Dear Diary
(very tedious for everyone else to read)

25/6/03 Day 1
Collect the van from Wadhurst.
Up to London to pick up my stuff.
On to South Reston (Lincs) to see the Boultons - and knock back a few bottles of wine.
Sleep in the van for the first time! Not too bad, especially after the wine.

26/6/03 Day2
Left South Reston, about an hour or so later I was in Gibraltar! And I hadn't noticed the channel. Oh, Gibraltar Point, by Skegness, never mind, time to go south.
Well after a fairly indirect route I end up following the coast from Dover through, to beyond Worthing

27/6/03 Day 3
Worthing to Portsmouth, then a couple of laps of the dock to find the new P&O offices to book a ferry. Spain? How much!?! Ok Cherbourg then, ferry leaves in 3 hours (mid-day). Once through the check-in it's time to sort out those headlight deflector things. Yeah right, the instructions for post 1980/90 cars only, not a 1967 Australian built split screen V.W? Oh well, guess those Johnny Foreigners will have to put up with it.
The ferry crossing was as delightful as always (with the presence of various school trips!)
Time now to plan the route (while waiting to disembark), ok Spain was going to be the original beginning, so down to Spain it is then. I'd like to make it clear now that I am a tight git, who is aiming to do this trip with out paying a toll (anyway, this camper isn't really at home on motorways), so it's off to Caen, then south through Flers, Laval towards Angers.

28/6/03 Day 4
Right, today the aim is to get down to Perigueux. Apart from finding a nail in the tire (no problem, my old landy had several in its' tyres for months) the taps not working (loose earth) and a very annoying loud rattle, things seem to be holding together well, and at not exceeding 55mph I'd hope so!
The rattles, solved it by putting some toilet roll behind the number plate, not a perfect fix, but I didn't bring any blue-tack.
Whoo-hoo, just got 30.6 mpg out of the last tank. Ok, I admit at an average of no higher than 50mph, but hay, I've got more time than money.
It's now 7pm (I think) and I’m cooking a meal and it's still 35C, hmm nice…

29/6/03 Day 5
Ok, the second batteries not well again, the 10amp fuse has blown again, checked the wiring, put a larger fuse in, and we'll see what happens.
Today the Pyrenees, through Agen, Auch to Lourdes, picked up a hitch-hiker who didn't appear to like sitting on the wrong side of the car and with no seat belt or bonnet for protection, they got out in the next town!
From Lourdes it was on to Spain, via the Col's d'Aspin (1489m), Peyresourde (1569m), and the ‘what ever it's called’ that takes you over the Spanish boarder to Bossost. Stunning scenery, lots of bikes (motorized and peddle) along with plenty of time swapping between 2nd and 3rd gear-up at 25-35mph, down at 22mph in second as I have the original drum brakes and have more confidence in engine breaking.
Well I've now parked for the night, fed and washed (it may be in the high 30's during the day, but these Pyrenean rivers are damn cold!), and the second batteries not charged again. It may be the fridge is pulling too much electricity, I'll think about it again in the morning!

30/6/03 Day 6
Ok, Spain, cloudy, very windy (the van was actually blown backwards up a very slight incline in a lay-by), under-developed (I thought the roads in the U.K were bad) and over-subsidised (a very nice new bridge built over a dual carriage way, so a farmer could park his combine -there didn't appear to be any other access to the parking space.
On the positive side, fuels cheaper than France and traffic lights are easier to spot.
As for the journey, from Bossot down through Benabarre, Huesca, Tudela, and Tarazona, interesting roads these, the road atlas shows them to be secondary roads, but how this can cover dual carriage ways and narrow winding, and undulating lanes, I'm not too sure.
On to Soria, round Valladolid, and after several driving violations (no police fortunately) through Zamora (I would like to see a street plan of that place, just to prove that the sign posts didn't send you on a sightseeing tour before finally letting you out again! Ending up just outside the Alcañices.
Oh another thing, the birds (feathered kind) are suicidal! One small something had a go at the bumper at about 40mph, then an hour later a sparrow wanted to suicidaly make it's mark, and left a dent in the roof.
Oh, electrics are working now, it just need a major charge up. Having said that I haven't checked it for a couple of hours.....

1/7/03 Day 7
Portugal, well the northern part is hilly, and that’s an understatement! Average speed can't have been much higher than about 30mph for several hours, and hardly a moment in a straight line. It's certainly a beautiful country even if some of the roads are a bit bumpy (I only got airborne once, not good for the champagne!)
Road building; I'm not used to them keeping the roads open while they rebuild them, dodging the dozers and road rollers while driving over gravel and rock. However when they do close a road, the diversion signs are a bit sparse (like non-existent), still a bit of "Zen navigation" and guess work gets you there, and via some amazing old cobbled villages.
As for the van, the electrics are fine, but the wipers (first time I've used them, but at least it was only 10 mins) leave a bit to be desired above 20mph. As for today’s route, no idea, most of the villages aren't on my map. Basically it was east to the middle, then in a very round about route south west-ish to about 150km North east of Lisbon.

2/7/03 Day 8
Today started nice and early, courtesy of a friendly knock on the window at 4am by a policeman, who wanted to let me know about the fire risk (I think that’s what we talked about, as we really didn't understand each other) and then waved and left.
When I headed off, it was to try and get to the most Westerly point on mainland Europe (on the sticky out bit past Lisbon. As I said earlier, I don't like paying tolls, but it's a bit tricky round Lisbon. As for my road atlas, like I've said, not to detailed, in the end I entered the co-ordinates on the GPS and followed the arrow. Yes there were a few wrong turns, but a couple of fantastic short cuts, to the annoyance of the people who had to overtake me again!
Eventually I got there, stretched my legs and headed back to Spain, to get to the most southerly (and yes I did pay 2 tolls to get back round Lisbon).

