From UK to Greece 2012
After collecting Bessy (what else can you call a motorhome branded Bessacarr) in Highbridge Somerset, UK we spent a few weeks preparing ourselves for the first trip.
We needed a good gas system and settled on GasIt from Automotive Electrical Ltd in Mirfield, Yorkshire. Their service was exceptionally good and the price was sensible. In fact 50% of the price quoted by a dealer in Luton.
While in the Mirfield area we also invested in a "Silverscreen" for the windscreen. It later proved invaluable in the snowy weather as we passed through Europe.
It's time you visited God's Own Country of Yorkshire for service and economy.
We needed a good gas system and settled on GasIt from Automotive Electrical Ltd in Mirfield, Yorkshire. Their service was exceptionally good and the price was sensible. In fact 50% of the price quoted by a dealer in Luton.
While in the Mirfield area we also invested in a "Silverscreen" for the windscreen. It later proved invaluable in the snowy weather as we passed through Europe.
It's time you visited God's Own Country of Yorkshire for service and economy.
Dunkirk to Arlon, Belgium
28 January 2012
The trip to Dover was uneventful and we only had 20 minutes to wait for the ferry to Dunkirk. The DFDS ferry was very clean and tidy and not many people on board. We took the opportunity to have a decent cooked meal. Ian chose fish, chips and mushy peas (last chance for some time) while Judit chose lasagne. Ian’s selection was by far the best choice.
As it was 9pm local time we parked in the terminal car park at Dunkirk. Very easy to find. Just leave the harbour and at the first roundabout go all the way around and head towards the port again. However you must keep right and go to the ticket buying/not booked car park. Lots of space and in fact you can park there for 15 days. There are toilets but the men’s only had the awful French low-type. The gas heating in the motorhome was a blessing because the weather was getting colder. In just a few minutes the motorhome was really comfortable. We switched it off when we went to bed.
There was a couple of Poles who may have been trying a scam. One asked to use my mobile to call his sister in England. He said he could pay with Pounds. I politely told him that my mobile was back in the UK. The second guy wanted to change his Pounds into Euros because he said that he needed the Euros to book the ferry. I’m sure that the ferry would take any currency.
We had a reasonably comfortable night but it was cold with the heating off. Our early wakening meant that we could shuffle a few boxes around to more suitable places. Maybe they will get shuffled again!
The reorganization meant that we did not start until 10-00. Our SatNav did not like the AA and Via Michelin computer generated routes and instead took us via Lille, Charleroi and Namur, then south to Arlon in Belgium, just short of the Luxembourg border. The route was all motorway.
The French part was pretty good but the Belgian motorways were a disgrace for a First World Country and leading member of the EU. The whole place needed a good wipe down with a clean rag and repainting. Crash barriers were crumbling with rust… when present. There was rubbish at the side of the roads including old tyres and even a couple of mattresses.
The worst part was the very poor quality of the road surface. As soon as we entered Belgium we encountered pot holes by the hundred and most were a good 3 to 6 inches deep. After about 20 Km of this it settled down to a good pothole every kilometer. If it wasn't potholed it was hundreds of miles of washboard road. We could have been in Africa on a dirt road. I cannot stress enough how bad the roads were.
Despite all that we arrived at our target; a small Aire in Arlon. There is place for 6 motorhomes with water taps and emptying points plus FREE electricity.
The Aire is actually in the grounds of the local Fire Brigade and at about 17-30 they had a shout. Two tenders set off, one with a ladder. They were followed by an ambulance. Soon after a water tanker followed them and only a few minutes after that another tender. It looked bad for someone.
So far we have not encountered free Wi-Fi so the evenings amusement was writing the notes and thinking about tomorrow. The original plan was to drive about 4 hours to a place called Chalampe and stay the night on the bank of the Rhone river. But we have already had a dusting of snow and it’s getting colder. We might try to miss Chalampe and go for the next stop which is through Switzerland and into Italy. The SatNav says it will take 8 hours, but that is non-stop and we will have to get more diesel, pay tolls and get our ticket for Switzerland, plus stopping for teas and pees (T&P).
The trip to Dover was uneventful and we only had 20 minutes to wait for the ferry to Dunkirk. The DFDS ferry was very clean and tidy and not many people on board. We took the opportunity to have a decent cooked meal. Ian chose fish, chips and mushy peas (last chance for some time) while Judit chose lasagne. Ian’s selection was by far the best choice.
