It was spitting with rain when we set off around 10:00am Saturday morning. I knew that we had to drive up over a mountain pass, but I didn't really think much of it. I also knew it would be a little colder up there, and figured that we might see a few snowflakes.
But I wasn't expecting a blizzard!
The first section going up was on an old road that hardly anybody uses. In fact the whole way up, over a distance of about 10 kms (6 miles) we didn't see a single vehicle.
Would have been some nice views if the weather was better.
I love driving these old back roads with nobody around.
Bit of a dreary day.
Scenery along the way.
Not sure if you can see it, but we're getting some snowflakes now.
As we got to the top of this first section, there was snow on the ground.
Hm. I'm not liking this!
But there wasn't much traffic, and I just drove slowly.
When we left, the temperature was 5C (41F) but at this point it was down to the freezing mark, and in fact I saw it at -1C (30F) for a while. But they even had plows out, and it really wasn't very slippery. Still, it wasn't fun and not exactly what I had in mind!
Blizzard.
This wasn't in the plans!
Coming down the other side, things warmed up quickly and the road was just wet.
And ten minutes later the snow was all gone.
We went from sea level up to 885 meters (2,900') and back down to sea level again. I've done a lot of winter driving in my life, but I would just as soon avoid it if I can!
If it was a nicer day, the village of Eleonas looked like it would have been interesting.
The town of Amfissa.
Back at sea level.
Oh, that looks like a nice spot!
I was actually planning on driving all the way to Patras, but the skies had cleared and being at sea level it was a little warmer at 8C (47F). In the photo above, you can see what looks like other campers there, so I figured we might have some company. But when we got down to the beach it turns out they are travel trailers that are set up long term... and there is nobody around!
Yep, this will do.
We might have to stay for more than one night!
It's hard to believe we were in a blizzard an hour prior to this!
You can see Max right in the center of the photo.
There are a couple of summer homes here, but everything is locked up for the winter.
Nobody around but a few cats.
And birds.
This is a stonechat.
In fact the whole time we've been down here, there have only been two cars come down. They get out, have a look at the beach and then leave. Might be a little busier today on a Sunday, but who knows. Maybe not.
The weather at this time of year isn't ideal, and it's been cooler than normal. But it's supposed to go up to 13C (55F) tomorrow, so that's not bad. And to be here out of season when there is nobody around is fantastic.
View out the front windshield at sunset.
Yesterday's drive 88 kms (55 miles).
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Nice price drop on a variety of NERF Guns.
And in Canada...
Probably not a good place to go right now, as it is high altitude and a ski resort now, but this was one of the most fascinating and horrifying places I visited in Greece.(peloponese penninsula). https://greekreporter.com/2021/12/13/kalavryta-the-bloodiest-nazi-massacre-in-greece/
ReplyDeleteYou are right, it probably isn't the place to be at this time of year unless we want to go skiing.
DeleteWhat a sad memory for the town, war is such a horrible thing! You are right though the area itself looks amazing and I think we would enjoy our time there.
Primo campsite, woot woot! What a lucky find!
ReplyDeleteYes, at this time of year it is definitely a primo campsite. It would be pretty busy here in the summer time though. Hopefully we will find a lot more spots that will be similar to this one. It was so nice and quiet here and lots of places for us to hike. :-)
DeleteI enjoy seeing your driving route in your blog. What software do you use to do this and how do you enter the route into your blog?
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay! Ruth kept reminding me to write this, and it just never happened.
DeleteI use google maps. Once you have the map made the way you want it, you click on the mapping menu on the top left, and then click "share and embed" then "embed", then copy the HTML code.
Then in Blogger, edit in HTML and input the code where you want the map to be.
A dusting. In the bc interior we got almost a foot of snow friday night into most of saturday. My shoulders are a tad sore, but we didnt have to drive anywhere. We are like you, good winter drivers with a lot of experience, but, id rather not have to do it. Cant wait to head to AZ in the new year
ReplyDeleteIt may have looked like a dusting but some areas there was quite a bit more snow, maybe not a foot but enough that we couldn't see the road and happily let the snowplow go ahead of us. We saw cars passing by that had a good 3-4" of snow on them. Luckily we weren't staying up there and only had to drive through it for a short time, although we would much rather have missed the whole event to start with.
DeleteGlad to hear that you are going to head south so that you will miss most of the Canadian winter. We hope the driving down will be clear sailing for you in the new year.
Is this spot listed in one of your free camping apps? If not, how do you find spots like this? It's beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteYes, it was listed on park4night app, there are also a couple of other apps that Kevin will use and if we can't find something on any of those then we will try to find one of our own. Kevin will look at google maps using the satellite view and street view if he is able to find places that look like they may be suitable. Sometimes we just see something when we are driving along and we both look at each other and say this is great. Other times we might be out for a walk/hike and come across an ideal place.
DeleteMerry Xmas
ReplyDeleteI really enjoying your blog Safe travels
Thank you and Merry Christmas to you as well.
DeleteYeah not what you want when you're in a campervan without winter tyres. Luckily it wasn't getting to bad!
ReplyDeleteNo, it was definitely something that we were trying to avoid but mother nature let us down. It was getting bad at one point but luckily we are Canadian and are used to driving in the snow. ;-)
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