Not long to go now then. In less than a week I’ll have escaped the UK, and this time next week I’ll be sat in a taverna on the Greek mainland enjoying a Greek meal of some sort.
We nearly didn’t book a holiday this year – we weren’t quite sure what things would be like out there with the Euro crisis. But we have managed to find a last minute deal, so we’ll be able to spend a week out there this year. It’ll be a shorter holiday than usual, but we know the area so we know our way round, we know what to expect and we know what places we want to visit.
This year’s holiday is to the Greek mainland – we’ll be staying in the village of Sivota (Σύβοτα), which is on the West coast of Greece.
Sivota is located in Greece’s Epirus (Ήπειρος) region. It is about 25km South of Igoumenitsa (Ηγουμενίτσα), the capital of the county of Thesprotia (Θεσπρωτία), and 54km South of the Albanian border. If this means nothing to you, there’s a map below.
Its been four years since we last stayed in Sivota – eight years since we first went there (we did also pass through the area last year on a boat trip over from Corfu). The main visitors to Sivota are Greeks and Italians, so I’d be interested to find out how the area’s changed as a result of the Euro crisis. When we were there for an afternoon last year, there were many “new” places which had recently opened… Are they still there, I wonder?
As I wrote on my Greek website last month, we’re staying in the Mourtemeno Hotel & Apartments, which we’ve never stayed in before, but does have some good reviews online (apart from those from people who don’t quite get the way things work in Greece).
I’m looking forward to being able to practice my Greek some more. Since I’ve stopped learning German at college, I think my Greek’s improved a lot. I’m finding that I can pick up more by listening to Greek radio online than I could even 6 months ago.
It may only be a week-long holiday this year, but I could do with a break!
We leave on Thursday. I’ve set up my phone so I can post updates to Facebook and Twitter via text – so follow me on Twitter/’Like’ my page on FB if you want to be kept up to date.
- English Twitter Account: @FredOnTheRadio
- Greek Twitter Account: @FredHart_GR
- Facebook (Public ‘Fan’ Page): facebook.com/fredontheradio.
- Facebook (Personal Account): facebook.com/frederickrghart.
Now… Here’s that map of the area which I promised you earlier. Use the buttons to zoom in and out, and click the markers to see what they are.
View Sivota in a larger map
I’m off to bed now. Don’t forget that if you’re a follower of my radio shows, I’m on again on Monday afternoon from 3pm.
FH.
