From: Vonitsa
To: Preveza
Miles: 11
Total: 237
Day 13 is in the books and it was quite eventful. We got a little bit of walking in, got wet along the way, found the nicest hotel since we left Athens, and even got really lucky at a local pharmacy with some medicine for infected blisters.
We left Vonitsa around 9:00, not really knowing how far we would walk today. It was forecast to rain all day, and we still had not taken our first day off. So the question was to take the day off or not. After some discussion, we decided to walk but not go the full 19 miles we had planned. Instead, we would walk 11 miles to Preveza, a fairly large town along our route and decide when we got there whether to press on or not.
So we walked through the rain until about 12:00 when we came to a tunnel. It looked on the map like there was a sidewalk through the tunnel. Because the tunnel charges a toll, we had to walk right by the toll booth. When we got there, the attendant told us pedestrians were not allowed in the tunnel, even though there was a sidewalk on both sides of the road. The attendant gave us the number for a taxi, but we decided to hang out by the toll booth and see if someone would offer us a ride. The attendant helped out by asking drivers as they payed their toll if they would give us a lift. The second vehicle that came along were two nice guys in a mini van. They said we could jump in with them, so off we went through the tunnel. We insisted on paying the three euro toll for them but they refused to take our money.
Once we got through the tunnel and the nice guys dropped us on the shoulder of the highway, we realized we had slightly overshot the town, so we had to backtrack a little ways but after 30 minutes of navigating around, we made it into downtown Preveza. This is a really nice city with some good hotels and restaurants. But before we found a hotel, we had to take care of some medical needs.
For the last few days, I’ve been nursing along some significant blisters. They finally got infected. I started thinking last night about seeking some medical help. This morning Dave texted a doctor friend back in Florida and asked his opinion. He mentioned a couple of meds that would help. As we came into town, the first thing we saw was a pharmacy on the corner. I decided I’d try my luck. We walked in and the lady pharmacist spoke perfect English. I told her my problem and mentioned the two meds Dave’s doctor friend recommended. Without hesitation, she pulled them off the shelf and $7 later, I was in business with some sore feet and blister medicine. She even recommended a great hotel just down the street and pointed us toward the restaurants. Very nice lady!
So now we’ve decided to take our first day off tomorrow. Even though the weather is suppose to be nice, we will enjoy Preveza for another day and let my feet have a day to recover. Then Monday it’s back on the road for our last five days in Greece!
