Stage 37: From Kamena Vourla to Vardali

In the morning, I received a great breakfast and lots of good wishes for the rest of the trip from my host family (it definitely didn't feel like a hotel). Then I restocked supplies at the supermarket and got new tires at the workshop. Along the way, I passed by Thermopylae, where the famous battle against the Persians took place in 480 BC (made even more famous by the movie '300'). Nowadays, this narrow passage along the coast is much wider and more accessible.

I arrived in Lamia, the capital of the 'Central Greece' region, just in time for lunch. From there, there are two options for continuing north: either along the coast or through the mountains. I spontaneously chose option 2, as it is shorter and actually involves less elevation gain. So after lunch, I started climbing up the E65 and continued through the plain until Domokos.

In the late afternoon, it started raining, so I set up my tent near Vardali. There wouldn't have been any accommodation options nearby anyway. As it got dark, I started to feel a bit nervous when I saw flashing lights through my tent. Was I about to be caught wild camping for the first time and maybe even fined? I really didn't feel like taking down my tent in the rain and arguing with police officers. After half an hour of flashing lights, I decided to take a look. Fortunately, it was just a police check right across the road and a tour bus was being inspected for a total of 1.5 hours. Lucky me!