Greece pre-research tips

[plinio.lisboa.br]

Transport of live eels:

Today we are going to present one of the largest agro-industries of processed eel food in Europe. Particu is one of the largest creators and processors of eel meat and fish from psiculture farms.
The company also sells live eels to other countries in Europe, and other breeders also in Greece and Europe. It is also possible with this material to learn a little more about the economy of the Greek region of Epirus.
We can also understand the road routes used to transport live eels, as well as the processed food material for export to Italy and Europe further north.

Finally, we can admire a new type of trailer that is specialized for the transport of live fish. Carrying out live animal transport between production areas to their customer destinations (whether they are fish processing plants or other fish farmers).

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V. Geitonas & SIA EE ( Β. Γείτονας & ΣΙΑ ΕΕ ).
City: Psathotopi Artas ( Ψαθοτόπι), Epiro (region)
Site ( english language): https://eelgeitonas.com/en

The company produces and sells a variety of eel products (live, fresh and smoked) and fish on the European and Greek market, such as: tilapia, mullet, mackerel, trout. The psiculture company produces on a commercial scale and its schools are standardized, offering products from the smallest commercial size of 150 gr. and reaching more than 1300 gr. Every year between 170 - 220 tonnes of its products are exported in Europe, according to market demand. Psiculture is a 130-hectare private rural property, where the company maintains a complete eel aquaculture unit with a total area of ​​10,000 m² tanks, as well as a 900 m² processing unit. which has modern equipment and the latest technology: cold rooms, smoking ovens and all the necessary equipment for fish processing. The company markets a variety of eel products (Viva, Fresca and Smoked) and tilapia and mullet on the European and Greek market.

Fish farm
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Reference: https://www.kathimerini.gr/economy/busi ... tin-krisi/

Curiosity:
Eels (anguilla-anguilla) lay their eggs on the bottom of the Sargasso Sea. Eels do not breed in captivity. They lay their eggs exclusively at the bottom of the "Mar dos Sargaços", area of ​​the North Atlantic, and from there they start their life as planktonic larvae. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eel
At the stage of his life as planktonic larvae called "finheads". Driven by sea currents ("Gulf Stream" in the North Atlantic), they reach the coasts of Europe and Africa where they become "sandeels". Eel capture begins in early November and ends in late May.
The total breeding period lasts from two to three years, for the eel to achieve the desired color, flavor and shape. Note that the eel is a protected species and the law requires lip aquaculture to release at least 10% of the litter to the sea.

Fish farming - Specialty - Eels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQcSXwclkK8

The eels arrive at the psciculture company's unit by air in special packaging (boxes), shortly after receipt they are placed in small covered tanks, where the first breeding phase begins.

First stage: Its size in this stage ranges from 0.22 to 0.35 g / person. Eels grow in a constant temperature environment with quality water and oxygen rich, which is monitored electronically to remain stable at 10 ppm.

Second stage: Development (reproduction) in larger tanks follows. To guarantee water, the initial amount is provided by the drilling. It is then recycled with a cleaning system and used in all stages of development. In approximately 6 months, the eels exceeded 40 grams and the need for more space is obvious.

Third stage:
At this stage, the eels are captured and transported to tanks in the open air, where they grow slowly and healthy due to the exceptional climatic conditions of the coastal region. "The approach of this natural form of breeding gives the eel a unique and special color, flavor.

Processing:
The Greek company offers smoked and fresh eels to the Greek and European market.
The preparation process starts with cleaning the eels. It is followed by salt and smoked WITHOUT preservatives and additives in a traditional oven and traditional methods. In smoking, olive wood is used to guarantee ideal temperatures and beech wood to enhance its rich flavor. The smoking process takes place at 90 ° -95 ° C and lasts about 90 minutes. Once smoked, the eels remain in the oven at a lower temperature with natural smoke until they acquire their rich flavor. The process is completed with filleting and standardization of eels according to international standards.
Products: https://eelgeitonas.com/en/products

Demand:
With a total annual production capacity of 300 tons. About 90% of them are sold on the foreign market, while the remaining 10% are directed to the Greek domestic market. The period of greatest demand for eels is in December, with the largest exports to Italy and, to a lesser extent, to: Holland, Poland, France, Germany, Belgium, England, Cyprus. Highlight for the Italian market, with around 130 tons per year, mainly in December.
It is interesting to note that the price of smoked eel on the shelves of a European supermarket reaches E $ 85 euros a kilo in 2018.

