Our first expedition as a team under the power of our trusted Galloper. From the inception and planning, over the mountains and rocky coast of croatia to the beaches of Greece. Over 5,600 kilometers and seven countries in 16 days. 

​Check out and follow our daily log book with photo's and notes.
DAY 15 - 16
AUGUST 20, 2015
GREECE - ITALY
The last stint of the super #LoneGalloperOverland #AdriaticCircle #Expedition. After a 10 hour overnight ferry ride across the Adriatic from Igoumenitsa (Greece) to Bari (Italy) having slept on tables and windowsills (floor was too soft) we're back in Italy and bearing down on Rome. 4500 plus kilometers driven so far.
DAY 15
​AUGUST 19, 2015
GREECE
#LoneGalloperOverland #AdriaticCircle #Expedition. It's our last day in #Greece. We're in #Igoumenitsa right now getting ready to ship out to #Bari, #italy.

We spent the last two days on the isle of #Corfú AKA #Kerkyra. We rented out two scooters and an ATV and went beach hunting. Pietro had the time of his life, his long dangly and dirty hair blowing in the wind whilst Beto struggled with his slow and noisy MadMax ATV. Filippo on the other hand was in his element, although was afraid to ride behind Beto's ATV as after its morphed into a flame thrower. After two days and a very very cold night we came up empty with more than 100 klicks on the clock.... Packing up now for a 10 hour and very glamorous overnight "boat trip".#GYSOT #beachhunting #ATV (was a sucker of a thing. 40 mph max and as loud as a friggin jet fighter. 

Tonight we board a 0030 (tomorrow morning to be precise) ferry to Bari, Italy.
DAY 14
​AUGUST 18, 2015
​GREECE
After a stellar night the Lone Galloper Overland crew is happy to say that we got the car out! It took quite some time: we some of the gear from the truck so to shed some weight. The Galloper is a fat girl herself and we came in weighing just over the three metric tons mark. The sand wasn't as hard packed as we liked and had to "step" it with stones that were lying around. As soon as the tires caught more consistent sand we reloaded the gear we had taken out and went for the hill ascent. The Gallopers' locking diff's took care of the ascent, clocked in at 21°, without breaking a sweat. Ooh the fine line between traction and momentum. Alberto noted to himself that we will have to get a set of MaxTax ourselves next time around. 

Back on the road we set our bearings on Igoumenitsa and made an assault on the road ahead to make it time to our ferry to Corfù island; and apart some minor incidents we got there in time...for the last ferry of the day.

As you read we are in Corfù having dinner. We rented out two scooters and an ATV. Alberto went for the ATV 'cos he thought we were going to find some beaches...oh was he in for a surprise. They're fun to drive... for the first 10 minutes.
DAY 13
​AUGUST 17, 2015
​GREECE
We woke up to the rolling thunder of breaking waves. We had made camp in the middle of a pitch black night and were pleasantly surprised by the view. We had stumbled upon a gorgeous beach in Lefkada. We packed our tents and drove back to a structure we had seen the night before, low and behold a legitimate beach bar. Perched a few yards from the water front we enjoyed a greek yogurt with freshly cut fruit and local honey washed down with a good ol' cup of joe. That's when a couple of paragliders landed and Beto's eyes lit up. His face punctuated by a sneaky smirk he went down to the pilots and started talking. What do you know... five minutes later he was in a car with the paragliding dudes. 

As Alberto touched down and got his DVD made we talked about the day. We all sat down, broke out the map and put the local knowledge we learned to fruition. We were going beach hunting... for a change.

Port Katziki, take mental note of that name if you're planning on visiting Greece. Locals told us we could not not go. Just getting there was fun. Mountain roads and very few people and cars. Port Katziki roughly translates to Goat Port as back in the day the area was only accessed by goats. The beach is enclosed in a conclave cliff. The water is really that Blue and the surf is up. We had a blast. We walked down the 100 odd steps to the beach and went for the less populated area. By the end of the hour we had rocks and pebbles in every single orefice. The waves battered us constantly and we didn't waste any time with getting in touch with our inner child.

