From Euboea we headed to the capital of Greece - to Athens. We didn't want to go there directly, so we stopped in Parnitha National Park north of the city, where we planned a small walk on the second day of Christmas.

Iveco, nicely warmed up after about 2 hours of driving, managed to get all the way up to the saddle at sunset, which is about 1000m above sea level. There was nice peace and only a few deer watched us while parking. Sometime in the early morning it started snowing and since it was around zero, it also alternated with freezing rain. Iveco has a really hard time starting in the cold, so we waited for better weather and hoped the sun would warm us up a bit and maybe even charge through the solar panels.

Change of Plans

Our Christmas hike was successfully ruined by the weather, so we warmed up in the car and played games. Sometime in the afternoon, after several attempts, we successfully started and set off. We wanted to get somewhere lower again, but since we're already here, supposedly we'd drive to look even higher, that there might be some views there. Around us that morning snow had almost melted, so it didn't even occur to us that it would be different higher up.

Athenians Don't Do So Well in Snow...

Lots of city residents had the same idea, so we drove up in a convoy. We really had fun. We had by far the biggest vehicle, but it still seemed like everyone thought theirs was bigger. They had quite a hard time fitting next to each other and parking there somehow, and when there started to be a bit of snow around us, a few of them even put on snow chains just in case. We pushed through almost to the top and when there was no one around us, we turned it around on a wider section of road. We do have winter tires, but that full van doesn't stop so easily when it starts sliding.

On the way down we built a snowman and put him on the hood, he's riding with us now! We also met several enthusiasts repeatedly who had 4x4s and obviously couldn't get enough of that bit of snow. They drove into the forest on smaller paths and just enjoyed the terrain.

Finally Athens...

We arrived in Athens at a parking lot by the port and the next day washed all our clothes again. There was a backpack's worth again!

On Saturday a tour of the center of Athens awaited us! Neither of us had ever been there, so we took it through the most famous - first Acropolis, then Roman and Greek Agora. It was beautiful, just a bit windy, and after several hours of walking around monuments we didn't feel very well. And on top of that we brutally overate at one restaurant! These Greeks have absolutely no sense of how much can fit into one person! And we only ordered an appetizer to share just for tasting! (Inspiration for cooks: it was feta coated in sesame and drizzled with honey, yum!)

We rolled back to the car and just collapsed on the bed and suffered. It was already getting dark and we were planning where to escape from the city. We didn't want to stay there repeatedly in one place. Yes, lots of people with caravans do it, but then someone writes about how they were robbed, which we didn't really want to risk.

To Sounion!

We arrived at a beach on the way to Sounion, where we headed the next day. There's the Temple of Poseidon there and we wanted to see it. Sounion is on the southern tip of the Attica peninsula and is visible from afar from the sea, which is why it was also an important strategic point.

That day we didn't have the best weather and it rained every so often, so we mainly used it for shopping and refilling water and diesel. The next day evening a ferry to Crete was supposed to be waiting for us. But we didn't make it, due to weather they postponed it until the next day morning, so we killed the whole day with that. But never mind! Now we're in Crete and we're going to discover another piece of Greece! Plus it's much warmer here and Iveco likes it more too, it starts almost like in its youth!

Oh and by the way, I experienced my first seasickness! You wouldn't expect it to rock so unpleasantly! Fortunately it wasn't so serious that I spent the trip in the bathroom. But still I wonder where are those young years when my cousin and I could try all the attractions at the fair and nothing happened to us! :D