The ferry departs from Ancona (IT) and after only one (terrible, almost sleepless and extremely unfriendly) night without a cabin, we arrive in Igoumenitsa (GR) the next day. We have no plans and drive to the first campsite, only 20 minutes from the harbour. We can stop directly at the sea, the water is crystal clear and large white stones shimmer on its bottom. Just as you would imagine Greece to be. We chat a bit with our neighbours, enjoy a super hot shower and a quiet evening.
Thanks to Bianca's friends (shout-out to Esther and Ioannis <3) we got a few tips for the north of Greece. Once again, we were unprepared and let ourselves drift a bit. First stop Ioannina. The city seems picturesque and modern, but somehow sleepy. Only when we stroll past the 10th closed shop do we realise that this is probably due to the siesta here.
It is getting hot and we drive further into the mountains to Metsovo. There we find a place to sleep in a ski area, right next to a fresh water spring. It is incredibly quiet and relaxed. You can feel the spring in the air and with the cows in the distance and the ski lift next to us, you could almost think we were back in Switzerland. Here we walk through the forests that used to be inhabited by bears and have a barbecue in the evening. Above all, we enjoy the peace and quiet and the knowledge that we will now inexorably continue towards Asia.
No Drama in Drama
Luca found Owen of Sky Gods online. The Brit lives more or less half the year in Drama. Here he offers flight trips for other pilots. We write him and get the information, that we can even park our bus at the clubhouse of the Air Club Aiolos . Right next to a military zone. Soldiers constantly patrol the area and several times a day some kind of horn sounds... At the club container we also meet a whole bunch of Greek pilots. It is hardly possible to fly on this day, but nevertheless everyone is there because it is a holiday.
Drama is said to be an excellent long-distance flying area. It is protected from the strong wind from the north, the Meltemi. For the first day, we only have a short flight to the other landing site. Many of the club are sitting there, barbecuing, drinking, laughing and tying flower wreaths. The first of May is also the beginning of spring here. We are warmly welcomed, everything is shared with us, and those who know better English translate for the others. So once again we have landed in a very hospitable country. Awesome!
Drama-free Greece
We spend the next few days either in town, if the weather doesn't cooperate, or in the air. We meet flight instructor Petros, who tells us about flights over the river Nestos, aircraft instructor Markos, who is absolutely on fire for coffee and flying, and the British Owen, who is trying to set up his thing here. It is very relaxed with all of them, they are only too happy to share their knowledge, organise transport to the take-off and landing sites and give tips on the surroundings. In the town itself, Bianca takes the opportunity to have her hair cut. The hairdresser doesn't speak English and she doesn't speak Greek, but they are both happy with the result. The long hair was simply too complicated in the long run.
We still don't manage to fly really long distances, but Luca at least lands once in the neighbouring village (17km away), while Bianca tries to repay the hospitality and drives the shuttle bus down the mountain at least once. But it's from the UK, so the steering wheel is on the left. Also something new. Thanks to the whole club and all who were there. We can recommend all pilots who want to fly in Greece to visit Drama. It is a place that will definitely stay in your memory.
Over, on and in the river Nestos
After a few days we drive on again. On our way is the already mentioned Nestos. Petros goes flying with us there. At least we think so. But at the launch site the wind is blowing so hard again that we have to deal with "parawaiting" once more. At least that's nothing new. After a few hours we all get into the air. It's a bit turbulent, but the thermals are still not strong enough to fly to the next town, for example. We can stay in the air for about an hour. Unfortunately, Petros has to land early because he almost broke a brake line... Good thing he noticed it in time.
The view is breathtaking. The river stretches in long S-curves below us through the mountains. We get the feeling that we are flying over a jungle... or at least in ancient, mythical Greece. This may have something to do with the fact that we are listening to almost nothing but Greek myths at the moment... who knows.
Diving in
The place is so beautiful that we stay another day, because you can also go kayaking here. We are lucky (again) and spontaneously get the last two places. Actually, they were already fully booked, but because of Corona, some had to cancel. So now we have the chance to paddle down the Nestos for 5 hours. Although there are even families with children, we feel a bit like the biggest kids' heads here. The tour guide has to translate everything into English for us, but he doesn't seem to mind. He likes to explain the landscape, its history and his own. He does his job with passion and we feel it. During the breaks, we mainly have cold "fredos" (Greek iced coffee) and jump into the river to float with our life jackets. It is incredibly cold and we are so glad for our wetsuits.
With the kayak, we constantly try to overtake the others, let ourselves fall behind, only to catch up again very quickly, or spin around in circles a few times. It's so much fun to behave like children. At the very end we get an extra diversions because our guide thought it was so funny with the group. He even had a super professional camera with him and we were sent the photos afterwards. Unfortunately, we both forgot to download them... so we are left with our own. A bit of a shame, but maybe we'll learn from it.
Bosporus is calling
One more night in Alexandroupulis and then we want to cross the border into Asia. Leave Europe behind us and travel the areas of the Silk Road. Forget the euro again, learn new currencies, new languages, new cultures. A visit to Ölüdeniz is planned to do a safety course with the paragliders. Once again, not much else. Maybe a few workaways, maybe something completely different. Time will tell. We might even be ready for it.
English (UK) 
Deutsch