The Worldwide Perception of Femininity and the Use of BathroomsThe initial and primary objective of us setting up the ‘Dyke Tales’ blog was to provide a resource for what we saw as a slight gap in the blogging resource world. When going through the early planning stages of this mega world trip, Riv did a lot of research into LGBT travel in the continents and regions that we were hoping to visit. This provided us with a reasonable amount of information about where was ‘safe’ and where wasn’t, where homosexuality generally was legal and also what experiences other LGBT travellers had had personally. This was a good start, but what we noticed was that there was almost no information available for the ‘L’s’ within the LGBT traveller world who did not present as socially acceptably ‘feminine’. There are lots of lesbian travel blogs out there and a good amount of information and advice pertaining to travelling as a lesbian, but almost none of it seems to address the issue of presenting as a ‘butch’ lesbian…or in fact as being mistaken for a man! From this perspective I felt I could provide an insight. The result of this blog post is not going to be me giving ‘advice’ in the conventional way that travel blogs do, but rather it will be me passing on my experiences in the hope that this may ease some concerns of some travellers out there. Before I write anything more I want to make it clear that none of the experiences I have ever had as a ‘butch’ lesbian traveller have ever made me feel so uncomfortable that I have ever felt the need to actively remove myself from a situation or a place. Maybe I have just been lucky, maybe the fact that I am travelling with somebody who does present as normatively feminine has helped, or maybe I just have extraordinarily thick skin (or a thick skull). Whatever the reason, the aim of this blog is to simply share a couple of travelling experiences to highlight that good and bad things do happen and these are likely to be shared experiences.
Since Riv and I began travelling in 2013 we have visited 52 countries together. These countries have covered Western and Eastern Europe, North America, South and Central America and Asia. The have included some of the most conventionally developed nations in the world and some that can only be described as entirely third world. We have visited different countries representing an entire end-to-end spectrum of religious, social and political values and beliefs. Personally, I have sometimes been incredibly pleasantly surprised by the level of understanding I have experienced and encountered and sometimes I have been disappointed and occasionally even slight appalled. As I am sure you have gathered from my introduction, I present as a ‘butch’ lesbian. Actually, I hate this term, it literally makes me cringe! As far as I am concerned I just dress and present the way that makes me feel comfortable, but from an outsiders point of view that would definitely be categorized as ‘butch’ and for the purposes of this blog I am going to go with that…I can’t really be bothered to enter into some kind of discussion or debate about terminology and pigeon-holing! Travelling and looking the way that I do and with my girlfriend, now wife, has presented an interesting set of challenges and most of these I have to admit are not exclusive to being in ‘foreign’ countries. The difference when being on the road is that these challenges are made more difficult by often significant linguistic and cultural barriers. I have a couple of examples of note that I feel could be beneficial to share as I do not doubt for one minute that they are likely to be shared experiences. These by no means represent the entirety or even the majority of positive and negative experiences I have encountered, but I believe they represent a reasonable cross section. As a ‘butch’ (argh!!!) presenting lesbian, one contentious situation I face on a daily basis both at home and on the road is using the bathroom in public places (restaurants, bars, museums…you get the idea…I’m not talking about randomly peeing in public!). For people out there who clearly present as the gender that they were assigned at birth, or that which they wish to be recognised as, this is likely to be something that you have never thought about, but as someone who does not present the ‘norm’ this is almost always a cause of (at very least) consideration for me. In day-to-day life, when I am in my ‘home’ country, this can be frustrating and occasionally embarrassing, but rarely does it actually become a problem. On the road, it can be a totally different story. One such occasion occurred a few months ago when we were travelling through Bolivia. We were on a bus, on a long journey and I needed to use the toilet on board and noticed that it was locked, but there was nobody inside. I went to the bus assistant and asked (in my best broken Spanish) if it could be unlocked. He proceeded to ask me if it was “solo urinaro” (only wee) and I said yes. At this point he suggested that I just get off the bus next time it stopped and wee on the side of the road like the other men were doing (the bus was stopping with extraordinary regularity to pick people up and many of the men had been doing this throughout the journey). At this point I felt astronomically uncomfortable as I then attempted to convey to him that I was a woman and therefore could not just jump of the bus and stand quickly by a tree to relieve myself. “Yo soy damas…mujeres…no hombre”, was something along the lines of what came out of my mouth. He looked pretty confused, slightly put out and potentially mildly embarrassed (I use the words ‘potentially’ and ‘mildly’ because I’m really not sure he felt it at all, but he may have done) and then nodded at me and sent me back