A long day at 39 kilometres but an early start, a very slight breeze and a number of opportunities to stop for refreshment made for a pleasant jaunt.
By the time the large pink sun peeped over the mountains I had walked along the tarmac road to the village of Akritas and then along a gravel road which closely followed the border with the F.Y.R. of Macedonia. I did not hang around (despite a place that might have offered coffee in Akritas) as I did not want people to have suspicions that I might be a refugee looking for an easy place to cross the border. This first section was over hills, wooded in places but grassland or farmland elsewhere.
As I dropped down into the village of Eireniko I met my first herd of goats which took one look at me and headed into the adjacent field. The next herd of goats had a lady goatherd who shouted at her many dogs to stop them chasing after me.
The village of Metamorphose followed the village of Eireniko. Two men were siting outside a building that might have been a shop or a cafe or something different (especially as it had a bed in it behind a screen). However I asked for a coffee and a frothy one was duly served, which I drank while observed by a group of cats.
It was along a tarmac road for a while, no great strain as it was not busy as I walked past farmland burnt dry by the summer sun. In Prontoeraklea there was a row of cafés in the square, so as it was now getting hot I stopped for a Coke, and as they had cake, well how could I not have a slice, and as a scoop of ice cream was suggested.....
There were little shrines like miniature churches in many of the gardens of the houses in the villages I had passed through in Greece and often by the roadside as well. Each village also had a human size church with white walls and red tiled roofs. In fact most houses had white walls and red tiled roofs but the churches had rounded domes and a tower for the bell.
As I walked on along roads through various villages I found I was keeping pace with a man with a truck selling fruit. In response to some question of his in Greek I randomly told him I was going to Polykastro. He pointed the obvious way down the main road but I pointed to the hills where the E4 was going (according to the GPS track I had downloaded). It took me along dirt tracks up to the top of the ridge and then south with views across the sun bleached countryside. In the distance the blue grey hills were a faint outline against the hazy blue sky. At my final village of Peykodasos it was a lemon drink and a croissant "sandwich" then downhill to a river.
The path was then meant to follow the river downstream but its start was difficult to find. One result was that I slipped on a steep slope to reach it and now have splinters in my right hand. I found the small path which become a larger dirt track which passed what might have been an assault course and an army base. This lead me to the town of Polykastro, the biggest since I left Sofia, and the Hotel Astro.
Now having stocked up with food for the next few days and enjoyed a meal at a taverna I am finishing my beer, and watching the people walk by. The taverna's music is trying to compete with that of the taverna next door with results you can imagine.....
By the time the large pink sun peeped over the mountains I had walked along the tarmac road to the village of Akritas and then along a gravel road which closely followed the border with the F.Y.R. of Macedonia. I did not hang around (despite a place that might have offered coffee in Akritas) as I did not want people to have suspicions that I might be a refugee looking for an easy place to cross the border. This first section was over hills, wooded in places but grassland or farmland elsewhere.
As I dropped down into the village of Eireniko I met my first herd of goats which took one look at me and headed into the adjacent field. The next herd of goats had a lady goatherd who shouted at her many dogs to stop them chasing after me.
The village of Metamorphose followed the village of Eireniko. Two men were siting outside a building that might have been a shop or a cafe or something different (especially as it had a bed in it behind a screen). However I asked for a coffee and a frothy one was duly served, which I drank while observed by a group of cats.
It was along a tarmac road for a while, no great strain as it was not busy as I walked past farmland burnt dry by the summer sun. In Prontoeraklea there was a row of cafés in the square, so as it was now getting hot I stopped for a Coke, and as they had cake, well how could I not have a slice, and as a scoop of ice cream was suggested.....
There were little shrines like miniature churches in many of the gardens of the houses in the villages I had passed through in Greece and often by the roadside as well. Each village also had a human size church with white walls and red tiled roofs. In fact most houses had white walls and red tiled roofs but the churches had rounded domes and a tower for the bell.
As I walked on along roads through various villages I found I was keeping pace with a man with a truck selling fruit. In response to some question of his in Greek I randomly told him I was going to Polykastro. He pointed the obvious way down the main road but I pointed to the hills where the E4 was going (according to the GPS track I had downloaded). It took me along dirt tracks up to the top of the ridge and then south with views across the sun bleached countryside. In the distance the blue grey hills were a faint outline against the hazy blue sky. At my final village of Peykodasos it was a lemon drink and a croissant "sandwich" then downhill to a river.
The path was then meant to follow the river downstream but its start was difficult to find. One result was that I slipped on a steep slope to reach it and now have splinters in my right hand. I found the small path which become a larger dirt track which passed what might have been an assault course and an army base. This lead me to the town of Polykastro, the biggest since I left Sofia, and the Hotel Astro.
Now having stocked up with food for the next few days and enjoyed a meal at a taverna I am finishing my beer, and watching the people walk by. The taverna's music is trying to compete with that of the taverna next door with results you can imagine.....
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| Stop for a coke and cake at Prontoeraklea |
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| Some of the many wayside shrines |
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