As it was 9pm local time we parked in the terminal car park at Dunkirk. Very easy to find. Just leave the harbour and at the first roundabout go all the way around and head towards the port again. However you must keep right and go to the ticket buying/not booked car park. Lots of space and in fact you can park there for 15 days. There are toilets but the men’s only had the awful French low-type. The gas heating in the motorhome was a blessing because the weather was getting colder. In just a few minutes the motorhome was really comfortable. We switched it off when we went to bed.
There was a couple of Poles who may have been trying a scam. One asked to use my mobile to call his sister in England. He said he could pay with Pounds. I politely told him that my mobile was back in the UK. The second guy wanted to change his Pounds into Euros because he said that he needed the Euros to book the ferry. I’m sure that the ferry would take any currency.
We had a reasonably comfortable night but it was cold with the heating off. Our early wakening meant that we could shuffle a few boxes around to more suitable places. Maybe they will get shuffled again!
The reorganization meant that we did not start until 10-00. Our SatNav did not like the AA and Via Michelin computer generated routes and instead took us via Lille, Charleroi and Namur, then south to Arlon in Belgium, just short of the Luxembourg border. The route was all motorway.
The French part was pretty good but the Belgian motorways were a disgrace for a First World Country and leading member of the EU. The whole place needed a good wipe down with a clean rag and repainting. Crash barriers were crumbling with rust… when present. There was rubbish at the side of the roads including old tyres and even a couple of mattresses.
The worst part was the very poor quality of the road surface. As soon as we entered Belgium we encountered pot holes by the hundred and most were a good 3 to 6 inches deep. After about 20 Km of this it settled down to a good pothole every kilometer. If it wasn't potholed it was hundreds of miles of washboard road. We could have been in Africa on a dirt road. I cannot stress enough how bad the roads were.
Despite all that we arrived at our target; a small Aire in Arlon. There is place for 6 motorhomes with water taps and emptying points plus FREE electricity.
The Aire is actually in the grounds of the local Fire Brigade and at about 17-30 they had a shout. Two tenders set off, one with a ladder. They were followed by an ambulance. Soon after a water tanker followed them and only a few minutes after that another tender. It looked bad for someone.
So far we have not encountered free Wi-Fi so the evenings amusement was writing the notes and thinking about tomorrow. The original plan was to drive about 4 hours to a place called Chalampe and stay the night on the bank of the Rhone river. But we have already had a dusting of snow and it’s getting colder. We might try to miss Chalampe and go for the next stop which is through Switzerland and into Italy. The SatNav says it will take 8 hours, but that is non-stop and we will have to get more diesel, pay tolls and get our ticket for Switzerland, plus stopping for teas and pees (T&P).
Arlon to Italy
Not very pretty at Somaglia Service Area
Luckily the SatNav avoided France when we got to Strasbourg and routed us through Germany to Switzerland. That meant we would not be paying crazy French Motorway Tolls.
At the Swiss border, just North of Basel, the Customs Officer said he did not need our passports. "We only want your money" he said and directed us to the office.
Because Bessy weighs 3.85 tons we needed a 10-day pass. It cost us €30 but the man gave us 2 Swiss Francs in return! This is cheaper than for small cars and means that we can drive any 10 days within one year. As we only used it one day we have nine left.
The St Gotthard Tunnel was amazing at nearly 17 Kilometer. There is a strange aerodynamic effect in the tunnels. When a large truck coming towards us gets alongside, we seemed to get a little boost forward. However if the truck was overtaking us, as soon as he was level with the rear of Bessy it felt as if the engine had died. Interesting.
At the Swiss border, just North of Basel, the Customs Officer said he did not need our passports. "We only want your money" he said and directed us to the office.
Because Bessy weighs 3.85 tons we needed a 10-day pass. It cost us €30 but the man gave us 2 Swiss Francs in return! This is cheaper than for small cars and means that we can drive any 10 days within one year. As we only used it one day we have nine left.
The St Gotthard Tunnel was amazing at nearly 17 Kilometer. There is a strange aerodynamic effect in the tunnels. When a large truck coming towards us gets alongside, we seemed to get a little boost forward. However if the truck was overtaking us, as soon as he was level with the rear of Bessy it felt as if the engine had died. Interesting.
Italy
Our main aim was to get to Greece before the snow which was hot on our heels (should it have read "Cold on our heels"?). For that reason we motored a long way South to get within striking distance of Bari where we would catch the ferry to Greece.
