Schlepping to the mainland

Cristiana dropped mom and the luggage at the ferry this morning. That was all that could fit in her car. Dad and I walked down from Villa Ella, through the old town, to the port. While waiting for us mom saw the clock tower from the movie Mama Mia (where she posted the letters to her prospective fathers).

We still have all the luggage but the old lady has no idea that I am going to half it again and put the rest in a locker in Thessaloniki!

We left Skiathos early this morning, got onto the ferry and crossed the Aegean sea to Volos on the mainland. I saw a marble quarry, where different colour blocks of marble are cut out of the rock face.

We arrived in Volos and wheeled our luggage pass fishermen selling freshly caught seafood on the way to the station. We were just in time to catch the train to Larissa.

We trained through farmland, and saw loads of solar panels and bee hives, often placed at crossroads or close to train stations. Lucerne, mielies, wheat, oats and rows and rows of orchards with apples, pears and walnuts can be seen for miles. This is Intensive farming without a Klaas or a Madala. We often just saw two people on a piece of land harvesting onions.

At Larissa we changed trains to Paleofársalos, and then we changed trains again to Kalambaka, a town at the foothill of Meteora! We arrived and took a taxi to our guest house! Very clean and very cheap! up to mom's standards!

We strolled down to the Kalambaka town and ate another hearty greek meal, under the vines in the town square. Many greeks were there, bus load upon bus load, here to visit the sacred monasteries. We walked back up the hill and now the glorious oldies are Kaput! Kaput is a greek word!!!

I took them to Skiathos to get them fit, and they had to walk up and down to the old town twice a day! Mom, an asthmatic, now walks up the hill without ever stopping to use her asthma pump! That is so Amazing! I will only wish to be as agile as them when I reach their age. But I know I have their genes, so that is a good thing!

Up to now we have spent on average R250 a day! And we eat very well, and we have bought presents along the way! I can't go on holiday for that in South Africa. The further away you get from Athens the cheaper it gets! On this budget we will not spend more than R10 000 per person for 6 weeks. The lady in Jozi that sold us the train ticket called the Balkan express, said she has never sold one of these for the last 20 years! I checked on the Internet and it is rated as one of the best train experiences in the world! Our 15 day in 1 month Balkan Express train ticket cost us around R3500! And you sleep on the train between major cities. Definitely an affordable holiday! I call it our Balkan Safari!