Greece = sunshine, beaches, mountains, delicious dairy products

End of September 2010

It was a very strange moment when Marty and I were sitting on the ferry to Kos Island, absolutely exhausted after cycling a hilly 60km to Bodrum in Turkey and boarding the ferry 2 minutes before departure, when we realised we just left Turkey for good, and were on route to Greece and we knew nothing about it! As we have discovered many times before on this trip, everything seems to always work itself out. So, a few hours later we found ourselves in a super cheap self contained apartment looking towards the sea. Nice. We explored Kos Town for a few days, before heading towards a natural thermal pool that was right on the beach front. The sulphur rich water seeping from the nearby rocks was up to 50 degrees celsius in some parts and mixed with the cool sea water to make for perfect soaking conditions. We ended up camping here (phantom camping! ie finding a random place to free camp for the night and packing up before you get caught the next morning). A perfect spot, soaking under the stars for hours in a deliciously soothing bath, exiting into the sea to cool down, peacefully sleeping outside and waking up to see the sunrise. We didn't want to leave this place.

View from our free campsite, Kos Island Greece. Thermal pool just out of sight at the far end of the umbrellas.

We dragged ourself from the beach onto our bikes and did a bit of cycle touring around Kos Island. We found a great little town called Mastichari where we ate an incredibly delicious Greek meal that included stuffed mushrooms and Ouzo. Another night of phantom camping on the beach. A big fun day of cycling, although a bit warm, into the mountainous interior of the island and the little villages dotted in scenic locations. Great views and ancient ruins dominated our journey, as well as the super fun downhill at the end of the day, and the necessary swim. We loaded the bikes that night onto a massive ferry on route to the island of Santorini.

Marty and the view from the south west coast of Santorini Island.

We woke up to a magical blue sky day and went exploring on the bikes after the mandatory greek yoghurt and honey over fresh fruit breaky. Santorini is essentially the remains of a volcanic erruption, the development and towns are on the caldera edge while the centre of the volcano, still active, remains in the middle of the lagoon. Not many trees grow here and the sand is mostly black. It is spectacular. No wonder it is home to the rich and famous and a tourist hot spot. The contrast of white buildings against the blue sky and black earth is remarkable, almost surreal and from a distance it looks like snow.

Town of La, Santorini Island.

After 2 great days of cycling, sunsets and swimming in the crystal clear waters of an old volcanic floor we headed for mainland Greece. Another ferry ride to witness the Greek system of loading these boats with people, cars and trucks. Really it's absolute chaos, but it seems to work, incredibly quickly. We arrived in the port of Pireaus, just outside of Athens. Since we were in the neighbourhood, why not visit the Acropolis? A short train ride to the centre of town, a bit of a walk and there it was, towering over the city. Due to the hoards of tourists and inevitable entry fee we decided to observe the historical sight from below. This was however super easy to do and very rewarding, as seen from picture here.

Yep, its the Acropolis!

That was about the extent of our visit to Athens. We exited via a stupidly busy and scary highway that we had to eject ourselves from at one point for fear of our lives. Hitched a ride with a guy in a van to get us through the worst of it, and ended up at another great phantom campsite by the sea. This time we even got phosphorescence in the water when we swam at night. We had a few solid days of cycling ahead of us. The route was pretty fantastic, cycling alongside the sea on a flat road. We had a celebratory picnic when we reached our 1000km milestone, sampling some local wine, olives and fetta on the beach.

Marty cycling the seaside from Korinthos towards Diakopto, Greece

...Another phantom camp on the seaside. We thought we had an easy day ahead, catching the rack-railway up the steep gradient to the mountains near Kalavrita. What we didn't expect was our bikes not being allowed to travel on this service with us! No choice but to ride. It was gruelling, we cycled up 1000m vertically, from the sea to the mountains and I felt every metre of it. If it wasn't for the long windy fast descent and magic views I would've spat the dummy :)

From the sea to the mountains of Greece.

We hang out in this sleepy town for a few days, exploring the sights and views before a big ride down to the port of Patra. It was indeed amazing, small winding roads, views everywhere and good weather until it started raining. In true J&M style we arrived at the ferry station with 15 minutes to spare before our boat left for Italy! In the very same way we entered Greece, we departed Greece. Thankful for our experiences, excellent riding, sunshine and beaches.

View from Patra port as we departed Greece on route to Italy.