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.

Arriving back at the ferry terminal at 7:30am after sleeping just outside the town up in the hills, we were both a bit nervous about exiting the EU and heading into Turkey. We figured there were four things that could happen: 1. They let us leave without even noticing or caring that we are four months overdue 2. We get a fine but they let us through 3. We get deported 4. We get throw in jail. We actually adjusted our route and headed through the islands rather than over the road border thinking this would be the easiest and most casual option. Standing in the customs line to get through to our next ferry, there were two guys working the counter. One spoke English quite well and the other didn't. Handing both our passports to the one who spoke English, he then handed one passport to his co-worker. Great, we thought, he is going to pick up on it. Nope, the young man who spoke English realized the dates stamped in our passports. "When did you arrive in Europe?" He asked. "April 1st," I said. Slightly turning his head and squinting his eyes in confusion, he said he would be right back, he had to make a call. Could we please stand aside with our bikes. Oh man. About 10 minutes later he comes back and says since we have overstayed our visa, he has to fine us 1200 euros a piece! "Do we have to pay that right now?" We asked. The guy standing next to him gets a big grin and says, "You can either pay now.......(pause)......or you can pay when you come back in." Fantastic! They hold the boat for us, write out our fine and we are on our way. We were really excited to not have anymore issues because they also told us that in Norway, they deport you on your dime. Thank you Greece!