to my seat with what I believe was the information that he would find the key and unlock it for me…which he eventually did. This, as I have said is by no means an isolated bathroom related incident, but it was one during which I felt particularly unsettled as the length of the journey and the fact that I had no other option meant I was forced to actively address the situation on the spot rather than quietly walk away or remedy the situation myself. On other occasions I have been shouted at, in a variety of different languages for attempting to enter, or in fact being in, women’s bathrooms. This is never a pleasant experience, and as I said before, the linguistic and cultural hurdles often make it significantly more unpleasant. I try to believe that in the vast majority of these cases the misdirection, dissuasion or (occasionally aggressive) explanation is not done out of malice but simply out of an attempt to inform, but I can’t say that makes it any easier. Over the course of my adult life and particularly since I have been a traveller I often opt to wait for less interactive and open situations in order to use the bathroom. There is absolutely no advice I can give in relation to how to deal with this situation, or ones similar to it, other than to say that getting angry is likely to be completely redundant and just try to maintain enough self confidence to know that it is probably just a mistake and nobody is trying to make you feel uncomfortable! A surprising and very positive experience I had when travelling came on our extended exploration through the Deep South of the USA. Prior to doing this part of our trip Riv and I had read a lot of negative media surrounding LGBT experiences in this region and we certainly went in with a higher than average level of apprehension. All I can say, is that as somebody who visually presents the way that I do I was repeatedly and unfailingly delighted with encounters I had with people there! Over the course of two weeks in the south I was only ever referred to as ‘ma’am’ or ‘miss’ and Riv and I collectively were addressed with terms like ‘ladies’ or ‘gals’. It was astounding! This has never happened to me at any point throughout my life with such consistency. Even as a child my Mum was faced with situations when she was questioned as to why she was looking for clothes for her son in the girl’s section of children’s clothing stores! What the reason behind this unexpected understanding of my actual gender was I am still unable to pin point. In an area of the world that is perceived to be so drastically conservative, to a level of active rejection of certain social sub-groups, what was it that meant that for the first time in my life I could walk down the street, or into a motel or a restaurant and know that the people around me knew that I was a woman? This is a question I am genuinely unable to answer, but it made me feel good, it gave me a confidence in my interactions with people that I hadn’t really acknowledged may have been absent in worlds and situations that I considered to be slightly ‘other’. It was a heart-warming and massively encouraging experience as a ‘butch’ lesbian traveller and as a person who is regularly mistaken for a man and thus referred to as ‘mate’, ‘dude’ or ‘bro’ (‘amigo’, ‘hombre’, ‘señor’). None of these terms cause me distress; none of these terms really negatively affect me in anyway. However, they are just another thing that as a person who presents themselves in a certain, slightly non-normative way, I am aware of on a daily basis. Sometimes I am faced with a bit of an internal debate when it comes to the question of whether I would rather be recognised as a woman, mistaken for a man or possibly understood as a lesbian. As I have said, we have travelled through places where my lifestyle is not considered to be appropriate and some places where it is in fact not legal. If people mistake me for a man, sometimes it is just easier to go with that, sometimes it might be safer, less embarrassing, less complicated. If Riv and I are mistaken for a heterosexual couple that can provide a huge relief in the absence of the necessity to explain our request for a double bed when we stay in a guesthouse. If I am mistaken for a man that could occasionally provide us with an increased level of security when walking through certain places, as a man and a woman are much less of a target that two women. The immediate flip side of that is that guys are more likely to ‘start’ on other guys without provocation than they are to on girls…so does this previously positive misconception suddenly become a hindrance? I am not saying that presenting the way that I do causes me distress on a daily basis when I am travelling. Absolutely not!! If it did, I wouldn’t travel, or I would change the way that I present myself. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it is of course an option. It is my choice everyday to go out looking the way that I do and it is my choice to do it in the places that I do it in. This blog post is not meant to be a “please pity me” post, nor is it meant to make any current or future butch/androgynous/alternative travellers feel like the way they look should stop them from going out and exploring the world. The world is a beautiful place and the diversity of cultures and experiences that are waiting to be discovered out there is endless. Having anything about you that is different can present difficulties anywhere in the world at anytime. This is my difference and it may very well be yours too. Embrace the difference and don’t shy away from it, or alter it and try to blend into the background. I have chosen the former but that doesn’t make it the right choice. Your choice is yours and yours alone…own it…go forth and explore!