Itinerary:
Depending on the landing area in Italy, mainly to the south near the port of Bari, there are two or three weekly itineraries. It depends on both the demand for the product and the quantity offered. For example: On Sunday night the truck leaves the port of Igoumenitsa, on Monday it delivers the product to the customer, the same day it takes a boat from Italy and the next morning it returns to Greece and goes to the loading yard.


Choice of route Igoumenitsa - Psathotopi Arta ?
From the port of Igoumenitsa to the company's facilities near Psathotopi Artas the distance is 120 km. The routes used are: coastal road (through Lygia) or the Egnatia Highway.
Comparison between the two routes (Greek language): https://troxoikaitir.gr/article/348/syg ... -ioanninon

a) Route Lygia (coastal) E951, E 55
The most scenic route, and also with the possibility of viewing the Adriatic Sea in some places, has mountain stretches as well and more rural landscapes.

Arta ( Άρτα ) - Lygia ( Λυγιά ) - Igoumenitsa ( Ηγουμενίτσα )

Route Google maps:
https://www.google.com.br/maps/dir/Aqua ... 061499!3e0

b) Route Egnatia.

Egnatia highway is better to travel, however it has the highest cost because there are 2 tolls on the way to the port of Igoumenitsa.
The Egnatia Highway (Highway 2, A2) is the longest highway in Greece with a length of 670 km. It crosses all the north of Greece, from west to east: it starts in Igoumenitsa in Epirus, passing through many of the main cities of Macedonia, with main Thessaloniki, the second largest city in Greece, continues east to Thrace, passing through Alexandroupolis and ends at the Greek border at Kipoido river Evros. Its name comes from the Old Greco-Roman highway "Egnatia Odos", which crossed almost the same area, but in the same direction. Egnatia is part of the European Route E90.
The most difficult part of all options is on the stretch between the "Kalogirou" bridge to the facilities of the psiculture company. The road is narrow and crosses rural areas where tractors and other agricultural machinery circulate daily. It is necessary to take care of the truck driver, when the adverse climatic conditions prevail in the area, either by rains resulting in slippery roads, or due to the fog that limits the driver's field of vision.

Arta ( Άρτα ) - Ioannina ( Γιάννενα) - Igoumenitsa ( Ηγουμενίτσα )

Route Google maps:
https://www.google.com.br/maps/dir/Aqua ... 4f!1m0!3e0

Preparing: truck (9,900 kilos) of eels:
Arriving at the psiculture company, the first concern of the live fish driver and porters is to empty the truck of all old and used water and fill the tanks with new fresh water. It is important to mention that the live fish transport trailer in general consists of 11 compartments that do not communicate, and each compartment has the capacity to impress; 900 kilos of eels! The replenishment of fresh water is carried out at the top of the compartments and has a hatch. Completing the water supply, the tanks receive about 15 thousand liters of water. Then, the eel loading process begins.

Eel logistics:
The company has one of the largest fish farms for eel breeding and storage in the country. It has modern facilities, where all processes are monitored and controlled by special machines of the latest technology. The facilities consist of large water tanks (reservoirs) where the eels are raised. To place an order, the eels are loaded into a special mobile basket, placed in the sorting room and divided into small and large ones, depending on their size and the customer's purchase order. They are loaded back into the basket or loaded into trailer compartments attached to the truck.


Loading eels - truck trailer:
Loading is always done under the supervision of experienced personnel to ensure the safety of the process in the first phase and, secondly, to prevent the eels from slipping out of the trailer tanks. The cargo operator performs the procedures for transferring the eels to the fish transport trailer.

Watch on YouTube

The container that is lifted by a forklift and its accessory draws attention is a "slide" through which the eels slide and fall into the truck's tank and has sides, so as not to fall out of the trailer. This is repeated until all the tanks are full, at the same time as the number and category of eels in relation to their weight are recorded. The loading process can take from 40 minutes to 2 hours and has to do with order preparation.