At the end of the day we set off to find a beach for the night. We found one just before dark. It's a long way down and Alberto is worried we're going to have a hard time getting out. To make matters worse our 5lb propane tank has run out as we were cooking. Breaking out the canned food and we're gonna make a plan for tomorrow.
DAY 12
AUGUST 16, 2015
​GREECE
We had a great night on the Horn of Halkidiki. Locals partying in the distance gave us a private fireworks show to wrap up the day as we sipped wine. Today was a gruelling day. We drove 768km to get to Lefkada. We are having dinner in a local tavern as its far past nightfall and we haven't found camp yet. Wish us luck, Alberto is eating the whole table.
DAY 11
AUGUST 15, 2015
​GREECE
Paradise. We had found it. After yesterdays terrible night we argued a trail for a couple of hours putting the Galloper through its paces. Once back into civilization and gathering local intel over coffee we went to refuel and resupply. A BBQ was in order for the night. We reached this beach on the Horn of Halkidiki and as tire pressures dropped heart rates increased. We were enraptured! The sand, the view, the water. A perfect spot. Karma was on our side... for a few hours at least.

We went for swims, reset the truck and enjoyed some good food. Tomorrow Lefkada. 
DAY 10
AUGUST 14, 2015
​GREECE
After a cool night with rain tapping on our tents we made a break for it. The weather has been hounding us for days and we are betting on heading northeast to Thessaloniki for a break. We're in the #Meteora region in #Greece where monasteries were built by monks. Meteora literally means "hovering in the air" hence meteors. The monastery behind us is built on top of a rocky outcrop mountain. Founded and build in 1517. Pretty incredible to see! Imagine how those "dudes" built such an imposing structure. It is Absolutely mind boggling. We did not expect to find anything like it in the middle of the Greek mainland. We're in Thessaloniki now having a beer and resetting our bearings. Frag order is we're to push out soon to find a suitable camp site.
DAY 9
AUGUST 13, 2015
​ALBANIA - GREECE
Our day was quite adventurous. It's surprizing how the environment, scenery, mood and atmosphere change in just a few yards. We drove to the Albania - Greece border today. Easier read than done. We got lost, in the middle of nowhere. Had to cross a river on a wooden, hopefully motor cranked raft and got ripped off in the process. The drive through Sarandë was interesting although local dudes working at a gas station weren't too thrilled with Alberto's negotiation skills. So much for smiles and laughs. All we needed was a watering hose to cool off the transmission, so Alberto did and they expected payment for the water used. As you can immagine we didn't pay and as a result moved to let the engine bay cool off more. Thats when the damn storm front caught up with us again and poured us in with dusty rain.
 
Once we crossed the border we hit tarmac and drove to Igoumenitsa where we had Gyros, a Greek kebab which put smiles on our dirty faces. We got back on the road to find a spot for the night. 

We found a small bay with a rocky beach and set up camp. Pietro, the only one who spoke a bit of greek soon went off to update his very Italian mother on our progress and well being in true 1800 explorer fashion.

                   "Mother. Have yellow fever. No food or water. Please send money.
                                             Lots of love, Your dying son,
                                                            Pietro"

Filippo and Alberto looked at each other puzzled and started preparing dinner. Pots, stove, pasta and sauce came out. That's when a soon-to-be legend appeared. An ol' man by the name of παναγιώτης (Panagiotis) pronounced pan-ayotees came barrelling towards Filippo and Beto ushering apparent insults and words of wisdom in greek. A hilarious exchange occurred. The only word Alberto knows in greek is "malaka"... not a polite one if anything. We were bound to get lost in translation. Filippo was in the same situation as παναγιώτης fervently pointed at our cherished pasta sauce whilst holding three tomatoes and a cucumber and laughing every three words whilst puffing away on his endless supply of cigarettes. To every apparent statement Alberto approvingly exclaimed "malaka!" as to say "sure! I agree!" or "Who would have known!" and everyone cramped up laughing as Filippo called back pietro for help, not from the old man but from the foreseeable death by laughter.