3/7/03 Day 9
This morning I carried on through Sevilla and then south to Tarifa (most southerly town on mainland Europe, then on to Gibraltar. Gibraltar was very confusing it all looked British, but with Spanish driving rules, and very narrow too. One way? Ha! Not any more, oops. Yes I saw the apes, went up the rock and popped into Safeway’s as well. Very adventurous, ok I forgot to get any salt before leaving England and it was handy Ok?
After going back out through customs, I didn't go to Morocco, tempting though the idea was, as it could clearly be seen across the straits (maybe next time), but this time I’ve still got Greece and the artic circle to visit.
Then it was on up the Costa del Sol, or Costa del Golf but more like 1 city a mile wide by about 60 long, still inland is beautiful. I'm now stopped for the night at the top of a cliff with the about 200ft drop below me, and my nearest neighbour parked similarly, about 1/3 of a mile away with waves breaking the sun setting and the grasshoppers chirping. Who needs Malaga?

4/7/03 Day 10
There are still areas round the Costa del Sol that aren't tourist resorts yet, but you do have to look for them, as you won't pass through them! Still it's nice to find almost deserted beaches so the hunt is worthwhile. And no I haven't actually travelled very far according to the map; in fact I haven't made it as far as Almeria yet.

5/7/03 Day 11
Ok, I admit, I spent most of the daylight hours on a beach, south of Valencia with a book.
So far on this trip I've seen 2 bay-window campers, 1 split and 1 beetle, and only the beetle wasn't parked. So these things aren't very common round here. As for the beetle, it was a nice little F-reg on GB plates. At least I'm not the only one to do this.

6/7/03 Day 12
All’s going swimmingly, on my way to Andorra. Just got to the top op a nice little 1000m+ climb and the rear tyre went down. No problem, change the tyre, pull back onto the road and the charging light hasn't gone out. Bollards! Must be a loose wire from. Err no. Fine find a garage? Err it's Sunday, ok town ahead, find somewhere to stop and if I can't sort it, hope someone there will tomorrow. And that was after greasing the steering this morning, that'll teach me to do routine maintenance!

7/7/03 Day 13
Hmm, no wonder we sank their Armada, no courage! Well, ok that is unfair, but I've been sent from Alcañiz ("no, too small a town") to Zaragonza to Barcelonia in search of someone to fix the charging (about 350 miles without the dynamo charging). After some interesting communications at various garages no one know wanted to look at it, as they all said getting the parts would be difficult at the best (well I think that’s what they said).
Ok only thing to do know is to find a campsite, and get the bits couriered over from the UK (hopefully).
I don't know if I went to the wrong places, but could I find a campsite? After following the coast South I found on about 40 miles down from Barcelona. Which is only about 60 miles from where it broke in the first place. Still tomorrow is another day.

8/7/03 Day 14
Long live VW heritage, the parts should be here Friday or Monday, looks like a week reading and sunbathing. What a shame!

9/7/03 Day 15
Read, ate, 2 pools, 2 restaurants, 1 bar (San Miguel is cheaper than in London - No surprises there) and a supermarket.

10/7/03 Day 16
Read, ate, sunned.

11/7/03 Day 17
Looks like I'm here for a few more days, no dynamo. Oh well at least I should finish "the lord of the rings", been meaning to read it for a while now.

12/7/03 Day 18
Another day of blue sky, sunshine and pleasant warmth, well mid 30's anyway. It even dropped as low as 27 in the van last night. Good thing I've 2 sleeping bags. Oh and I finally finished 'The Lord Of The Rings".
Great thing technology. No battery means no light, but I do have mains (220v from the camp site) so I finished the book by the light of my laptop, at last I've finally found a use for P.C’s - as torches.

13/7/03 Day 19
See the last few days.

14/7/03 Day 20
The dynamo and regulator turned up this afternoon. Fiddly isn't it? Getting the little blighter out. Then of course, "Anybody got a VW112 tool (or 35mm spanner)? Oh no, not a hope and it's now 6pm. Oh well another night then...

15/7/03 Day 21
Right then, let’s find a garage in Vilanova that can swap the fan from one dynamo to the other. The garage I was sent to by the campsite only washed and rented cars, not fixed them. The next one was a fine though, and 10mins later I was walking back to the campsite with 2 dynamos in my rucksack, and the guy that swapped it over refused any payment, marvellous people these Spanish! Back at the site, everything swapped over and the battery was charging again. Amazingly despite doing all of this on gravel I didn’t loose anything, Oh hang on, where’s the......

16/7/03 Day 22
Left Vilanove at about 10am, heading to Andorra. The mountains were beautiful. Cataluna, Andorra and Pyrenees-O-Rales. The towns in Andorra seemed be made up of the largest number of motorcycle shops I have ever seen.
I did think that the van was loosing power and struggling with getting up the hills, until at the top it said 2408m (that’s about1.5miles high). I let it off! Coming down was interesting too, especially the D118 from Mont-Louise to Quillan. St Georges George was pretty impressive.
Ok I haven't covered a huge mileage today, but the scenery, being in the clouds and all those narrow winding rock enclosed roads sure beat the motorways!
I'm expecting problems with the van tomorrow. I've just swapped the repaired tire and changed the oil. Oh well...

17/7/03 Day 23
Left the foothills of the Pyrenees aiming towards the town of Gap in the southern Alps. Staying on main roads until Avignon, then on more 'interesting' roads to Gap. Ok Gap wasn't the town I thought it was when I used to come this way on the Monte Carlo Challenge. Easy mistake, not to worry, at least I'm heading for Italy anyway. Currently I'm sitting by a river on a very narrow and rough ridge of a track (which is the main road), stationary because somewhere ahead the road is blocked (accident?) and there are still cars coming up behind me, after an hour.

18/7/03 Day 24
Italian road signs and drivers, crap. The road signs can normally be found possibly behind a tree or after the junction. They can also be found on the road you've just come along, pointing back to the town you were in but not indicating what the next town might be, and when you find a sign saying what might be coming up it may well be abbreviated without any punctuation, so it looks like a different place altogether. As for the drivers and mopeds, they all act really shocked when their skills and judgement don't match their abilities.
However, where are all the ugly women? I went through Livorno in the evening and not a trog in sight! Do they get locked up on Friday nights? Damn fine law!
As for Italian roads, either stick to the toll roads (A roads are toll roads as I found out-but I got off at the next junction) or the SS roads, even these though can become very twisty and undulating. If you try the scenic routes, be prepared for a rollercoaster surface, hairpins galore and more 700m+ climbs than you know what to do with. Absolutely great fun and not much traffic, but where there the hell am I?

