DHL Shop, Paliochano Beach, and Gythio

November 29, 2024

I call the DHL Shop in Nafplio because we received a number from Amazon that needs to be communicated upon delivery. The super friendly lady at the shop informed me that a large package has arrived (the replacement solar panel from Wattsunde) along with a small package. Everything we need is there—great! Since we need to charge the on-board battery again anyway, we quickly drove to the DHL Shop 15 km away and then back... relaxed and not a problem. We picked up both packages, and in our naivety, we thought we could pack the defective solar module and drop it off at the shop... but no, we need to go to a store directly in the city center for that. Great, but okay, there's nothing we can change about it. I drove to the shop, let Freddy out, and looked for a parking spot almost in the second row. Turned on the hazard lights and walked toward the shop to show Freddy where I was parked... but no. A Greek man called me over to my vehicle and told me I had to move because it was a bus parking spot. It's funny; Greek vehicles can park there... strange. But that's how it is. I got back in the car and made a loop trying to find a parking spot... but nothing. Then I saw Freddy stopping me, telling me he had to take a number there, and it would take some time. I handed him my wallet and phone, letting him know I was heading to the port where we had parked before.

An hour later, Freddy came back to the vehicle... without a package... so everything worked out. Great, now we can leave the Nafplio region. We decide to return to the last camping spot where we want to spend the weekend with the rain, including thunderstorms. Once we arrived, we quickly put on our bathing suits and jumped into the waves. Very refreshing and really nice.

Since we have enough power, we watch YouTube with Starlink and wind down for the evening.

Oh, and in the meantime, we finished filming a video since we have a collaboration with the company Allpowers, which provided us with the solar panel. It’s really fun to see how high-quality the solar panel is.

November 30, 2024

Quickly take out the solar panel while the sun is still out. We still have a little chance to charge, but unfortunately only for a short time; the clouds are getting thicker and it’s starting to rain. We use the day for “office work.” Freddy is editing videos, and I respond to comments on YouTube since our new film was released today. Writing blocks and keeping the cost list up to date... oh dear, what a stress 😂😂.

The waves are getting more intense, and you can hear the sea roaring. Oh yeah, at night, you could hear the golden jackals howling again... very bizarre but really cool. Maybe I’ll experience that too some day. Last night, Freddy woke me up to hear the jackals, but somehow I can’t remember anything... I had a good sleep.

December 1, 2024

Well, it’s of no use; we need to cover quite a bit of distance. Now we have the solar panels, but unfortunately, no sun... a vicious circle... so we drive south for quite a few kilometers. The first camping spot fails due to the access road, and the second is somewhat lacking in beauty and charm... so we go another 50 km farther to where we can park by the harbor in Gythio. So off we go!

On the way, we find a gas station for autogas. We refill the somewhat half-empty gas tank and can even fill up on water there. Freddy does the taste test and we decide to only fill it into the tank and not use it as drinking water. The option to buy water bottles at the supermarket is truly a good alternative. When we find a tasty spring again, we can tap our drinking water.

We drive through narrower streets – and thankfully one-way streets – toward the harbor... really a dream, and there’s even a spot available. We park there and enjoy the view of the harbor basin and in the evening the beautiful lighting... yes, Christmas is coming soon here too.

We lock the vehicle, secure it, and turn on the alarm system. A walk through the city shows us tight, winding alleys and many abandoned and dilapidated houses. Somehow spooky, but that's how we know it. In the harbor area, there are of course plenty of restaurants that are still quite busy even today on a Sunday during the off-season. Barely back at the car, it starts to rain again, and we are glad that we managed to stay relatively dry.

In the evening, we go outside once more and enjoy the balmy evening and the genuinely beautiful lights along the harbor edge. We notice drops on our heads again and start walking toward the vehicle.

So the evening is here, cooking is on the agenda, and some YouTube is watched, and then it’s time for bed.