Lesvos, Greece and overstaying our travel visa - Writing


Most countries offer standard three month visas, what Ryan and I had traveling through Europe. We wondered from day one what would happen when we crossed the border to get out of Europe, seven months of curiosity. Sometimes asking fellow bikers, most said we would be fine because we were traveling by bicycle. Our curiosities came to an end after leaving Greece from the island of Lesvos.

Taking another ferry from Athens to the island of Lesvos (yes, there is where the word lesbian derived from), we decided to spend a day or two riding around this beautiful area. Blue skies, small rolling hills, and nowhere to be for another three weeks. Taking a locals advice, we took an unused road to make our loop around the island. Few wild dogs, a lunch spot on cliffs overlooking a few sailboats, and more or less a road to ourselves, we travelled through towns where people stopped what they were doing and watch us ride on by. Our campspot that night one of the best. Difficult to get to, but it again overlooked the water, a quaint town, and rocks jutting up off shore. Early to bed, early to rise, we spent the morning in a small cafe reading our books and taking turns checking emails and catching up on some news. Computers really make travelling easier these days as it gives us the ability to stay in touch. From this side of the island, we could see Turkey, maybe only 5 miles away. High mountains and barely any development.

Eastern Peloponnese, Greece - Writing


The third Peninsula was the most authentic section of the Peloponnese. Our first town along the eastern coast was Momenvasia. A midevil, walled town on the side of cliff, on an island, attached to the mainland by a narrow causeway. No cars. No bicycles. The town can only be viewed by foot. Taking a short visit while a woman watched our bikes, we walked the entire town in 45 minutes. This was the last of the tourists. We stopped by the market on our way out and continued riding looking for a great place to camp. To our luck, just at sunset, we came across an olive grove that looking out to the ocean. A meal of rice, veggies, sausage and feta, a staple these days, we slept well and were up bright and early to begin riding again.

Western Peloponnese Peninsula, Greece - Writing


Arriving at the ferry terminal without a ticket or knowledge of departure times worked itself out tremendously. We rode up about an hour and a half prior to a ferry leaving for Patras, Greece. 13 hours on the ferry with a single stop along the way. As neither of us had been on a long distance ferry in Europe, we didn't know what to expect. Being on a tight budget, we of course chose the cheapest option, deck seats. Now, if you have taken a long ferry from Washington to Alaska, deck seats means you put your tent on the deck and that is your home for the duration of the trip. Well, Europe is quite different. The room where we stayed had seats like business class on an airline. The seats were roomy, comfortable and reclined with a foot rest. Private rooms were available with beds and a bathroom, but they were three times as pricey. We were quite happy with our "second class" accomodations.

Greece - Pictures, part two

Lisa doing her best to get comfortable on the 12 hour ferry ride to the Island of Lesvos
"Fresh" off the boat


Mytilene, Greece
Great place to ride... few cars and zero tourists
Using the old dishwasher
Lunch on the Aegean looking toward Turkey
Ancient fortifed town of Molivos


Packing up at dawn
Riding into the fishing town of Petra for some Greek coffee












Greece - Pictures, part one

Dis-obeying all traffic laws on the Pelopenesse peninsula
Sometimes I take too many pictures
Best beach ever...


New friends and fellow cyclists

Perfect mid-day swim break
Ryan taking the jump



On the Mani peninsula in southern Peloponesse


Perfect for when you are under siege


Great descent ahead...

...all the way down to the coast

A long and lonesome road... maybe 10 cars all day

The local catch of the day in the port town of Githio

Whoops

Momenvasia... no tourists, hard to get to, one of the prettiest ancient towns we have seen



Waiting for King Kong

The view over Momenvasia

Climbing to the top of the ancient city of Momenvasia


On the map this "road" is a dashed line.

Fried sheep's head anyone?

Any shop that has these (chicken on left, pork on right), we stop and eat...

Call them gyros, pitas or donner... best cheap food in Europe!

These are much more impressive if I you don't have to tilt your head

Temple of Athena

View over Athens

The Parthenon on the Acropolis

Rome and southern Italy - Pictures

Trevi fountain - hitting the Roman highlights
The Spanish steps and more tourists




Waiting to board the ferry for a 14 hour trip to Greece
Lisa eating grapes given to us by the man on the bike
Lunch break