Drove down out of the mountains this morning and the weather just got warmer and warmer as we approached the Greek border. Filled up with super cheap diesel at the last stop in Bulgaria, then joined the queue for passport control, unlike a few others that just pushed in!
We were soon at Lake Kerkini in Greece. We were going to visit this place on our way out of Greece last year, but there were far too many mosquitoes around at the time. We saw the herd of water buffalo almost straight away and so many birds (300+ species).
Guy asked some local lads where was the best place to see the pelicans, they said the track followed all the way down the edge of the lake to join up with the road at the bottom. We started driving down the rough track slowly, then saw beavers, a little owl, flamingos and then loads of pelicans – amazing!
Crawling slowly down the road in the van, we realised it was getting more and more narrow. Nowhere to turn around either. Branches were starting to rub on the sides and top of the van – it was like being on a jeep safari. At one point, I had to drive while Guy got a brush out and held the trees out of the way! 😬
Even when we reached the road at the bottom of the lake, we still couldn’t find anywhere to park, so we’ve ended up almost circumnavigating the whole thing. There was a short intermission when we had to rescue a tortoise from the middle of the road. Probably took it days to get there, now it’s back in the grass verge. Eventually found a picnic spot with parking overlooking the lake. Perfect – apart from the couple stood behind us arguing for the last two hours. 🙄
