Changing Gears Cycle Tour: December 2010

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.