Igoumenitsa Ferry Terminal, Greece, where Shehzadi waited for the overnight ferry to Italy

After our Skopje loop, we pointed Shehzadi back into Greece and toward Igoumenitsa, because the Silk Road had apparently decided it needed a maritime intermission. This leg carried us from Greece to Spain by way of two ferries, one cross-Italy drive, and several vehicle decks designed by people who clearly enjoy suspense.

We had just come from Skopje and North Macedonia, and the road now turned west again: Igoumenitsa to Ancona by ferry, Ancona to Civitavecchia by road, Civitavecchia to Barcelona by ferry, then south through Spain to Mar de Pulpí in Almería (MAP). Three countries. Two ferries. One American pickup. Europe, bless it, had become a very large board game with fuel receipts.

Statue of Mother Teresa in front of her Memorial House in Skopje, North Macedonia

After the westbound run from Georgia through Türkiye and northern Greece, covered in the previous part of our overland Silk Road journey, Shehzadi crossed into North Macedonia for a Skopje city day. The route was simple on paper: Greece to Skopje, out to Matka Canyon, then back to Greece. Paper, as usual, had no opinion about border lanes, city parking, or Balkan dinner portions.

This post follows our North Macedonia loop from the Evzoni-Bogorodica border into Skopje, through the city’s old and new landmarks, up Mount Vodno, into Matka Canyon, and back into Greece through the Medžitlija-Niki border. The full journey map is here: MAP. It is a small loop on the map, but Skopje packs Mother Teresa, Ottoman lanes, socialist memory, new statues, mountain views, and canyon water into one very busy civic drawer.

Niki Greek Border Station, Greece

We had just finished the Turkmenistan chapter of our Silk Road run, ending at Dayahatyn Caravanserai and the Amu Darya, which is a nice place to feel ancient until the vehicle reminds you it still needs fuel. From Tbilisi, the road now turned west. Europe was no longer an abstract idea on a map. It was a series of border booths waiting to examine our paperwork with the quiet suspicion usually reserved for magic tricks.

This Georgia-to-North-Macedonia leg took us from our home base in Tbilisi toward Batumi, across the Sarpi/Sarp border into Türkiye, along the Black Sea coast, across Istanbul’s Bosphorus, and through northern Greece toward the next chapter. The full route map is here: MAP. It also continues the larger Silk Road expedition into Turkmenistan arc, because apparently one continent was not enough paperwork for us.

Vibrant Street Art at Thisiou St, Athens, Greece

After exploring Istanbul and Pamukkale in Turkey, we fly from Istanbul to Athens, Greece and immerse ourselves in the cradle of democracy by strolling amidst the majestic monuments of the Acropolis (a UNESCO UNESCO World Heritage site) and the ancient Agora. Later, we wander the charming Plaka neighborhood, savoring delicious souvlaki from a local taverna, all under the watchful gaze of the Parthenon bathed in the golden hues of a Mediterranean sunset.

Hydra, Greece

Our July 2021 Southern and Eastern Europe journey carried us from Istanbul to Pamukkale and then onward to Athens. From our base near the Acropolis, we set out for Hydra by metro and hydrofoil, turning a Greek island day trip into a small public-transport relay race.

Hydra, written Ύδρα in Greek and sometimes rendered as Idra, sits in the Saronic Gulf. Reaching it from Athens meant crossing the city, finding the correct ferry gate in Piraeus, and returning before the final boat and train stopped caring about our plans.