Bam the #roadtrek is in the garage for his annual MOT inspection and service wish him luck

Pic from our recent house hunting trip to Lincolnshire.

A coastal trail leads north from Choreutó | Chorefto Beach; our immediate neighbour is Parísaina | Parisaina Beach (1). Along the bush-lined path (reminiscent of NZ) there are several secluded but unnamed coves, offering welcome shade (2). There’s also a lit shrine, a common Eastern Orthodox practice with Byzantine origins (3). In such a location it may commemorate someone lost at sea, or mark a site of deliverance. We’ve noted many roadside examples too, typically in the form of a mini church. This particular shrine overlooks Tourkopigi Beach (4).

#Greece #campervan #travel

We set out on a two-month long road trip through most of the Balkan states, hoping to make our way along the Adriatic and across Greece to the Aegean Sea. This log chronicles our transit of Albania.

More? See https://curiositydrive.org/2025/06/06/highs-and-lows-of-albania/

blühende Wildnis auf 2000m

#AnnasTochterUnterwegs
#Campervan
#bloomscrolling

While visiting Μονή Αγίας Τριάδος | Agia Triada | Holy Trinity Monastery we consulted with one of the monks (shown) & he agreed we should take some time to recharge. We thus drove on to a Greek coastal campsite in Pelion & put the handbrake on.

Over the past month & 4,102km we’ve shared our #camperVan #roadTrip through #Slovenia , #Croatia, #BosniaHerzegovina, #Montenegro, #Albania & into northern #Greece. Hopefully you’ve also enjoyed the ride & we’ve successfully interrupted any incidental #doomscrolling.

Fewer toots over the week ahead then (it’s been fun, but all that photo selection & research is hard work!)—until we begin the return journey, likely transiting #NorthMacedonia, #Serbia & #Kosovo (plus a bit more from BIH, HR & SI).

Papingo counts as two of Zagori’s 46 traditional villages (collectively the Zagorochoria | Ζαγοροχώρια; Zagori means “the place behind the mountains”). Bigger Megalo Papingo features restored traditional stone buildings & appears focused on catering to the accommodation & culinary needs of tourists (1&2). The smaller of the pair, Mikro Papingo sits above Megalo, almost hidden in forest above the western rim of Vikos Gorge & beneath the cliffs of the Astraka Towers, part of the Tymfi mountain range (3). People may have settled here during the Byzantine period, but in their current form villages are thought to have been est. btw 14th-16th centuries. Between them are the Papingo Rock Pools, a sequence of natural limestone pools or “ovires” w/ clear, cool water bounded by terraced formations sculpted into the rock by the Rogovo stream (4).

#Greece #campervan #travel

Climbed the Skala Vradetou | Vradeto Steps, an 18th C. cobblestone staircase linking the villages of Vradeto & Kapesovo (1). More than 1,000 steps over ~1.5km wind their way up a limestone cliff (2). It took us 1h 15m to climb the 2.3km from at bottom road to gain the road at the top. Lunch at the eclectic Skala Vradetou café/ art shop in Vradeto, which is the highest village in Zagori at ~1,340m. The steps were the only means of access until the road came in 1970s. 2km beyond Vradeto is Beloi Viewpoint, offering a grand view over Vikos Gorge in Vikos–Aoös National Park (3). This is one of the deepest gorges in the world relative to its width; its walls drop up to 1,000m, helping to create a biodiversity hotspot (4). 10km/ 5h rtn incld. lunch—& an awkward detour to avoid horned cattle on access path!

#Greece #campervan #travel #hiking

Resharing because of an issue with the original post:

Capturing the core of the Milky Way for the first time! With a phone. - videos.trom.tf/w/h4sbDdKroLKuo…

We let the phone capture the night sky for 8 hours straight and managed to capture the Milky Way for the first time ever!

We also sealed all of our motorhome to protect from water infiltration, and overall spent some 5 amazing nights in this beautiful place, Castillo de Setefilla!

[2/2] Smalls seen on our Kleidonia - Papigko hike. Native Dactylorhiza saccifera | the wedge-lipped orchid lined the bank of the river with some regularity (1). We also saw several tan-coloured snakes slip into the water ahead of us, but they were too fast to image. This native & venomous Vipera ammodytes | nose-horned viper was, however, content to remain on a fallen tree blocking our path (2). Glad to see the gorgeous Polyommatus bellargus | Adonis blue butterfly is at home in Greece (3). Spotted this pyramid-shaped orchid, which we identified as native Anacamptis pyramidalis | pyramidal orchid (4)!

#Greece #campervan #travel #hiking

[2/2] Gjirokastër Castle offers views over the UNESCO-listed Ottoman period architecture that the Old Town shares with Berat. Notable buildings visible from castle walls incld. Banesa Skenduli | Skenduli House, an upper-class traditional 18th C. home (1); Banesa Zekate | Zekate House (2), considered one of best examples of a defensible tower house; & Banesa Angonate | Angonate House (3), the Hanko family’s expansive 1881 complex comprising two buildings & two courtyards. The heart of the Old Town, below the castle, is Old Bazaar Pazari i Vjetër | Old Bazaar, with cobbled streets among more Ottoman-era buildings (4).

#Albania #campervan #travel

schlafen mit Froschkonzert

#AnnasTochterUnterwegs im #Campervan

[2/2] Smalls seen in Tomorr Mountain National Park incld. native Orthetrum brunneum | southern skimmer, present across much of Europe (1); Melitaea phoebe | the knapweed fritillary, widespread in Albania (2); Testudo hermanni | Hermann's tortoise—we had been more concerned with holes in the road rather than bumps in it, but stopped to escort this slow-mover across (3) & native Megascolia maculata | mammoth scoliid wasp, the largest wasp in Europe at up to 6cm in length (4).

#Albania #campervan #travel

How we do astrophotography with an old phone?

https://videos.trom.tf/w/rYkMsXVAUxCXduphCLTgFF

Heute habe ich mal wieder ein neues und sehr geschätztes #campinggadget für euch: der #JBL Tuner 2 ist deswegen so cool, weil er die Funktion einer Bluetooth Box mit einem Tuner kombiniert, der auch UKW und DAB beherrscht. Über USB-C aufzuladen, also z.B. auch unterwegs im Auto oder per Powerbank.

Aus einer Laune heraus heute früh aufgestanden und gut 700 km bis nach Tarifa runtervgefahren... Der Blick auf die Straße von Gibraltar, wenn man aus den Bergen runter ans Wasser fährt, ist wirklich unglaublich.

#camping #BikeTooter #bike #fedibikes #getoutside #draussenmensch #neverstopexploring #orbea #roadtrip #travelcouple #travel #campinglife #roadcruiserevolution #poessl #travelphotography #campervan #tarifa
#andalucia #spain

Lazy Sunday... An einem Strand voller Locals, mit einer kleinen Strandbar, in der Livemusik gespielt wird. Zwischendurch zur Abkühlung ins türkisblaue Meer. Im Hintergrund Berge. Es könnte wirklich nicht besser sein...

Was hier so passiert: In #Oliva ist Freitags ein großer Markt mit tollen lokalen Produkten und einer Fülle von Obst, Gemüse und Oliven.

Ein paar Kilometer von hier gibt es einen Marschland Nationalpark, den man wunderbar mit dem erreichen kann.

Und ansonsten genießen wir Strand, Meer und laue Sommerabende.