Finikounda, Greece

By Claire
If you look at this map you can follow our route from Alexandrouplis, to Kavala, through Thessaloniki and down to Patra where we crossed the Rio-Antirio bridge into the Peloponnese where we followed the west coast down to Messinia. Finikounda is just above the "a" in Messinia in that little cove. Turns out we were following the Egnatia Odos, also known as via Egnatia. According to Wikipedia it is a motorway in Greece that extends from the western port of Igoumenitsa to the eastern Greek-Turkish border at Kipoi. It runs a total of 670km (416mi). The project began in the 1990s and completed in 2009.

Our plan is to stay here for two weeks, settling into this small fishing village community. This is by far one of the best run campgrounds we have found. There is even a library of books in various languages (including English!) from which we are free to borrow. Chuck has big plans to spend some time there this morning. Even with his Kindle filled with 1,500 books, he just can't resist seeing what's on the shelf. We're glad to be surrounded by like-minded souls, mostly from Germany, with some Swedish and English, and now Americans, mixed in.

I am currently doing a first load of laundry in an actual washing machine—what luxury. Washing by hand in hotel sinks without a stopper didn't get things more than slightly freshened up. Each load takes an unbelievable 2-1/2 hours but at least I'm not doing it. We'll figure out where to hang it based on the weather. We have fairly gray skies and it's kind of misty at the moment but it's not cold. I wish we had clear, blue skies but it is what it is and we're here, happy as clams.

After hanging our laundry in the second, less used kitchen—yes, they have two kitchens with large communal refrigerators and freezers—reading and relaxing with a short nap thrown in, I decided to take a beach walk.

Our boardwalk to the beach

Our beach heading east towards town

Beach art along the way. Someone had fun.

Stopping point

Watching the tide swirl in

My rock and shell collection

Heading west, back to the campground

Our boardwalk back to the campground

Our campsite

Camp flag and satellite dish of nearby camper


In every out thrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth. ~ Rachel Carson