19/7/03 Day 25
Ok lazyish day today, follow the coast, ever been to an Italian seaside resort? Totally opposite from the Costa del Sol, more like Camber Sands. Really quite pleasant even if I did burn my feet on the sand when I was walking back to the van. After visiting a few of the beaches (uglies are allowed out on Saturday morning), time to wonder inland a bit to Lake Boisene, find a shower and then work out how to get to Greece.

20/7/03 Day 26
I've given up on trying to navigate using smaller roads seeing as they just aren't sign posted consistently, and are nigh on impossible to follow without taking detours to other villages and towns. So I've finally resorted to the toll roads, and even then I had 'fun' trying to find the correct turn off from Rome ring road to Napolili. But at least the petrol stations are open.
I even saw another Type 2 (bay window) on the road today, first one I’ve seen being driven since Cherrbourg, and a couple of other G.B plated cars, first ones for a few of days.

21/7/03 Day 27
Had a visitation from the Cabinari last night, well sort of. They came into the lay-by at about 1am with lights and siren blaring, did a tyre melting circuit and left again.
If ever you drive from Taranto there aren't any petrol stations, which is why I was camped at a picnic site just off the toll road. The fuel gauge was getting very near the bottom of the scale, and being late on a Sunday night I thought I'd better not push my luck.
Got to Brindi without too much trouble (for a change) and even found a ticket office and the port easily. Got a return ticket to Greece (104€) leaving at 10pm, and I can even sleep in the van on the crossing. So I spent the day by the beach, reading. I'm going to run out of books if I'm not careful. Harry Potter 1 didn't take long, time to hit the last remaining 700+page book I've got.
Hmm, sleeping in the van on the ferry, well at 32.4 C and humid it's a bit like trying to sleep in a sauna with a bit of diesel added for the aroma. Also a few campers have got their air-cons on making it even more unpleasant for the rest of us, not to mention the noises and vibration of the ferry itself.

22/7/03 Day 28
Well the ferry docked at I'm not sure what time, as the timetable said it should have been 6am, my watch said 7 and I think it was 8 local time. Off the ferry and lo! Road signs in Greek and English, and to think the Italians couldn't even manage them in one language!
Greece is a beautiful country, very similar to Northern Portugal, but pointier! The mountains are steeper, and the roads are better, either quite good tarmac or just gravel, rather than trying to tar everything once and leaving it to degrade. These gravel roads, great fun, but I must remember that nail in my front tyre.....
There are also a lot of VW type 2s here, saw more this morning than during the rest of the month, so I might try and find somewhere to do a service on the van, it has been nearly 6000 miles with only 2 punctures, dead dynamo, and a quick reset of the points (this morning).

23/7/03 Day 29
I hope tortoises are indigenous to Greece, other wise I've been overtaken by the same one three times so far!
I think I've seen Mount Olympus today, not too sure but it looked to be the highest and the right distance and direction, so I'll claim I have.
Still having minor problems with the engine timing on over-run, and it would appear the gearbox has sprung a very slight leak. Might be an idea to find a nice campsite and check them out. Also, I really want to check the brakes, as this has never done so many hills and mountains, especially seeing as it's from Oz, which isn't renowned for it's 2000m+ mountain ranges.
It would appear that I accidentally drove up Mount Olympus while looking for somewhere to camp for the night, and was it fun! Late at night on a very steep and rough track, I didn’t notice they were actually still building the road until I came down it again! Some of the hairpins were so steep I had to slip the clutch in first to make it up and round them. Then ending up in a monastery at about 1am, not good, especially with the even louder exhaust, oops!

24/7/03 Day 30
Oh yes, there's also the little point of the falling-off exhaust as well. Hopefully a baked bean tin and jubilee clip will fix that.
I went through Athens then long the north shore of the Peloponnese, talk about clear sea! The road ran right along the shore for many miles, absolutely amazing. I'm now in a campsite, with several other VW's (wedges) about 1 min from the beach and 45 secs to the nearer of 2 bars. Oh life is tough! And I've just been invited over to the VW next to mine by 3 very attractive Italian girls for a meal.
Note. The sea is NOT warm at 3am

25/7/03 Day 31
Bit of a hangover this morning, which is the first for a month.
Yes the exhaust is broken and no I haven't got any tool that can undo the filler and drain plugs on the gearbox either.
But the weathers fantastic and the beach is very pleasant.
It also looks like I've missed 24-hour sunlight in Norway.
Spent the part of the evening being Italian (logical as I'm in Greece), then got involved in the after dinner making of The Blair Witch Project, I didn't really understand what the story line was, but I think it was the inflatable Orca that did it and the stuffed Kermit was the victim. Must be an Italian thing.

26/7/03 Day 32
Said goodbye to "Poor Dog" the small mangy campsite stray (as it had been christened), and the young lasses next door. Then followed the coast.
It's Saturday, where did Friday go? Had a look round Olympia, quite impressive, though it's a shame some areas had been "tided" up and the stones put together in types. Otherwise a wonderful place to visit. I was surprised by the stone used as it was full of fossilised seashells, not what I was expecting.
Anybody have a rough idea of how many tonnes of rock mankind has moved since we stopped swinging from trees?
So I'm now just up the road from Pylos at a campsite (€7 a night, sea, pool, restaurant etc) so I expect I'll stay here tomorrow and get the punctured tyre fixed on Monday. The exhaust will have to wait till I get back to the UK, a reminder of accidentally driving up Mount Olympus on some of the steepest hairpins I've ever come across to the monastery.

27/7/03 Day 33
Sat by the pool, checked the brakes (well the front, as I can't get to the back ones. Might have improved my windscreen wiper, the blade doesn't stay in contact with the glass when lorries go past (slithers of plastic coke bottle between the spring and roller should help a bit).
Change of plans now, not that there were any, but tomorrow it's up to Nafplio for another Pasta with Italians.
Saw some clouds today (3!) but they soon went away again.

