Ancient & Historic Greece (day 95 - 101)
Day 95 - 101 (15th - 21st Nov)
9,994 miles
Greek Border - Nea Skioni - Meteora - Delphi - Tiria
Ancient for the obvious reasons, historic for the family connection to the place.
I woke without a bike being thrown at the tent and some unwanted nightcallers, so it was a sucessful night. I packed up in the weather window afforded by Lady Luck then headed to the border, and for the first time in quite a while was snagged by a police checkpoint, but it was without drama - just a quick passport check and I was on my way. As I got to the Turkish border, I was prepared for all manner of delays and hassle but as easily as it had been to enter at the Georgian border, it was to leave this time - within 10 minutes (after skipping to the front of the queue because bike-privilege exists) I was riding out of Turkiye and over the bridge towards Greece. The entry into Greece was relatively simple, skirting customs who were busy stripping a 7-seater crammed full of people and stuff, and I was back in the EU riding West.
I hadn't made much of a plan with where to go in Greece, I was mostly going to just travel to the border with Albania, link in with some trails as part of the TET then go into Albania and north to Montenegro. One of the places I wanted to go back to was Nea Skioni where Ali and Lizzie had lived and worked for years, I had come to visit with Jax, and I had driven here on my way back from Vienna in 2013. As I drove into the town darkness fell, and it started to rain, again. I did two laps of the town looking on google for hotels or guest houses or anything to stay at, but whilst Google is rich with suggestions, they're all seasonal, and the internet does not reflect the reality of the town out of season. Quiet streets, no lights on anywhere, nothing open. I stopped at a little store and asked one of the locals who had given me a fairly curious look on my first lap, he suggested I ride to the centre and ask there. I got to the centre of the town opposite Pete's Bar and saw a glass fronted corner building with locals escaping the evening rain, I went in and asked whether anyone knew of a hotel that was open - unfortunately not, everything is closed for the season. Everything.
I was invited to sit down as guys started making phone calls on my behalf, and I chatted to one of the guys about where I'd been and where I was going. A few dead ends in logistics but then one of them came back from their reconnaissance that they knew someone who could prepare an apartment for me, it “wasn't a hotel but it would work - €40 a night and how long did I want to stay”. I provisionally said a night maybe two, not wanting to commit to something I hadn't seen, but it would get me out of a bind. One of the first chaps offered to cook me some calamari if I was hungry, so things were starting to take shape. Within an hour I had eaten some fresh calamari and chips, then followed someone to an apartment I could stay in - it was fairly plain but it was warm, had a separate bedroom and living room, shower, and kitchenette, with undercover shelter for my bike from the rain. I gave Ali a bell and chatted for a bit about Skioni, people he knew there and wondering whether there was anyone he wanted me to say hello to. Pete's bar was closed, and I had spotted a pizzeria he knew the owners of but that looked closed too. He suggested whilst I was in Greece that I should visit Meteora and Delphi, places he'd been to and really enjoyed before, so that was the start of my plan forming. I hadn't thought about what to do whilst I was here, I wanted to come to Skioni but it didn't have much going on here now I was actually there, its definitely the people that make the place. I aired my wet camping gear and went to bed, undecided how long I would stay in the town.
I had been fairly tired from travelling from Mestia to Istanbul in such a short time frame then had a busy few days in the city, more long riding days crunching miles, camping then more riding, and wanted a day to rest. I was also two weeks behind with my blog and wanted time to catch up with that too. The weather was bleak, it was so wet the street outside had a 3 inch deep stream flowing down to the sea, so I changed my plans with the host and let her know I'd like to stay another night, and I switched myself off. I crept out of the cave for some cereal and ingredients for lunch, then headed back and for the first time in 3 months, watched a film and vegged out - without the energy or creative mind to write or do anything productive.
The next morning was clear and dry, I had a plan to get to Meteora, Delphi then continue north. Checking the weather I had 4 days of sunshine, I booked a hostel in Meteora to aim for then I set off, stopping by the sea to sit in the sunshine and watch the waves of the Mediterranean lap against the shore for a bit before leaving the calm of a resort town breathing out after a busy summer. It had been a useful reset to sit somewhere for a day, but the reality is the town is too quiet after the sunshine leaves and the tourism stops. Ali had spent months here through a winter 14 years ago, I'd spent one day. As I was riding out of Nea Skioni, I was thinking about how hard that would have been, to keep your head straight, and carry on every day. I only ever get to see him for short stints amongst busy moments in life, having not lived in the same country for 18 years - and it focused my mind on the fact I need to make sure I spend some of my time this year and see him whilst I can.
I knew I needed fuel and was tracking how far I was riding and the frequency of fuel stations as I left Kassandra on my approach to Thessaloniki. However, I wasn't prepared for the falter then death of the engine at 329 miles. I had ridden further than that on this trip, I had maxed 386 miles on a single tank when I was in the UK before I set off, and I should have easily still had 20-30 miles to go.
