BREXIT COMPLICATIONS
Being British in the age of Brexit is a major setback for a trans-European odyssey. Three years ago I could have moved freely, weaving in and out of western European countries as I liked. France, some of Spain, Italy, Greece. Very simple. I had planned to arrive in Ithaka by ferry from Brindisi, a port city on the Adriatic coast in southern Italy. To get to Brindisi, I'd have spent much of my time in Italy on the extremely convenient Via Francigena (Franciscan Way). From Rome, the Via Francigena would have dropped me off neatly in Brindisi, before heading on to its end on the tip of Italy's heel.
Note the key
With Brexit came an end to that dream. British citizens can only be in the Schengen area for 90 days out of every 180. For me, this would mean galloping through Europe, eyes peeled for little islands of non-Schengen-ness. I thought the microstates - Andorra, Monaco, San Marino or Vatican City - might offer good refuge. The Vatican has a perimeter of 3.2km, and I could dedicate my waiting months to its six-times-daily circumnavigation. Perhaps the Pope might observe me and my distinctive hat from his balcony. And take pity on us. And grant us papal dispensation to ignore all borders for the remainder of the odyssey.
Unfortunately, no non-Schengen refuge exists. The microstates, while not officially Schengen, do not have their own border controls. People pass freely in and out of them, so they are rendered Schengen by defacto.
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The only hope of a solution to my time/distance/speed conundrum lay in a France - specifically a French long stay visa. It would mean that time in France would not count to my 90 day Schengen limit. Schengen days could be saved for Spain, Italy and Greece. The wait for a visa appointment was months, the questions were many. But in early June, my passport arrived at my doorstep. And what glory in its pages! For up to eight months I may hither and thither without the French batting an eyelid. Permission to dawdle at will. Vive la France!
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The length of Italy - from the French border to Brindisi - posed a final problem. Thankfully, Greece has other borders and many of the Balkan countries are non-Schengen. From Ancona, in the east of Italy (about 600km north of Brindisi), a ferry will take me to Croatia. I'll spend three months winding down the eastern Adriatic coast - spanning Croatia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Albania - and I will get to see countries and people I would otherwise have overlooked. I will enter Greece from the north, perhaps skipping over to Corfu to hop between islands on my Homeric galley until I land on Ithaka.
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To celebrate the countries on my route-to-be, I have painted them - with a nod to flags.
