Exodus

.. same old basic route home: - a new set of glitches!

Ancona to Lattes again!

We have recently left Lattes Camping Le Parc, enjoying ten days of most unseasonable weather and treatment as valued clients!
The journey there took us five days:- going at our Greyrocks slow pace.

We left Paleo on a dull but dry day but as we came "over the top" on our northerly drive the rain started and we spent the afternoon on the Nea Hora in Chania not sunbathing and swimming but looking out from the window of Akrogiali over a seafood salad and wine. (So 28th September was the last sea-swim of the season for us!). Bored, and worried about the security of fully laden Yvette we moved on to Souda Bay and sat in a bar until allowed to board. We were given a good cabin and largely lurked there as it was chilly outside with little to see in the dark. It felt like it was time to head for sunnier climes. But we did do the "gyros and beer" thing on the pool deck, and in the morning we were off in an efficient manner and facing the long day till the next voyage.

Not for the faint-hearted at 7am!

We've cracked it! At last we have managed to get out of Piraeus and onto the Corinth road without mishap! In fact we were on said road and metaphorically patting ourselves on the back by sunrise. Phew! With a break at a service station, the wonderful new toll road, a further break by the sea and a small section of roadworks at the entrance to Patras it was going well. We just had to kill the day! So we went to see if the delightful (and generous) Yacht Club Bar might have re-opened. It hadn't!  So we spent a while in one of the trendy places nearby and then decided it was worth going to the new ferry port where we knew a mellow bad within the fortified precinct. Unfortunately that has now turned into a dull branch of Everest, and looked most uninviting! So the time was killed and lunch consumed in the terminal building, which was OK! We also went in search of products containing mastic from the island of Chios. The reason will be revealed later  - and anyway we failed!

Our vessel for the voyage back to Ancona was the same as going over, so we knew its strengths and weaknesses! We somehow managed to jump the boarding queue when they saw the bikes and we were required - as before - to remove them and go down two decks to the bowels (and indeed the stern-most position with its implications for next day)l but with a ridiculously small number of car travellers we got a free upgrade in cabin to consolidate us, and the evening sailing was like being on the Marie Celeste! We ate in the a la carte and chose the wrong dish, slept through the embarkation of many more cars and passengers in Igoumenitsia and treated ourselves next day to some internet time to get some jobs done! The weather was a bit grim! We were only a little late docking and on the way downstairs we crossed paths with two young stowaways of Asian heritage racing up from the vehicle decks. They may well have been the ones we had seen in Patras frantically trying to find an accessible truck - such desperation, and such grim prospects!

In contrast we had two nights ahead in rather nice Italian hotels doing remarkable deals for Autumn midweek stays. But first we had to get going! As anticipated it was a very long wait until our turn to drive up the ramps, re-load the bikes and leave the ship, but was still light, but by the time we had crawled to the autostrada it wasn't! And then it started to rain so it was as well that our target in Imola was easy to find.It was a comfortable stay and an interesting meal that merited a Booking.com entry! (we are Robert from Spain!)

Then it was back onto the autostrada and round Bologna, one of those ghastly Italian service stations with good panine, improving weather, a few roadworks causing confusion near Piacenza and gliding into the Grand Hotel Arenzano in its prime seaside location and with its grand history. We had stayed in a motel a few years ago and so know this is a charming resort with good eating. We gained early entry to a sea-view room, but saw the 1-Michelin-star restaurant and also knew we wouldn't be eating there! We did a serious promenade walk in the sun and by the time we had been given generous titbits in two different bars, we decided to people-watch instead and took back a bottle to the room. Next day we had an experience that also led to a Booking.com review, but hey!

The next stage started with poor visibility, but when we emerged from the last Italian tunnel near Ventimiglia the bright sun shone and so it did for almost the rest of our time in France. We made an overnight stop in Aix-en-Provence at the largest Campanile we have seen. It was surrounded by large schools and colleges and was heavily fortified so we decided not to attempt exploration of the area and instead rested in the bar with a half of Prosecco! This - as our first day back in France  - mirrored our first on entry back in June when we celebrated the near-defeat of the Tories in UK! This time we were marking - perhaps - their continued chaos and humiliation. We had a decent Campanile meal finishing with the leftover patisserie we had been given with the fizz.

The final stage of the exodus should have been easy. We trundled on down the autoroute expecting to get to the campsite before the staff lunch break and with a chance to buy cheap supermarket diesel. We know exactly which exit is best for Lattes, but we had forgotten about the diversion of the A9 around Montpellier that has been in construction for many years. Way before any familiar junctions the yellow signs started to tell us us about the A709. With hindsight it is perfectly clear that we needed it, but we ignored it and stayed on the A9. We also now know that would mean a length of 23km on the new bit and no chance to change your mind! Ideas of early arrival were replaced by anxiety about fuel and annoyance with ViaMichelin which did not seem  (unlike Google Map) to have updated. The new section had opened on May 30/31st - not long after our last stay, and we had not been near on the UK-Crete run as we went East for Switzerland! There are some great pictures  here of the grand projet.
Greyrocks just had to carry on almost to Sete and then return on the N road via a petrol station. Back in Montpellier we got swift puncture repair to Bob's bike at Decathlon, had a nice lunch, did the shopping and went to the campsite when they re-opened. Karma returned eventually!