Best of Greece (BOG2502)
After heavy rainfalls the day before the weathergod decided to show the sunny side of Athens. One by one the groupmembers arrived at the hotel, some of them checking the tourguides working on the bikes, but all of them looking forward to the welcome briefing.
Everybody was nervous about the way out of town through hectic traffic, but it turned out, that Saturday mornings are calm and easy. After a short stretch on the motorway we left the area of Athens and had our first climb over a mountain on the outskirts of the city. We rolled through a rural area, cotten fields, sheep, wineyards along the way. At Aliki we hit the coastline, an impressive view of the Golf of Corrinth, Pelleponessos already in sight on the other side of the water. At our lunch in Agia Ana we were intruduced to Greek cousine, a variety of starters gave us ann idea about the tasty things we will get in the future days. Osios Luca, a monestary out in the middle of nowhere invited to dive into history of the 9th century. Finally some more curvy roads and a briefe stop in Delphi led us to todays destination, Anachrova
The roads in Greece are just amazing. And the best thing about them is, as long as you stay away from the coast and the major cities you have them pretty much all to yourself. But we are not here just for the roads but also because there is so much to see in Greece and the history of the greek empire and all that remains of it is fascinating. After we left our hotel this morning we went straight to the Mount Parnassus. It is one of the highest mountains in Greece and there is even a skiing area up there. In the ancient greek mythology it was the place where the Muses - the godesses that protected to fine are - were living there. After we visited them, we continued on to memorial site of the battle at the Thermopilon, where King Leonidas and his Spartan warriors defeated in 480 b.c. fought against the Persian army that invided Greece and which inspired the movie 300. After that much history it was time for some more great riding and so we went to the Pindus mountains and rode there to our todays destination in Kalyvia.
The beautiful sunrise mixed with rain and by the time we took off, the weather was ok. Since the bridge along the original route was still not repaired, we had to take a little detour through the plains west of Trikala. Heading back into the mountains, we stopped at the arched bridge of Pili, spaning over the Portaikos River for already 500 years. It started to rain again, but nevertheless Markus took us through the mountains north. every now and then the clouds would lift and allow a look at the amazing countryside. Getting out of the mountains we got the first glance at the sandstone formations of Meteora. But before we could have a closer one, the tourguide guided us away from the sights to show us an even better one - a picnic, prepared by Daniel. What a surprise! After that we spend quite some time to enjoy the unique landscape with rocktowers with small and bigger monestaries sitting on top. One of the most famouse one might be Agia Triada, that's the one were scenes of the James Bond movie "For your eyes only" were taken. Finally we had a very enjoyable ride on on curvy roads all the way to Metsovo.
Today was our first restday on this tour. While a part of our group decided to stay in Metsovo and explore the cute little town, six of us decided to go for a ride, and it was a great one for sure. After a few miles on the highway we road west trough the hills on a small curvy road and it was one of the best so far on this trip. The Zagoris region of greece is still very rural and for a long time there were not roads but everything had to be transported by donkeys. You can still see some of the old tracks following alongside the road and most of the stone bridges build in the 18th and 19th century are still around. We then went up the mountain and took a little hike to the Vikos Gorge, who is the deepest gorge in relation to its with and the view down into the valley was absolutly worth it. After getting lunch in the cute little town of Monodendri we went back to our hotel in Metsovo that we will leave tomorrow.
So far we have always been riding north on this tour, but today it was time for us to go south again and our goal today was the island of Lefkada. Our original plan was to head straight into the mountains after we leave our hotel, but due to the unusual cold temperatures and the change of rain, we changed our plan and stayed at lower altitudes where it was much warmer. Along the way we had the chance to dive a little bit deeper into greeces history and the nations that occupied it over the centuries, since we stopped at an old fortress that by the ottoman empire and also discovered an old aqueduct that was build by the romans.