28/7/03 Day 34
Went to the Dirou caves, it's about a half hour guided boat ride round these caves, and they're covered with stalactites, some large, but areas of them are so small that they look like fungus, and there's almost no rock visible anywhere in cave. What's strangest is when you walk out of the exit, there's only a rocky hill behind you, and the sea directly in front, with a narrow path leading back round the promontory.
Headed back up North to Tolo for the supper, the things I do for a free meal.
Van seems Ok, got the puncture fixed (new tube €10, a third of the price of the last one). Actually over took quite a few cars today, must have been a tail wind!
Went down to the town in the evening for a few drinks, I still can't get used to going out drinking at midnight, instead of staggering in at that time. Good thing I don't have work in the morning! Still I think we called it a night at about 4

29/7/03 Day 35
Oh dear another hangover, another beach day, the sea is just sooo clear, I don't know how far you can see in the water, but it a lot further than in the English channel!

30/7/03 Day 36
See day before

31/7/03 Day 37
Left Tolo, had a wander around Nafplio, with its squares, cafe's and harbour. Also a collection of castles one covering a small island in the harbour, another atop the hill overlooking the town, and a third a little way out.
Ended up staying in a campsite about 30km south off the road to Leonidio, down a very narrow twisty lane. Then ate way too much chicken and onion!

1/8/03 Day 38
It rained! 2 whole drops! Don't like this Greek weather. At the same campsite as last night (Thirea) and the guy that runs it certainly is a miserable git who doesn't like foreigners. I now see why most of the visitors here are Greek!

2/8/03 Day 39
Headed south this morning to Monemvasia. Got a little concerned with the lack of fuel stations in this part of Greece, also the road signs tended to be just in Greek, but yet again, another day of picture postcard scenery.
Small Greek towns do have tendency to include some very pretty narrow streets and very few one way systems, Leonidio being a good example, also the lack of any signs makes for interesting times, just follow the most travelled roads and hope! Seams to be working so far.

3/8/03 Day 40
Stayed at the campsite today, beach 30ft behind me, blue sea and sky, sheltered bays and lots of sunshine, nice little campsite restaurant, hard life.
Met an 'interesting' American, Naomi. Who used to travel round in splitties when they were new, an old hippy with some alternative opinions, but nice enough all the same.

4/8/03 Day 41
See yesterday, went out for meal in the PM, Tarot reading (Naomi!). Fantastic house near the restaurant, with the sea on three sides, pool, seating area and a 20-foot shear drop to the sea.

5/8/03 Day 42
See the last few days.

6/8/03 Day 43
Took Naomi and some boxes to the local shipping agents, she's returning to the States after 25 years. Then went along the coast a bit where a mad German waved me down and started talking Vws, as he hadn't seen a splitty for many years. Ended up giving him a lift to an English/Greek couple so they could see the van, and to pick up his phone charger. After asking where I was staying, they asked if I knew Naomi. Small world.

7/8/03 Day 44
It's been a while; puncture number 3, same front passenger as the last one. This time though I'm already at a campsite. How long 2 weeks? Maybe it would have been worth paying more than €10. Oh well, I'll change tyres tonight, and sort it tomorrow.

8/8/03 Day 45
Took the last couple of Naomi’s boxes to the shipping agents. Got the puncture fixed, another €10. Then went to the 'almost' island of Castro. It's almost an island because it's connected to the mainland by a bridge about 250m long. The town is amazing, no cars as the streets are to narrow (between 1 and 3m) with steep steps with low tunnels. The towns been there since 800ad but it's been inhabited for over 3200 years, a very beautiful place. But an iced coffee and milkshake cost €8.50
Then a good lunch at a taverna in Montemvasia, the food is so fresh in Greece (2 meals and soft drinks €12.50, see why I mentioned the previous drinks!). Then a quick trip along the coast till the road ended at a church, again surrounded by the sea, apart from a narrow causeway. Then back to the campsite. Stressful day......

9/8/03 Day 46
Oh bugger! Went to Molai for a quick look, then down the west coast to Neapoli. One section along the coast (the route I took anyway) was about 30 miles and took the best part of 2 hours as the dirt roads were a bit rough to say the least. Spent an hour or so on a beautiful pebble beach with clear calm sea. During this 3 hour period, no other cars or people anywhere.
Following the success of that journey, I decided to try and get back to Monemvasia along the even more scenic route. Well it was very pretty, but all these interesting dirt roads going off all over the place......
Yes, I was following a graded dirt road.
No, there weren't any sign posts.
But, the GPS was pointing home, and it certainly was fun!
The graded road had disappeared on several occasions, but it always turned up again after a while. Still following the GPS, only 3km to the campsite (it was 20km by tarmac) the road got a bit narrower and went through another Olive grove, this had happened several times, no problem. Then it went round a hairpin and disappeared into an Olive tree. Ok not a lot of room, but time to turn round. Well, unfortunately, there was a rather large loose rock hidden under the dirt, and when I drove over it, it twisted and sent the van sideways about a foot. No worries, still a couple of feet from the 6-foot drop, a quick reverse and it'll be fine.
4 hours after digging, jacking, propping and swearing it was indeed fine. Apart from numerous blisters (digging a van out with a stick is hard on the hands!) and a slightly bent jack, there really wasn't any reason for it to slip, apart from the rock the jack was on split. And a broken aerial from when the van finally moved more than 6inches and there was no way I was going to stop and clear a low Olive branch, so the aerial was a casualty.
Moral of the store? Well, I wonder if you can get sand-ladders, a winch and an inflatable Jack under the front seat.
All good fun!!

10/8/03 Day 47
Oh dear, the blisters, cuts and splinters are really showing today. Thank goodness for Savlon! Needless to say I didn't go anywhere.

11/8/03 Day 48
Finally left Monemasia today, made my way round the coast to Petalidi. Didn't get stuck, but had a little detour trying to find a coast road that didn't exist. On the map it showed it, but in reality it was a cliff face, so I decided not to bother.
The area Mani was stunning, especially around Porto Kagio, where you were on a mountain ridge with Greece behind you, sea to both sides and the final mountain in front.
Just been talking to a guy who came through Eastern Europe and Turkey, sounds fun. I was thinking of Turkey anyway, after all it's just to the right. Having a look to see what’s involved, about 8000 miles. But that includes popping into Milan for Lunch!

