I couldn’t get to sleep early but once I did, I slept really well. Something about not having dogs and chickens and bells and a roommate (even though my roommate is awesome) is just great. Sigi and Anita took the motor-scooter downtown and bought food for breakfast and we had a great breakfast at “home”. I did a small batch of laundry, then we headed off to see Olympia.
Bob rode his bike, Sigi and Anita rode the scooter, and Tom and I walked. We visited the camp first, then walked downtown and looked in a few stores. Then down to the archaeological site for which the town is so famous.
We looked all around, and it’s really interesting to see the different ages of the ruins. Some are way over 2000 years old, some newer ones are built on top of older foundations. We ran into many other riders walking through. It was cool seeing the original Olympic Games site – you can still see the start and finish lines and the judging area, but it’s hard to imagine with 45,000 screaming fans. In fact it’s hard to imagine the whole place full of life with everything intact. Again, it really made me wish for a time machine.
The finish lineFallen columnsShells in the old old rocks
We checked out one of the museums, then walked downtown, bought some beer and headed back home. Lunch was outdoors, looking over our really nice view, leftovers from breakfast, with beer. We relaxed in the afternoon, did another round of laundry, drank beer on the patio, tried to solve the world’s problems, etc.
We walked up the hill to the Garden Tavern, supposedly the nicest restaurant in Olympia, for our reservation at 7. It’s the nicest restaurant we’ve been to on the whole tour although not super expensive. Delicious food with lots of “on the house” dishes thrown in. Come here when you visit!
Getting ready for a most excellent dinnerThe rain started lightly as we were finishing the last “on the house” treats – fruits and some kind of cinnamon pomegranate liquor
Headlamp-equipped, we made our way down the hill to our house, hoping the rain would be long and hard in the night and be all done by 9am tomorrow when we have to start another long stage to Tripoli. The forecast is quite bad again, but we’re also hoping it’s wrong as usual.
Again, the weather forecasts are all wrong. We woke up to a cloudless blue sky, unlike the predictions. Breakfast as normal at 8am, then grabbing the bikes out of the garage and starting the ride at 9am.
Today when I loaded the route, I could see Athens at the bottom of the screen! Not much more riding!
Bob, Sigi, Anita and I headed out in the lead and rode together all the way to lunch at 57 km without stopping. After we got out of town, we had another 10 km of easy warm-up, then the hills started. Even though this stage had less climbing than the two most recent ones, it seemed harder. The climbs were shorter, steep, often and many.
Bob’s shot of me, Anita and Sigi pace-liningRiding toward a nice double mountain
It was already hot by the time we stopped for lunch, before noon. We helped Ype and Henk set up and had a great meal. Then, back in the saddle. We were just over halfway in distance but under in climbing, and it got hotter, so the afternoon session was tough.
Each time a group of riders rode by, these turkeys got more excited
At one point, I was climbing very steeply up a brick road, felt like 20%, sweating massively, and at the top, there was a nice little shaded café with a few of our riders enjoying cold drinks. Stopping there was so great and gave me the power to crank out the last 25 km.
We’ve ridden around the double mountain – view from the other side
I rode the last bit with Bob and luckily a lot of it was downhill. But the last 1 km was another brutal >15% climb, switch-backing up to the campsite. The campsite looked nice, with a beautiful pool, but is isolated from town. We had chili soup, lots of snacks and even some special craft beer the staff had shopped for at our request (the guys are just so cool!) More people arrived and after we were full we picked up our luggage and five of us walked 10 minutes down to the house we had rented for two nights. When we rented it, the forecast had been for rain the whole time, now it’s just for the second night here. We took over Niek’s reservation when he had to go home. We split it five ways so it ended up being very inexpensive for an amazing two story house with four bedrooms, marble floors everywhere, tall ceilings, very luxurious.
