See here for Part 1 (Days 0 to 7)
Saturday 8 October 1977 (Day 8)
Start: Split campsite
Finish: Dubrovnik campsite
Mileage: 145
Cumulative Mileage: 1870
Weather: Beautiful day on coast but clouds over the mountains
8am start. Sunny. Food bought at Makarska, petrol in Dubrovnik.
Makarska, with the Biokovo Mountains
Makarska - the main bay
Makarska - church and Biokovo Mountains
The Radko Radovic memorial above Podgora commemmorates 20 years of Yugoslav Navy
[The seagull's wing monument was designed between 1960 and 1961 by Serbian sculptor Rajko Radovic.]
Bacinsko Jezero - a freshwater lake near Bacina
The Neretva River near Bacina
The Adriatic, approaching Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik campsite ok. Arrived 2pm, got to Old Town (had trouble finding it!) at 4pm.
Dubrovnik - Placa and the Clock Tower
Dubrovnik - Pile Gate, the west gate to the Old Town
Dubrovnik - the Rectors Palaces, Bell Logia, and Sponza Palace, all from Luza Square
Dubrovnik - The Old Harbour, from the Rectors Palace
Dubrovnik - the Old Harbour and Old Town from Fort St John
Dubrovnik - Placa and the Franciscan Monastery
Dubrovnik - the Old Town from Minceta Tower
Dubrovnik - the Old Town from The Walls
Dubrovnik - sunset over the Old Town
Quite a few Brits seen today. Get back to camp at 7pm and spend time with Guy and Marie-Rose. Also meet John, an Australian who I subsequently give a lift to Athens.
Sunday 9 October 1977 (Day 9)
Start: Dubrovnik campsite
Finish: Wild camp beyond Titograd
Mileage: 149
Cumulative Mileage: 2019
Weather: Cloudy
Up at 6am. John accompanies me. Depart Dubrovnik 10:15.
Dubrovnic - a typical street in the Old Town
Dubrovnik - harbour and Fort St John
View in the Gulf of Kotor
Go via Cetinje and Titograd after stopping for an hour in Kotor.
Kotor, with walls in the background 850 ft above
Inland, with a view over Kotor and the Gulf
Last view over the Gulf of Kotor, from 4000 ft
A view from the road to Cetinje
On the road to Titograd, looking into Albania
Mountain scenery beyond Titograd
Camp in mountains about 15-20 miles beyond Titograd - around 6pm. Fantastic scenery. Dodgy looking peasants nearby. Not sure of our safety.
[NB Titograd was renamed Podgorica in 1992 and is the capital of Montenegro.]
Monday 10 October 1977 (Day 10)
Start: Wild camp beyond Titograd
Finish: Skopje campsite
Mileage: 221
Cumulative Mileage: 2240
Weather: Rain, diminishing during the day
Set off in rain at 7:30. Soon hit 30 miles of unsurfaced roads, meeting heavy goods vehicles from Albania. Just one other tourist seen - coming the other way in a Ford Capri.
On the Cakor Pass (6067 ft)
A view from the Cakor Pass
Waiting for lorries on the Cakor Pass road
Reach Pec at 2:45pm. Amazing place. Main road passes through streets with washing hanging to dry over the road. Leave the mountains here.
A sign advertises 'Fresh Fish at all Times'.
En route to Skopje, less rain, horses and carts on the new highway, and peasants dressed in black.
Skopje appears to be rebuilt. At 8:30 I go for a wander around the town. Encounter armed military people who demand to see my passport. They don't comprehend that it is at the campsite. Eventually I walk away and beckon that I will take them to the campsite. They remain rooted to their posts and watch me as I return, slightly shaken, to the campsite.
Tuesday 11 October 1977 (Day 11)
Start: Skopje campsite
Finish: Youth Hostel in Athens
Mileage: 482
Cumulative Mileage: 2722
Weather: Drizzle early, improving later
Up at 6am, leave Skopje in drizzle 7:30. Cross border into Greece 11:30 after 130 miles.
