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.

Patras, Greece is a smaller town with a harbor right at the base of of the downtown area. A quick stop in the book store for a map and Greek translation book along with a shot of espresso, we were on our way to riding around the Peloponnese Peninsula. Not knowing where we were going of course, but we were on our way to seeing this beautiful land. Water on our right, mountains on our left. As we left town, we saw a grocery store and decided to stop for some basics. This is something we always try to do since we have gotten burned with closed markets all throughout Europe. How we tend to work a run into the grocery store is that one of us (usually Ryan) stays out with the bikes and the other (usually me) goes into shop. When I came out, Ryan was talking with a guy who is also traveling via bicycle. He had a strong German accent but spoke perfect English. Christian and Cinthia were riding their bikes from Switzerland and had been out for three months, traveling through Eastern Europe before making their way through Greece. Hitting it off with them right away, we ended up riding together for a few days. It was so nice to have people to ride with, and our own age at that!

A night of wild camping and another at a campsite that gave us an ocean view from our tent, we chose to continue our ride while Christian and Cinthia stayed another night or two. We headed south, always trying to find the "side" road rather than the "main" highway that connected the towns. I put "main" in parenthesis because this was not a busy road and the side roads often came to an end even though the map showed otherwise. Although we did try and ride the smaller roads, the wild dogs were pretty intense, so I actually didn't mind riding with the cars when we had to. Getting chased and barked at by German Shepards is not exactly relaxing. The dogs are either guarding property/farmland or are just wild. The number of dead dogs we saw on the side of the roads was pretty unreal. That is a smell that is unlike any other. Breathing in as deep as possible before reaching it and pedaling as fast as possible to try and get by it without taking in another breath. Wild cats and dogs are definitely an issue in Greece.

The Peloponnese is a whole is so breathtaking. Little islands accompanied the coast, white sandy beaches, warm ocean waters (too warm for sharks which was a huge plus), mountains on our left and fantastic temperatures. We even found ourselves taking a day to enjoy "One of the top 10 beaches in the world" according to the locals. We rode our bikes on a levee to get to this beach cove that was barely occupied and looked out between two mountains on either side into the ocean. A day of relaxing in the sun, a dip in the ocean and repeat. I really treasure the days off the bike.

The western side of the Peloponnese is a bit toursity during the summer months, hosting townhomes and oversized vacation homes along the way. Winding our way through some difficult and long hills, we rode our way to and through the middle Pennicula called Mani. Riding around and over these mountain ranges was difficult at times, and unfortunately we hit a lot of wind. Wind. The most trying part of riding. But with this awful wind came these beautiful old stone houses that overlooked the water. Simply gorgeous. They dated back 500 years and are so iconic that most of the new homes built try to look like them.

I know I have often talked of the garbage throughout Europe, but those sites were nothing compared to the town o f Githio. We could only assume a strike because the road leading in and the road leading out had somewhere between 1/2-1 mile of pure trash lining the road. And this wasn't just a bit of garbage, this was piled up to 10 or 12 feet high and 8-10 feet wide. I have never seen anything like it. Ryan videoed our way into town which is on the photos section of our blog, and sadly enough, the road leading out of town was way worse. The water is clean and crystal blue, which means they at least aren't throwing their trash in the ocean. Greece was amazing, but the garbage issue is something you have to be able to look past.

From Githio, a quick stop for lunch just outside of town on a bench overlooking the water, we saw a storm moving it's way in. To this point, we had been extremely lucky with avoiding the bad weather. At times we could see rain all around us and yet the clouds seemed to part wherever we rode. Not this time. Getting maybe 20 kilometers outside of Githio, it started to rain. Our usual routine is finding shelter and waiting it out. No luck this day. We opted for a tree, our umbrellas and on someone's farm. After waiting a good hour and half and not seeing any signs of it lightening up, we chose to simply ride to the next town which was 20 kilometers and hope for a hotel.
The one and only hotel in town had just been renovated and they gave us a great deal. At this point we were soaking wet and freezing, so anything would have done. Lugging our bikes into their garage and our bags upstairs, we took a hot shower and enjoyed a bed for the first time in probably a month (since Montepulciano I believe). At one point we figured we had stayed in our tent for 3 months straight. A bed is such a luxury, especially when you don't have to blow it up to sleep and roll is up the next morning to pack.