But - as is the theme of this trip, I am lucky. I had just ridden past a fuel station and was approaching the slip-on back to the dual carriageway from it. I hopped off, pushed the bike 30 meters up the hill then rolled down the wrong-way down the slip-on, across a roundabout without stopping, and up to the 24/7 self service station pump. After €60.91 of fuel, my biggest bill since Sweden, I was able to put 34.81 litres in. It's a 33 litre tank, but with careful filling I have put 35L in, so I was definitely empty, the only thing I can think of is when I filled up in Turkiye before crossing the border, I hadn't brimmed it enough because the nozzle had been injecting loads of air so the fuel was bubbly, slow and annoying, and I had stopped trying to fill it. I had escaped the potentially very annoying situation, and would be cautious over the next few fills to check I was still getting +10 miles per litre.
I rode past Mt Olympus with its head poking above the clouds, reminicient of when Ali and I had climbed it many years ago, and turned in-land to Meteora, getting to the town just as the sun was setting. I hopped off quickly to launch the drone and get some sunset footage of monastaries perched atop the rocks in the most bizarre natural landscape - its an incredible place. Once the evening had become too dark for any more drone flying I head to the hostel and felt that it was worth increasing my stay to see the area properly. I hadn't appreciated how interesting and big Meteora was, and a few hours exploring before continuing on to Delphi definitely wouldn't be enough. The hostel had a friendly relaxed vibe, decent space I could catch up with my blog, and the town had a bit of life about it. I got chatting to one of the guys who worked there and went out for a Gyros before spending the evening talking and getting to know Roy a little, exchanging travel stories.
My plan of attack for the next day was to get up, have some breakfast and set off with lunch, drone and camera and spend the day walking between the monastaries. A few online guides suggested its approximately 16km to walk between all of them and I found a few routes on the various map apps I use which confirmed similar. The route up to the first Monastary was a decent climb and quickly afforded incredible long reaching views . Every angle all day was filled with amazing views and was rich pickings for the drone and camera. I visited two monastaries but walked between them all, the serenity and calm inside places of worship, even for an agnostic, is worth seeking. I found a particularly scenic but precarious place to sit and have lunch, with a rounded cliff top which dropped to an abrupt stop hundreds of meters below.
I got back to the hostel after 7 hours on my feet and felt like I'd made the most of the fascinating landscape. I extended my stay one day further having still spent no time writing, and needing to catch up on now 18 days of travel, then went out for dinner in hope I'd find saganaki and moussaka. My hunt was fruitful, the saganaki wasn't quite as good as one I'd had years before, but I was grateful to have found it after specifically wanting to find some during my time in Greece.
I spent the entirety of the following day hidden away in a cafe writing then headed back to the hostel and ended up meeting some really nice guests staying there. Elena had been travelling the Balkans in her camper from Spain for the last few months, Germain has been backpacking for a long time setting off from Switzerland, and Lisa had been backpacking and going with the flow for the last few months seeking the sun since leaving Germany. I stayed up until the wee hours talking to Elena and Lisa about travelling and plans and experiences, and made a vague plan to potentially meet up again in a few days as we had all separately intended to travel north into Albania (albeit after I shot south to Delphi first).
The next morning I hunted down some breakfast and lunch to take with me then set off south for the 4 hour ride to Delphi under the Greek sun. The hotel was fairly basic but the owner was kind and the room had everything I needed including a view down the valley towards Itea from my room balcony, and the timing was good as the heavans opened as my wheels stopped turning.
I left all my kit at the hotel the next morning and walked to the ancient ruins of Delphi, spending hours walking along Sacred Way past the Treasury of Athena, the Temple of Apollo, the resting place of the Trojan Horse, and learning a little about Greek mythology that I was fairly ignorant of, and still need to learn more about. It is an incredible place, the sky was moody which added to the atmosphere of the site. I managed to find the most expensive gyros in the town (€12.50, it should have cost €3.50) then booted up and plugged a camping spot into Google to head north again. Elena had agreed to give Lisa and Germain a lift north, and all three were intending to wild camp somewhere between Meteora and the coast that night - the distance suited how much daylight I had left so I agreed to join them. My route took me to the Gulf of Corinth and traced the coastline west for an hour before turning north. The turquoise sea glistened and was a constant source of distraction as I rode, I made a note to come back to this part some day in the future as part of a visit to Athens, when I can also tie in seeing the Theatre of Epidaurus, the Corinth Canal, and Mystras - there's always so much more to see and not enough time.
I got to the Google pin sent by Elena at 18:00, a few minutes before they arrived, then we scouted out the flattest spot to put the van and a couple of tents in the field by the road. Between the four of us, we musted a fire, put my axe to use converting a dead tree into heat, and shared an exotic mix of herbs and pulses from Germain’s time in Asia for dinner. The fire kept us warm, so we managed to drain a couple of bottles of wine, some Greek spirit Germain had ‘borrowed’, and eventually devolved into a fairly tone-deaf kareoke session accompanied by Germain's Guitaele (impressively carried along with full camping gear in his backpack), which shifted into a dance rave until 02:00 - a fun and very random final night in Greece.
