I’m on the ferry to Piraeás, destination Athens. Two weeks ago I saw Manolis’ Royal Enfield Bullet 500 and I knew immediately that that was the motorbike I had been saving my money for for the last 5 years. Simple, spartan and with this oh-so seductive old-timer’s look. After some research I decide not...
Read more →During breakfast the doctors come in and tell me to get ready for the stress test. I haven’t finished my tea yet and I ask “Now?“. Yes, is the simple answer. A nurse is already waiting with a wheelchair to bring me to the test room. There I get strapped up with a dozen...
Read more →The ferry arrived a little late in Patras. At 3 o’clock at night we had docked in Igoumenitsa, meaning that we were still on track then. Something must have happened thereafter, but nobody informed nobody. At around 12 at noon we drove off the ramp, one and a half hour behind schedule. We dropped...
Read more →Read this in the Guardian: Prince Charles was last night following the punishing schedule of life on Mount Athos, the remote religious community in northern Greece which he has undertaken to support financially. The prince, who was introduced to the male-only enclave by his cousin Constantine, the former king of Greece, will remain there...
Read more →…then they went home. Pauline, Paul, Joëlle and Bram had taken the bus in Chersonissos this morning and we picked them up at the station in Iraklio. After we crammed all their luggage in my little Yaris, with enough planned space for them later, we left the car where it was parked and went...
Read more →If there is one thing to mention about this week it’s that it was soooooo hot, my brain was melting. The internet weather stations have all reported temperatures in excess of 30 degrees celsius. In this office that I am about to leave any minute now it felt more like 40 degrees… On wednesday...
Read more →I’m coming home, I’ve done my time… After a whole month searching for a company that could bring our gear over from Kleine Spouwen, Belgium to Iraklio, I was driving my upstairs neighbour with her cat to the vet last evening. While I was explaining that the transporters in our country charged over €5000...
Read more →I got up late. Breakfast at the hotel was excellent. The view from the windows was nothing but extraordinary. You could see as far as the sea in the Gulf of Itéa. There was a group of young American students in one corner eating calmly and minding there own business. I chose a table...
Read more →Around one in the afternoon we were sailing close to a couple of small uninhabited islands off the shores of Igoumenitsa. The weather was excellent, clear skies, bright sun. Igoumenitsa was sparkling white in the near distance. As we came nearer it struck me how small the port and the town was. I had...
Read more →When I woke up and got down to the restaurant I met with nothing but sleep-drunken passengers. The staff were not yet fully prepared in the restaurant so I took a stroll on the outside deck. I was met by a beautiful rainbow. I thought I could discern land far away but I told...
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