0 Comments
The Bulgarian border was our first non-Schengen zone border crossing and upon arrival we were ushered out of the car after having our passports taken away for…inspection and examination we assume! Sternly the border control officer looked at my passport (clearly not very used to seeing non-EU passport holders) and yelled something in Bulgarian to his counterpart behind the counter. There were another couple also waiting and they proceeded to tell us how they had already been turned back from the Macedonian border that day because they weren’t happy with the documentation one of them had. Slightly unnerved by this information, I was relieved when they yelled at both of us to come and collect our passports and leave. Our friends also travelling in a Spaceship had warned us that we would need to purchase a vignette to travel on the roads of certain countries, so we headed to the nearest petrol station to pick this up. It only cost 15 Lev (€7.6/$11.50 AUD/9.15 USD) for a week and once armed with our first of many sparkly little window stickers, we set off for our first stop, the Rila Monastery. Bulgaria is a beautiful country to drive through and as we gently wound our way into the mountains it progressively got greener and greener. We pulled into Zodiak Camping (16 Lev/$12.30 AUD/9.80 USD) at around 5pm and got out to take a look around. This campsite was right by a river and surrounded by yet more beautiful greenery. The only problem with this stunning location was that we were the only ones there, in the middle of nowhere, and it suddenly sparked my crazy imagination about murderers and beasts in the forest (I know, too much CSI and True Blood). It also took a turn for the worse when the heavens opened and it started to pour down outside the car. It’s probably at this point I should also mention that the electricity provided for the car was the world’s longest household extension cord, plugged into a massive industrial generator circa 1920, tied to a lamppost! Unsurprisingly, we were reluctant to plug anything into aforementioned makeshift recipe for deadly electrocution, after the rain. Luckily we were quite enamoured with the owner who appeared to be somewhere in the region of 110 years old and who spoke absolutely no English but couldn’t have been friendlier or more accommodating, so we were quite comfortable for the night. This campground is probably wonderful in peak season but was just a little creepy for my liking when taking in conjunction with my overactive mind. The Rila Monastery was on the itinerary for the morning so we parked up in it’s car park and headed in. To explore the monastery and church grounds is free but for a nominal fee of 4 lev (€2.05/$3.05 AUD/2.45 USD) you can also visit the museum which we can highly recommend. It’s a stunning 8th century monastery with interesting architecture and wonderful frescos. From here we headed back down the mountain and via the Stobb Pyramids (still not entirely sure what we were supposed to be looking at) to Plovdiv. Now, Bulgaria is limited with the campsites and after an unsuccessful stop at a motel that had once upon a time had a campground we made our way into Plovdiv itself. The first attempt at locating a guesthouse was also disastrous when we unfortunately found ourselves in the middle of Plovdiv old town with Dani awkwardly manoeuvring our oversized car around the narrow cobbled streets with absolutely no easy way out! A brief panic stop in a car park led us to our wonderful guesthouse Ulpia House where we only had to pay 45 Lev (€22.95/$34.65 AUD/27.55 USD) a night. We had a private bathroom, wifi and a fridge and were even able to find parking across the road in a secure hotel car park for 10 Lev (€5.10/$7.70 AUD/6.10 USD) a day so that we didn’t have to leave our car on the road. We fell in love with Plovdiv. It’s old town is gorgeous and we also found one of our favourite restaurants on the entire Euro trip there. If you happen to find yourself in Plovdiv, do us a favour and stop in at Restaurant XIX Century. The food is amazing and you will get more than you can ever eat plus drinks for under 40 Lev ($24.40 