finally some photos!

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hey folks! we are snuggled up in the little village of astakos on the sea. the last few days have been awesome! we stopped for coffee a couple days ago walking through a backroad village and the guy wouldn't let us pay for the coffee and gave us some oranges on the way out. we'd barely stepped out of the place when some more guys across the street waved us in to a little bar and begged us to sit down with them. then came the shots of typiro, the homemade wine, the bread, the feta.... on and on until we eventually spent the afternoon and evening hanging out with these guys, and i (andrew) had a great time playing soccer with the kids in the churchyard. dave's soccer playing ended rather abruptly after about 5 seconds when he slipped on the concrete, and in his efforts to save his camera, smashed his lip and bled profusely all over the place... so he went back to the bar 😊 we crashed on costa's floor and we got off to an early start because we still had 30km to go before reaching astakos where we had arranged to 'couchsurf' through an internet site at a doctor's house. unfortunately he had given us the wrong number by mistake so we couldn't get a hold of him and set up our tents by the tennis courts on the edge of town. the amazing thing is that when he realized his mistake he went around town looking for us and found us there! so we got out of our sleeping bags, packed up our tents and headed over to his place and then went out for some amazing seafood. the whole town pretty much knows the story about us 2 lost canadians, who eventually were found. today we hung out with a friend of the doctors and we'll probably all meet up again later this evening. tomorrow we're going to take the ferry to the island of kafelonia to stay a couple nights with another friend of the doctor's that he knows through couchsurfing. i spoke with her today and she said she's got 2 spots on the boat to take us sailing on the full day that we're there. sounds rough, eh? but after that we will ferry back to astakos and put our feet back on the road, heading north. anyhow, i'll stop blabbing so you can have time to take a look at the photos. enjoy 😊

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Photos

just flyin' along
artist: curtis macdonald

parthanon
dave trying to figure out how to build one of these things in his backyard.

first steps
moments before kicking things off from the hostel in athens on new years day!

Finding our way
looking for the best way out of Athens

finally made it out of the city
On a mountain trail just outside of athens

aspropirgous sunset
this was at our first of many random roadside campsites after our first day on the road, january 1st, nearing the town of aspropirgous, characterized by its charming oil refineries and a crazy aussie character at a gas station who gave us some great directions which completley altered the course of our journey.

happy dave
one of those moments of perfect timing finding great seafood and beer after a hard days work. (no see food yet)

dave's feet
gas station footcare and beer

scenery
great views on some of the coastal mtn roads, but we had to keep at least one eye on the traffic

hotel in corinth
after 4 days on the road camping were back at the acropolis, this time a hotel in corinth, for some much appreciated rest and wound care

feeding
typical lunch stop

looks like rain!
just before a torrential downpour crossing the 2km bridge near patra... enjoying the last minutes of being dry!

Prime camping...
right on the road! The rain and hail quit for 15 minutes so we quickly set up camp

camper's closet
breakfast on morning after torrential downpour/hailstorm

Lonely stretches of road
On the way to Astakos

The old mighty tree
Andrew was looking for a place to camp for the night. I guess his genetic roots were coming to light.

six little pigs
Andrew cant decide if he's a pig or a monkey?
Any suggestions?

Astakos from the pass
This is where we are hanging out at the moment.

Comments

[Rebecca]

Real Photographers
Real photographers ALWAYS save the camera first at risk of life and limb.... or lip! Great job on that front, Dave! ;^) Love reading of your adventures! Stay safe out there!

[Theresa]

hi boys!
Great photos! Love the dark ominous clouds following you. spooky! That shot of you and the other boys is priceless! I think andrew makes a good monkey but is as cute as a piglet. If that answers the question. But Dave is cuter. :) Love Theresa

[yogi]

way cool
Hey guys! Great pics and stories. Stay dry and keep the updates coming. Lucy and Angelle say woof!

[Andre]

Pretty amazing pictures. Nice to be able to see the trek through the photos. What a great drawing from Curtis! take care boys!!

[panos]

astakos
Hi to everybody, I'm that doctor in astakos! These guys are amazing, I am very glad to have met them. Go on!

[Trudy Cummings]

Great Pics, guys! Looks like a lot of fun and amazing scenery! :)

[Angie McCleary]

Cool!
Hey Andrew and Dave, I had a few minutes (don't come across many these days) to check out your site,,,,Loved all of the pictures and adventure stories..Can't wait for many more. BTW, I love your clothes line (the tree) ha ha.... Happy Trails Angie

[Doug]

Fantastic
Andrew ( and Dave , we haven't met , yet) You guys look like you are having the time of your life. Go for it. Your pictures and writing bring back memories when I left the downtown hostel in Athens in 1970, Janaury too ( 40 years ago !!!) and headed to Piraeus sial over to Crete. I spent many hours in the cafe playing back gammon and sipping oozo - can one actuall sip oozo? Carpe Diem - you have my soul Take care

[Twyla]

Haha!
Great stuff you guys. Looks like you're having an fantastic time. Andrew and the piglets, that's sooo funny.

[Twyla]

And
That's a great caricature of you Andrew!

[Iain Williams]

Dark Clouds
Wow those clouds look dark Dave! Sort of put a new perspective on things when you know it's going to rain, yet you can not get out of the weather or do anything about it - makes everything lots of fun! Best Iain (Australia)