??

The other place we loved to visit was one of the local pharmacies, across the street from the bakery. Over the days we were there, Linda was provisioning for our upcoming walk in Italy. Panagiwta, the pharmacist, and assistant Katerina learned our story and knew of our planned hike. They helped us make decisions on important items and some not so important. Linda and Katerina bonded over just how much “red” was in the lip gloss. A lot, it turns out, just as Katerina warned. When we returned to the shop for one last item and to say our goodbyes, the ladies cheerfully posed for a photo.

With our nomadic lifestyle it isn’t often that we become part of a community, but in just a few short days, that’s exactly how we felt. We decided if we ever find ourselves back in Athens, even if campgrounds are open, we will return to Parking Remiza and Akadimia Platonos. Our time there was a highlight of our visit to Greece.

On the day we had scheduled our food tour, Athens was teeming with protests. Not about the Ukraine invasion as we originally thought, although that was a small part of it, but most were centered around privatization of local businesses. Union members and their families and fellow supporters numbered in the thousands around town. I think it’s the most people we have seen gathered in one place since before the pandemic.

We met our guide right on time after walking into town. It was another gorgeous sunny day and we were raring to go. This was a private tour so it was just the two of us and the guide. The interesting thing about this particular tour is that it is tailored around the participants. Some people like to walk a lot, some don’t. Some like to visit the main attractions, others are more drawn to the off-the-beaten path curiosities.

Our guide brought us through the huge central marketplace. Fish, meat, fruit, vegetables, leather goods, souvenirs, etc. You name it, you could find it here. We stopped at a coffee shop for a couple of Freddo Cappuccinos which were quite good, but not as delicious as the ones from our favorite neighborhood bakery. Also, they were served in paper cups which I suppose is good for the environment but it was an odd choice for a cold drink. We walked with our beverages and learned about various streets where the shops specialized in just one thing. For instance, the stores on one of the streets we walked through only sold door and cabinetry hardware. After visiting a lovely church, we sampled a few handheld pies, filled with meat or cheese. We sat in a nearby park to eat our pies while watching the protests going on all around us.

These were peaceful demonstrations so it was kind of fascinating to take it all in. After we wolfed down our pies, we were on the move again up some old winding neighborhoods and finally into a literal hole in the wall entrance to a tucked away restaurant. We wondered how folks would ever find this place, but by the time we left, it was packed. We sampled a few local specialties, a warm dip made with lentils, fried cheese stuffed with very thin slices of meat and some tasty Greek meatballs and some of the famous tzatziki sauce. Saving the best for last, we headed to the famous Lukumades to sample the utterly delicious fried dough topped with honey, almond and ice cream.

The tour lasted over 3 1/2 hours but it was enjoyable and the time flew. We said our goodbyes to our guide and then returned to the central market for some veggies so we could make a Greek salad for dinner. We Uber’d our way back to Bijou feeling full and happy. That was the last big thing on our must-do in Athens list. It was time to look forward to the days ahead as we began to prepare for our upcoming pilgrimage. We were a little sad to leave Athens, our adopted community and even the busy bus yard. It was a fabulous 10 days.

Now for some art! I decided I wanted to capture another of our favorite places in a painting, this time it’s of Riomaggiore, part of Cinque Terre in Italy. If you would like to see more, you can keep up with what I’m doing by following my Visual Art page here.

Next up: The Via Francigena.