USD/30.75 AUD/€20.35) for 2 people. While we were in Plovdiv we did the city walking tour, which definitely wasn’t the best-presented tour we have ever been on but it was interesting and we got to have a detailed exploration of the city. We stayed in Plovdiv for 2 nights and then headed off to our next stop in Veliko Tarnovo. Veliko Tarnovo was once a capital of Bulgaria (Thanks Plami!) during period of the 2nd Bulgarian Kingdom (there were 3). It is a stunning city and has one of the best walking tours we’ve ever done. We were staying at an awesome campground 12km outside of the city but parking in the centre costs next to nothing and is really easy to find. Veliko Tarnovo Camping is a well set up, new campground run by a lovely Welsh couple who fell in love with the area when they initially visited six years ago. They have a pool, good-sized pitches, washing facilities and a restaurant. I can definitely recommend it as a place to stay! It was also here that we met our new friends Phil and Ann who are on a late life gap year around the world. We spent a lovely evening with them swapping travel stories and sharing tips. After two lovely days and nights we moved on from Bulgaria feeling surprised by just how much we had loved it and how we were actually reluctant to be leaving. Maybe it was this reluctance to leave, maybe it was because I had been looking forward to Romania (When will I learn not to have an expectation of a country?!) or maybe it was just because Bulgarians were just so lovely, but we were let down by Romania. It all started when navigating our way through Bucharest. We had noted that road quality and other road users had got progressively worse as we travelled through each country and by the time we got to Romania Dani was desperately longing for the aggressively fast French. Bucharest was the pinnacle of every aspect of dangerous and frightening driving condition imaginable! Screeching of tires heard on every corner, people speeding down tramlines to overtake against oncoming trams, parking 3 deep against the curb and stopping wherever they felt like to park (including in the middle of lanes on roundabouts…I AM NOT KIDDING!). After a nerve-wracking hour navigating through Bucharest rush hour we were exhausted only to find that the hostel Hostel name and price we had book for the sole purpose of secure free parking had mislead us and there was no parking to be found at all. We finally found a legal spot (not that it appeared to matter) and stumbled up to our hostel ready for a beer…or six! We were fortunate that there was a very nice beer garden right next to the hostel and we were soon merry and feeling better about our near death experiences. We had already made the decision that we couldn’t be out of there fast enough so in the morning it was tea/coffee and out. On the way to find us some Transylvanian castles. We mapped out a route that would take us past Pele’s Castle on our way to Vampire Camping in Bran (the mythological home of Dracula). Pele’s castle was absolutely stunning and we wandered around the grounds through the forest until threatening black clouds started to loom over us. There is something that feels right about a black cloud over a Transylvanian castle but we didn’t want to risk driving with Romanians in the rain so back in the car and off to Bran we went. Vampire Camping in Bran is a lovely spot. It’s well taken care of but there was a notable lack in the facilities department so it hasn’t made our favourites list. It is located an easy 1km walk from Bran Castle and village so it’s the perfect location to explore from and even has a bus that goes directly to Brasov from outside it. The weather gods were not on our side and for the 2 days we were in Bran and it poured with rain pretty much solidly. Our little Hamster is great in the sunshine but it’s a seriously cramped space in the rain. We walked up to the castle (35 Ron/€7.8/$11.45/9.10 USD) early on our first morning while there was a break in the rain but by the time we’d left the castle it was bucketing it down. After yet more souvenir shopping we headed back to the campsite for some semi-raw