Greek landscape near Florina
Greek landscape near Kastoria
Change 290Dinar into 487Drachma. Magpies. A bad evening. Ran out of fuel in Athens at 12:30am. Luckily next to a petrol station. Get into hostel with John, albeit rather late.
Wednesday 12 October 1977 (Day 12)
Start: Youth Hostel in Athens
Finish: Youth Hostel in Nauplia
Mileage: 113
Cumulative Mileage: 2835
Weather: Some rain, some sun
Bye John (early morning), then sightseeing in Athens. £20 gets 1270Drachma.
Athens - a church near the Acropolis
Visit Acropolis, Parthenon etc in the morning. 2 hours in pm to get out of Athens.
Athens - Odeion of Herodes Atticus (Acropolis)
Athens - the Beule Gate and Athena Nike Temple
Athens - procession leaving the Acropolis
The Erechtheion
Above and below: Athens from the Belvedere
Athens - last view of the Acropolis
Pass the Corinth Canal. Drive to Nauplia via Argos. Today's fuel 11.50D per litre, yesterday in central Athens it was 20D per litre.
Ask if anyone wants to join me for a meal in Nauplia, and finish up having a nice evening with Bigeter (a girl). Dark early.
Thursday 13 October 1977 (Day 13)
Start: Youth Hostel in Nauplia
Finish: Youth Hostel in Nauplia
Mileage: 40
Cumulative Mileage: 2875
Weather: Cloudy, then sunny periods with rain showers
Sightseeing in Nauplia with Bigeter.
Nauplia - Fortress of Palamidi (705 ft), with The Caponier
A view from the Fortress of Palamidi
Nauplia - San Nicolo Fortress from San Girardo Fortress
Nauplia - within San Girardo Fortress
Nauplia centre, near the station, with fortress in the background
Then I went to Epidauros,where I fell painfully on the slippery marble in the amphitheatre.
Above and below: the theatre at Epidauros
Archaeology at Tiryns (a dig)
Spend time with two nurses, Jane (NZ) and Carol (Aus), and Robin. There was also a boy from Chicago and my notes refer to Russians and Egyptians, but I can't recall the context.
Send a postcard to Bob Selig's friend Tayfun, saying I'll be outside the Blue Mosque at 6pm next Wednesday.
Friday 14 October 1977 (Day 14)
Start: Youth Hostel in Nauplia
Finish: Youth Hostel in Delphi
Mileage: 185
Cumulative Mileage: 3060
Weather: A rainy morning and dull afternoon
Up at 7:30, leave at 8:30, giving Jane and Carol a lift to Athens.
Driving through a typical Peloponese town
En route we stopped a couple of times to inspect cars that had left the road. It was the first rain for many weeks, and the roads were very greasy. The two nurses were intent on checking that the occupants of the wayward vehicles were ok. They were ok. J and C were aghast that John hadn't contributed to my petrol costs for his three day ride. We got to Athens around 11am and stopped at a restaurant they had visited before. It was next to a roundabout, on which I parked! They bought me some delicious soup. (J and C were invited to Manchester, but sadly never made it.) I left them in Athens and continued on to Thebes, accompanied by 'Dark Side of the Moon'.
Mountain scenery near Arakhova (Parnassos)
Reached Delphi by 4pm. I wasn't impressed - too many tourists. Dull weather. £20 travellers cheque gave 1270 Drachma. Petrol coupons for 150 litres cost 1653Drachma. Not much money left.
I remember being dismayed on discovering that the youth hostel didn't have a common room where I could find someone to join me for a meal, but when I went to my dormitory I found Don Lowey, a cost accountant at Ferranti's Bracknell factory whose work I had audited for several years. I hadn't encountered an English person for at least a week, and here was someone I knew!
Don and I were joined by a German physicist for a meal, and lots of Retcina.
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