Coppull to Crete - The Journey Part II

The second leg of the first leg wasn't without it's adventures. Thank goodness for sat nav's, for the most part at least. Whilst my sense of direction is marginally better than my Husband's, it really doesn't lend itself well to long distance travel. Our route planner had wanted to take us via Switzerland and this was something we were keen to avoid. We had heard several rumours that there was an import and export duty due on any goods taken through there, including old and used personal items like those we were carrying. And so, just to be on the safe side, a 'waypoint' of Lyon, France was programmed.

There is something very discombobulating about driving in the pitch-black of night. We realised something was going horribly wrong when we ended up on a very remote road, it just didn't seem in keeping with the straight motorway runs we had encountered up until now.

But what did we know? We persevered, such was our confidence in the digital technology of today. It was at the point of being instructed to turn into a little dirt track, lined by cows that we realised we should probably start trusting our own instincts.

The photo may look fuzzy, but there was no way I was going to stop to get a suitable shot. Whilst we did find it funny, even in that instant, there was a nervousness about just how offended those cows would be with our presence. I certainly wasn't going to stop and ask "Excusez-moi, pourriez-vous nous donner l'itinéraire pour Ancône, s'il vous plaît?"

We'd done this to ourselves. Little did we know that when we set our waypoint, we had actually chosen that little track for ourselves. An hour into our off-motorway escapades we finally managed to find ourselves entering yet another toll and being thoroughly grateful to dish out yet more cash in order to get back on track.

I think my biggest regret of the trip is missing what would have been the ultimate shot. The proximity of the cows face as I turned to hang out of my window had been too much of a surprise to gather my wits quickly enough. Though it's a memory I will tuck fondly away.