polenta and multiple cup-a-soups. The decision was that the weather wasn’t good enough to stay on so we left for Sibiu via Brasov. Brasov is a quaint place but it wasn’t great in the rain so while we waited for the Sunday service to end in the Black Church we hid out in a cute little bohemian café called Kafe Pub. With some much needed Wi-Fi we caught up with messages and did a bit more research into where we were heading. The Black Church (9 Leu/€1.95/$2.30 USD/2.95 AUD) turned out to be worth waiting for as its impressive organ loomed over the back of the church and its 16th century frescos adorned the walls having survived the fire that gave it the name “The Black Church”. A few hours later we arrived into Camping Ananas in yet more rain. Only 10km from Sibiu this seemed like a good location to stop for the night. Yet more rain meant we were in the mood for a hot beverage but Dani becoming increasingly frustrated with the amount of time the kettle was taking to boil decided to change the voltage. Neither of us are quite sure what she was thinking when she sent 240 volts through the kettle she had just set to 110 volts but sure enough the fuse blew and that was the end of our beloved kettle! Despite trying to resuscitate it in any way possible there was no hope…we were without our number one travel essential. This immediately put our heckles up when it came to this campground as if it was somehow it’s fault we were without ‘our precious’ (yes Dani was starting to resemble Golem at this stage). With the hump we packed up our still damp belongings and headed off to Sibiu to explore. Sibiu is worth its reputation as a truly beautiful city. It’s old town buildings are particularly awe inspiring and after discovering a local market with fruit and veges galore that also happened to be in the much longed for sunshine we were once again warming (pardon the pun) to Romania. We had 2 choices at this stage, head over to a town near the Hungarian border or stay another night. As neither one of us had found that much needed spark we decided we’d start our journey out. It was this decision as well as a little advice from Phil and Ann about a particular campground to avoid that led us to the cute little place Camping Route Roemenie. This place is run by a lovely Romanian/Dutch couple and is in a sweet little village lined with cherry trees. It has a good set up and we soon discovered that the campers next to us were a Kiwi/Swiss couple. This immediately struck up the usual conversation about where they were from, where they were travelling and before I knew it we had been talking till 2 in the morning (Dani had excused herself much earlier). In the morning we shared breakfast with our new friends and then packed up to head to the place Phil and Ann were staying in Hungary. The Romanian Hungarian border was an easy crossing and we were very soon in Szeged with the urgent mission to find a new kettle and eat before getting to the campground. We found a shopping mall that also had a nice looking local restaurant across the road from it and after locating a new kettle we wolfed down a delicious meal before going to meet Phil and Ann at Sziksósfürdő for a beer and a catch up on what felt like forever in travel terms but had actually only been 5 days! They were a much welcome sight was the campground after Romania and we all agreed that it wasn’t our favourite country. Over a few beers it was decided that we would all head to another campground in Hungary together for a few days before all going our separate ways. Armed with Google Maps we set off on the 40-minute drive to Oasis Tanya Camping which promised to be a wonderful campsite…It is…Google Maps is not! The road Google Maps decided to take us down turned out to be 3km of field track and although the tracks were well mapped out it seem dubious that there would be a campground at the end of it. Imagine our surprise when exactly as promised a beautiful oasis appeared out of nowhere. It turned out that if you had ignored Google Maps and followed the road another 100m it would have lead you to a sealed road but Dani and I aren’t ones to take the easy option!
