With just 10 days remaining before our flights home we had to cross the rest of Turkey ( not far ), zip up to the Bulgarian border briefly to get Green Card insurance ( as we’d soon be back in Europe ), and then meander down through the major sights of northern and central Greece before flying out. Some of Greece’s very best sights lay ahead, most of which would be completely new to us.

In contrast to the brutal experience when leaving Georgia and entering Turkey, departing Turkey and entering Bulgaria was an absolute breeze – 3 minutes to cross out of Turkey and 5 minutes to cross into Bulgaria, this time not one issue at all with our vehicle registration documents. Fast and friendly ! The Bulgarian border at Edirne is widely reported to be the best place to get Green Card insurance and as it was only 30 minutes or so out of our way we made the detour. All went smoothly and we were shortly afterwards in Greece.

Every time we’ve come to Greece we’ve eagerly anticipated it and this was no exception. Noticeably cooler in this part of Greece ( being inland and further north ), our first impression was how remote it seemed and also how many police checks there were  – turns out this is a major area for people smuggling in to the Schengen zone. We’d become used to these in Turkey, but had now experienced one in Bulgaria and two in Greece in the space of a morning drive.

Once down to highway 2 the route took us straight west across to  Thessaloniki and on to Mount Olympus, the drive in equal parts scenic and also rather dull ( the latter part, weather related ). A couple of great beachside wild camps ( one, a revisit to the scene of the great toilet cap fiasco 😉) broke up the long stretches.

In Greek mythology, Olympus is home to the gods ( Zeus, Aphrodite, Hades and all that crowd 😊 ) and while likely very beautiful in the right conditions we unfortunately caught the leading edge of some rain and cloud so did not see it at its best. Some glimpses through the clouds were tantalizing, while the drive up the very narrow road called for constant attention and some degree of fearlessness. Sadly, not hikable in the conditions.

Heading south west took us to Kalabaka and the absolutely stunning monastery complex at Meteora. Actually 6 separate monasteries, all perched high up on rock bluffs, they are truly a sight to behold

. If they look at all familiar, you saw one of them in the James Bond classic, “For Your Eyes Only”. Click on the link to see the scene. Very impressed with Meteora – and to think we almost did not visit 😳! Highly, highly recommended.

Continuing on ( eventually ! ) down towards Athens, the next sight on our route was the archeological complex at Delphi ( famed for its links to Apollo and considered by the ancient Greeks to be the centre of the world ). Not just a great ruin complex but also an incredibly comprehensive museum of artifacts from the period ranging from well “BC” to several centuries “AC”. Initially we were a little underwhelmed, but that feeling soon changed when we reached the top and looked back over the complex from above – just a completely different perspective and easier to realize what an incredible place it was back at its historic peak. An added bonus was a wonderful night of camping at the nearby port/beach community of Itea, with an excellent little bar nearby – we’d forgotten how good Ouzo was !

Regular readers will know that a huge part of our overlanding experience ( the main part ? ) is the chance to drive some of the world’s great roads. While Greece does not have a Carretera Austral, a Route 66, or a Birdsville Track ( that we know of anyway ), it’s Langada-Taygetos Pass offers up a dramatic, twisty,  narrow, scenic, rock cut overhung “road” that we were ( ok, ok…..”I was” ) determined to challenge. Two things attracted us – a 4.9 Google score based on hundreds of reviews, as well as a ranking on the Worlds Most Dangerous Roads site. Described by Tripadvisor as “not for the faint- hearted”, it was somewhat distant from where we were and still a long drive from Athens, but we nonetheless made the trip. Coastal Kalamata is the start of the road, from which it winds 56 torturous kilometres from there to the legendary Greek city of Sparta, the end of the road. It’s definitely a detour road trip we’re glad we did, more so because it was off-season with very little traffic giving us the time and room ( it’s not very wide in places ) to fully enjoy it. While I would not rank it with any of the aforementioned, it was a great road to drive – the unexpected pleasure being the abundance of autumn/fall leaves that were still on the trees – in December !

With this, only the historic Corinth canal lay between us and Athens, a journey we completed easily in the one day.  Corinth was started back in 67AD but only finished in 1893. While no longer used by today’s much larger ships it still functions and is quite a marvel of engineering. Not what I would call a “must do” destination, but we had to drive right through it anyway en route to Athens. Sometimes the sights just conveniently fall in your lap.

It’s always a good idea to manage one’s expectations when returning to a city after a long absence ( 35 years for us ) – we recalled Athens then as being polluted, smog ridden, and traffic snarled ( all of which it once was ). Happy to report that, however, they did it, they’ve certainly cleaned up the pollution, (we saw no smog at all), the days were beautiful and sunny and the traffic was absolutely manageable both going in, coming out and while driving right through the heart of the city.

Having seen most of Athens’ famous sights the first time we’d reconciled ourselves this time to just exploring some bits we’d missed, making shipping inquiries, cleaning up our van and then getting it safely stored while we went home for Christmas. Alas, the allure of the Acropolis/Parthenon complex was too great so we did venture there – thinking surely this time all that scaffolding from 1990 would be gone ( it had been 35 years after all ). Sadly not !

Widely considered one of the greatest ancient structures of the Western world, the complex is still under a degree of renovation ( and will be for some time ). Stunning it definitely is, but disappointing that you still can’t get a clear shot of it all 😟.

With our Athens sights done, a little shopping completed and our van safely stored, we trekked off to Athens airport for the flights  home to Kelowna. An overnight in  London ( always a great stopover ) broke an otherwise lengthy journey, the excitement of seeing our kids and granddaughter tempered only by the knowledge that we were swapping rather balmy Mediterranean weather for a cold blast of Canadian winter. Brrrr !!!

If you’ve been following along we hope you’ve enjoyed the ride and look forward to restarting the blog in mid – January. At this point I’ve exhausted all the “In Case You Wondered” questions we’ve been asked ( all I could remember in any case ! ) but if you are curious about any aspects of overland travel just pop in a comment or send us an email and I’ll address it – we do love hearing from people ! Meanwhile both Lois and I want to wish all our readers a very Merry Christmas and Happy New  Year !

Till 2026 ! …….😊😊