Adventures and Observations

Road tattoo

2011-11-16T17:31:00.001+02:00

Well, I think I'll actually get this blog started.

Alix of the mosaics

2011-06-20T17:00:00.001+03:00

Published with Blogger-droid v1.7.1

You might think all we do is eat...

2011-06-12T11:40:00.001+03:00

My little carnivore

2011-06-11T18:04:00.001+03:00

The perfect lunch on a hot afternoon

2011-06-10T14:48:00.002+03:00

My new friend.

2011-06-09T16:25:00.001+03:00

Hopefully he'll go home and not keep running behind our bikes because I can't possibly carry enough food and water for both of us...

A few more countries

2009-08-12T00:24:00.003+03:00

Well, a ship job didn't materialize when I had hoped, so I need to fly myself back over the Atlantic. Well, not exactly "myself". I joined Alix in flying "home" on a stand-by ticket thanks to Alix's good friend and pilot, Elisabeth. My friend too of course.

So the plan was, ferry over from Samos to Kuşadasi in Turkey, spend a few days in the area, head over to Istanbul (not Constantinople), spend a couple of days, then fly out on Delta's direct flight to NYC. That was the plan. All went well until the "fly out" part. No seats, very busy.

So now we're on a train heading to Bucharest where we have an excellent chance of getting a seat on tomorrow's flight to NYC. We're at the Bulgaria-Romania border crossing and it's much smoother than leaving Turkey. Well, not that leaving Turkey wasn't smooth, but they made us all get off the train and line up to get our exit stamps. By the time we figured out what was going on, Alix and I were near the end of the line, and for some reason, they decided to start handing out tourist oriented surveys. The Mexican girl ahead of me got an English form when she admitted to speaking English, then Alix was pulled aside for a survey too, but apparently there were no more English forms left so they sent her on her way. Then, seeing my Greek passport, they gave me a Greek form... ughhh... lots of big words, and judging by the English form, quite a poor translation. So as I copied the answers off the Mexican girl's form, Alix went back to the train and worried
about what was taking me so long...

I am a man!

2009-08-12T00:24:00.001+03:00

In case you didn't know. I now have proof.

Long distance bicycle touring

2009-08-01T11:26:00.001+03:00

I had an epiphany the other day. It came when Alix and I were trying to lug our 50kg+ each of unwieldy luggage. How can something so efficient, adventurous, beautiful, sleek, quick and nimble as a fully loaded touring bicycle be reduced to such an unmanageable pile of luggage?

I got to thinking about some of those long distance, round-the-world, keep cycling till who knows when, to who knows where cyclists that we've come across in our travels. Perhaps their passion is born of simply NOT wanting to drag their crap onto taxis, buses and airplanes. The solution? Just keep cycling!

I've often thought that it would have been much less tiring to have spent a week or 2 cycling there when we load all of our stuff onto a bus to head from one part of Mexico to another for a bike tour. The same goes for our time in Greece where we're dragging around many more things for camping, plus souvenirs, etc...

Hiking the Kalderimi in Pilio

2009-06-30T15:25:00.001+03:00

There are these old, old stone pathways that used to connect many villages in the days before cars and roads. People would walk. People don't walk anymore. People think you must be crazy to walk. Many of the old stone pathways still exist and are maintained for crazy people who like to walk.

Fountains

2009-06-30T15:24:00.001+03:00

All over Greece you find these beautiful stone fountains where some mountain spring has been somehow diverted or piped in. What could look better on a hot day?

How to waste half a day

2009-06-30T15:23:00.001+03:00

Find a cafe with wireless internet. Sit.

Especially effecting at wasting time when you can plug in your netbook and not worry about killing the battery.

Meteora

2009-06-24T14:03:00.001+03:00

A rare geological phenomenon makes for spectacular scenery, and a great place to build monasteries if you want be able to defend them really well. Nice for a hike too, and excellent climbing. But mass tourism has arrived here for sure.

A bird's nest on a church

2009-06-24T14:01:00.001+03:00

The picture is pretty self explanatory.