We woke up to the pitter patter of mulberries hitting the roof of our car from the tree we were parked under and set about our morning routine of what Dani has nicknamed Cafe Riv. We had decided we were going to have a relaxed day of getting through chores we had to do like washing, the blog, cleaning out the car and set about having a chilled and productive day. Phil and Ann had decided to go for a "quick" walk and when 2 hours had gone by we did start to worry. At hour 3 I got a message from Phil saying "We got lost and we'll be back soon. Will explain when we get there”. Knowing they were ok we relaxed but when they got back they had the most marvellous story of getting lost, walking 7km and then stumbling across a Dutch couple who lived in the middle of nowhere who not only helped them home but fed them as well. They needed a beer and we felt we had earned one too as we'd been so productive so we settled into another great evening of chatting. We had also decided to have the meal that Tineke (one of the owners) cooks for guests most nights during the week. For €8 ($12 AUD/9.55 USD) you get a huge 2 course meal and I was pleasantly surprised when they were even able to accommodate vegetarians. The food was delicious and although we had a few nasty interactions with 2 sets of guests (with the same 2 couples on 3 separate occasions) it didn't take away from the great experience we had with Tineke and Theo at Oasis Tanya. It would make it high up our list of hot campgrounds. Having made the last minute decision to skip San Marino we realised quickly we had travelled at least an hour and a half in the wrong direction and now had a 6-hour journey down to where we were heading. This would have been fine as we knew we were staying for 6 days with our friend at the other end, had we not experienced what everyone fears most with a hire car…the dreaded engine light coming on (obviously in the middle on nowhere)! A quick phone call to the AA let us know that a mechanic would be sent out to check the car within 2 hours. This was not a great start to our journey. Exactly 2 hours later a tow truck arrived and informed us they would be taking us to the Volkswagen dealership in the nearest town, almost an hour away in the wrong direction to our final destination. Having witnessed our beloved ‘Hamster’ being loaded onto the truck we jumped into the front cab and headed off to Terni. They were absolutely lovely to us at Volkswagen. Giving us espresso and juices while we waited and chatting to us in limited English, but we had to laugh when the response to “How long will this take?” was an Italian shrug of the shoulders that appeared to say…“How long is a piece of string?!”. It turned out that the answer to that question was another 2 hours. The brand new car we had hired had either a collapsed pipe or collapsed pump (our Italian isn’t great and neither is our knowledge of car engines) and although they had replaced it they had told us that because the mechanic didn’t feel confident in a right hand drive he hadn’t been able to test the car properly before handing back over to us. This left us mildly concerned that it might happen again, as we sped back down the road that we had already driven twice that day, towards our final destination. I do have to add though that both the AA and Volkswagen were brilliant. From the engine light switching on to being back on the road took 6 hours in total. The AA rang 3 times to check in that we were ok and everyone we had dealings with was so kind and friendly. Our fears of breaking down in our least favourite country had come true and we had come out of it unscathed! We finally got to Torremaggiore (a town in Southern Italy) at 11pm tired and ready for the ice-cold beer and pizza that Parsley had waiting for us (thank heaven for good friends). We spent 6 glorious days relaxing with our bestie in the heat of southern Italy whilst characteristically indulging in all the culinary delights that it had to offer. On one day we ventured out for a day at the beach, to an area called the Gargano, which is a National Park lined with olive trees and truly picturesque Italian villages. It was definitely a day well spent, however, the rest of our time was blissfully wiled away enjoying good company, drinking too many aperitivos and staying up way too late (we are not made for Italian timing). Italy had redeemed itself slightly (although the lady who screamed at Dani for using the woman’s bathrooms at the beach and did not even apologise when she was flashed Dani’s bikini top didn’t help) but we still aren’t sold and are not planning to go back again anytime soon. Having felt the last ferry trip had been acceptable we had booked another crossing with the same company (Grimaldi), this time from Italy to Greece. It turned out that their smaller commuter style ships weren’t nearly as nice and this ship had none of the amenities we had been expecting. More like a cargo ship than a ferry, we crammed into the small seated area available and counted down each uncomfortable minute of the 8 hour journey. As is always the case when you’re arriving somewhere late at night, the ferry was over an hour behind schedule and finally at 1.30am we drove off the ship. Having decided