Jane and Ken's 2014 Adventure: Day 100: Thursday 26 June

We couldn’t believe we’d been travelling for 100 days, the time had simply flown by.

I opened my email to find a very disappointing response from TomTom in Australia saying they don’t support Europe camper maps and to contact TomTom UK. I emailed them saying I’ve no idea why my email went to Australia, aren’t they the same company anyway and would someone respond to the five points I had raised around the problems we have been having?

The Greek air force’s wake up call came later today, it was 09:00 when we heard the roar of aircraft that sounded as though they were doing aerobatics above us.

Last night we decided that if we didn’t move on from Aginara beach there was a real danger we would be there for months. It was with some reluctance that we struck camp, filled Mabel with fresh water from a nearby tap and then drove her round to the grey waste disposal. The irritating gauge for the tank was now telling us it’s full when the last drop of water dripped out of the drain off valve!

We stopped near the entrance to the camping ground to hitch up Smarty and to empty the toilet cassette. I also spent at least 5 minutes washing the nasty black fruits off the soles of my shoes, I still didn’t know what they were, only that they would make a god substitute for super glue.

I went to pay. The woman that had greeted us so warmly when we arrived was looking at the map in the back of my New Zealand passport. She pointed to the north island and asked if that was New Zealand? I said it was, then to the south island – “Is that Australia?” I explained where Australia was relative to NZ. The bill came to €20 a night, the cheapest yet and very good value considering it included electricity, private bathrooms in the amenities block with hand basin, toilet and a shower with as much hot water as we wanted. I got another ‘bravo” for my attempt at thank you and goodbye in Greek. As we drove out we got a lovely wave from the woman.

Farewell To Aginara Beach

Water melons were being harvested in the fields near the camping ground. Passing through the nearby village men were sitting in groups passing the time of day.

Water Melon Harvest

Our first stop was in Kapidistriou to revisit the supermarket we had shopped at yesterday. We had put the location of a side street in the satnav and it got us there without a hiccup, although Jane wasn’t convinced Mabel would make the left turn into the street between parked cars. Jane went off to do the shopping while I locked all Mabel’s external lockers, something we had forgotten when leaving the camping ground. I also stuck my head out the skylight and saw there were hundreds of the sticky black fruits on it. I was worried they could damage it as they had done our mat and swept off as many as I could reach. There were ugly red stains everywhere.

Driving through Kapidistriou’s main street we passed three ATMs which eased our worries about finding more cash when we needed it. In a one-way street Jane came to what seemed to be an impossibly narrow chicane formed by a car parked on the left and a van on the right. I got out to investigate, a queue of cars was already building up behind. I thought we could just about squeeze through with help from Jane standing outside keeping an eye on the very tight gaps either side. Fortunately, the driver of the car arrived and reversed making the gap much more comfortable.

These Two Seemed To Have Run Out Of Petrol In Spite Of Greece
Having More Filling Stations Than You Can Shake A Stick At

We were soon on the E55 which was very quiet. Jane soon got the hang of driving on the shoulder to let cars overtake. Trees made the countryside look very green for such a hot country but as Jane said it was only early summer. The external temperature on Mabel’s display read 35°.

A Very Green Country

How To Drive In Greece - On The Shoulder To Give Room For Overtaking

Sixty kilometres after setting off we arrived in the town of Ancient Olymbia (the spelling is correct) a town that has grown up to service the needs of tourists visiting the nearby site of Ancient Olympia. It was busy with tourist buses clogging up the main street. Jane didn’t like the look of it and handed over command for me to drive the last kilometer to the camping ground.

Pulling in through the gates of Camping Diana we were greeted by a man, thin with white hair. He asked Jane our nationality and beamed when he heard taking excitedly – in French. I climbed out and we had a conversation in English, French and German, but mainly French. He shook both our hands and said he could do a special price, his philosophy was he wanted his customers to be happy. As we walked down the slope to find a pitch, he told me he was 91, he didn’t look it. He pointed to a great spot in the shade of a tree with more than enough room for Mabel’s awning and Smarty. He suggested we got ourselves set up and then go back and see him and he would tell us all about Olympia.

At reception thirty minutes later the man produced a map of Olympia, explained in his mix of French, German and English where the key sites were, the opening hours and the admission prices. They were all within walking distance of the camping ground. He produced a pad with an itemised list and proceeded to insert the price per person, for the campervan, etc. etc. The total came to €33 but his special price was €27. He asked if we were happy with that, he wanted his customers to be happy. We were happy. He explained where the chemical toilet disposal point was saying to take the path by the pool, but don’t empty it in the pool. He thought that extremely funny.

Back at Mabel Jane checked the Dutch camping ground app later and the going rate was €33. We had a late lunch of bread with tzatziki and taramasalata. It was very hot and Jane went up to the swimming pool while I used Mabel’s ladder to get onto the roof to sweep off the fruits and give it a good wash down. I joined Jane at the pool on a lounger and continued reading the fourth Roy Grace novel. It was stinking hot and we took frequent dips in the pool to cool off.