12/8/03 Day 49 *
Carried on along the coast through Pilos, a lovely town with a great harbour to watch the fish in and a square to watch the world pass by, not sure about the ruined castle which seemed to be made up of churches, but great views from there. Then on to a campsite the other side of the bay by a sand atoll with sea turtle nests.
Met an English family who had travelled extensively in their youth (I'm about the same age and feel old writing that!), with interesting stories, especially about Turkey, maybe I'll pass this time, I think it would be sensible to have a travelling partner, also insurance can be tricky, especially in the east. Still there’s next year, and I do want to visit the town called Batman, and why not?

13/8/03 Day 50 *
Moved on further round the coast, found another nice campsite with a great beach and friendly people. Got my second offer to buy the van today, from a German. It was with great pleasure as I explained that it had been built in Oz using many locally manufactured parts (over 50% I think)
Read Homers "The Odyssey" but a different translation to the previous one, with a few differences, still it's a damn good book and reading it in Greece by the sea with islands in front of you does add even more.

14/8/03 Day 51 *
Read a couple more books.
I must say I could really get used to doing this all summer.

15/8/03 Day 52 *
Up to Tholo, not sure what was going on, possibly a local festival but no one seemed too sure, but the churches were full and a few fireworks went off in the evening.

16/8/03 Day 53 *
Still in Tholo. It’s Mr Abbo’s leaving party next Friday and I've still got a bottle of very shaken Champagne to celebrate it with. Question is where? Milan? Fairly confident of a few drinks there, but it would mean getting a move on, which I'm not really into, as you may have noticed!

17/8/03 Day 54 *
Didn't realise it was Sunday (I thought it was Thursday, oops). Anyway finished off a Tom Clancy I seemed to have missed. Also spent a while trying to fix the noises emanating from the back of the van. The first, a whirring on start-up was taken care of by simply giving the engine covers a good wiggle and tightening it all up again (this noise followed some serious wheel tramping during the olive grove incident. The second is the exhaust, well 3 jubilee clips and about 3m of silver foil and it's better. What do you reckon, 18 miles until it blows out?

18/8/03 Day 55
Ok the palm died today, so lost some entries for about a week (all marked *but re-done from a hazy memory). Still it's better the Palm die than the van!
So today I went from Tholo up the coast, then inland past Olympia, to Levidi, which had been recommended. Yes it was a pleasant mountain town, but Pilos beats it for atmosphere, and there have been many prettier towns and villages.
Next stop was Tripoli, great fun. Narrow roads, big campers with lots of very slow moving traffic. The town itself is one the better cities to visit, though parking might be a problem.
After Tripoli it was back to Nafpilo and to the final "finger", I missed it last time. I really don't want to leave the Peloponnese, but I'm running out of places and time. Anyway through Nafpilo to Epidavros, with it's amusing and huge theatre, also all the 'hospital' buildings from 3 or 4C BC. It also had a sports stadium from this period that for some reason you weren't meant to photograph until 1-9-03. Maybe it's the new Olympic stadium (bit small and the stone seats might not please everyone!).
From here it was south to the coast and follow it round to a suitable campsite.
One thing that today’s little trip across Greece has shown, is how close to desert some places are already, and that’s before the predicted long-term water shortages occur.
As for the exhaust, 132 miles before it was burbling like a trouper again. Maybe thicker silver foil....
Ok, well it's just hit midnight and the temperature is still over 29C. The last few nights have been nice at about 24C with out mozzies and open windows, unfortunately none of that applies here.

19/8/03 Day 56
Well it's all in the direction of home from now on, unless I do make it to Finland.
Left the campsite at 9am, followed the coast to Korinthos crossed the ship canal and headed along the coast again (not to Athens). After a detour to see Gias' Tempel, bit of a problem, as the map was wrong and it was actually someone else’s resting place, oh well. Then on through Delfi. Now those ruins you couldn't help but see as they were right in front of you as you come round the corner on the main road. After that it was pretty much on round the coast on the more major roads back towards Igoumenitsa and the ferry to Italy.
I wasn't planning to go straight there, but here I am, at the port, just having watched my ship sail away, never mind there'll be another one tomorrow.
An indication of today’s roads, 12 hours driving and 480 miles covered, looks to be an average of 40MPH, twisty, hilly and narrow covers most of this mornings journey, during this afternoon they weren't quite so narrow.

20/8/03 Day 57
Well it's goodbye Greece, after finally locating the check in, which is obviously not going to be in the check in hall, but in the town, I'm now booked on the 10pm ferry.
Had the final visit to a Greek beach where I parked the van in the shade of some Eucalyptus trees (to remind the van of Oz), and wondered round the last of many fishing harbours that I've been to.
Had a cunning thought, I need a business that enables me to spend the summer here in Greece, then have the summer again in Oz, now that would be the way to do it......
There's a good reason for heading back to Italy though, I'm on my last book.
I think the exhaust silencer has had it. The last of the remaining welded pipe has broken, and ripped a chunk out of the muffler, something makes me think this may cause a problem in some countries, lets just hope my GB sticker and lack of language skills gets me home with out trouble.

