Day 03 North Macedonia and Greece - Strumica and Thessaloniki

Today I didn't sleep well, I thought too much about the engine problem...

The plan for today is to hand over most of the transported relief goods to the Miss Stone Center in Strumica. The center is operated by the world mission of our church, as it was on the way, I contacted them in advance and asked what things we could help with. I had an appointment with the pastor at 8 o'clock there, it was only about 2 km away. I decided to try to drive there. With about 7 stalls and a lot of idling, I barely made it there. The extra diesel poured from the reserve canister didn't help.

Mitko, the head of the facility, Pastor Cekov, and I unloaded the donated children's clothing, pens, balls, various safety equipment (reflective vests, warning lights, etc.), tools, and toys. Now I finally had space and could work on the engine. Actually, no diesel was reaching the engine.

So I unscrewed the line between the filter and the engine so that I could draw diesel directly from the canister. But the canister had just been emptied earlier. Not very smart of me... So I went under the car and let the diesel drip back into the canister from the tank, thanks to a not completely factory-standard departure.

With that, I could finally test it. And lo and behold, the engine ran properly again. Phew, the injection pump is not the problem, lucky me.

The filter itself looked okay, so there must be a blockage somewhere between the filter and the tank. Pastor Cekov urged me to interrupt my repair attempts and invited me for a coffee. I received many interesting information about the center and its work.

Then suddenly a mechanic, Mitko had called him for assistance, appeared and searched for the problem with me...We then found that the hollow bolt at the filter inlet was completely clogged with dirt. After a quick cleaning, diesel was flowing from the tank to the engine properly again. So the problem was solved for now. But I will have to work on it again because there is probably much more dirt in the tank. The mechanic also gave me his small hand pump, let's see if I need it again.

Afterwards, there was a very rich breakfast at the Miss Stone Center.

After cleaning up the transporter, we continued towards Greece...

By the way, I saw some interesting mobile items. They were obviously homemade chassis with diesel engines, with a circular saw attached to the front. I saw this kind of thing more often, it seems to be a kind of self-propelled working machine.

I was also offered a beautiful mountain landscape in North Macedonia. Just my thing, cruising down long serpentines in gear with nice music playing...

Right in front of the border with Greece, there was a beautiful large lake, right next to it is the border station. I was able to cross this border without any problems. However, for the first time, I had to open the now empty trunk and the engine cover located there. At all previous borders, if at all, they just looked uninterested through the windows. However, the Greek customs officer was not interested in the completely filled passenger compartment with all sorts of boxes and stuff...

After crossing the border, I drove a bit through a plain for the first time, and at some point I stopped in the middle of the country at a gas station. The gas station attendant performed a German 'children's song': 'Eins zwei Polizei, drei vier...' If he thinks so...

Actually, I wanted to stay overnight in Thessaloniki. But when I arrived there, it somehow seemed too hectic for me. So I took a room in a small hotel directly on the beach outside the city.

Quick vehicle check: One blinker light, one position light, and one license plate light have failed, otherwise no special incidents - don't feel like repairing anything else today.

I traveled 150 kilometers today, that's enough for now.

And then this Sunday ended with delicious Greek food on the beach...