With a heavy heart, I say good bye to Charles the following morning. He will fly back to Doha that afternoon. It has been good to have company since Cairo. I thank you my friend.
After a couple of wrong turns, I find the road to Erdine. It is of good quality, but very busy and slow as I head out of the city. A petrol stop (At $2 per litre Turkey is the most expensive place so far on the trip) highlights the attention the car number plate is starting to attract. The petrol attendants ask where the car is from and when I tell them Qatar they look bemused. It appears the only Arab country they know is Syria.
Two hours later, I reach Erdine and can go right for Bulgaria, or head south (left) for the border with Greece. I head south and eventually reach the border post on the Turkish side. I know that there will be no issues leaving Turkey, but there are so many horror stories about entering Greece that I am very nervous. Two checks on the passport and I am out of Turkey. I drive 2 KM across no mans land and arrive at the Greek border post. Again the number plate attracts nearly all the customs officers to the car at the same time. To my right in another lane two Bulgarian registered cars are having the seats removed (back and front) and the spare tyre taken out so a drug dog can go over everything. This sight doesn’t fill me with joy. The most senior (judging by uniform and size) customs officer asks for my passport and green card (green card is the insurance for the car). I hand over the UK insurance policy and he tells me that he has never heard of the insurance company and I would be better off buying insurance from the Greek government. I figure that if this will grease the wheels of entry into the EU, why not. He advises me that it will coat EUR 150 but if I go back over to Turkey it will cost EUR 100. I tell him that if I am spending money I want to do it in the EU not Turkey. He takes me by surprise when he hugs me and says “Thank you my European brother”. There is one small problem. I am only carrying USD in cash. They will only accept EUR as payment for the insurance. The senior customs officer takes me by the hand and starts walking towards the duty free shop. When we enter he pick up a packet of mints and tells me to pay for them with 3 x $100 notes. This I do and receive enough EUR in the change to buy the insurance. We march back to the customs point and I complete the insurance formalities. By now, the wheels are off the 2 Bulgarian cars and even the steering wheels have been taken out. With a wave the customs officer says goodbye and I am in the EU. I am over the moon that the crossing was that smooth and easy. Now it’s on to Thessaloniki.
The drive is scenic and mainly highway. The road is in excellent condition and I make good time on reaching Thessaloniki, albeit in rush hour. The drive along the sea front reveals hundreds of bars teeming with people just watching the world go by. I find a hotel and check in. After a shower and a few beers in the bar I sleep early. The ferry from Igoumenitsa is at 1AM the day after tomorrow, so I don’t need to be up early the next morning.
In reflection, I have got a lot further than I originally anticipated. This trip was 3 months in the planning, but deep down I suspected something would go wrong somewhere around Syria, Jordan or Turkey. To have reached the EU has eradicated a lot of trepidation. But there is still a long way to go.
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