Day 30 - Parga, Greece

After a leisurely start to the day we decided to have a run out on the bike and follow the coast road round to Parga. Before we went I nipped to wash up the breakfast stuff and a little old lady stopped to say hello. She spoke with a heavy German accent. I remember seeing you in Kusadasi , you ride a motto. Well at first I didn't recognise her but then the penny dropped. She had been on the lower part of the site in a VW camper with her husband.We chatted for a while and she told me rather sadly that this would be the last trip as her husband is 93 and she is 74 !! They have been traveling for over 30 years and have seen all of Europe and Turkey. And I was only recently thinking how long we could keep it up for !! hope for us all I think !!
Off on the bike and without a cloud in the sky we rode around the bay and then climbed up the mountain that faced our camp, we pulled in a took some pictures. Lots of tiny islands filled the sea with Corfu dominating the horizon.
The road was a dream to ride twisting and turning with shear drops in parts and brilliant views, it kept you alert!
Parga is a small town on the western coast of Greece, just between the cities of Igoumenitsa and Preveza, in the region of Epirus. It's fairly unspoilt and although well visited by tourists still has an interest.
The village of Parga, once known as Hypargos has been around from the early 13th century. It was originally built on top of the mountain "Pezovolo". In 1360 the Pargians in order to avoid the attacks of the Albanians transferred the village to its present location. During that period, with the help of the Normans who held the island of Corfu, the fortress of Parga was built.
We did try to find the road up to the castle to have a look round but yet again time was short and we had to head back to camp before dark.
The sun was just setting as we arrived back at camp so we grabbed the camera and got onto the beach Just in time for a couple of photos.
As I write I'm sitting in the cool of the evening outside the tent. The only sound is the gentle lapping of the sea on the beach and the crickets singing away, total peace. Tonight may well be the last night spent under canvas on this trip as tomorrow night we will be on board the ferry heading for Italy and the unknown !
Total miles today - 104
Hours in the saddle - 3