21/8/03 Day 58
Another lovely ferry crossing, though positively chilly this time at only 32.1C this time. At least I was parked by the stairs leading from the lower card decks via the "open deck" to the rest of the ship, so with the vans door open a warm draft would blow through. I've also worked out (yeah, slow I know) when you know sleep is going to be uncomfortable, don't bother with setting the bed up just sleep on the rear seat, that way your in more discomfort and don't notice the heat so much! Although when you wake up your pillows will still be as wet as though you were suffering a major Malaria attack.
Guess what? I followed the coast! Around the 'heal' of Italy, through Galipolli and on a bit. It appears that there was a national holiday on the 15th and most of Italy has this week off on holiday. So those narrow streets on the costal resorts are pretty busy at the moment.
My feelings towards Italian road signs remain the same, even following the coast it can be interesting.
Haven't seen another 'proper' VW camper, unlike Greece where they were prolific. But the reaction I get in this one is fun. One guy did a double take then watched the van go past with his mouth open. Then when I found a campsite, the guys on reception decided to come out and have a look. I doubt they do that with all the big white boxes that normally turn up!
I think I'm going to try for Finland, I've got 1 month left and it's only about 5000 miles, and I did that distance in Oz on a Harley in 9 days, and that included Christmas day as well! No worries

22/8/03 Day 59
Finally managed to leave the campsite at 9 after trying to find where to pay for 20 mins, then headed to Taranto then on to Pompeii.
Well things were going fine till about midday, when despite the fuel gauge pointing to just under 1/4, the engine died. Fortunately there was a dirt track leading off the dual carriageway, which the van managed to make it to. Also I'd noticed a dodgy little fuel station shortly before. So I collected all the really valuables and some water, then started walking. The fuel station was 7km away, but about half way I got a lift on the back of a moped, naturally I had my Akubra on, so that was fine for a crash helmet. Interesting fact, unleaded fuel nozzles fit very nicely into soft drinks bottles with no spillage. So after filling 5l worth of water and coke bottles, I was very kindly offered a lift back to the van and told there was another fuel station about the same distance down the way I wanted to go. As it turned out, yes it was there but it didn't actually have any fuel, but there was another about 10km further on, well why go back? As it happened it was there, and did have fuel. I guess I had a good 3l still in the tank. It also suggests that I've been very close to running out on a few other occasions. Live and learn!
After that it was just a matter of getting to Pompeii, as I've said before Italian road signs are crap. Fortunately the £99 GPS system was quite handy, follow the signs until they stop, then drive round in increasing circles (as plotted) until you find the place. Ok I could have pulled over and dug out the coordinates, but that wouldn't have been much fun. A bit like trying to get through Taranto this morning, lovely bits to the town, especially along the sea front and castle areas, shame I needed to do 2 loops to find the way out again!

23/8/03 Day 60
Navigation, forget the road signs, tiny villages have the same importance as major cities and it is random as to which is posted at junctions. So with that it was out of Pompeii, diagonally across to the east coast then on the auto route for most of the afternoon. Nearly 500 miles later not far from Milan I stop for the night.

24/8/03 Day 61
Through Milan at 8am, very quite, can't think why, past Monza and Sondrio towards Bormio. I don't think I've spent so much time driving through tunnels.
Found a campsite, no one seemed to have the faintest idea on where spaces were, also not actually sure which country I'm in, I think it's still Italy, and going by the organization, I guess I'm right.
Greek campsites were under €10 a night including hot water, here there more like €15, still that one in Spain was nearly €20.
Thunderstorm and rain! And by midnight the temperatures down to 22C, think I'll need my woolly socks soon.

25/8/03 Day 62
Left the campsite in glorious sunshine and 17C headed through Bormio and over Stelvio (1757m) then freewheeled down to conserve fuel!
Got a bit carried away driving. After coming down the Alps and filling the fuel tank I sort of found I was in Austria, and the road signs, WOW the pointed in directions, before the junctions, were easy to read and were basically useful. Also as summer is moving on, time to get North, so out of the Austrian alps and on through Germany to nearly Hanover.
Please note, after all the dust of the previous 10k miles, when you use the heater for the first time keep the windows open! Clouds of it came through.

26/8/03 Day 63
Well that was Germany. Now Denmark, why did I think they used Euros here? Had to do a bit of detour when I saw a sign stating that the toll for one of the bridge crossings was 245 kroner, so it was off to find a bank.
They do know how to build bridges don't they. After the 7km tunnels of yesterday, to the 7km bridges today, I've seen some impressive roads.
Well Denmark was pleasant, very agricultural mainly grain by what I went through, where as Germany seemed to be a large amount of forest. Though I haven't seen a vineyard or Olive tree for a couple of days.
Sweden, quite long, and most of the road signs point to places that will take about a day to get to, still looks like fun, even if it's cold, cloudy and apparently closed by 7pm.

27/8/03 Day 64
You know those clouds I mentioned yesterday, well they're dropping stuff, lots of it, and it's very wet. When I say my windscreen wipers work, I mean the sweep back and forth, sometimes they even come into contact with the screen, but not often though, just enough to keep the top 2 inches smeared and sort of clear. Still can't complain, at least it gives me an excuse to park in a lay-by lying in bed, under a sleeping bag and blanket, wearing a jumper too. I do miss the warmth!
Well the rain carried on an off for the rest of the day, at times quite heavily. So much so that the van looks almost clean now, and the wheels are even white again!
Sweden. Wooden houses (all red cedar in colour), with lots of trees, some lakes and more trees. Even saw a splitty this morning going south!

28/8/03 Day 65
Sweden continued to be wet cold and cloudy. I didn't bother to stop at the hubcap museum. One thing that has surprised me about Sweden and that’s the standard of peoples English, I mean it's on a par with the Dutch, which we all know is better than an average English persons.
Finland, well so far pretty similar to Sweden. Though I now know where Santa’s Post office is, and that’s right on the edge of the arctic circle, as I passed it on the way to finding a place to stop for the night.

29/8/03 Day 66
Finland and Lapland continued in pretty much the same vain as Sweden, though the houses aren't all red cedar in colour, some are yellow.
Had a bit of trouble getting cash, my Visa cards aren't accepted at the ATM's. Fortunately the switch card is also Maestro, which is. Could have been fun.
North through Finland, past the reindeer and into Norway, where the country side gets much more rugged. I estimated that if I fuelled the van before I entered Norway, I could get away with one fill up to return to Finland, and avoid Norwegian Kroner to go with the Danish and Swedish I all ready have. Unfortunately you have to pay a toll to get out of the tunnel to the North Cape, and again to enter the Northern most point, so god knows how much is being racked up on the credit card in exchange costs.
But hey I've made the most northerly point in Europe, and for about 10mins I was the most Northerly person! Then frostbite set in, so I hid back in the van, parked it in a more sheltered spot, and camped down for the night.
Says a lot for my eating habits. I used my cooker for the first time since Greece, though it might even have been Italy. Surely I've cooked since the Safeway visit on Gibraltar?

