Samos

It was good to be back in my home island Samos again after 16 years! And wonderful to see my cousin Aki again and his wife Chrisa and to meet his daughters Mirto and Melina.

My other cousin Angela (Kiki) is busy fixing up her late mother's house to use as a summer home, now that she's retired.

Journey to Samos

Time to head to Samos. We ferried back to Alexandroupolis (in Thrace) and then a long overnight ferry to Samos, passing by Samothrace and watching the sun set behind holy Mount Athos.

Samothrace

Samothrace is a gem of an island in the north east corner of the Aegean. Very small, but it has the tallest mountain (Fengari - moon) in the Aegean at around 1500 meters (depending on which source you believe). Well, we decided to climb it. Could we do it? We didn't know but we tried and succeeded and it was absolutely beautiful. Then we decided, rather than going back down the way we came, to keep going and descend onto the opposite side of the island. Well, it was tough going, a very treacherous trail. Not much fun, but looking back it was quite a rewarding accomplishment. A 10 hour, 20km hike up from sea level to 1500m and back down over slippery steep boulders and rockslides. All this with not enough water and perhaps not the most appropriate shoes.

The next day was spent limping around and soaking in thermal waters, resting and eating. Boy were we sore! It was a full moon that night and the "Temple of the Great Gods" had free admission (as do all Greek ancient sites on such nights) and a guitar concert.

On our last day in Samothrace we visited some beautiful waterfalls on the Fonias river (Killer river).

Thrace

Thrace is the north-eastern most part of Greece, sharing a border with Turkey and Bulgaria. Before Greece became the modern nation that it is, it was under Turkish rule and many Turks lived all over Greece, and many Greeks lived all over Turkey. In the 1920's there was a massive population exchange, all Greeks in Turkey were sent to Greece and all Turks in Greece to Turkey All except for the Turks in Thrace and the Greeks in Istanbul (Constantinople?) The Greeks in Istanbul have since been forced into Greece, but Thrace continues to have a large Turkish population, so even though we were still in Greece, we frequently came across Mosques and Turkish Greeks.

First Fig

Alix (AKA the big fig pig) finally had her first fresh-off-the-tree fig! This picture is only a dramatization though, the actual event was much too exciting for anyone to think of taking a picture. No figs were harmed for the purpose of this blog.

Virgin booby

Who says that public breast feeding is not acceptable? I have it on good faith that it's fine just about anywhere.

A little relief from the sun

A couple of weeks ago we got a little relief from the sun. It was nice to ride under cloudy skies for a change, but the fields of sunflowers didn't like it. Then a wall of black sky approached, so we prepared our bikes for a good washing and ducked into a giro place before it started to rain sideways. It even hailed. When it stopped and the sun dried things up very fast, good judgement took us to a nearby town with a hotel. It rained a lot more at night so we watched the dark clouds on the horizon with suspicion and killed some time in an internet cafe, getting caught up.

When we did get back on the road, it was well into the afternoon, but we managed to get up to the top of an 900m pass and camped there. Near the top of the highest mountain in the range is perhaps not the best choice for camping, especially with the telling menace of many power generating wind mills on the mountain ridge opposite us. Of course it was a very windy and fairly cold night, but nothing that a well positioned, firmly staked out tent and a pair of earplugs couldn't overcome. Sleep came easily to our weary bodies after we were done eating and taking in the majestic views.

Mosaics make Alix happy

And what amazing mosaics there are here in Greece. The various mosaics in the pictures are in the Byzantine museum in Thesalonica, in the museum at ancient Pella (Alexander the Great's hometown), in Filipi; the first Christian city in the west and Europe, and finally outside a church in Kavala.

Ferry to Thessalonica

By the way, as in Mexico, you mustn't dispose of toilet paper in the toilet in Greece.

After a few days of short rides, beautiful views and lovely swims in Alonysos, it was time for a long ferry ride to northern Greece, Thessalonica. A 10 hour ferry ride for only €25 each, and the bikes ride for free, we just wheel them on, bags and all. It couldn't be more convenient.

We stopped off in Skopelos and Skiathos, and had a hazy glimpse of mount Olympus on the way.

Goats and olives on Alonysos

Evia island was all sheep. Next we went to Alonysos island which was full of goats and many old olive trees. There were a few tourists on the south end too.

We didn't camp here

But it would have been nice. This is a Profitis Ilias church, there are many and they are always on hill or mountaintops. We had the pleasure of spending the afternoon and camping at one (on Evia island) the night before.

