Alone In the Wildest Mountains of Greece

The earth is slowly waking up here in the mountains of Greece, and in the last few weeks I have watched the first wildflowers break through the soil, rivers swell up as the snow is melting, and the sun rising behind the peaks a little bit earlier with each passing day. Every time these first tiny signs of spring appear, it feels like a weight is dropping off my shoulders, knowing that winter is drawing to a close and life will soon feel easier and abundant again. When you live like I do, off-grid and close to nature, you develop a very intimate relationship with the elements. You start tracking the sun, the rain and the wind, figure out where to get firewood as the next cold spell rolls around, and carefully ration your electricity on gloomy days. And while this winter has come with many challenges, I wouldn't want to trade them because as the season ends I have emerged more resilient, resourceful and appreciative of the little things, like warmth, fresh food and shelter. If you're new here, I'm Jessica and I live alone in my campervan Frodo, together with my adventure pup Heidi. A few years ago I decided to stop dreaming about a slower life free from stress and working just to survive and I started living nomadically and guided by the seasons. Since then I've been travelling all around Europe, exploring beautiful places to reconnect with nature and grow roots in the wild. This episode was made possible by ESOM.sm Hello friends, I hope that life has been kind to you lately. I've had a few very rainy and stormy days here in Greece again, but now things have finally calmed down and the sun is even poking out, which is just so special. And I've been offline for a couple of weeks because honestly there was a lot going on in my life. It all started with me driving to Athens for a health checkup. If you've been around for a while you'll know that I used to struggle with chronic illness and I've made huge steps in my recovery since moving into a van and living a slower lifestyle. So I just wanted to know where my health was at now, but I was really struggling to access this kind of follow-up preventative care in the UK and going private is really expensive there, so I decided to do it here in Greece where it's cheaper. I survived driving in Athens at rush hour twice in one day, which was a very interesting experience and one I'm not very keen to repeat, but I did have some good news. I seem to be in near perfect health. All of my results were pretty optimal, which was very surprising to be honest, but also just so reassuring. I'm so happy about it. It's just really good to know that the way you live your life is actually good for you, so that's great. But later the same day, after I drove back, I got so ill, like really, really ill with something. I think it may have been food poisoning or something. But yeah, I was in bed for like five days with really terrible cramps and headaches and yeah, obviously had to take a few days off because of that. And then Rissi was visiting as well. We only had a week together this time because he didn't technically have holidays, so he had to take that time off lectures. So we didn't do any filming together because we just wanted to enjoy our time together with no distractions and it was really, really lovely. Before Rissi started his master's and I went off travelling by myself, we were never really worried that it would be bad for our relationship because we've always gone on those extended solo trips throughout the whole time we've been together and we've always really cherished that freedom and independence we have in our relationship. But we didn't expect that it would be so good for our relationship to have this time apart. It really feels like we've fallen in love with each other all over again and it's just been so good for us to have this time to focus on our own individual projects, passions and dreams and now we're really looking forward to having more time together again from this summer onward. But we also think that these solo trips are definitely going to become a core of how we spend our time going forward as well. My plan for this week is to explore this area a little bit more and then make my way down to southern Greece and see as much as possible there because I'm actually leaving in a couple of weeks. I would love to stay for longer but I've actually got a pretty big trip planned and I can't move things around because it's actually outside of Europe and I have a few things booked. So if you can guess where I'm going, leave your guess in the comments. But yeah, I have a few deadlines and I'm just going to make the most of my remaining time here and next week is supposed to be perfect sun all week which I'm really looking forward to. I've decided to make 2026 the year where I stop waiting and work on fulfilling all of my wildest daydreams. My trip next month is one of those dreams and I'm currently also preparing for a 100-mile mountain hike this summer during which I will cross three different countries and I'm honestly so excited for it. I used to find crossing borders quite stressful because I have a UK phone provider and after leaving the EU they stopped offering unlimited data options on the continent which makes things quite difficult when you're trying to stay connected or work on the road like I do. That's why last year I switched to eSIM.sm who are a long-term supporter of the channel and kindly sponsoring this episode. eSIM.sm works in over 190 countries and everything is completely digital. There's no physical SIM cards, no searching for local phone shops and no complicated contracts. You just choose a plan, scan the QR code and you're connected within minutes. I use their global plan which covers 155 countries so whether I'm parked up somewhere remote in the mountains, editing in a cafe or navigating tiny back roads I don't have to worry about my signal. When you travel solo, having reliable data is not just convenient, it also means having access to maps, emergency services, weather updates and being able to check in with the people you love. It's also really affordable which is important to me because I try and keep my monthly costs as low as possible. If you're looking for a reliable travel data provider you can find their offers via the link in the video description and you can also get 15% off your travel eSIM with my code ROOTS15. Thank you so much to eSIM.sm for sponsoring this episode and for helping me stay connected on the many adventures I have planned this year. I drove through this very pretty mountain town near Delphi and I went to this whole food slash souvenir shop in town and I got a few groceries and I did give in and got a few souvenirs as well. Let me show you. I got this very hobbity walking stick. I believe it's made from a local olive tree and the reason I got it is because a few locals have warned me that especially in the mountains in Greece there are a lot of shepherd dogs and sometimes they can be very territorial and even attack in which case you want to have something to defend yourself with like a rock or a stick so this is going to make me feel a little bit safer hiking alone in the mountains and it's also just so cute. I also bought this local olive oil which I've already sampled and it's absolutely delicious. It's from a 3,000 year old olive grove and I think the region is one of the oldest in Europe for olive cultivation so it's definitely an experience and I'm really looking forward to cooking with this. I also got an olive oil body soap because I was running low and usually I only buy consumables and no physical stuff because all of my worldly possessions are in the van and I just don't have anywhere to put new things but I got a small olive tree slice to put hot things on in the kitchen so I'm going to add that in the next few days and I also got a box of these traditional local sweets I believe they're made with almond sugar and a kind of tree sap and there's no additives preservatives anything which is really nice. I don't usually have a sweet tooth but Greek sweets are just so incredibly good and it tastes a bit marzipan-y and they're just so delicious. As the days passed more storms raged across the land and a green glow started saturating the hills of Peloponnesos. There have been some really heavy rains in this part of Greece in the last few days and one of my favourite things about this transition from winter into spring is how wild and swollen the rivers are. I always feel like it represents the cleansing of the old ahead of a season of new life and inevitable changes and I find a lot of comfort in that. In the summer months this river turns into a crystal clear chain of pools which are said to be inhabited by water nymphs who would lure travellers, especially lone men and punish disrespect towards nature. Peloponnesos is also deeply associated with the nature god Pan who is half man half goat and thought to watch over the region roaming the remote landscapes while playing his flute. As always thank you so much for watching friends and a special thank you to my patrons and channel members who make these videos possible. I will see you next week and until then take good care of yourselves. Bye.