Poor old Basil felt a few spots of rain on his head again yesterday evening. However, this time, there were just a few and after the rain we got a lovely sunset over Kato Gatzea.
Sunset over Kato Gatzea
Today team Basil were on the move again. This time to the amazing monasteries at Meteora in Central Greece. We were up and away reasonably early only to be brought to a grinding halt but 30 miles into our journey. This time it was not by a tortoise, a herd of goats or even Basil getting wedged in a tiny Greek village like a cork in a bottle. No this time it was much worse – IKEA!!!
As we drove round a large town on a bypass Sarah spotted that dreaded blue and yellow sign. I did my best to pretend I hadn’t seen it, but Sarah was having none of it. I had to force Basil into an ungainly U turn, like a supertanker in a narrow channel, and hot foot it back to the place that dare not speak its name.
Now I have nothing against IKEA when you’ve bought a new house and need to furnish it or even if there is some specific which needs to be purchased. My grudge is that it sucks needless time out people’s lives like a black hole. Sarah’s mum lived in Croydon, London, which got one of the UK’s first IKEAs and so I have spent enough time in IKEA to be qualified to comment. How many times does a person go into an IKEA with just one thing on their shopping list or none at all, then after hours of shuffling round and round in carefully directed circles, they emerge, their brains successfully addled by IKEAs marketing team, with a trolley load of “stuff”. Not stuff they need, just stuff.
The Greeks seem much less in IKEAs spell though. When we arrived at about midday the huge IKEA car park was virtually empty, unheard of in Britain. I don’t know whether the Greeks are less in thrall to consumerism than the Brits; are too hard up in their current crisis; or something else.
Rant over. In fact on this occasion there was something we needed. When we first bought Basil, one of “those” trips to IKEA furnished his ample interior, including a cheap set of cutlery. On this trip, one by one, the cheapness of the forks have shown themselves and now all but three are in two pieces. My concern was, that large though Basil is, there is only limited space for “stuff”.
I needn’t have feared. Sarah was in and out of IKEA in less than half an hour. Unheard of. Everything purchased was needed, including a much sturdier set of cutlery.
We continued our journey to Meteora, only been halted once more, by a herd of goats all over the road, complete with lovely bells. We had lunch at a potential wildcamping spot. It would have been great at a quieter time of year, but the season has really begun now and it was full of sightseeing vehicles. So we have instead settled in at Camping Vrachos (39.712797, 21.612929). Its a large site close the monasteries, but otherwise has little to commend it. At €17 a night I would say it was overpriced but I will reserve judgement. It has virtually no internet, so I am going to have to walk up to reception to post this, but Sarah tells me it’s not much better there.
Monasteries at Meteora
Tomorrow we will take Basil out on the road for a tour of the monasteries, about which more tomorrow. Suffice it to say they are spectacular, each one built on top of a rock pinnacle.
Monastaries at Meteora