After 15 hours of plane rides and 17 hours layover time, 4 hours drive north through 6 toll booths then up a narrow, winding road for 43 km, we arrived at our first destination – the tiny mountainside village of Tsagarada. One of the first things we learned along the way is that Greek drivers are more aggressive than anywhere we've been. Whether you're on the highway or turning a sharp corner on a narrow mountainside road, they'll pass with very little, if any, warning and barely leave space between their car and yours as they cut back in. Ah well, off you go.
Tsagarada is a small town in a row of mountainside villages overlooking the Aegean Sea. Driving up the winding mountain road, we had to stop for awhile as a farmer and his herd of goats passed us and the road was clear again. It was great - kind of a message saying "s'alll good, no rush". Once we reached our first destination, we were pleased to find it such a peaceful place. A great way to start our holidays after both keeping such crazy busy schedules. First thing on Brad's list .... find a good coffee place. Don't expect to buy a cup of java like you would in North America. Here, the closest thing we found that suited our taste was cappuccino. A good choice but the small size for such an expense was a shock to someone who usually fills up his 12 ounce 'go cup' when he hits the road. We did manage to find a place down the mountain that serves a strong espresso with a bottle of water on the side so we could add as much as we wanted to suit our taste.
This area was the perfect place to begin our vacation. Its very quiet with only a few stores for necessities - convenience store, meat & cheese shop, post office, gift shop, and a few pubs. In mid afternoon, men could be found sitting outside having a beer during their mid day break when it is too hot to work. We unwound with peaceful drives to explore the area, walks, and picture taking. On one trek, we could hear the faint sound of beautiful violin music coming from a tree lined road so followed it to a stone building which we believe was a school.
This area was the perfect place to begin our vacation. Its very quiet with only a few stores for necessities - convenience store, meat & cheese shop, post office, gift shop, and a few pubs. In mid afternoon, men could be found sitting outside having a beer during their mid day break when it is too hot to work. We unwound with peaceful drives to explore the area, walks, and picture taking. On one trek, we could hear the faint sound of beautiful violin music coming from a tree lined road so followed it to a stone building which we believe was a school.