My bedroom looks over the whole valleyView from the balcony
The owner gave us access to his motor-scooter for trips to town and he took Sigi down to show him the route. We all had showers, the owner offered to do any laundry, in short, we seemed to be in heaven. My legs were tired – I guess the last few days of who knows how many thousand meters climbing were taking their toll.
We all sat outside enjoying cold beers in the afternoon, then walked up to camp when it was nearly time for dinner. Today was good in that there were no more positive Covid test results and most of the people infected are feeling a lot better and able to ride, either full or half days. There is a “Covid table”, on the end for dinner, all of us from the house sat at the furthest away table. We all had tested negative in the morning. Dinner was nice, with a couple of bottles of wine. Then we stayed up in camp for a while but I was the first to admit: I was really tired. Soon others did too and we walked down to the house, stopping at the fancy restaurant next to the campsite to make a reservation for tomorrow night. We made it via headlamp, and then relaxed in our comfortable home. I am so glad tomorrow is a rest day!
The weather has changed on us. The days of blue skies with hardly any clouds and no threat of rain are gone. The forecasts are pretty useless but said we’d be pretty wet by the early afternoon. We had breakfast in a very large dining room, empty except us. Quite a few people were wearing masks, even if they haven’t tested positive (me for example).
As we packed up to ride at 9am, this was the view
It was a really nice start of a long stage though, no uphill at all! We rode down the hotel driveway then turned to coast down to the top of town, then rocketed down through town – I hit over 65 and then led the next 20 km down a scenic valley.
At some points the walls were vertical rockIn one place the roadway was actually chiseled out of the rock walls
Sigi shot a nice video of Anita and I climbing and descending early today
Around 23 km, we stopped to remove extra clothes for the first climb.
First climb of the day – turned out due to bad altitude data it wasn’t quite 1305m of climbing but it was 17.7 km long
We headed up the hill, starting out quite steep. It went on and on and on, although there were a few short flat or downhill sections. Bob and I stopped to explore a little 2-storey fort.
View from the fortInside the fort
Back to climbing. It was steep for a long time and we had some rain sprinkles but not that much. As I got up to the summit, the road was actually dry for the first time today.
Cruising alongThe sun even sort of came out a little – view from near the top
Finally there was a good descent, a bit cold so I wore two jerseys. I got to pass two giant cement mixers – the road was just barely wide enough. I think the drivers were surprised. Lunch was relatively early, at 57 km with almost 80 to still go. But we had done the big obstacle of the day and it was great to refuel. I headed off and soon we were riding by Lake Trichonida, the largest lake in Greece. After that the sun was out and it was quite hot, and flat and boring for a little while. Then a climb started and we got our plane which seems to be a daily thing now.
I left the support in this time
I picked some ripe blackberries by the road, and then we had a nice downhill to an old bridge that was loud to ride over.
The roadway is made of boards so it makes a lot of noise when you ride it. Even more when a car goes over.
By this point, we were within maybe 30 km of Patras and started to be on the lookout for water (the Gulf of Corinth) and the bridge we’d heard so much about. After another 5 km climb, we could finally see it.
First view of the Rio–Antirrio Bridge and the Gulf of Corinth
We made quick work of the few kilometers to get there and soon found ourselves under the bridge at a statue of a runner carrying the Olympic torch – the bridge was opened the day before the 2004 Olympic Games and the torch was carried across it then.
The runner, the torch and the bridgeRiding the bridgeLooking back on the bridge from the Peloponnese side
After we crossed the bridge, we had another five flights of stairs to negotiate down, then about 10 km to ride through increasingly more traffic. Finally we were in downtown Patras and pulled up at the hotel, a big stage done. Caroline had MANY snacks out and we ate massively. Then it was time for showers and cleaning up. But pretty soon, it was 6:30 and the Craft Beer Lovers team had a meeting at Beer Bar Q. This turned out to be pure gold. The first three pages of the menu were dedicated to only beer. SO many types. They “only” had about 15 on draft but tons of interesting ones in bottle too. And the place was just gorgeous.
