Greece bares her gifts

The final drive through the mountains of northern Evia was the most taxing we undertook. The road surface was a mix of brand-new tarmac as smooth as Imola, with the refashioned bends carved here and there out of the rock to make them gentler. The remainder was old road, much less forgiving with numerous hairpins. Actually, going up wasn’t the issue – as with many mountain roads the actual gradient isn’t too bad – it the coming down, with brakes that rapidly fade if they get hot. But the excitement and beauty kept Carolyn distracted and I kept mum about the soggy pedal. My right quadriceps are bulging like Rambo’s. But Evia is certainly an island worth further exploration, although not in Lupetto.

Then it was but 80 km to the ferry with time for lunch and a swim. The stressed man loading the 5.30 ferry told us that we had booked a 4 metre campervan (which was too short by half) and he didn’t think there was room for us. It was a Friday and the Athenians, excited by the burgeoning sense of freedom as more and more of the country opens, and they get less risk averse, were intent on getting to the islands for the weekend. We watched with growing disappointment as an impossible number of cars and trucks disappeared into the gaping jaws of SS Theologos. I edged forward to a lot of finger wagging from the crew to remind them we were still there. Finally as the huge ropes were being relaxed we were ushered in to park with our arse up against the closing ramps.

As we drove off the ferry and found a place to rest Lupetto I looked at the odometer:

When we left home it was 53030. We had done exactly 5000kms, 3125 miles.

The reception on Andros was extraordinary. We were the first foreign tourists they had seen this year and all our local providers seemed genuinely pleased to see us. A few were e even prepared to hug. I couldn’t believe that it had been nine months since we were here. The potholes are the same, a few shops have changed, Michaelis has sadly died, Aurelio’s Italian is still closed and looks forlorn, but life goes on much the same. Sunday lunch at Kossi's still involves goat in a bag, kilos of red wine and dancing.

They have not had a case of the virus on the island, but how do they keep it like that and welcome the visitors who are their lifeblood? It is a tough one, and I don’t think we are at an endpoint. Lots of the locals here are vulnerable; obesity is endemic, with accompanying diabetes and hypertension, and the services won’t cope with a significant number of seriously ill people. The only way it will work is with ongoing control of arrivals and rigorous contract tracing and local control if cases arise.

Everyone – even the staunchest critics of Mitsotakis – congratulate them on their achievements, they just have to keep it that way. How you keep the ferries open and socially distance remains an ongoing enigma, but it is wonderful to be here. The carnage caused by crapping cats that somehow got into Spiti Karolina has been dealt with. I have stood looking at dead saplings that I planted in November to the shrugs of the gardener who wants to blame Poseidon or Anemoi, but the olives are looking good this year and for the first time for ages we are here for the mulberry harvest. Picking the huge bursting fruit is a fine game best done naked. You don’t know if they will yield and fall off or resist and burst under your tugging

So time to close the blog and look back on the last two weeks:

Carolina writes:

Masks don't seem to be new in Central Europe!

I have loved every minute of the travelling. Lupetto turns out to be a super camper van. It is spacious, comfortable and is well enough equipped. It is big and slow and noisy but to be set against that is the fun of driving a ‘vintage’ style vehicle with all its quirks and peccadillos. The confusion that we encountered especially from Italians, who couldn’t understand why a historic blood transfusion van was camped in Transylvania, was a joy. Would we have had as much fun in a modern campervan? Probably. But I cant see that it is something we ever would have done.

Then there are the countries that we have visited and the cities we have discovered. It is so easy to lump together the whole of Europe south east of Germany, and certainly the history either needs detailed untangling or leaving as a Gordian knot of impenetrable curiosity. But we did learn masses about the forces and factors that have left Europe with the political boundaries that it has. We also gleaned something of the national character and geography of places which before were just names on the map, and got a taster of some great cities, that are surely worthy of a second visit.

Then there is the weird contingencies facing the world just now. Somewhat tongue-in-cheek we set out to avoid the tiresome constraints of lockdown in the UK by 'escaping', but by travelling at this time we were able to glean how other countries were affected and how they were coping. We also had the privilege of visiting deserted cites and empty museums talking to people without crowds or hurry.

And mostly we have got on OK. But never let anyone tell you that navigating an 8 metre ancient bus through a foreign city isn't a cause of just the occasional expletive...

Mission accomplished; a chance to explore our effort at love in a time of corona.