Looking back (Arcadia in May)

2009-06-24T11:11:00.001+03:00

We started our touring this year in Xiropighadho of the Prefecture of Arcadia in the Peloponnese. Looking back to May (with waaaayyyyy too many pictures:

http://basily.smugmug.com/gallery/8116173_cdKad

Zagharohoria

2009-06-22T21:52:00.001+03:00

A stunning setting for old stone villages.

Yes, those are a lot of switch-back to cycle up to Papigko - killer ride!

Hiking around Zagharohoria

2009-06-22T21:48:00.001+03:00

Alexandra and I had a fantastic introduction to multi-day hiking and we are hooked! We left our bicycles and most of our things behind in Papigko and spent 4 days hiking around and camped in the wilderness for 3 nights. What a beautiful area!

Beautiful Kastoria

2009-06-19T22:34:00.001+03:00

Kastoria is a small city set on the narrow part of a bulbous peninsula jutting out into a lake, surrounded by striking mountains. It is laden with dozen of byzantine churches, and has a well preserved old quarter. The fur trade brought fame and fortune to this city, but we came for the architecture and a lovely unloaded ride around the peninsula.

A complete photo journal of our trip to Albania

2009-06-19T22:33:00.001+03:00

Follow this link to entirely too many pictures from Albania:

http://basily.smugmug.com/gallery/8473810_uJ2vW

Not that Albania isn't deserving of a lot of pictures and many more, but you'd be forgiven for flipping through them quickly, or just scanning the thumbnails and only opening the occasional picture that strikes your fancy.

As Albanian as can be

2009-06-08T00:00:00.001+03:00

Some more pictures of very typical things in Albania, some beautiful places and interesting things.

Albania

2009-06-04T22:11:00.000+03:00

We decided to pop into Albania for a few days or a week or so. What do you know about Albania? Not much I bet, but it's a fascinating country.

The Sexy Switchback

2009-06-03T22:24:00.001+03:00

Sometimes when we tell people where we plan to cycle, they'll let us know that it's a "bad" road. Well, "bad" is a matter of opinion. These are "bad" roads, but on a bicycle and with hardly any traffic on them, they are heavenly roads!

The Olive Tree

2009-06-03T22:18:00.001+03:00

Can there be anything more characteristically Greek than an olive tree?

Red Poppies

2009-06-03T22:15:00.001+03:00

This goes back about a month, but when we first arrived in Greece this year there were gloriously red poppies everywhere, growing like weeds.

And one for the English speakers

2009-05-19T10:53:00.001+03:00

This one only makes sense in Spanish

2009-05-19T10:53:00.000+03:00

A donde quieres ir?

"Wife" is on the road to Hades

2009-05-16T22:00:00.001+03:00

As we linger in the cool shade of a stone church in the Mani region of the Peloponnese, digesting our delicious picnic lunch and letting the steep climb's sweat dry, Paul points out that one of our upcoming towns, called Νιφι (wife) is on the road to Hell. Well, it's on the road to the entrance to Hades to be more specific.

Alix and I cycled for about a week together, starting in Xiropigado and then met up with our good friend Paul in Neapoli (he had been cycling in Crete), and now we're cycling together around the beautiful Mani region in the southern part of the "middle finger" of the Peloponnese.

Samos

2008-09-25T20:45:00.003+03:00

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

2008-09-25T20:44:00.003+03:00

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

2008-09-25T20:44:00.001+03:00

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

2008-09-20T20:45:00.000+03:00

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

2008-09-13T19:01:00.001+03:00

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

2008-09-13T19:00:00.000+03:00

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

2008-08-27T21:48:00.000+03:00

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

2008-08-13T14:00:00.000+03:00

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

2008-08-02T10:45:00.004+03:00

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

2008-08-02T10:45:00.003+03:00

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

2008-08-02T10:45:00.001+03:00

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

2008-07-23T18:05:00.000+03:00

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

2008-07-21T16:27:00.001+03:00

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

2008-07-14T09:54:00.000+03:00

"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...

The smells of Greece

2008-07-11T19:25:00.000+03:00

There are so many smells to appreciate (and one or two to avoid, but I try to wash my shirt everyday...)