Round one of many
We had to use Google Translate in camera mode to find something without meat on the menu – delicious “Vegetable Burgers” FTW. It was so fun. We ended up with our Craft Beer Lovers group of five plus four others. After dinner and several rounds, Tom, Bob and I walked up the street marveling at the sheer number of people out enjoying the evening on a Tuesday. It was really amazing. We had a round of excellent gelato, then walked home. What a great day!
I’m still having a great time but we continue to have new people testing positive for Covid. The first few to get it, back in Albania, over 10 days ago, have no more symptoms and are probably not even contagious any more but it seems like one more person tests positive each day. I think we’re now at 1/3 of the riders positive or recovering. So it feels like a race for me to get to the end and escape without it. I don’t know what my chances of succeeding are.
We had breakfast this morning in the ornate dining room of the Domotel Arni Historic Hotel in downtown Karditsa. We read that it’s the second oldest hotel in Greece.
The table is real marble with light shining through
The ride today was 106 km with lots of climbing. We headed out of town in a 10 person pace line, which lasted maybe 25 km until the climbing started. Then people tend to go their own pace. I rode up the first hill, 720m, then there was a short descent, then a second climb of about 600m. The trucks were set up for lunch near the top of this second climb and it was nice to take a break.
On the first climb, looking down to our road way belowI stopped for a banana/pee break here, early on the second climbHigh on the second climb, looking way back to our road and many distant mountainsLunch was just over half way, a very welcome stopTom says he gave this dog half his lunch and then the dog sat with me all through mine even though he didn’t get any more
Then it was back at it. Once I’ve climbed that much, I get into a groove and it seems easier. Maybe it’s also the mountain air. It feels different/better up at 1400m compared to sea level, and the trees are mountain trees and there’s a great view in every direction.
The cows own the road hereMore gorgeous views, from almost 1500m
So I enjoyed it all the way. The last 20 km or so was mostly downhill, through some nice turns, but we had one rider crash – it sounds like he’ll be ok. It was a little tricky navigating through the town of Karpenisi; Graham and I ended up walking down a couple of stair cases. But we got to the hotel in the end. It has a gorgeous view of the town but is pretty isolated. Luckily the reception guy is happy to take food orders and we had dinner delivered. It feels very post-season in this large hotel which is seemingly empty except for us. But they still have a little beer left in the bar so all is not lost.
Panorama of Karpenisi from our hotel balconyFull moon rising over Karpenisi with Jupiter looking down too
Heard today in the bar:
Rider 1 (Peter): I don't understand it. My bike performance is just not what I'd like. I've tested negative for Covid, so what is going on?
Rider 2 (Tom): Oh, did you do a test for O-L-D?
Rider 3 (Me): That won't help, we'd all test positive.
Tomorrow is another big day (130 km, over 2000m climb and 3000m descent) so it’s time to go to bed early and sleep hard. I just walked up the 5 flights of stairs (101 total) and felt good. Turns out biking makes you strong even if you have a case of O-L-D. Good night!
It feels like we’re coming down to the end. We have seven more riding days total plus one rest day to look forward to. This morning, we had breakfast in camp as usual, and started out together a little before 9am. It was cool but not cold. I wore a thin second jersey and fingerless gloves. We cruised down the valley, making a large number of 90º turns. Bob, Geoff and I ended up out in front and it was super nice. Geoff was being very cool and always drafting behind as he has not had a negative Covid test yet but feels fine.
We were under strict orders not to arrive at lunch too soon: “Coffee stop is mandatory”. So we found a nice one after about 30 km and had a good long stop. The owner had lived in Germany and was all smiles, serving over 20 of us on a slow Sunday morning.
Bob shot a nice video as we rode along a beautiful road. Then a dog attacked him (he escaped ok)Me shooting Bob shooting me
We rode along some more and came upon Sigi and Anita, stopped by a cotton field. I slowed down and asked if they were ok. No answer, I think because they were laughing too hard.