Now I get it

Alix and I once read a book called "Miles from Nowhere" (thanks Liz!) about a couple from California who who cycled around that world in the 70's. Leaving their home, they cycled up the California coast, and she, being a novice cyclist and it being quite windy, she kept getting blown off her bike.

Both Alix and I found this quite unbelievable and decided that she was taking some literary licence or just exaggerating the events somewhat.

Well... Now I get it.

You can in fact get blown off you bike. The wind just needs to be strong enough. The first picture above shows Alix when we were marvelling at how strong the wind was (mere child's play at that point still). We've seen some power generating windmills in our travels, but never this many. That's the first hint. We easily saw over 100 of them on our first day cycling in Evia. The combination of the wind and the way the road was positioned relative to the mountains and the passes made for a couple of spots where it was downright scary. Sorry no pictures of that - it was hard enough to keep the bike upright as I walked beside it leaning hard on it against the gusting crosswind, there was no way I was going to open up a bag to get my camera out. I prayed not to have a flat or any other mechanical problem as I'm not sure how I would have fixed it. Twice I had strong gusts convince me to get off the bike and walk, and twice Alix got blown off her bike (though, as always, she landed like a skilled acrobat). We considered begging a ride from passing motorists, but I have no idea how we would have loaded on our bike in that wind.

Did I mention that the windiest spots were also under construction? So instead of the good traction typical of a well paved surface, we had dirt that constantly threatened to loose its grip on our tires as one minute we would lean hard into a strong gust, and the next we would quickly recover when the wind took a momentary break. Several times we got blasted by the windborne sand and dirt and it stung bitterly and filled our ears and coated our sweaty and sun-screeny bodies. It wasn't the right time for Alix to be wearing the Nivea baby sunscreen that I bought for her (I don't recommend it by the way, it's horrible stuff that leaves you coated in a thick sticky goo, and if you have a baby you should just keep it out of the sun anyway!)

At the time it was horrible, and at one point I honestly thought that I was close to being airborne and getting swept off a cliffside, but now, looking back, it's the type of adventure that bicycle touring is made of. A low point that helps to make the high points that much better. The ups and downs of bike touring!

More cousinly hospitality

Well, we're on round three of our Greece 2008 bike tour, cycling up the island of Evia, which happens to be Greece's second largest after Crete.

We spent a couple of days trying to figure out which way to go and how, combining ferry, train and bike and finally came up with a solid plan. Of course the plan has changed now and will probably continue to evolve. More on that as our story unfolds.

The trip started with a ferry out of Athens. Well, not really Athens, but Rafina. Most ferries leave Piraeus, Athens' main port, but using this port would involve another unpleasant ride from my cousin George's little Oasis home on the east side of Athens through 38km of the battleground which are the streets of Athens. OK, it's not that bad. It's actually not bad at all, but if one can avoid it, one should.

So we cycled to Rafina, only 20km away and in the opposite direction from Athens. Rafina is also where another of my many wonderful cousins lives. Beautiful cheerful, always optimistic Evita is my mother's brother's daughter and I have many good memories of her from our visits to Greece when I was young(er). In classic Greek good form, Evita and her boyfriend Beat treated us to their exceptional hospitality, and we in turn can take credit for getting Evita out on her bike for a couple of short rides. Maybe it will turn into a good habit? I know you're reading Evita...

The next morning we took a short ferry ride over to Evia island, a somewhat overlooked Greek gem, and so very close to Athens. And so part three of our Greek adventure begins.

Beautiful Kythira island

"Is this your first time in Greece?"

"Yes"

"...and you chose to visit Kythira?!"

An odd interaction with an Athenian man driving up a steep hill as we were about to cycle down it. I suppose that Kythira island is not very well know to tourists, so why would anyone come here unless they're visiting their ancestral homeland? Well it's a beautiful island, quite diverse and surprising. Coming off the ferry it just looked bleak and treeless, but after cycling around for our first day, we saw so many different areas it was incredible. Not a lot of cars and many interesting roads winding their way around the island. But it's not for the feint of heart - the conversation continues:

"Are you going to cycle down this hill?"

"Yes"

"and cycle back up too??"

"Well...yes"

"You are a hero!"

Hmmm... We've tackled short sections up to 14% and extended climbs averaging 7%, I won't say "with ease", but it didn't kill us, and in the right state of mind (which I'm ALWAYS in when cycling beautiful hilly terrain) it can even be enjoyable. Coming down to this beach was a challenge for our brakes and our braking fingers (not to mention our tires - the rims got VERY hot) we'll see what physical challenge tomorrow morning brings...