My first memory or olfactory memories was when we visited the Mr. And Mrs. Danias, family friends and the parents of my very good childhood friends, John and Christo. Mrs. Danias offered me some "tea of the mountain". She gave me a way out; "you don't have to drink it if you don't like it". Well, it smelled like the Greek hillsides that I fondly remember from my childhood, what a wonderful blend of very Greek mountain herb smells.

Later, on our first day of cycling, I cycled past a tree and didn't even notice what it was until I had already passed it and my brain finished processing the smell, looked it up in its data bank of fond odour-memories and screamed "FIGS!!!" at me. They're not ripe yet but we pass enough fig trees on the road for us to always keep tabs. When they're ready, we'll be ready too. Oh, we'll be ready.

Earlier this week we stayed a couple of nights in Karthamilli (one of our favourite spots so far... More about that in a later blog posting). There, in this little town were quite a few organic type offerings. I walked into a lovely store run by a very nice Romanian woman, and the various smells of all the dried mountain herbs was incredible. I can identify sage and oregano, but there were many more, enough to make one dizzy from sniffing so much

No Spartan shall die today!

2008-07-08T18:11:00.001+03:00

...but I might...

After cycling down the beautiful and rugged coast from Xiropighadho we turned inland, cycling through the surprising little gem of Leonidhio and into the Parnonas mountains. This is the land of the Spartans. On one side of modern day Sparta are the Parnonas and on the other side the even more intense Taygetos mountains. An unforgiving land makes a tough people.

We cycled some crazy steep roads full of switchbacks to the reward of Elona Monastery and then continued on to our home for the night, a Saint Dhimitrios church and sanctuary for mountain hikers. Tomorrow, Sparta.

Over the Lagada pass

2008-07-08T18:09:00.006+03:00

From Sparti we headed into the Taygetos mountains and what an imposing site they are as you approach them!

The first of the highlights are the ruins of the Byzantine city of Mystras. Built on a big easily defendable hill, the city spills steeply from the hilltop castle down. This place was the last outpost of the Byzantine empire, Byzantine from 1249 to 1460, however it was inhabited into the 1800s.

Next came the Lagadha gorge with impossible switchbacks, overhanging rock walls, a tunnel and a lonely wild mountain goat that played "call and answer" with us for a while.

Over the top, a long downhill was interrupted by a little more climbing, and more switchbacks before the mountains revealed the port city of Kalamata to us.

We are now south of Kalamata on the beautiful and rugged Messinian Mani Coast, taking a couple of days to rest and enjoy the exquisite blue sea.

Single beds

2008-07-08T18:09:00.005+03:00

While we moslty spend our nights camping beside churches, once in a while a proper room is in order so we can ensure a good night's sleep, wash ourselves and our clothes properly, and catch up on "The Tudors".

A theme has emerged in most of the rooms that we have stayed in, and that is that they don't seem to like double beds here. More often than not there are two single beds instead of a double.

Just an observation.

Where are you from?

2008-07-08T18:09:00.003+03:00

A tough question for me to answer. Sometimes I say I'm Greek-Canadian, sometime I try to keep it simple and say:

I'm Canadian

What part of Canada?

Um, Toronto.

But you speak Greek.

My parents are from Samos.

But you were born in Canada?

No, Kuwait.

Where?

KooVEYT.

Oh. But you live in Toronto?

Well...

The problem with Greece?

2008-07-08T18:09:00.001+03:00

Here's a joke that I heard, told by a Greek. I think it may exemplify a Greek trait that holds the country and its people back.

There are three guys; an Italian, a German, and, of course, a Greek. God comes to them and tells them that he will grant them each one wish, any desire that they may have.

First he asks the Italian: "what do you wish for?" And the Italian replies: "Well, my neighbour has a beautiful Lamborghini in his driveway. I would like to have one like it."

Poof! He has his new car.

Next the German. "What one wish can I grant for you?" The German replies: "Well, my neighbour has a beautiful wife. I would like to marry someone so beautiful."

Poof! The German gets his dream wife.

Finally the Greek. "What is your desire?" The Greek thinks for a moment and replies: "My neighbour has a wonderful goat that gives much milk. I would like to see it dead."

