Greece

Distance: 29.7 km – Elevation +180 m -670 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 34 degrees I dined in my favourite seafood restaurant last night and said my farewells to this lively city as I strolled along the promenade watching the sun setting as it cast its golden glow over the harbour. I wanted an early start as the forecast was for temperatures in the mid thirties and I had thirty kilometres ahead of me to reach

Distance: 29.0 km – Elevation +130 m -170 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 28 degrees I started early today and caught the beauty of the sun rising behind the mountains. I again elected to take the direct route bisecting the many loops of the Via Egnatia tracks, which without a guidebook, I do not understand the route chosen and from what I have read the Via Egnatia went north of the lake. I have decided to

Distance: 35.2 km – Elevation +170 m -160 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 29 degrees This is not the time of year to visit Stavros, it is a holiday resort and coupled with a weekend the town was full. I had managed to pre-book accommodation and slept well after a good supper. I left at 7.00 am following the Via Egnatia Foundation tracks which when looking ahead I noticed, hugged the shoreline for most of the

Distance: 27.0 km – Elevation +140 m -130 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 29 degrees What a difference a day makes! I slept well after yesterday’s marathon and rose at 5.30 am ready for the day ahead. The Via Egnatia route wanted to take me back 5 kilometres to a start at Amphipolis for an onward journey to Rodlivos, followed by the next stage to Philippi before reaching Kavala, in all a 3 day journey. I

Distance: 34.9 km – Elevation +280 m -280 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 35 degrees Éllēnas was a friendly place to stay. Eating in the beachside restaurant with its ebullient manager who wore a sprig of mint behind his ear, and the equally happy staff was a joy. I had a salad with produce from their gardens and locally caught fish deliciously fried. I think I was the only guest staying in the house but the

Distance: 9.26 km – Elevation +230 m -230 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 35 degrees I have walked 100 miles in the past five days and I have decided to take a day of rest and explore the history of Kavala.  On the outskirts of the town I found the ĺongest stretch of the Via Egnatia, in its original form, on the whole journey so far. 1100 metres in total. I climbed to the top of

Distance: 33.0 km – Elevation +250 m -220 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 33 degrees I liked Ķavala – known as Neapolis when Paul landed here in AD 49-50 after he saw the vision of a Macedonian man pleading with him to visit Macedonia. Last evening in Kavala I met Andreas Woolff and his wife Susan for a drink. Andreas is a Via Egnatia group member and was able to provide information regarding the Via Egnatia

Distance: 18.1 km – Elevation +130 m -90 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 33 degrees I had decided on a short 12-mile walk for today which meant I could start a little later and enjoy the breakfast that comes with the room rate. Normally with early starts breakfast is missed. So after breakfast I left the hotel at 8.30 am. I could already feel the heat, it was going to be a very hot day, there

Distance: 25.6 km – Elevation +140 m -170 m Weather: Sunny. Overnight thunderstorms. Temperature: High 29 degrees I was woken from my sleep by a thunderstorm that raged most of the night with brilliant flashes of lightning, loud claps of thunder, and heavy rain. I left for my day’s walk at 6.00 am just as dawn was breaking. There were a lot of stray dogs as I left the village, most just ignored me but as

Distance: 39.7 km – Elevation +200 m -190 m Weather: Sunny. Temperature: High 28 degrees There were no early buses so I caught a taxi to Vafeika where I finished walking yesterday. The cafe in the centre of the village was just opening and I was able to enjoy a tasty cup of coffee and croissant before commencing my walk. It was a delightful first 10 kilometres along a tree-lined track by the Kosynthos River with