Bombed by swallows
- rnv178
- Jun 11, 2022
- 4 min read
The crossing from Bari to Igoumenitsa was remarkably painless. We barely felt a single wave, although it was not easy getting out of bed at 0415hrs in the morning, especially as Greece was two hours ahead of UK, whereas Italy was only one. It meant one hour’s less sleep than normal. The public areas of the boat were loitered with humankind, as so many travellers had not reserved a cabin. There were some lying on the floor, on benches, and draped over tables. Others had chosen to stay up all night drinking and smoking away the crossing of the Adriatic Sea.
For the last part of its journey to Igoumenitsa, there were lights each side of the ferry, twinkling in the early dawn, as the vessel passed down the Channel of Kerkyra. The sleepers carried on sleeping, but the drinkers and smokers certainly stopped to look at the two coastlines, Corfu one side and mainland Greece the other. Unusually, I was told, the ferry was on time. The ship’s loading staff clearly knew what they were about, as we were slickly off and onto land within moments of our arrival at Igoumenitsa, on the Greek mainland. Mostly it was lorries, with a handful of cars. None was from UK.
There were occasional road signs warning of bears, depicting a large mummy bear leading its cub. The park is one of three in Greece that hosts a population of Eurasian brown bears, which is a conservation priority species. There are signs, too, warning of deer and sheep, and animal fences alongside the road to help keep the wildlife safe. The drive through the Pindos Mountain range is something all should do, and we enjoyed it.
Animals rule the roost in the Pindos, and it does not matter what that animal may be. Within minutes of stopping at a roadside rest area I was being bombed by swallows. They had decided to make their nest in the rafters of a loo, and to the swallows, no human was going to upset them. The birds dived at high speed towards me, flying so close that I felt my hair ruffle. I retreated to the car, found my umbrella, and used it to fight off the birds. It was no use.
The swallows ducked, dived, and missed both me and my flailing umbrella by a whisker. It was obvious who was boss, and it was not me.
Breakfast was a drawn-out meal in the university town of Ioannina, and by the side of its scenic lake, Lake Pamvotis. The spot is a magnet for tourists. A busload of Germans drove by, disgorged its human contents, and we watched them stroll by with their guide in the lead. She was looking officious and assertive, while the group of retirees behind her did exactly what she asked.
“You stand there,” I overheard her instruct, albeit I was on the far side of the road. A retiree, at least that was the age she appeared, shuffled obediently into the position she was pointing.
“You go there!” the guide next ordered an elderly man, pointing with her straight arm and finger. There was no disobeying her command. Another retiree shuffled.
Within two minutes the guide’s group was in place, perfectly positioned and silent. She then began talking, but her words were drowned by the slowly increasing traffic as the Ioannina morning rush hour started to develop.
While the Germans were dancing the Ioannina Shuffle, I was demolishing my third helping of breakfast. A quadruple coffee - yes, quadruple - and a Greek equivalent of a full fried English breakfast. Somehow the locals made it look attractive by adding a Greek salad to lie alongside the fried eggs and bacon. I am unsure anyone can stay thin on a journey like this. The restaurant was called Spitaki Me Thea (“House with a View”) and by the time we left at 1100hrs, it appeared filled with half the city. All were youngsters, of student and school age, which made us feel our antiquity.
Next stop was the town of Metsovo, 30 minutes’ drive from Ioannina, and on the way to Thessaloniki. Metsovo is a hillside town, with tiny streets, and once famous for its hospitality. In Ottoman times, the residents of the town were exempt from paying certain taxes, if they guarded the surrounding mountain passes and provided services to travellers. I am unsure what those services were meant to be. Now the town’s economy is based around agriculture and tourism. Metsovo was once the site for part of the Greco-Italian war in 1940.
This was a lesser-known conflict that occurred shortly after Italy declared war on both France and the United Kingdom, again in 1940. Greece was accused of being a British ally, which Italy used as justification for launching an invasion from Albania. The Greek counter-offensive eventually pushed the Italians back and is often seen as the first Axis setback of World War Two. There is a memorial to the Greek dead on the outskirts of Metsovo. Instinctively, we stopped to pay our respects.
Our final stop was Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city. The Greeks sometimes call it a co-capital with Athens. Within 30 minutes of arriving at our hotel, the Makedonia Palace, and our home for the next couple of days, my mobile buzzed and vibrated. It was a different buzz to normal - loud, prolonged, and unmissable. My telephone was signalling something special, so I instantly retrieved it from my trouser pocket to find a screenful of words. At first, I thought it was a scam, as we had only just arrived, but it was a warning from the Greek Civil Protection to say severe weather was on the way, we should not go out, we should take real care, as the heavens were about to open. They did, but it was over in a couple of hours, and the rainfall was nothing by UK Lake District standards. Two millimetres of rainfall in an hour? That was how the forecast read. In Cumbria we frequently receive double that. But rain in Thessaloniki is different to the English Lake District, as in Thessaloniki the local facilities are not designed for a heavy deluge. Water does not easily flow away, and the surfaces become slippery. That means falling over and I was not seeking to repeat my Chamonix tumble.
***
Stayed at:
Makedonia Palace Hotel, Leof. Meg. Alexandrou 2, Thessaloniki 546 40
Tel: +302310897197
Email: info@makedoniapalace.gr
Breakfast at:
Spitaki Me Thea, 16 Patriarchi Evagelidi Plateia Mavili, Ioannina 454 44 Greece
Tel: +302651035105
Email: managnostoy@hotmail.com
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