we would stay at a motel for the night, we were lucky enough to stumble across Holiday Zigos, which was not only open at 2am but also was also reasonably priced at €40 ($60.25 AUD/47.90 USD) for the night. Comfortable and clean we were grateful for a bed and dropped off to sleep almost immediately. The wife of the owner popped her head around the door at 10am the following morning and asked if we wanted breakfast and we decided it was worth the €5 ($7.50 AUD/6 USD) each not to have to worry about preparing it ourselves. We walked into the breakfast area and there was a feast before us. There were pastries, spanakopita, bread, jams and a wonderful omelette...great way to start the day! Having had a lazy morning it was time to get back on the road and it was as we were packing up that we realised the fridge in the car wasn’t working! We tried all the girl things of switching things on and off as well as fiddling with the fuse box to no avail. It was now time to contact Spaceship for their advice and after our 6-hour delay less than a week before we were dreading their response. Dani was on the phone to the lovely man in the maintenance department who was talking her through a series of unsuccessful checks and quick fixes…once again turning the fridge on and off and examining a couple of the fuses. Eventually he had to concede that this may not be an easy fix and so asked her if she had any DIY knowledge...the answer to this question is ABSOLUTELY NOT! I could see the look of panic in her eyes so I offered to take over. He asked me kindly to dismantle the whole back of the car in order to access the back of the fridge. Halfway through removing the middle panel in the car the phone disconnected. Knowing they were likely to call back I continued to unscrew the panel and remove it from the car. When he called back he said, “Just before you dismantle the car (too bloody late!!!!) I just want you to check one of the other fuses”. Sure enough THAT fuse HAD blown and the whole dismantling of the car had been completely redundant. The familiar hum of the fridge kicked in as soon as we replaced the fuse and half grateful and half furious I thanked the man and hung up the phone. Finally we were ready to go and headed off into Greece. Unfortunately Greece’s campsites are mainly limited to the coastline and as we would be returning to Greece later in our Eurotrip we were just driving through the northern mainland. A quick Google search had offered us 3 viable options. 2 near where we wanted to be and one in the middle of what appeared to be nowhere…nowhere (Kastraki) sounded great, so that was where we set the satnav. We drove into the most beautiful landscape of enormous towering rock formations with tiny monasteries perched on top. Now it turns out that this is a fairly heavily touristed part of mainland Greece but at the time we were unaware of this and were gobsmacked at our luck of stumbling across such a beautiful location. Camping Vrachos (€18/$27.15 AUD/21.60 USD) was one of the best we’ve stayed at with a tavern, great amenities and an easy walk into the nearest town. This was not going to be the quick one night stop we had planned. After pitching up for the night and making friends with the campground cats (which Dani named Persephone, Amsterdam and Hoover) we settled down to watch some CSI and drifted off to sleep early. Waking up to the surrounding mountains bright and early the next day was heaven and I think it was this campsite that truly sold us on the whole camping thing. We wandered up to the local village in the morning and stocked up on all our favourite Greek classics. Tzatziki, taramasalata, spanakopita, olives, feta…before heading into the souvenir shops to spend yet more money on all the things we get in every country. Our ultimate downfall was the lovely family that ran the shop, as they were so nice we ended up spending double our usual buying t-shirts for both Dani and one of our nieces as well as a dress for me to wear to one of the many weddings we would be attending later that summer. Armed with food and souvenirs we ambled back up the hill to the campground. We could have stayed there forever but it was decided that after two days we should continue making our way up to Bulgaria, so I found a campsite about 40 minutes out of Thessaloniki to stay in the following night.
This campground (Camping Agiannis/€14/$21.10 AUD/16.80 USD)was nothing like the paradise we had just left. It was 90% permanent caravans that had patios built around them and the pitches available had nothing more that an electricity box. We decided very quickly that we would leave early the next morning; explore Thessaloniki and then head straight into Bulgaria. That night we had the pleasure of attempting to find sleep whilst listening to the delightful lull of Bulgarian pop music and left as soon as we had had breakfast the next morning. Thessaloniki is a sweet costal city to wander around and we had a great time exploring the old ruins and churches that are dotted about. Before we headed off we restocked the fridge full of Greek goodies in anticipation of our imminent departure. Next stop…Bulgaria! |
Follow us on Instagram or send us a messageArchives
November 2018
Categories
All
|