“In Greece, just walking for a few minutes under the scorching sun makes you dizzy, sleeping without air conditioning in our vehicle has become complicated. Even our cat is in pain, stunned by the furnace. Our dream for a long time was to spend six months roaming this country with our van, the epidemic delayed our trip by a year. We arrived in June and telecommuted some of the time. We had planned to survey the Peloponnese peninsula to discover the sites of Olympia and Epidaurus, then Mani.
But because of the fires that have ravaged the country since the end of July and temperatures approaching 40 ° C, we had to change the program. We scanned the weather forecast all over the country and tried to spot the islands with the warmest temperatures. Direction the Cyclades, and Paros. But even here, the 37-38 ° C becomes unbearable. You have to get up very early, take a nap, then stay awake late to be able to visit the island.
“We think above all of the Greeks, who are facing difficult times, who have lost their homes, who have to flee like climate refugees. “
After three days, we resolved to rent a room and use the air conditioning, although we always try to limit its use and respect the environment. Our budget has been revised upwards. We love being close to nature, stopping in secluded and wild places in a caravan, but with these events, we also become aware of the danger of traveling in the middle of pine forests.
We keep abreast of the development of fires, we exchange on social networks with French people living in Greece, to get information on the situation. In recent days, the Greek government has formally banned driving in the woods, parks, and civil protection has sent us text messages to warn us of the risk of fires. These alerts are worrying. But we are thinking above all of the Greeks, who are facing difficult times, who have lost their homes, who have to flee like climate refugees, evacuated in an emergency, in a boat …
Despite these pitfalls, we are very happy to be here. In hardship, the Greeks stand together. With us, who travel in an alternative way, they are always welcoming. After several months of containment and restrictive measures linked to the pandemic, we had almost forgotten that other dangers hover over our heads. We did not expect to be confronted with these extreme phenomena, which remind us that we must act quickly to save our planet. “