Pietro came back and had a lively conversation with the man. It turned out the old man simply wanted to hand us his very own tomatoes and cucumber (I know I know) because he thought our canned sauce was.... literally, open quotation marks...shit... close quotation marks. So we followed his advice and prepared the tomatoes for dinner... and boy did they taste divine!!!

As you read we're drinking up the last of the wine and talking and smoking with παναγιώτης in front of our camp light. Off to bed soon.
DAY 8
AUGUST 12, 2015
ALBANIA
Day two in Albania. Had a fun drive through the Albanian coast-side country, went up over a couple mountains and found a stupendous beach. Excited and happy we chilled only to get hit by a flash storm. #thecalmafterthestorm #galeforcewinds and #rain kept us running around after flying tents and our dinner got trashed ....so we just went for a swim in the rain. #roadtripping life I guess.... We met a vegan frenchman and a carnivorous New Zealand chick and decided we invited them over for dinner. They had been hitc-hiking for weeks and had met on the road. If I remember correctly the Vegan-now-vegeterian-by-circumstance-frenchman had been hitch-hiking from Paris and wanted to get all the way to Sri Lanka. I'm not sure what he would do once he gets there; I immagine he'll have a Forrest Gump moment...

         "I think I'll go home now..."

Turn around, and go.

​                             "We forgot your name dude but if you're reading this
                                         We hope you're well and safe! take care!"                                                                         LGO Crew

Still in #Albania heading to Greece tomorrow. 
DAY 7
AUGUST 11, 2015
MONTENEGRO - ALBANIA
Last night we had a blast. This morning held a spectacle that we'll remember for a while. It should be a story by itself under "The people you meet". Poker faces and taught lips we endured a lecture by what could be a movie character in an 'old' tarantino film. He'll go by the name of Carbone, G. Carbone. So G. Carbone is a 50something fellow Italian man who moved to Montenegro last year because "it's the most fantastic country in the world" [read that with a heavily marked Italian accent, please, do it].

Supposedly he's an author and is very famous. He's been interviewed many times and he is an activist against the sexual abuse of minors; which we somewhat did not believe. We got the vibe he was... embellishing a few details, plus his newly wed wife doubtfully looked barely 17. We met him as we were having coffee and he overheard us speaking Italian. We were bound to leave as he came over and started conversing. It escalated quickly and we sat there obliged to listen to his life story in between orders to his (friend?) who was anxious to leave. We told him we were travelling to Greece overland and he pounced on the opportunity to bestow us with very detailed knowledge of spots we "HAD" to visit. He ripped a page out of the bartenders notebook and started scribbling, as we intently gazed onto the paper trying to slither out of the bind we'd gotten ourselves in; well Alberto was. Pietro was having a blast and intently and enthusiastically fueled Mr. Carbone into disclosing more of his secrets as Filippo wingmanned him giggling, giggling away as if he had turrets. It lasted a good 20 minutes until Alberto and the monkeys were exasperated and grabbed the devil by it's balls during one of Mr. Carbone's pauses.

We left. Off to Albania. The border crossing was 'fast' but a we got checked for "real life". We saw Gypsy immigrants illegally jump the barbed wire fences as 5 year old boys and girls walked through the column of cars. You may think we are over-cautious but we have our reasons. Windows up, doors locked until we were in the clear. We would have been an easy target and it seemed like the area was controlled by no one.

Once in Albania we were startled. A totally different world. men on wooden carts pulled by donkeys and immense poverty. Our excitement was overtaken by awe. Never would we have thought to see this here. Alberto spent time in Tanzania and he admitted the scenes we were seeing were not too far apart. 

We crossed northern Albania as we decided that we wanted to clear the area by nightfall. One highway was mapped. Intermittently paved we crossed different towns and villages along with water crossings when the highway was closed off and we had to take alternate routes. Besides the Unimog we met up with along the way what was there was broken, Infrastructure close to inexistent by European standards and it seemed the main occupation of the male population was "Car Watching". Yes you read that right. Along every road, highway, trail and curbs, weather sitting on guard rails, leaning on walls, trees, light posts or just standing there grown men just watched cars go by everyday. It's still a mystery to us what the heck those guys were doing so humor took over and we came up with different solutions to the problem: national sport? hobby? doctors prescription? Dating? Or simply a very deep societal problem deriving from epidemic unemployment and a culture we probably don't understand.

