Time to say goodbye

Time to say goodbye to the Peloponnese.

On reflection our substitute for Nepal was just the ticket. Rather than a pale imitation, we had a good contrast. Warmth when we would have been experiencing cold, comfort when we would have experienced the simple life , excellent and varied food versus a daily diet of dal bhat. Never mind that the mountains weren’t as high, they were still beautiful. And it was wonderful to have the sea.

We spent our last day chilling and having a wander around Diakopto. Diakopto has a strange vibe. Probably the town we felt least welcome despite the tourist attraction of the railway . It was far less cosmopolitan than the other places we visited and I felt that the locals would rather keep it that way. The people seemed elderly and possibly very scared of Covid.

Having said that, the seafront is extremely picturesque and with the sea bashing against the rocks, it felt quite wild and beautiful.

Today, on our way to the airport, we managed to stop and have a look at the Corinth Canal. It is deeply under valued as a tourist destination, in fact it was quite sad that such a historical and incredible feat of engineering was surrounded by nothing bar a couple of cafes and a scrubby bit of land with barbed wire.

Our journey to the airport wasn’t entirely stress free as the tyre pressure warning notification came on soon after we set out. Something I really appreciate about Greece (and Turkey) is that you are served at a petrol station which meant that rather than somehow having to find out what the pressure should be (our instruction booklet was all in Greek, which is baffling considering even the simplest details in the UK are translated into every language imaginable)then wrestle with an air pump, it is all done for you.

Another excellent thing when travelling on the motorway in Greece is that there are toilets not attached to a garage or cafe. They are clean and free. Germany take note with your incomprehensibly stupid system on motorways of having to pay for a ticket to enter the loo then get it reimbursed if you buy something. I just want a pee for God’s sake.

So here we are, sat on our very busy plane, waiting for take off.

If you are brave enough (or foolish enough depending on your point of view) to travel during Covid, put any anxieties you may have away and enjoy the experience of wandering around tourist attractions people free, going out for a meal and having attentive service, and staying in quiet, reasonably priced accommodation.

And as for the Peloponnese, it’s definitely worth pottering around.