Sigi with a perfect moustache
Then, around 50 km, we came upon the group having lunch. It was nice to sit in the shade and refuel. We stayed quite a while then took off. Soon after lunch the big climb of the day started. The major part was 620m in 14 km, mostly gentle but some parts were 12-15% and it was hot in the sun.
Stopping to cool off at a nice spot
But it wasn’t too long before we made it to the top.
The view back down where we rode upA pretty lake near the summit of our climbA Greek Mirage F1 flying too low over us [photo may be doctored a little]
From the top we had only 23 km more, and a fair amount of it was a glorious fast descent. After a final bit of flat riding we cruised into Karditsa, which is a good-sized town. Our hotel was right in the center. Upstairs we found most of the riders already there, sucking down smoothies and eating all kinds of great snacks.
After showers and a little photo work, we headed out to where our craft beer team had found…Lagunitas IPA from California on draft, served in the authentic large mouth Lagunitas glasses. About eight of us had a fun round or two of beers there, then we moved across the street to a restaurant for dinner. We did what you can only do on a trip like this: ordered double meals each, plus more beer! I had a giant Greek salad plus a nice orzo and shrimp dish. Then, because tomorrow is a bigger day than today (2400m climb in 106 km), we went back and got ready for a massive sleep.
Amazing to find this at the Cadillac Records Bar in KarditsaLiving it up as we always do
We had a rest day in Kastraki and I was thinking of riding up to see the famous monasteries of Meteora. The view of the rock formations dominates from our campground and you can even see a couple of the monasteries. But in the morning I just didn’t feel like riding. So I got some breakfast from a bakery in town, then took the bus which conveniently stops at the campground entrance.
It goes up through town, then stops at each of the six monasteries. Knowing they would be crowded and determined not to try and “see it all”, I picked one, the best sounding one, The Monastery of Great Meteoron. It’s the oldest (14th century) and the biggest. So I got off the bus there. The view of it and all around was just great.
View down to Kastraki from The Monastery of Great Meteoron
I looked up and saw a giant line of people slowly climbing the many stairs. It was discouraging but it turned out that a lot of them were from one giant group. I hung out a little, then went up and only waited a couple of minutes to get in.
Lots of people climbing the stairs
It’s a large, super scenic complex. I spent over an hour there exploring the museums, looking at the view and seeing every room that was open. Best was the church – a relatively small chapel, but very ornate and peaceful. I was sitting just absorbing, when a small group came in led by a guy with a big black beard who may have been a monk. He spoke with a deep resonant voice, talking about something for a long time. Then they all broke into song, very nice acoustics in the room. Many people were disregarding the “No photos, no videos” signs that were all over, but I didn’t. After that little concert, I headed out. I walked down to the next-door Monastery of Varlaam. It looked pretty cool too, but I just climbed a rock near it for a view and didn’t go in.
The Monastery of VarlaamThe Monastery of Varlaam on the left and The Monastery of Great Meteoron on the right behind
I walked back up to the bus stop a few minutes before the bus was due and ran into Marc, Harry and Kevin. They had hiked up and Marc and Harry were just starting back down the trail to town. I joined them for a nice walk, somewhat steep to start, but shaded.
Looking back up from the trail down
Before noon we were back in town. I bought lunch at the bakery and went back to my tent to change into shorts (shorts not allowed inside the monasteries). I ate at the campground bar then went back down to our campsite to relax for a while in the afternoon.
Rock climbers on one of the formations above Kastraki
I walked up to town again for dinner with several riders. We ate small and restrained dinners which was nice.
Gorgeous view walking up to dinner Night view walking “home”
After a lousy night of sleep, and a somewhat small hotel breakfast, I was wondering if today’s ride would be any good. It started straight from town with a climb of over 600m in 14 km. Since there was no downhill I tried wearing just a short-sleeved jersey and it worked. I generated enough heat to stay warm almost to the top of the hill. There were some cold, strong headwinds, but it was balanced by gorgeous views with almost no traffic.