I'm Back!

2008-06-30T18:33:00.001+03:00

I'm back from working for 2 weeks on the Eurodam, and ready, more than ever to get back on the bike. And it's wonderful to be back with Alix, whose Greek skills have improved dramatically since I left, and it's also great to be back in Greece.

We plan to get back on the bikes and head south on Tuesday.

Eurodam in Venice

2008-06-27T13:48:00.000+03:00

What a change from bicycle touring in Greece (which I miss very much!)

I am working on the brand new Holland America Line ship, the Eurodam. Worth about $700M, this is a luxury liner. It is parked in the shipyard where it was built, Fincantieri, in Venice, Italy, while some last minute additions are made. Tomorrow we will set sail for Southampton, England, making one stop on the way in Malaga, Spain.

I am doing general labour on board, getting paid well (by my standards anyway) and putting in 11.5 hours a day. One this ship I am pulling cable, so far it's all been fibre optic cable. It's dirty itchy work (lots of fibre glass insulation) but it's not a bad way to make a good deal of money in only a few days. I get off in England on the 27th and fly back to Athens from Heathrow.

All of my expenses are taken care of, and the food that is served on board has been superb so far.

Unlike the other jobs I've had aboard ships over the last year, the contractors on board are a minority, there's not as much work to be done as in a dry-dock refit job. It's quite a different atmosphere.

I must say, I am really looking forward to the sea bound portion of the job That said, I am most looking forward to getting back to Alix and to Greece and to bicycle touring and camping and being outside under the Mediterranean blue sky all day long.

A short intermi$$ion

2008-06-18T23:18:00.001+03:00

Sadly, and happily, we are taking a short break from our bicycle touring in Greece.

Happily because I'll be working on the new ship Eurodam helping with some last minute construction as it sails from Venice to Southampton, England. What an opportunity!

Sadly because we were both really, really enjoying Greece and the bicycle touring.

Happily because it's only until June 29th (that's when I'll be back on Greek soil) and I'll be making some good money to allow us to continue touring and not have to worry about finding work in Greece.

Sadly because I will really miss Alix and also Greece in general, a country that I have found a new love for.

Happily because Alix gets to spend a couple of weeks in a lovely apartment that we rented for an excellent price in a beautiful little village by the sea, south of Argos, south-west of Nafplio. The village is Xiropighado ("dry well"). This will hopefully help Alix to immerse herself in Greek and really learn some of the language. Mrs. Helen (Kiria Eleni) who owns the vacations apartments is a wonderful host and will most certainly inject many Greek words into Alix's vocabulary.

Our Church Sanctuaries

2008-06-14T13:27:00.000+03:00

I'm a little behind in my blogging, I'll try to catch up, and add some pictures while I'm at it.

Our first night on the road, June 1st, we stayed inside a partially built factory. The Egyptian watchman hesitated when we asked if we could sleep under the olive trees across the way. They're not mine he said. He could see that it was getting late and we needed a place to stay. He called his co-worker, a kind faced Bangladeshi man. They chatted for a moment and finally let us in the compound and said we could sleep there. We looked around for the ideal spot and in the meantime, the two came back to us and told us we could stay inside an office in the partially built factory. A clean floor, and a bathroom and some wonderful foreign hospitality (they invited us to share their food, but we said we'd already eaten, and went to sleep). That was our first night of camping on the road.

The second night was under the roof of a seaside taverna.

From that night on, except for when we paid for a room in Nafplio we have been taking advantage of a wonderful Greek phenomenon. The countryside is literally dotted with little churches dedicated to this saint or that. You can go in and light a candle and say a prayer. You can also set up your tent beside it and take advantage of the structure for shelter. We've really been enjoying visiting all these little churches and sleeping at some of them. I was lucky enough to load my GPS with a very detailed map of Greece from Anavasi which actually shows where all these churches are located, so we know when one is coming up, but each one is different and a new surprise for us when we arrive

Goats and sheep and bells

2008-06-14T13:26:00.000+03:00

We started cycling through endless orchards of olives and pistachios. Greek olive oil is some of the best in the world - next time you go to buy some olive oil, look for Greek, splurge a little and enjoy the richness of one of the diverse flavours available in Greek oils. Don't get me started on pistachios.

