Our four hour bus journey from Kalambaka to Delphi took us from north to south over two mountain ranges through the centre of Greece. It was comfortable and took us through the Amfissa Olive Grove close to Delphi. It is the largest continuous olive grove in the Balkans with more than 8,500 trees. All IContinue reading “Delphi”
Author Archives: kevinharkin7631
Meteora
The journey from Mount Olympus to Kalambaka was enjoyable. It involved a 20 minute local bus journey, a 15 minute walk, two one hour train rides and a ten minute walk from the railway station to the Meteora Centre Hostel. The train to Kalambaka was full. A large percentage of the passengers were Asian tourists.Continue reading “Meteora”
Mount Olympus
Day 136: We reluctantly took the decision to travel to Mount Olympus to climb the mythologically famous peak because it involved a gruelling six hour bus ride from Kyllini. We are now so pleased we made the effort. We stopped over one night at the Hotel Helena in Larissa, a hotel that is in desperateContinue reading “Mount Olympus”
Island Hopping
After our six week grand (bus) tour of tbe Balkans, we have undertaken a three week Ionian island hopping tour taking in Lefkada, Kefalonia and Zakynthos. We arrived in Ioannina on a bus from Albania. Sheila and I enjoyed two very comfortable nights in Hotel Kentrikon in Ioannina including, what I can only describe asContinue reading “Island Hopping”
Balkan Buses
Day 119: our six week tour of the Balkans has come to an end. It has been fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. We’ve visited seven Balkans countries and now feel we have a better knowledge and understanding of the region. I couldn’t finish my Balkan blogs without reference to the buses. We took trainsContinue reading “Balkan Buses”
Albania
We spent five days in Albania. Staying initially in Shkoder in the north before moving south the capital, Tirana. I have long held a fascination with Albania probably because it has been isolated and cut off from the outside world for most of my life. Since the fall of communism in 1991, the country hasContinue reading “Albania”
Kotor, Montenegro
Sheila has become our Accommodation Officer. She did very well in Kotor booking us a marvellous room just one minute from the Square of Arms. We spent two nights there in comfortable surroundings. We did the mandatory city walk. This one was short by city walking tour standards at just one hour. The Guide (hisContinue reading “Kotor, Montenegro”
Mostar, Bosnia and Hertzegovina
The tourist trail from Dubrovnik to Mostar.
Kosovo
Day 97 (14 weeks): Our brief seven day tour of Kosovo has involved visits to three cities/towns, Prizren, Pristina (the capital) and Peje/Pec. Quite by chance, our arrival in Prizren described as a cultural hub coincided with an annual film festival. That gave us our first challenge. The city was very busy. There were lotsContinue reading “Kosovo”
Skopje
What a fascinating city Skopje is. We spent four nights there staying in a comfortable hostel close to the Old Bazaar. Skopje 2014 was a major capital building project in the city centre organised by the Macedonian government, the main object of which has been suggested was a nation-building exercise. There were ancillary objects, toContinue reading “Skopje”
Matka Canyon
As a tourist in Skopje, you must visit Matka Canyon and so we did on Sunday. The Canyon is 15kms south west of Skopje and easily accessible by car, taxi and public bus. We took the 45 minute bus ride out of the city. It was a pleasant journey. The bus was full with localsContinue reading “Matka Canyon”
Exiting Bulgaria
Day 87. Sheila and I are back in Sofia en-route to Skopje in North Macedonia, where we go by bus morning. Wherever you get coffee in Bulgaria, be it from a machine or any type of establishment, it is always very good. I am not a connoisseur but it is the best coffee I haveContinue reading “Exiting Bulgaria”
Voditsa, Bulgaria
Day 76: 38% of Greeks smoke making them the heaviest smokers in Europe. Second place in the smoking league table is Bulgaria with 35% of the population smokers. Both countries have similar smoking in public laws as the UK e.g. one cannot smoke in a public buildings e.g. bars and restaurants. What makes Bulgaria aContinue reading “Voditsa, Bulgaria”
Sofia, Bulgaria
Day 71 of our adventure. My considered assessment is that it rates right up there amongst the most pleasant days of the trip. It was filled with fine walking, good weather and delightful people. What more could a man ask for. While we were in Greece, we decided to look for some voluntary work. IContinue reading “Sofia, Bulgaria”
The Isle of Idra
We spent two days in Athens and to be candid could not wait to leave the city. The weather did not help. It was 35°C. After spending the past two months hiking in the mountains, landing in a heavily congested city of 3 million souls during a heat wave was a bit of a cultureContinue reading “The Isle of Idra”
Hiking in Peneda-Gerês
I had not heard of the Peneda-Gerês National Park before we went there. So, I surfed the web to obtain what information I could. We were interested in hiking so thats principally what I looked for. There is only a limited amount of information on the web. And that is contradictory. Everything indicated that aContinue reading “Hiking in Peneda-Gerês”
Peneda-Geres National Park – Day 53
The Peneda Gerês National Park has breathtaking scenery. Pretty villages, pine forests and rugged mountains. It’s been a joy and a tonic to spend some time here. There was some excitement on Friday evening. Sheila and I were having supper on the terrace of our hotel. I looked up at mountain in front of meContinue reading “Peneda-Geres National Park – Day 53”
Vila do Geres – Day 50
We left Porto this morning after a splendid week sight-seeing. The last thing we did was visit the world famous Majestic coffee house. It opened in 1923 and was, at the time, the place for society types to visit and be seen. Now its full of American, Korean and Japanese tourists and is wildly overContinue reading “Vila do Geres – Day 50”
Porto – Day 47
The time has flown by. We left Finisterre to collect our left luggage in Santiago en route to Vigo. I liked what I saw of Vigo but as we were there only 24 hour’s. While we were there I encouraged Sheila and Finn to climb up to ‘El Castro’, a tanquil park built on aContinue reading “Porto – Day 47”
Finisterre – Day 42
We walked in to Finisterre tired and with aching feet on Monday 18 June after a 41 day, 950 km pilgrimage. My first observation is that I was not aware, until a couple of days ago that the furthest point west is in fact 3 kms outside Finisterre. That in itself was a significant issueContinue reading “Finisterre – Day 42”
Wandering Boomers 