Photo stop: looking back to Metsovo from 400m up
I got to the top in an hour, ate a banana and added a long sleeved jersey. We were on top of Katara Pass at over 1700m. It’s one of the highest passes in Greece. As a bonus, we had a clear view of Mount Olympus, the highest mountain in Greece at 2917m. Everyone added clothes, remembering how cold we were on the descent yesterday. I used full-fingered gloves all day.
Top of Katara PassThere’s Mt. Olympus on the right in back, and the road we will ride
I strategically started with Bob J, the master descender, and told him, “Go ahead you’re faster”. We started well after many people and I drafted him for 20 km, passing every single rider ahead. It was magical. His skill and experience was a dream to watch. Later, one of the riders told me watching us pass by was the most beautiful thing she saw. The first 1000m of the descent was continuous, barely dipping below 50 kph with little braking. My bike is not geared as high as his so sometimes I had to aggressively tuck right behind him to keep up. He kept pedaling on all the straights for maximum speed. I can only really pedal to 50 kph.
We had a bit of uphill after that and were joined by Bob M and Geoff and Simo. Then there was another 500m descent at warp speed, again sucking Bob J’s wheel the whole time. We kept up the pace line until arrival in Kastraki, with the famous rocks of Meteora becoming more and more visible.
Riding into Kastraki, we can see some of the famous monasteries on top of the rocks
We cruised into the campground surprising the truck crew who had just arrived themselves. We helped set up camp, unload the truck etc. Ype arrived, then Henk and there was a grand lunch with everyone happy from the amazing ride.
Tom, Per, Graham, Peter and I downed a few beers at the campground bar, then I wrote this up. Peter and I are on dinner duty tonight – I think it’s my last time. We looked at the schedule and after the rest day tomorrow, there are only two more 4-day blocks of riding, and a rest day in Olympia before we arrive at our final destination, Athens.
Starting the celebratory drinking session
We are really looking forward to exploring the monasteries tomorrow. Here’s a photo I found online.
The weather has cooled off quite a bit. It got down to 3°C last night and when we started riding today, a little after 9am, it was 7°C. It didn’t feel that bad so I started with both jerseys on, not carrying anything else. By the time we were halfway down the initial 15 km descent from town, I was starting to get a little cold. At the bottom, I was frozen, especially my hands. We stopped at Noutsos Bridge, built in 1750, and spent some time checking it out, mainly to warm up!
Noutsos BridgeClose up
Warmed up a bit, we continued and pretty soon found another of the famous bridges in the area: Zagorochoria Plakidas Bridge, built in 1814. This one has three arches. We walked down and looked under it and walked over it.
Plakidas BridgeThe newer road signs have Greek and English – very convenient!Team Salsa visits a local tiny house someone has labelled creatively
The riding in this area was up and down, on deserted roads, and the landscape was thick beautiful forest. I never saw anything like this in the Greek Islands, that’s for sure. The spot Ype found for lunch was just awesome. He tantalized us by text first:
Sure enough, it was magical when we arrivedDetail of the water spout at our lunch spot
After lunch, Bob and I continued together, up, down and around, through some headwinds and soon came to the major climb of the day, 750m in 14 km. This one was pretty consistent, pretty, with low traffic. It did drag on and the headwinds were intermittent and strong sometimes. By the end I was feeling somewhat unpowerful.
Looking back to the nicely graded road we climbedLooking down from the highest point on the ride at a bridge
Finally my Garmin read 0m to ascend and I cruised down a kilometer to the town of Metsovo. It’s at about 1200m elevation, with cool air and hilly narrow streets. We checked into the hotel and immediately set to work on soup and snacks.
A few of the snacks I had after riding, best was Caroline’s yummy chick pea soup
Next up was a hot shower, laundry and a nap. Then it was time for beer. The craft beer crew was already ensconced in a place downtown so I walked down and joined for a round of decent craft IPA.