Looking into the tourbook it seemed to be a long day, but we knew, that we will experience a few kilometers on the Greek motorways. Heading back from the island of Lefkada to the mainland we followed more or less the coastline South. After the coffee stop in Astakos we went towards the motorway connecting the northwestern part of Greece with Peleponessos and also Athens. The first real highlight of the day was the Rio - Ontario Bridge spanning across the entrance of the gulf of Corinth. A gigantic masterpeace of engeneering, connecting the mainland with Peleponessos. After some more kilometers on the motorway we turned inland and started to climb immediately towards Calavrita. The town is of sad fame, because towards the end of WW II almost the whole population of town got killed as an act of revenge towards the Greek resistance. Coming up from the coast the roads couldn't have been any better, we continued to follow countless curves towards Vitina, one of the many small villages in the Greece mountains
Of course everybody wanted to see Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic games! but first we had to get there! It was a try and sunny day, the roads were perfect ans so we had an excellent ride on outstanding roads through the central mountains of Peleponnesos. Getting to the town of Olympia we found, what we did not miss so far at all: tons of tourists shuffeld with busses from the cruiseships to the sights. But we managed to visit the ruins of Ancient Olympia while most of them had lunch, so it was perfect. After a late lunch for us we headed back to our hotel - another 80 miles of endless curves, which left a big grin in our faces when we hoped of the bikes in Vitina.
A great day lies behind of us. After we left the hotel we went straight to a beautiful road leading us through beautiful hills covered in pine forests. At our coffeestop in Megalopoli we stumbled into a bike race before we took the highway to Sparti, where we did a fotostop at the statue of King Leonidas, the famous leader Spartans in the famous battle against the persians. After this quick dip into greece history we went onwards to our riding hightlight of the day, the Langada Pass, the highest pass on the Pelopones and just an amazing ride. To round up this beautiful day, we followed the amazing coastline down to our todays destination in Areopoli.
Early morning and the palm leaves rustle in the wind. It doesn't look particularly cozy! We set off, and after a few minutes, we find ourselves at the entrance to the stalactite caves near Pirgos Dirou. We glide through the shallow waters of the cave in three boats; unfortunately, only the short tour is open. On the approximately two kilometers to the exit, we walk through larger and smaller caverns filled with impressive stalactite formations. The trip through Mani, the middle finger of the Peloponnese, is fascinating. The tower houses of the various clans, also recreated in the new buildings, characterize the landscape. Vathia, located almost at the end of the finger, is one of the best examples. We continue north along the west coast, where we have lunch in Gythion, a small, picturesque harbor town. Now only the eastern finger remains! We travel back and forth across the low mountain ridge that forms the spine of the finger until we finally arrive at our hotel near Agios Stefanos.
Today was our last rest day on this tour. Of course, we had planned a short motorcycle ride for today as well, but since we had such an exceptionally beautiful hotel, only three of us went on a short tour of the area south of Monemvasia, and it was really worth it. Not only did we have great routes today, but we also had a great lunch stop with delicious pizza right on the beach. In the late afternoon, we took the opportunity to explore Momemvasia. The small medieval town is located on an island off the coast and is usually a major tourist attraction, but since the peak season is already over, we were able to enjoy the tranquil town almost all to ourselves.
Another great day is behind us. As soon as we leave Monemvasia, we head straight north along the Greek coast. Great curves with a view of the sea – what more could you want? After half an hour on the coastal road, we turn west and make our way towards the mountains, tackling the Parnon Mountains. There we visit the Elona Monastery, one of countless monasteries in this area. This one is particularly spectacular because it was built directly into a rock face. After our little trip to the monastery, Markus surprises us with a picnic, and from there we follow the coast to our destination for today, Nafplion.
Even the best things get to an end - and so did this tour. Heading out to ride around Peleponnes' thumb, we experienced one more time endless curves, climbed one more mountain and heaven shed tons of tears as a farewell to make us soaked wet to the bone. But fortunately it was warm enough and while moving towards Epidaurus almost everybody dryed off. The ancient theater has an amazing acustic, some of us climbed to the very top to proof, that words, spoken at the center of the stage, can be heard even up there. A final Greek lunch including octobus, sardines, tzaziki, and all the other good stuff made our goodbye to Greece not easier. A last stop at the Canal of Corinth and we headed back to the start
Farewell evenings can be very different, bur this one was very special. Usually the tourguides do a review of the adventure, but this time Kimberley asked for holding the speech. It was a heartwarming, sentimental but also enjoying look as well back to the tour, but even more about the group. The discription of the charakters, little sidecicks on misshaps, things we experienced together, Kimberley found an unadiscribalble way to express her feelings about the tour and how the group became more then freins - a family. Thanks to all off you for beeing one of the best groups forever - we always will remember you! "we people" Markus and Daniel