Tag 115-119 - 'It's an anywhere road for anybody anyhow. '

Dear readers,

Here follows the most boring blog post I have ever written, and this solely because there has been almost nothing happening in the past few days. 

After our visit to Berlin left in the early morning, we had to recover from all the hustle and bustle and take care of our van - 5 loads of laundry is our record so far.

Originally, we had a lot planned in Leonidio. We wanted to install the charger for our second battery, which Eik kindly brought us, but unfortunately it didn't work. We had a list of sectors that we wanted to visit again or for the first time and a few projects to tick off, but it was raining continuously. We managed to have a climbing day in Theos before the lousy weather forced us to spend our time in Gretchen or Panjika. As cozy as it can be in the van when the rain is pattering on the roof, eventually you start to feel a bit cramped. Besides, we only have five weeks left before we want to be back in Germany and we definitely don't plan to spend them idle in the rain.

Unfortunately, according to the locals, we experienced an unusually cold and especially rainy winter. It simply didn't stop raining and the weather forecast didn't give us much hope either. And since we didn't have anything else to do anyway, we made wild plans (Spain, southern France or Italy) and more realistic plans (Athens, Crete or Turkey), compared weather forecasts and travel prices, and even briefly considered ending our trip and going home. We'd rather lose a few weeks than have such an ignominious end as a memory. But that would have been a shame because it can't rain forever, can it?

For now, we agreed to leave Leonidio behind and continue towards Athens, where there are more alternatives in case of downpours than H.A.D.A, Panjika, or Gretchen. Perhaps it was even good that the weather forced our hand. There is still so much on our travel list and yet Leonidio has become so dear to us in the past two months that we would have postponed our farewell a bit longer. It was nice to have a home here in Greece, some structure, and plenty of time at the crag with our friends, but now we want to fully enjoy the freedom of traveling in the van before heading back to Germany. The fact that we left a bit unprepared also has the advantage that we will definitely have to return to Leonidio sooner or later to tick off all the things that are still pending.

So we had only one last visit to Panjika to say goodbye and transfer the latest routes to our guidebook, one (for now) final dinner with friends, one last time feeding our favorite cats, one last ice-cold shower at the beach, and one last night with the sound of the sea in our ears.

Just before our departure, we received a surprise visit from Johanna, Pablo, and Nico, giving us the chance to say a proper goodbye, even though it is clear that we will see each other again at least when we are back in Berlin - you won't get rid of us that easily!

Actually, the plan we had dismissed as rather unrealistic of crossing over to Crete for another week or two suddenly took shape, and if everything works out, the separation will really only be temporary.

Eventually, we managed to tear ourselves away from this wonderful place and these even more wonderful people and find a way around the significantly increased flow, and suddenly we were back where we belong - on the road.

With freshly resoled climbing shoes, many great experiences and friendships, and a new enthusiasm for travel, we now continue into the sunset. Okay, let's be honest, we're driving into the rain. But as everyone knows, rain is always followed by sunshine, and we're very excited to see what the next few days have in store for us.

Athens is one of the major destinations of our journey, and we're very excited to explore the city and the nearby climbing areas, as well as everything else that may come our way. You'll hear from us.

Until then, keep moving on!