Later on we started seeing apricot orchards and grape vines in the wine region of Nemea. Then in the mountains the vegetation transformed to more pine trees, then fir tree (have you even had Greek fir honey? There is NONE better!). In some areas there were also innumerable bee hives in fields beside the road. Greek honey is some of the best in the world. It is certainly the best I have ever had.

What do you eat with honey when in Greece? Greek yoghurt of course. Again, some of the best in the world. I can even say it's better than what I make. The best stuff is called traditional style, comes in clay pots and is made with sheep's milk.

So what else did we see in the mountains? Lots and lots, and I do mean lots of sheep and goats. Some old shepherds looked like they had just stepped out of the last century... maybe even the one before that. Some were more modern in their approach but all had bells on their animals. And what a lovely sound in the hills, bells and birds chirping.

Oh, and...

2008-06-09T11:46:00.001+03:00

... I forgot to mention...

* a long cucumber

* 1 large tomato

* 1 green pepper

* at least 7 kinds of tea that Alix is carrying...

* etc...

Food Inventory

2008-06-07T18:20:00.003+03:00

Our food inventory leaving Nemea and heading into the mountains is quite impressive.

* 1 bottle of wine from the first of two wineries that we went to for wine tasting. This region is reportedly Greece's pride in wine production, and I, not being anything of a wine connosuer will not argue the point. It's good wine because I like it.

* 1 large loaf of bread, as well as a pair of "koolooris" - kind of a Greek sesame twist or bagel (but better!) that the kind Polish man at the bakery gave us.

* 1 filo cheese filled pastry

* 3 tins of ready food: Giant (or elephant) baked beans, yellow split pea mush cooked with onion and garlic (fava in Greek, but it's NOT fava beans), roasted eggplant.

* A tin and a bit of Quaker oatmeal (standard inventory)

* Two kinds of Cheese, about 1/2kg total

* 1 bitter Greek brand chocolate bar

* kefir in the making (also standard inventory)

* 5 bananas

* 250ml bottle of olive oil

* honey, delicious Greek fir honey. It's really, really good. Really.

* grape syrup

* other things that I can't remember right now, and lots of water.

Impressive, no?

Tourist "culture"

2008-06-07T18:20:00.001+03:00

We're on the road again after a much needed rest day in Nafplio. Yesterday we had a short day of cycling and visited the ancient sites of Tiryns and Mycenea which were very impressive - Mycenea was spectacular. But in all that we were surrounded by what is both a blessing and a curse for Greece - massive tourism. I can't help but be increasingly cynical of tourists (I know, I am one also) that faceless, mindless mass, each person trying desperately to pretend that they are the only tourists in the whole country.

Honey and churches and apricots and steep hills and an ancient theater and a huge feast

2008-06-05T14:40:00.000+03:00

What a day yesterday was!

We started with a crazy 14% grade uphill, yes, I do need all the gears on my bike! Getting back to the main road, we finally felt that we had begun to bicycle tour. Traffic was light, and the scenery spectacular, but we had to earn every bit of it as the hills never ended (though no more 14%ers).

Along the way I found a guy selling honey from his home. He had lived for qq years in Brisbane, Australia, and regrets returning to Greece. "Australia, best country in world" he says. Well, his honey is delicious anyway. After tasting the fir, thyme and orange blossom honey, the choice was easy for me, the fir honey is less sweet and delicious! He also threw in a little (but not that little) jar of thyme honey with honey-comb. Alix went crazy over all the honey products. We may need to increase our daily budget to include a kilo of honey for Alix.

Greece is dotted with little churches in honour of this saint or that saint I happen to have a map in my GPS that shows the location of ALL of these little tiny churches, and they make wonderfull little sancuaries where one can stop for a break. We had lunch at one such church with a view of the sea, and stayed overnight at another one. I lit a candle in each.

