participants have second thoughts and
Spyros cancels the race. We arranged
the ferry from Italy to Greece, organised
leave at work and want to drive, so we
call Spyros, who is happy that some fools
decide to come anyway, regardless of it
being a real race or just a week in the
mountains with friends.
and Filip, come along for the ride, to test
their Land Rover based prototype. Two
Spanish guys we know from the Transilvania
Adventure Trophy years ago decide to go
too, their G Wagon needing some action.
Plus the owner of the hotel where we stay
will tag along in his Rubicon. My copilot
will be my good friend and photographer
Gregg. Tudor--who usually rides shotgun--
can't make it.
we realize we're in for a hell of an expe-
impressive. After a two-hour drive, we get
to Kalambaka in Meteora. The hotel sits
directly under the six monasteries, which are
built on natural sandstone rock pillars--a
Unesco World Heritage site. I've raced in
some beautifull scenery in Europe, includ-
ing a start under Count Dracula's castle
in Transilvania, but this beats everything.
Breathtaking....
restaurant directly under the monasteries
and feeds us an incredible spread of local
goodies. We then head directly into the
mountains for a shakedown run. Gravel
roads quickly become rough tracks which
disappear and we're navigating strictly on
the GPS bearings. Technical stuff--steep
uphills straight through the bushes, even
steeper where there are no more bushes.
experience--has a strange look in his eyes.
13BT engine but he has never done things
like this in a Land Cruiser. We get to a riv-
erbed, easily 100-meters wide with rocks
all over but only a small stream of water
10-meters wide and not too deep in