Tirana was whole different story. We saw how patriotic, congested and disorienting the city was. We didn't have the time stop for a proper visit so we drove around for a while. Flags and emblems on every square, roundabout and street we started counting them.... we lost count.
As we left Tirana, the capital, and back into open country we left the storm front behind us and drove by car crashes, ridiculous amounts of roadkill and recently built but disused gas stations. [Not entirely disused as there was always someone benefitting of the shade from the killer sun at its zenith point]. We took a wrong turn and found ourselves in the middle of a gypsy camp, itself under an overpass, in the middle of a garbage dump. Children collected trash, horses ate trash and eyes followed our every move.

By early afternoon, having crossed half of the country we stopped for lunch and intel. We got word of a beach south of the neighbouring town and went for it.

Asking for directions, as our map lacked the info, we met very helpful and polite people and policemen. All with hearty moustaches who told us that our beach was: 

                "4 kilomters right then bridge"

We were happy for the directions and followed them diligently. We must have missed the turn and asked again:

                "4 kilomters right then bridge"

Everyone told us the same thing, over and over again. We drove more than 5 miles until we finally found a man who was digging a ditch with his son, both had 80's porno moustaches but got us going in the right direction. We found the damn bridge.
In the shabbiest grouping of shacks were impressive compounds where Mercedes GLA's or entirely blacked out Audi Q7's roamed the potholed dirt roads. hmmm. "Soon" we found the beach, right next to a military base and made our way onto the cleanest spot we found about a mile south. The beach was a dump. A real pity because the water was clear and the sand nice and soft.    
We set up camp and met a local who reassured us it would be safe for us to spend the night there. We weren't going to let our guards down. Minutes earlier Alberto waved to four men riding scooters along the breakwater. They replied and it seemed like their gesture was closer to hand sliding across the throat rather than friendly wave. Fed and finally out of the truck we took a moment to relax. A humongous shooting star provoked cheers and laughter and Yee-Haas! Giving us a good reason for being there, staring at the milky way, amongst what could have been an immaculate beach.  We posted guard and kept an eye out for approaching lights and sounds.
DAY 6
AUGUST 10, 2015
 CROATIA - MONTENEGRO
A familiar diesel engine rumble rolled up on our camp at day break waking us up. Brandishing a machete and a vine basket a local farmer walked towards our tents, his old 'Yota parked meters away. Instinctively we switched from, "relaxed just woke up" to "assess and respond". The man wasn't going to hug us any time soon, and we couldn't understand a word he was saying... Alberto made some small "talk" gesticulating and we invited him and his wife to have breakfast with us. We learned that smiles and courtesy are the winning card. Keeping your cool, knowing your facts and kindness can get you out of most hairy situations. Soon we loaded up and hit the road. 

We drove along the coast and into Montenegro. 
DAY 5
AUGUST 9, 2015
CROATIA - BOSNIA - CROATIA
DAY 4
AUGUST 8, 2015
CROATIA
DAY 3
AUGUST 7, 2015
CROATIA
DAY 2
AUGUST 6, 2015
CROATIA
Long day on the intrepid #LoneGalloperOverland #roadtrip . Close to unbearable heat during the day a hella cold night... #istria is not very accommodating... We vote 2/10 if you're looking for independent #roughcampingand road tripping.. We decided to move to a different region and try our luck at the Plitvice Lakes National Park. It is late at night now and we're still on the road; and Alberto is sick with heavy fever...
DAY 1
AUGUST 5, 2015
CROATIA
DAY ONE in the pretty amazing#LoneGalloperOverland #roadtrip. 948 kilometers driven, 13 hours in total today. Three countries crossed. We're in rocky#Croatia in the #istria region. The sea is really, really salty! Pretty satisfying#sunset..... Dinner coming up soon.