Highlights of Greece

We spent three weeks in Greece (including Crete), which is really not enough.

It will take another trip to feel like we have the full picture. Hopefully when it is cooler so that we can hike!

We saw:
+ The Pelion Peninsula
+ Delphi
+ Athens
+ Crete
+ Eastern Peloponnese
+ Meteora
+ Northwestern Lakes

We missed:
+ The Islands (except Crete)
+ Mt. Olympus
+ Pretty much all of Western Greece

Our favorite places are the Meteora, the Peloponnese (specifically Epidavros, Monemvasia and Mystros), and northwestern Crete. We were disappointed by Delphi (too crowded, too much imagination required because very little is standing)and pleasantly surprised by Athens (not as smoggy or seedy as we had imagined with some interesting neighborhoods).

Here are some of our overall impressions of Greece:

• It is trashy. There is garbage all over the roadsides. And no recycling containers to be (easily) found. The majority of the trash is plastic bottles (everyone seems to drink bottled water) and plastic bags, which are given out freely by retailers. Even if all you buy is a bottle of water.



• Greece has some of the best mini-marts in Europe. They ALL have cold drinks, and sometimes even vegetables. And they are anywhere and everywhere that someone might need one. Like on the busy arterial near the campground bus stop in Athens.



• You almost always get a glass of water when you order a drink at a bar, and a straw when you buy a drink in a can.



• English is spoken widely and well. (Road signs are often in Greek and English, which is very nice if you can actually see the sign.) ...Speaking of which...



• Signage is terrible. There is plenty of directional signage, but it is inconsistently placed and often obscured by plants or graffiti. Also, there is not much attempt to remove obsolete signs, so you may find yourself slowing down to 40 km/hr for a tollboth that no longer exists, or following an ancient road to your destination instead of the new highway. It has been our most challenging navigation yet. (Coverage for our fancy computer navigation ended when we left Austria.)

The photos here are from Agios Galeni, Crete, and the Meteora.

-SK