30/8/03 Day 67
Ok, so that’s west, south and north done, now for east, which by my guess is somewhere beyond Lieksa back in Finland.
Today started cold, 2C in the van, good thing I had that blanket to put over my head last night! So back to Finland, and after yet another oil change and a points adjustment. Followed by giving way to more reindeer, a hare, an eagle of some form, several gulls, another points adjustment, lots of sheep, yet more reindeer and finally a points replacement.
As far as the weather, well it's still cold though most of this morning was dry with 20 mins of sun! But it's rained all afternoon and evening. Oh well 600 miles done.....

31/8/03 Day 68
So it's off to the east. Well the most eastern road is the 522 that runs from Lieksa to Ilomantsi, and after another chilly night that's where I went.
The atlas wasn't too clear on which is the most eastern town, it looks like Hattuvaara, but just outside the town is a sign pointing east to Niemijavi. So off I went. Now the road was your normal Finnish dirt track and it went past several farms and buildings. Then another track branched off with a gate across it and a sign saying something about frontiers and no access. So I carried on the one I was travelling for a while longer, until that is it turned to mud. I guess that’s as far as I go, but at 31.5E I'll call it a day. Just checked on a map and you really can almost call it Russia.
So after a swift celebratory Mars bar, time to head back to Milan for a Pizza

1/9/03 Day 69
Sweden's long, 500 miles and I haven't got to Stockholm. Having said that I don't appear to have any working credit cards either! Despite actually being in credit on both of them (didn't think I'd still be able to say that!). Fortunately the last fuel station took Euros (€51! what exchange rate was that!). So now after looking at lots of pine trees for the last 12 hours I'm parked at Angersjons, which I coincidentally stopped at on the way up, to wait till tomorrow to find out why the cards are stopped. If they say "unusual spending pattern" I think I may be a bit rude down the phone (which I'm also paying for). Even when in credit they still cost you money.
Anyway, after waking up just inside Finland it was time to give the ignition a proper service (fuel economy has been dropping over the last week, along with 'performance'). So replace plugs, HT leads, Dizzy cap and rotor arm (all before 8am) then over the next few lay-bys get the timing sorted (change it fractionally, any better? If not repeat until it’s ok).
Sweden, the sun shone! Almost all morning! And none of my cards are giving me cash, they did previously?! It's along country, with lots of pine and silver birch, and some lakes. Other than that, errrr....

2/9/03 Day 70
At least I got to lay-in waiting for the credit card centre to open, and yes it was "unusual spending pattern". It only took 67 days to notice I was using my card abroad for petrol, well that gives me confidence, or something!
Still at least the sun is shining, and I should be able to buy petrol again!
Sweden does improve with sunshine, and it's not all pine trees and lakes, in fact across the southern area from Stockholm towards Gotenberg it's farm land, as well as trees and lakes!

3/9/03 Day 71
Left Sweden in the rain, which continued through Denmark, except the winds picked up making the bridge crossings very entertaining, in a death wish sort of way (1000 Danish Kroner should see you across both there and back, and a tank of petrol will get you across the country).
Germany, weathers better.

4/9/03 Day 72
Germany doesn't really do much for me, so I didn't bother to stop, and carried on to Switzerland or Austria or was it Liechtenstein? In fact it was all 3. Got stung for the Swiss road tax to the tune of €30, still not a bad sunrise after 1000 miles in 23 hours. Though the van's having a little rest at the moment, just cooling his pistons. Still got a little bit further to go, then find a campsite somewhere.
Had a bit of a worry with the van, it seemed to be having a lot of difficulty with some 'minor' climbs once in the mountains. Turns out they weren't as minor as I thought, and the views were spectacular.
I'm now just outside Milan (5kms) so you can do Malmo, Sweden to Milan in a day.
It is amazing the difference 1000 mile makes. About 10C, and I know which end of those miles I'd be happier with!
Ended up going to the coast (Genova) turning left and finding a campsite in Chiavari, after passing along some of the Italian Rivierea. Which consists of pretty much one long city all along the coast. Imagine the Costa Del Sol but on steep hills and with lots of style.

5/9/03 Day 73
Had a wander round the town in the morning, tracked down a copy of the latest Harry Potter (sad, but it's a holiday) and read it.
It also rained in the afternoon and evening. NOT ALLOWED!!!!

6/9/03 Day 74
Warm and sunny! Much better. Still not sure where people go in the evening, it all seems very closed. Initially I was expecting more street cafes, but I think I’m getting confused with Greece.

7/9/03 Day 75
The streets of Milan make Portuguese roads feel like bowling greens. Uneven cobbles and tram tracks that have a tendency to throw the van around a bit, to say the least!
After a few hours looking round Milan and a pizza, back to the coast, this time towards Turin, turn left until the sea then go right - running out of unvisited coast now!
Followed the road until a suitable campsite came along (in Albenga).
This coast road is quite narrow in places with steep cliffs rising up, so the narrowness of the van is quite an advantage. The result was I got stuck behind a Ferrari! Not often that’s likely to happen again.

8/9/03 Day 76
I eventually found an Internet point. The first I came across was being redecorated. Tourist Info pointed out 2 more, one shut the other not there. Then I found a fourth that was open. 752 emails in one account, all junk. 1 in another, and my Hotmail had been deactivated, as it hadn't been checked for so long! Oh the joys of email...

9/9/03 Day 77
I've escaped Italy, and I hardly got lost! I think I finally understand Italian road signs. They may be near a junction (before or after, left or right, high or low) or they may not. If they are, they're probably pointing in the right direction, but not always. In other words, use your own judgement (and a compass) to navigate. If you are in accordance with the road signs then there is a reasonable chance you're going the right way. It also helps if drive properly, as in the Italian way, with cutting people up, and diving off the road to get the right turn off being perfectly acceptable.
Carried along the coast back to France, via Monte Carlo, through Nice (very pretty), Cannes and on towards Ste Maxime where I found a campsite by the beach. Which is very important when there's a thunderstorm going on around you! In all, about 150 miles in 6 hours. The French do love their traffic lights!
I guess this is now 'out of season', prices are down and the campsite's only half full.
Just hope the thunder and rain clear up tomorrow.

