Archive for September, 2007
Monday, September 24th, 2007
62km Meteora to Mega Eleftherochori
Our day was a fairly ordinary one until early in the afternoon when a red pickup truck ground to a halt beside us, as we were walking up a large hill. First a stream of Greek came from the driver, a short, dark-haired man in his 40s, followed by a smattering of German. The usual questions followed and then we asked about a cafe in the next town. We’ve gotten hooked on iced coffees and were craving one as we pushed our bikes in the hot sun. Immediately the invitation came to have drinks with our host. At first we tried to politely refuse but there was a certain twinkle in the eye of this man that we couldn’t resist so – for the first time so far on this trip – we allowed our bikes to be loaded into a vehicle and rushed a few kilometers up to the village sitting on the peak of the hill.
The ride itself was rather funny: us with our two bikes, all in the back of the pickup truck (something that would be illegal in Canada), flying up a hill and around bends, bracing to steady ourselves for each curve. When we got to the cafe we realised we hadn’t just been invited for drinks. (more…)
1 Comment » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Greece, Journal Entries by andrew
Sunday, September 23rd, 2007
A visit to Meteora
When we first approached Meteora, coming down the Katara pass, both of us thought “that doesn’t look so impressive”. We wondered if we’d been conned into cycling into this town of hilltop monasteries for a landscape that wasn’t quite as good as it looked in the tourist brochures. But as soon as we boarded the local bus and started winding our way up the hill to the Great Meteoron monastery — the largest and highest of the monasteries — we were sold. The views are simply stunning and for once we did not mind sharing the space with the hundreds of other tourists also in awe not only at the landscape but, of course, at the treasures in the monasteries. We only had time to see two of the building and to slowly trek down between the rocks back to the town at the foot of the cliffs but we could have spent the better part of a week here visiting each one. If you ever get the chance to come to Meteora, it is worth the trip.
No Comments » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Greece, Journal Entries by friedel
Friday, September 21st, 2007
73km Metsovo to Meteora
We crossed the 16,000km threshold on our bicycle trip today as we cruised from our resting spot in Metsovo over the Katara Pass and down to the monastery town of Meteora. Before we even got to the Katara Pass, however, we had to say goodbye to our friends Dimitri and Polikot, who were rushing to Thessaloniki by another road, hopefully in time to renew their visas. We really enjoyed their company for a day and were sad to see them go before we had enough time to learn Russian and ask all the questions we had for them. We are sure it will be a while before we see another 8-year-old so keen on cycling as Polikot clearly was and we will miss the quiet but rythmic and somehow soothing prayers of Dimitri as we pass each church and his lively singing. After we watched our friends disappear around a bend we climbed the final few kilometers to the pass and were soon flying down the other side. (more…)
1 Comment » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Greece, Journal Entries by andrew
Thursday, September 20th, 2007
58km Ioannina to Metsovo
Cycle touring is often as much about the people you meet on the road as the sights you see. On our bikes, we seem to form an instant bond with others in a way we rarely, if ever, experience travelling in the confines of a car or train and find ourselves making friends with complete strangers. Today our journey will be remembered not only for the seemingly endless hills but also for our meeting with two Russians, Dimitri and his 8-year-old daughter Polikot.
The two of them rolled up to our lunch spot just as Friedel was rushing off for a pee in the bushes (is this a Murphy’s Law of cycling?) and they only spoke a few words of English but with much miming and cartooning we determined that they had travelled 8,000km from Russia to Finland, over to Brest on the west coast of France, down all the way to Bari in the south of Italy and now they were heading across Greece. Their goal is Vladivostok, clear on the other side of Russia, although we hope they will take a break at home before carrying on in the spring! After a few minutes of charades, Dimitri insisted that we have a can of Russian beef as a present and we returned the favour with oranges.
They then cycled off but we met up again throughout the day and as the rain started to fall in the early evening we all took shelter by a church in the mountain town of Metsovo. We had a great time together, sharing tea and supper and trying to find out more about each other. We discovered that Polikot had been doing long cycling trips since she was six and that her mother was a singer but didn’t like the rustic lifestyle that goes along with long bike tours. “She want hotel,” said Dimitri, doing an impression of his wife painting her nails.
The evening went quickly and it was completely dark before we realised that none of us had put up our tents so we just spread out our sleeping bags on the benches and slept in the open air once again, a nice change from our recently stuffy tent
1 Comment » - Posted in Cycling Trips, Greece, Journal Entries by andrew
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007
43km Vrosina to Ioannina
We woke up t’ t’ news this mornin’ that it was international “talk like a pirate day” so it was with a yo-ho-ho and a quick scrub under some cold sprin’ water (no rum in our coffee, unfortunately) that we set course for t’ next set o’ hills. We practiced our pirate greetin’s from peak t’ peak and took refuge under t’ shade o’ many roadside trees. We truly went at a snail’s pace, probably only about twice as smartly as a normal walkin’ speed. Like ayeterday, t’ road proved t’ be desolate until we reached t’ outskirts o’ Ioannina. T’ only person we saw who wasn’t in a vehicle was an elderly lady, dressed head t’ toe in black aside from t’ sliver o’ white skin peekin’ out between t’ top o’ her knee-high stockin’s and t’ bottom o’ her skirt. We were glad we’d made aye t’ fill up on water and food before we port Vrosina.Even so, we’d used up most o’ our supplies by t’ time we got t’ Ioannina, each o’ us gulpin’ down about four litres o’ water durin’ t’ climbs, several bananas and a mouthful o’ baklava – pastry filled with nuts, soaked in a syrup o’ honey and spices. We were thrilled t’ find a campground with no less o’ a view than t’ road that awaits us tomorrow. Our tent be pitched by a lake and on t’ other side o’ t’ water we can see our road slowly climbin’ t’ mountain for what must be a good 10 kilometers. T’ road then rounds a bend and we’re not aye what awaits us after that. At least it looks fairly gentle so although we’ll be goin’ steadily upwards we should be able t’ do it without too much huffin’ and puffin’.
(If this was all a little too much for you, fear not. The normal English version returns tomorrow!)