Our next stop was at a very clean and tidy services at Gargano Est. Instead of sunshades for the parked cars they had solar panels. Also the Italian service areas had excellent facilities for motorhomes.
Our next stop was at a very clean and tidy services at Gargano Est. Instead of sunshades for the parked cars they had solar panels. Also the Italian service areas had excellent facilities for motorhomes.
Bari Port
31 January 2012
We were about 90 minutes from Bari. The route through Bari to the harbour could have been better signposted. We filled up just short of the harbour but found that we should have waited until Greece as the diesel was €1.77. In Greece it would be around €1.50.
The cold weather was still following us and it was raining very hard in Bari. We had to wait all afternoon until 1730 when we could board.
The other vehicles waiting in our car park were all Bulgarian and looked very dark skinned. Their Transits and estate cars were packed to the roof with giant shopping bags of things bought in Italy to sell on markets back in Bulgaria.
We were about 90 minutes from Bari. The route through Bari to the harbour could have been better signposted. We filled up just short of the harbour but found that we should have waited until Greece as the diesel was €1.77. In Greece it would be around €1.50.
The cold weather was still following us and it was raining very hard in Bari. We had to wait all afternoon until 1730 when we could board.
The other vehicles waiting in our car park were all Bulgarian and looked very dark skinned. Their Transits and estate cars were packed to the roof with giant shopping bags of things bought in Italy to sell on markets back in Bulgaria.
Loading
At around 1700 the Bulgarians, and us, started to head for the "gate". Nobody wanted to see Passports. The other side of the gate was chaos as there were no lanes to park in. Bari is definitely not like Dover!
It was push and shove alongside giant articulated lorries until we could get on the very steep ramp to the middle car deck of the ship. The nice loading chap said we should park down there but we insisted we had paid for the open deck and would prefer that. So up we went another deck to an area that seemed as big as a football field. Judit wanted to park by the stern but I eventually got my way when another nice "loady" said we would be more comfortable nearer the cabins, amidships.
It was push and shove alongside giant articulated lorries until we could get on the very steep ramp to the middle car deck of the ship. The nice loading chap said we should park down there but we insisted we had paid for the open deck and would prefer that. So up we went another deck to an area that seemed as big as a football field. Judit wanted to park by the stern but I eventually got my way when another nice "loady" said we would be more comfortable nearer the cabins, amidships.
Overnight
We went into the very nice dining area and watched the loading proceed. We should have departed at 1900. At 1930 they started serving dinner. Massive quantities of spaghetti and chips, steaks, chops, burgers, salads, etc. In fact a really good spread which cost around €18. After dinner we continued watching the loading and eventually departed at 2230. After walking around a bit we realised that the Bulgarians had chosen their spot in one of the lounges. Bodies and bags everywhere. None of them came in to the dining area.
Although the dining area was littered with No Smoking signs the place soon resembled an old fashioned men-only boozer.
Judit and I went back to Bessy around 2300 and by then the ship was wobbling around a bit. By 0200 it was really moving around. At one time we had a corkscrew motion that was designed to help the queezy throw up. In fact at 0300 Ian had to sit up in bed as he was so uncomfortable. That solved the problem and he was able to get back to sleep. We awoke at 0800 UK time (0900 Italian time and 1000 Greek time) and we had been told that docking would be 1030 Greek time. After a mad rush to wash and dress we realised that Greek timekeeping was in operation and we could relax and watch the Albanian coast on the Port side and the Corfu coast on the Starboard side slowly slip by. The mountain on both sides were covered in snow.
The final docking time was 1200 midday. Very much like African punctuality.
Although the dining area was littered with No Smoking signs the place soon resembled an old fashioned men-only boozer.
Judit and I went back to Bessy around 2300 and by then the ship was wobbling around a bit. By 0200 it was really moving around. At one time we had a corkscrew motion that was designed to help the queezy throw up. In fact at 0300 Ian had to sit up in bed as he was so uncomfortable. That solved the problem and he was able to get back to sleep. We awoke at 0800 UK time (0900 Italian time and 1000 Greek time) and we had been told that docking would be 1030 Greek time. After a mad rush to wash and dress we realised that Greek timekeeping was in operation and we could relax and watch the Albanian coast on the Port side and the Corfu coast on the Starboard side slowly slip by. The mountain on both sides were covered in snow.
The final docking time was 1200 midday. Very much like African punctuality.