Near the end of the day we visited the ancient Epidaurus (epEEdavro in Greek) theater. Spectacular and huge. I'm sure it could fit many thousands of people. Strange thing though, it was a little confusing as there are many Epidauruses - Epidauri? There's New Epidaurus where I bought the honey, Old Epidaurus, Ancient Epidaurus, Upper Epidaurus AND the Ancient Epidaurus Theater. These are all in different places, not very far apart, but quite different places. Oh, and there's also a little Epidaurus theater in Old Epidaurus. Confusing.

So to end our day, after the theater, we went into Ligourio town and ordered some dinner. The man attending to us told me that they had tzatziki, salad, fries, feta cheese and pork chops. I repeated that back to him to make sure I hadn't missed anything, and then ordered a pair of pork chops for Alix and I. Well, my Greek must not be very good, or we looked very hungry, or it was just a simple miscommunication, but we got EVERYTHING! I couldn't believe it, but we ate it all.

A little down the road we found a church for Saint Nicholas and here we slept.

I take it back

2008-06-04T19:23:00.005+03:00

OK, so the Greeks are friendly afterall. It just seems that the people in this area (Peloponese) take a bit to warm up to you.

Day Two was a very short ride of only 26km, but that was just fine as we were still pretty exhausted from cycling out of Athens yesterday. After a long picnic under the shade of an olive tree in the square of a little village, we decended a steep windy road to a tavern on the beach. My first swim in the Agean since 1992! And Alix's first ever. We lazed around, had a couple of cold frape coffees, swam and snorkelled and had a big lunch of calamari, Greek salad, fries and bread. In all that I managed to chat up some people and they proved friendly afterall. Add a couple of big bottles of water and the propietors only charged us 20 Euros for all that (he gave us a discount). Tonight we are spending the night in our tent in the tavern by the seaside.

Day One from Athens

2008-06-04T19:23:00.003+03:00

Greece: The land of ignored street signs. Stop. No parking. One way. You name it Greek drivers ignore the sign. Despite that our epic day one ride from my cousin George and Sandra's place, to Athens, through Athens and away from Athens was not bad at all. Sure, less traffic would have been nice, but the drivers were generally quite curtious.

Once away from the city, the old ehtnic highway followed the coast, with some stretches right by the sea, heading towards the istmuth, on our way to the Peloponese.

All in all it was a wonderfull day one.

$1.91 a liter

2008-06-04T19:23:00.001+03:00

Gas expensive? Well it's more in Europe. $1.91 a liter on a country highway in the Peloponese. That's $7.23 a gallon. Ouch . Get on your bike!

Disappointed in Greek Hospitality

2008-06-04T19:22:00.000+03:00

With the exception of my friends and relatives, who have been absolutely wonderful hosts, I'm a little disappointed in Greek hospitality. I hope that this is just a wrong first impression, or just the region we're in right now. I'm not finding people to be very friendly or open. It's hard to find a toilet to use except in large service stations or museums, when I ask to use one elsewhere I'm invariably told "no". Alix has better luck; perhaps because she speaks English to people, perhaps because she's a woman, or perhaps because she's just better looking!

Multi-ethnic Greece

2008-05-25T09:45:00.001+03:00

It's been amazing for me to see how multi-ethnic Greece has become. Or at least Athens. There are both legal and illegal immigrants all over, from Albania, the far East, Africa, eastern Europe and the middle East. My cousin who we've been staying with just outside of Athens had a couple of Polish men expanding his patio. So the immigrants are the new trades people, labourers and salespeople. They work for less and some have excellent skills. It's odd to hear Greek come from the mouths of so many different looking faces and with so many different accents.

My friend Maria tells me that the Greeks are generally kind to and try to help these people as Greeks have also suffered through so much so recently. After the 2nd world war, and the even worse ensuing civil war, there were dictatorships, coups, depressions and economic and political strife in Greece that would make any central American country seem almost stable.

About a fifth of Greece's population is currently made up of immigrants and refugees.

We're in Greece!!!

2008-05-24T00:06:00.000+03:00

Well, we made it to Greece! So far, in 3 and a half days, we've come to really appreciate Greek hospitality (my cousin George and his wife Sandra especially), taste some goodies that I haven't eaten in years, seen friends, and seen some of Athens. Oh, and we assembled our bikes too.

The adventures are a-coming!