We have a lot of fun on these trips…
By 7, it was dinner time so we walked a few doors down and ate. The menu had only meat dishes so Bob asked about other options. The guy said, “Vegetarian or vegan?” and we knew we were ok. I had a great salad and stuffed vegetables – delicious and filling. We had mineral water to drink and since I had just one beer at the previous place, I scored an AFD by Peter’s bike touring rules.
Cozy dinner with a roaring fireKatie wants more food descriptions so the stuffed pepper and tomato were filled with seasoned rice with cheese and herbs. Potato for extra volume and style. My salad was “Traditional Salad”: lettuce, croutons, feta, tomatoes and some balsamic vinegar.
The owner brought us free ice creams for dessert and didn’t offer any ouzo, just excellent! We walked home, all wearing heavy jackets, wondering how cold it will be in the morning. We took a detour to the hotel lobby to stand by their roaring fire for a while before going upstairs. I will certainly sleep well tonight!
It seemed like a normal day but turned into one of the most amazing of the tour. Breakfast was kind of small, in a large basement dining room of the hotel in Përmet. At 8 when we started, it was 8°C, nice and cool. I started with short sleeves and right from the start it just felt great. We rode in a pace line, although there was little wind. After 10-15 km it was Bob, Sigi, Anita and I out in front. We cruised up and down, loving the views, the cool air, sunny weather, and very little traffic, in short, perfect cycling conditions.
Beautiful cruisingNice views from the roadSigi riding a funny bridge we foundOk, so it’s not really rideable. If you somehow make the 5m gap, you’ll probably fall through
It wasn’t long before we came to the Albania/Greece border. It was the quietest manned border I’ve ever seen. It took about 5 minutes, then we rode 200m through noman’s land, then another 5 minutes and we headed off into Greece. No other customers except a couple of dogs laying in the road.
Riding up to exit AlbaniaEntering our 7th country, Greece
Right away, we started climbing again, but with no traffic, cool temperatures and fitness from a month of riding, it felt great.
We’re climbing up – looking across to another big climb
We continued on, and then our route had a side trip, a few kilometers out and back, to a great viewpoint of the famous Vikos Gorge. It’s the world’s “deepest gorge relative to its width”, and pretty impressive. We drank Vikos lemonade which granted us access to the owner’s special garden with a superb view.
With Anita, Rien and BobLooking across the gorge
We rode back to the main road, then had a pretty long climb up 500m or so, then a downhill/level section to the town of Monodendri. We passed our hotel with the trucks parked and bikes littered around. But we had a mission: there was another optional out and back add-on to another Vikos Gorge viewpoint, this one rumored to be even better.
So Bob and I did another 400m climb, eventually topping out around 1300m elevation, parked our bikes and walked 150m to the view point. It was absolutely amazing, the most scenic thing we’ve seen yet on the whole trip. The depth here is 1000m or more and the drop is vertical below the viewpoint. It’s hard to capture on pictures but come here and check it out.
An attempt at capturing the gorgeSitting on the edge of the world
Finally, after we hiked back, we just had to go downhill. At this point we had climbed about 2600m/8500′ for the day, so 7-8 km of fast downhill sounded just about right.
The view from the road at 50+ kph riding down to Monodendri
We pulled up to the hotel, had massive amounts of snacks and soup, Bob replaced a tire that had a nasty looking gash in the sidewall, had showers, then it was already 6pm [Greece is in the next time zone so we lost an hour during the day] – time for dinner. Tom had not been able to stomach the climb to the viewpoint, so he took it upon himself to check out the town with an eye to our constant quest for craft beer.
The quest was finally successful!
We were excited by his report and walked over to the Hotel Arktouros thinking we’d try every one of the available craft beers, made nearby in Ioannina. We sat down, looked at the excellent dinner menu and thought we had found heaven. Three of us ordered IPA, one draft ale. The owner brought the beers but told us it was the end of the season and these were the last of the IPAs. But they came with nice snacks. We called him back for a second round and he warned us he was also out of several others. Anyway, we made do, and had a great dinner too. Bob and I shared a delicious salad of tomatoes, croutons, capers and feta, and we both had different types of ravioli, the other guys opted for pizza which they loved.