At this point, we must say that the trailer has its own engine (something similar to that of the cabins) which is at the rear and works with oil and electricity. At the rear are also two generators for the production of oxygen that feed the tanks while a third is kept in reserve in case of failure of one of the other two. As long as the cargo lasts and, of course, throughout the journey, the oxygen supply is continuous and monitored by the live trucker
The rule in the transport of eels is that the water without being renewed, the eels must reach the destination / customer in a maximum of 24 hours. Otherwise, as soon as the specific time limit has passed, the water must be renewed.


On the night boat to Italy:
On the same day, at night, around 8 pm, the truck takes the opposite route from the morning and goes to the port of Igoumenitsa on the ferry. On the ferry the truck has a special place, mainly in the upper hold, and it definitely needs a power source for the truck's engine to work and, consequently, the generators that produce and transport oxygen to the eels. The driver has to descend several times during the trip and check, every 2 hours or more, to check that everything is working correctly and that the generators are working well.

1. reference: https://troxoikaitir.gr/article/359/met ... non-helion
2. reference: https://www.kathimerini.gr/economy/busi ... tin-krisi/

[JaDaKa]

With hints of the "balkan" DLC having appeared, I please want to reiterate how important would it be to include Meteora area in the DLC..
The smaller "Grand Canyon" of Europe

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[orizon]

Few road videos from Greece roads. Also, on that channel, you can see many other videos from Greece.

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Watch on YouTube

Also, on that channel, you can see many other videos from Greece.

[JaDaKa]

One thing that gives and extra flavour, uniqueness and are present in Greece are miniature churches on the sides of the roads. ( εκκλησάκια OR εικονοστάσια )

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They have enough space just for a Christian icon and a candle to be lit.

They are bought and placed by individuals as tributes. They can be found inside yards but more importantly ALONG SIDE ROADS.

Latter ones are placed by relatives of people deceased in traffic accidents in these spots (either drivers, passengers or pedestrians).
They include an icon, sometimes a photograph of the deceased and a candle to be lit when visited by relatives as a gesture to show they are not forgotten, a small temple dedicated to their memory.


They are either made of brick and plaster

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Or metallic (older ones)

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Older parts of the national roads as well as the countryside are full of them ..unfortunately. There are some parts were you would see one every few tens of meters for a kilometre.
Thankfully as the carriageways are getting upgraded and new ones are laid these are less frequent or even absent.

I think that's something that could be included in the Greek DLC as although a bit dark it is a reality and very unique that would give an extra flavour as well as making for a very interesting blogpost.

[Chaffinch]

On the advice of @oldmanclippy, I wish to inform that if SCS is not aware, there is a design manual for Greek motorway signs: http://www.prodiagrafes.gr/wp-content/u ... _6_all.pdf

In line with the standard for new signs, I would stick to using mixed-case DIN throughout, as well as using the A- prefix for motorway numbers. This is because the font and road number situation is a bit messy in real life: they use Helvetica in one place, Arial in another, and all-caps in another.

Greece rarely uses road numbers outside of motorways (the A23 motor-road is one of the few exceptions). National and Provincial Roads simply have road signs that show destinations without road numbers, unless it's an entrance to a motorway.

I'd be interested in helping if it had not been for my ongoing mental health problems, but I can still provide words of advice.

[krmarci]

Bulgaria just completed the Zheleznitsa tunnel, the longest in the country and one of the most complex to construct. This is part of the Struma highway which leads directly to Greece:
https://dnes.dir.bg/obshtestvo/otkriha- ... imki-video

[Mooner_37]

Today 2 roadworks on the A3: Odos Kentrikis Elladas have been finished and opened for traffic.

* Lamia to Xyniada (18 km), exit 1 (A1 and EO 3), 2 (EO 38) and 3
* Trikala to Kalampaka (25 km), exit 10 (EO 6), 11 (EO 6) and 12 (EO 6).

[Vabis22]

https://www.milletnews.com/turkiye/frie ... for-tender

[Chaffinch]

Sources: https://www.carandmotor.gr/nea/binteo-e ... attiki-odo, https://www.mapillary.com/app/?pKey=415408454615508 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKkjNl5dmH0

Directional road signs on the A6, A64 and A642 in Athens are in the process of being replaced by mixed-case signage.

The road numbers have also changed: the A62 and A64 have swapped numbers, and the A642 is now the A621.

It feels like Attiki Odos knows that Euro Truck Simulator 2 is coming to Greece and they want their road signs to look their best. But then again, the old signs were worn out with the amber Greek text appearing very dark.