Greece has started to open up after the two-plus month lockdown and the past few days have witnessed an uptick in reopened businesses and people being out and about. As of last Monday, travel between regions is allowed. After over two months of traveling little more than a few blocks, we were itching to see some of the beautiful scenery that is part of why we came to Ioannina to begin with. We don't have wheels and it turned out to be challenging to find a rental car. But after a bit of a struggle, we did manage to find a rental car company that was open for business and yesterday we had the car for about 12 hours of jam packed (but socially distanced!) fun. Highlights included:
- seeing the ancient theater of Dodoni which used to hold around 18,000 people; we were the only visitors at the site;
- Sam getting to swim a mile in the Ionian Sea at a beach named Alonaki Fanariou (we think this translates as "little other traffic light." Kooky Greeks!) south of a resort town named Parga;
- Enjoying a drink under freshly leafed trees by the Acheron river, which has a stunning robin's egg blue color and is completely clear;
- Driving through the incredible Greek mountains and having to stop for herds of goats, sheep, and cows.
We've also gotten to walk more around town and the lovely lake here, Lake Pamvotida. We went for a sunset view a few evenings ago and it was stunning.
We head to Athens on Saturday and will spend a few days there prior to traveling to the States, right before our visa time runs out in Greece (and the whole Schengen Zone). We don't want to leave our bubble here amidst a culture that generally supports neighbors and even strangers.
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| Dodoni theater |
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| The Acheron River, near Glyki |
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| View from the mountains |
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| Sam checks out the water at Alonaki Fanariou |
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| Impressive siting for a house in the mountains |
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| Lake Pamvotida in Ioannina |
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| Another lake view |
