The Pod Abroad: Saturday 19 May Campervan day one

Started our day with a 30 minute or so taxi ride out of Athens to the campervan depot at Nea Peramos. The drive was a fairly bleak one through the industrial wasteland surrounding Athens and the massive cargo port at Elefsina, just to the west. I guess this is where the negatives of tis much history comes home to bite - there has just been so much longer here for people to carve up the land and fill it with their rubbish. The poverty here is probably no worse than across much of Europe, but to our rural NZ eyes it is very noticeable. At one set of traffic lights a man with some kind if neurological disorder - severely hitching gait and tremors - was working the stopped cars, asking for change. Our taxi driver did not even flicker, but the kids were all wide eyes and shock - “what is wrong with him? Why is he doing that?” Where do you start to explain?

Anyway, we picked up our campervan and hit the road. Good thing we have had a bit of driving practice in the islands! It is quite easy to get used to driving on the right, but when it comes to heavy traffic, give ways and going around roundabouts the wrong way. it can get a tad testing! We headed down into the Peloponnese, stopping for a look at Corinth Canal as we crossed it, and on down the coast, reaching Epidaurus around 4pm. The main sight to see here is the Ancient Theatre, a huge stadium cut into a natural amphitheatre, famed for its excellent acoustics. We tested it by climbing to the very top row of seats and then sending one or other of the kids down to the stage to declaim some poetry (actually they just stood there saying inane things like ‘But I don’t know what to say”). Eventually Romy and Kia plucked up the courage to sing Soul Sister - so they can now say that they have performed in the theatre of Epidaurus!!

Got another few kilometres done toward Nafplio, and then turned off to the seaside town of Tolo to camp for the night. Campground uneventful other than the camp owner’s pack of large dogs, which spent a fair part of the night having a howling contest with the dogs of the town. Felt like we were surrounded by a pack of wolves. Thought longingly of the shotgun at home.