Ancient Corinth and Beautiful Korfos, Greece. 2015 🇬🇷

Travelled: 290 klms by ferry from Chios to Piraeus, Greece, then 132 klms on to Korfos.

Visited: Chios Town (again), then the Corinth Canal, Ancient Corinth and Korfos in the Peloponnese.

Stayed: Blue Star Ferry, deck 5 for the Hymer and a suite for us. Then on hardstand adjoining a small restuarant/marina in Korfos, power and water available if you have a meal N37.76544, E23.12622.  Dinner for two+ 2 rounds of drinks €34

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We drive around the quay and into the port gate around 10.30 pm, it’s a hive of activity. A very bored gateman waves us through, but we have no idea where to ? We turn past a line of trucks and find a line of cars looks like we may have found the queue. Locking up the Hymer, we walk along the line of cars. It’s a mixed assortment of very flash BMWs and Audis, then there’s the old Renaults and Peugoets. A old Renault in front has a dog in a wire cage on the roof rack and a large bird cage with yellow canary on the back seat.  There are at least 200 young Arabic men waiting on the quay as well as several police.

Suddenly the ferry appears and the scramble begins. The ship enters the small port and expertly swings 180 degrees and the ramps are down.  Large trucks emerge from the ferry and in turn large trucks disappear back inside.  Passengers queue to embark and finally the cars and one motorhome are given the OK to roll up the ramp.  We are no sooner in our suite and we feel the ferry pull away from the quay.

We booked this passage from the Blue Star office in the port a few days before.  Long story short I asked the booking agent for a double bed (obviously) and she had said the room all have single bunks.  Eventually she said look she can arrange a double bed for an extra €6 each, I said do it. As we left she said it’s the best room on the ferry.  It was a lovely suite, much bigger than we have travelled on when cruising, in fact the bathroom was bigger than rooms we have stayed in.

Anyway we arrive in Piraeus on time a 7 am and drive down the ramp into the morning traffic a few minutes later.  It’s not a cheap passage from Cesme to Chios then on to Piraeus but it saves 1500 kilometres of driving, we have already experienced.  Nothing has changed in Piraeus since our last visit in 2013, litter everywhere and graffiti slogans on most walls.

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We take the tollway to escape the morning rat run, soon enough we are €6.50 poorer but 60 kilometres away at the Corinth Canal having a coffee and curried bake beans on toast.  If you keep a look out in the supermarkets you can still get Heinz curried bake beans in England and France…mm. Lovely with cheese on a toasted baguette !

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We are now in the Peloponnese and plan to spend a few weeks driving much shorter distances, exploring little villages, swimming, snorkeling and relaxing after 5 weeks of long drives.  However the Lonely Planet recommends a visit to Ancient Corinth, a Museum and Archeological site just west of the canal so we head off to do a little exploring.

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Michael and Pam

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