Salad and a couple of nice beers
While we were eating, Niek texted to say he had to fly back to Holland the next day and asked where we were so he could hang out for one more night. This was a shock, but his dad had recently had a stroke so he was somewhat prepared for this happening. Soon, he joined the party and we had another round with him, then all walked back together. It is a shame to be losing Niek – I met him in Quito in 2019 when we did half the Andes Trail together. We’ll probably meet again on some crazy bike trip.
Another fine aftermath
Tomorrow should be an easy day, only 1700m climbing in 85 km – what could go wrong?
Today started out pretty normally, although I didn’t sleep well last night. We had a big breakfast in the hotel at 7, then started riding at 8. The weather seemed perfect for riding, cool temperatures, blue skies and no threat of rain.
Getting ready to leave Hotel Mare in Ksamil
The wind was against us most of the day but it was quite light and not a problem. We headed out of town, retracing our route from two days ago for the first 15 km.
The pace line heading out of town
Then we turned away from the coast and started the one big climb for the day. It wasn’t bad, climbing 450m in 10 km or so.
Watch for sheep and cement mixers on the road, also I like the shadows
The grade was inconsistent but I guess that makes for a less boring climb. It was a beautiful little road with only light traffic. I didn’t feel powerful and did not feel like climbing fast, but felt good at the top. The descent was scenic but not all that fast. It only lasted 5 km and then I was down in a long, wide valley, headed gently uphill, into a light headwind.
We’re getting close to Greece so the town signs are bilingual now
After 15 km or so, sure enough, there was lunch at the promised abandoned gas station. It was pretty early but I was just hungry enough to eat a regular lunch.
Fill ‘er up pleaseFilling station for cyclists
It was relaxing to sit down, but soon time to go. I wasn’t worried about the headwind or my speed so took off by myself when I was ready. I followed the big road, generally with a nice shoulder, for another 20 km or so, then turned off on a smaller road going up a large side canyon.
I liked this bridgeView up the river from the bridgeThe first 1000m is done, in just over 100 km, with only 22 more to goNice scenery
I ran into Carien and Louis at a café past the bridge, but had just stopped and decided to keep going. Another 10 km more, I found Sigi and Anita eating nice small ripe grapes they picked on the side of the road. I joined them and ate a bunch. Then noticed we had only 17 km more to go. They switched off leading while I just cruised behind and we got to Përmet quickly.
A couple of the guys had already arrived and were sitting outside while the staff worked on hotel rooms. Soon we were sorted and elevatored our bikes to the storage area on the 4th floor. I got an amazing room, or rather suite, to share with Bob. He gets the big queen bed this time since I had one for the last two nights. We have a giant balcony shared by several rooms to dry laundry. When I came out of the shower there was good news from my latest Covid test: negative again. We did have one more positive rider this morning, I think that is five now. We are nowhere near out of the woods Covid-wise. Still only one rider is actually sick and unable to ride.
I picked out a place for dinner – it looked almost too perfect on google. Rated 4.9, 30 meters away and had a wide variety of Albanian traditional dishes at low prices. At 6, four of us checked it out and it was true. We ordered two dishes each (each turned out to be massive), with water as all four of us had trouble sleeping after so much alcohol the previous afternoon. Then Peter ordered a big Paulaner beer, justifying it, “The first beer after riding is free, so this still counts as an AFD [alcohol free day]”. We teased him about it then each followed suit. The dinner was truly great and we were able to get rid of all our Albanian leks except for about 500 ($4) which we put into an ice-cream fund. We strolled to a market and had some suspense while the cashier added each ice cream. Could we afford it? Yes, only 300, so Peter and Tom had enough for coffee in the morning. It was a great ending to a really fun day. Tomorrow, on to Greece, our final country.
The Albanian flag flying proudly in the park after dessert
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