10/9/03 Day 78
Well it's pretty much the end now, just the return home via Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland. As long as the weather holds, I'll stay here, finish my book (lord of the rings, for a second time) and head back. Oh well.... At least it’s hot and sunny again.

11/9/03 Day 79
Warm (mid 20s) and sunny but a bit breezy. Haven't moved on.

12/9/03 Day 80
Not a cloud in sight, and the Mistral has dropped, other than that same as yesterday, cold (Greek speaking) sea, warm sun and a fair few more pages of Lord of the Rings read. I guess this is now my last week of the trip. Oh well, there's always the next one.

13/9/03 Day 81
I guess the summers coming to an end, thin cloud all day, but still warm and bright, finally clearing during the early evening for a few hours, then a fantastic thunderstorm. Very loud, especially inside the van!

14/9/03 Day 82
Bright sun, blue sky’s and a hell of a wind, the calm but chilly seas of yesterday were crashing against the beach defences and the sand was quite unpleasant at times. While I was having lunch at one of the beach cafes, the lifeguards were called out when I guess someone got swept off or on to one of the rock piers/beach defence thingies. I think the paramedics had a look at him too, though they've been quite busy today going back and forth over the bridge behind the beach.

15/9/03 Day 83
Another very windy day, with bright sun and blue sky’s. Went for a wander along the coastline, very rough sea and rocky shore, then came across a rather nice sailing boat on the rocks, not the best place to moor! According to the papers, the weather today will be glorious sun at 27C despite on the on shore breezes, so if 30mph winds are breezes, this place will be fun when it gets windy!
By the afternoon the wind had dropped, giving me the morning to update the photos (seemed to have missed Austria, Germany and Lichtenstein, with only one in Italy, oh well, I could always go back….

16/9/03 Day 84
A much calmer day today, no sign of a surfboard anywhere, but then no surf either. I really want a fried breakfast now, with 'proper' sausages! Still finished Lord Of the Rings, now on to Harry Potter and The Order Of The Phoenix again.
Currently sitting in the van after a fairly good veal at the camp restaurant, thinking how cold the evenings are getting, not on a Scandinavian level by any stretch, maybe that's why I'm thinking of a fry up!
I've also just had to fly spray the van to remove a few errant Mozzies, like many a night. But I still can't stop sneezing afterwards, maybe I shouldn't spray so much, but looking at the instructions on the tin, I'm no wiser, it's all Greek to me!

17/9/03 Day 85
Another beautiful day by the coast. Gave the van a quick once over and adjusted the clutch. Still undecided on a new colour scheme, I'd like to keep some of it green, but I also like silver. Maybe silver upper and green lower with a silver lacquer? Not sure, anyway a new exhaust, quieten down the gearbox and a waxoil come first, after crawling round underneath it I'm still impressed by how little rust there is....
If you believe in things happening in threes, last night the second bulb blew in my torch, and the laptop dies and turns it self off at start-up. That’s two, I'm hoping the dead dynamo bush’s from Spain were the third!

18/9/03 Day 86
I guess that's the end of the Mediterranean for a while, as tomorrow it's head back towards home. In theory, getting to London after lunch on Saturday (free parking after 12). Well at least it was another glorious day, blue sky, calm sea, and wonderful sunshine.
All I need to do now is figure out how I can make a living round here, maybe if I had a yacht.......
Ah well, maybe not this year. Still the vans been swept, most of the stuffs been neatly packed away. All my clothes fit into one pillowcase easily, where as the books I've read, most of them at least twice, only just fit into another one.
So it's just head north through the low countries tomorrow, then over the channel on Saturday.

19/9/03 Day 87
Oh damn, time to return to England.
It was very tempting to accidentally miss the turning north, and end up back in Barcelona again, only 500km. But no, off I trot to complete the final leg of the trip and whiz (!!) through Luxembourg, Belgium and Holland. Maybe I should have looked at the map a bit earlier as it's a fair old haul, it turned out to be just over 1000 miles on the route I took.
Interesting little journey to Luxembourg, got over taken 3 times by an English guy in a Triumph TR4a, then got pulled over by Customs between Lyon and Dijon, where the van was searched by 3 officers for about half an hour. And to think I was worried about my broken exhaust!
The drive turned into another non-stop thrash (60mph for quite a lot of it!), ending in Calais Sat morning.

20/9/03 Day 88
Yes I did go through Luxemburg, but it was getting dark, Belgium (1st time was dark), Holland was still dark with a fairly major diversion. The road I planned to use was closed. Belgium the second time was foggy, very foggy. It was just like Italy in not seeing road signs, unlike Italy they were there; you just couldn't see them for fog. But Belgium’s road surfaces are awful, as a country, there main roads are possibly the bumpiest in Europe, Portugal’s back roads are more likely to get you airborne and Milan will knock your fillings out but Belgium’s main roads are atrocious!
Then it was back into France for the 4th time, get to Calais, buy a one way ticket €220 (twice the price of Italy-Greece return!), queue up on the dock for under 10mins and onto the ferry by about 7.30am, after leaving the south of France at about 10.30 the previous morning.
Back in good old Blighty, to a very warm and sunny day, not bad!
Negotiate my way out of Dover, getting a pushy bus driver annoyed by not letting him in (well now I’m back in the UK I’ve got AA cover and recovery again!), and a thrash up the motorway (at 65!!!) to London. Damn, can’t park outside the flat until 1.30 not 12, oh well. Kill the time by going for a drive round, as its Saturday no worries with the congestion charging. The van is still attracting a fair amount of attention, despite not being washed for over 17000 miles, or is it that the silencer isn’t actually connected to the engine by anything more than goodwill and Greek dust.

21/9/03 Day 89
Head back to Wadhurst to park the van safely undercover (after giving it a very deserved wash). That’s it, end of the trip.
Still there’s always next time! I wonder how easy it is to get visas for Iran and Pakistan now????

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