Greece at last !
Ionian Beach Campsite next to the beach.
1 February 2012
Our route through Northern Greece was very easy but the roads were falling apart in places. There is a plan to build a motorway from Igoumenitsa to the South and maintaining local roads seems to have been neglected. But we found a completed stretch of the motorway and that saved our spines for a good 40 minutes. After crossing the amazing bridge across the Gulf of Corinth we were in the Peloponnese. The drive past Patra was interesting as it seems to suffer from smog.
After another 50 or 60 K we turned off towards the coast and finally found Ionian Beach campsite. It's very nice and clean and well appointed with washing area, drying area, ironing area, showers, toilets, play area, swimming pool and so on.
Bessy has been well behaved despite a lot of shaking and rattling. The fridge would not work with gas on the first night, but as we had snow it didn't seem to matter. It works very well on the 12 volts from the engine battery and stays cold all night even when switched off. There's a couple of lockers that need de-rattling and all these jobs can wait for a nice warm day. The gas central heating works a treat and from a temperature of 6°C this morning to a comfy 20°C took about 20 minutes. Now we are in Southern Greece we don't even have the heating on.
Using the motorhome toilet is an adventure because you need to be a contortionist but we have been trying to use public bogs where possible. Facilities have been really good most of the way. The Germans charged 0.70€ just for a pee. The Swiss bogs worked like clockwork (sorry!).
Our route through Northern Greece was very easy but the roads were falling apart in places. There is a plan to build a motorway from Igoumenitsa to the South and maintaining local roads seems to have been neglected. But we found a completed stretch of the motorway and that saved our spines for a good 40 minutes. After crossing the amazing bridge across the Gulf of Corinth we were in the Peloponnese. The drive past Patra was interesting as it seems to suffer from smog.
After another 50 or 60 K we turned off towards the coast and finally found Ionian Beach campsite. It's very nice and clean and well appointed with washing area, drying area, ironing area, showers, toilets, play area, swimming pool and so on.
Bessy has been well behaved despite a lot of shaking and rattling. The fridge would not work with gas on the first night, but as we had snow it didn't seem to matter. It works very well on the 12 volts from the engine battery and stays cold all night even when switched off. There's a couple of lockers that need de-rattling and all these jobs can wait for a nice warm day. The gas central heating works a treat and from a temperature of 6°C this morning to a comfy 20°C took about 20 minutes. Now we are in Southern Greece we don't even have the heating on.
Using the motorhome toilet is an adventure because you need to be a contortionist but we have been trying to use public bogs where possible. Facilities have been really good most of the way. The Germans charged 0.70€ just for a pee. The Swiss bogs worked like clockwork (sorry!).
Camping Finikes
Orange tree in from Bessy's front window
3 February 2012
Left Ionian Beach and headed south. The weather has turned and it is really warm. Even had the heater off and shirt sleeves rolled up. There are oranges on trees and some trees in blossom. Even wild flowers under the olive trees. At the moment it is 20-00 and the temperature in the motorhome is 21°C with no heating on... at last.
We got to camping Finikes at 15-00 after a 6 day journey through snowy and wet Europe. We spent the afternoon chatting with Barry and Margaret who spend their winters here. They were planning to take us for a meal tomorrow evening at a real Greek Taverna. Sadly Barry went down with the lurgy and we missed out on that one.
For your information Greece is 2 hours ahead of the UK. Jo and the girls managed to call me with SKYPE and we had a good chat for 10 minutes until we lost the connection. Richard also managed to make SKYPE contact. Even the Hungarians made it on SKYPE so we do not feel isolated at all.
Left Ionian Beach and headed south. The weather has turned and it is really warm. Even had the heater off and shirt sleeves rolled up. There are oranges on trees and some trees in blossom. Even wild flowers under the olive trees. At the moment it is 20-00 and the temperature in the motorhome is 21°C with no heating on... at last.
We got to camping Finikes at 15-00 after a 6 day journey through snowy and wet Europe. We spent the afternoon chatting with Barry and Margaret who spend their winters here. They were planning to take us for a meal tomorrow evening at a real Greek Taverna. Sadly Barry went down with the lurgy and we missed out on that one.
For your information Greece is 2 hours ahead of the UK. Jo and the girls managed to call me with SKYPE and we had a good chat for 10 minutes until we lost the connection. Richard also managed to make SKYPE contact. Even the Hungarians made it on SKYPE so we do not feel isolated at all.
