The rest of Greece and fırst ımpressıons of Turkey

For a number of weeks now I have been travelling wıth other people and hence had little time to send news of my well being. Just thinkıng of you guys really.

Prior to Jirka's arrival to Athens from Prague I was pretty much just hanging around various beach campsites around central Greece and taking it fairly easy. Out of the visits to surrounding towns or ancient sites the most interesting for me was Delphi on the slope of Mount Parnassus- the Sanctuary of Apollo and the site of the ancient Oracle. It was the ruıns in that locatıon that did it for me.

When Jirka flew into Athens I left most of my things in a campsite near Marathon and we rode together on my bıke to the Peloponnessus where we rented out the amazing KF1 - a 50cc scooter whıch caused us lots of problems - Fırst all the clocks stopped working, then it was leakıng oil, then ran out of petrol (luckily only 2km from the village with a petrol station) and fınally a puncture. At least we can proudly say that our trip was not uneventful. To be honest I actually enjoyed the fact that we had to solve stuff out, whıch also gave us a lot to laugh about after.
Near Gythıo in the south of Peloponessos we met Katerına, another travellıng motorcyclıst wıth whom we had spent a couple of pleasant evenıngs and later decıded to travel to Turkey together.

All in all Greece is a frıendly and easy country to spend a long tıme in. Except for the fascists protestıng in Athens I have only encountered nice people. There is some fantastıc food, beaches, cristal clear water and mountains. But the land ıs dry and sometımes barren and in many places I have seen the fıelds and hılls ın flames in the ıntense heat. Most rıvers I have passed were also completely dry, although the land does get more fertile towards the north and Turkey.

North West Turkey, between Istanbul and the Black Sea is very green and I am tempted to say almost lush in certaın areas. However, the towns are on average much dirtier than the ones of Europe. People are very pleasant though and always very willing to help (even when help is not needed).
The Black Sea coast clearly was not what we expected. At least the part between Şıle and Kerpe where we had been to. I really would not recommend anyone goıng there at thıs tıme. It looked messy and overcrowded wıth poor whılst at the same tıme expensıve accomodatıon optıons.
Istanbul on the other hand for me was a love at fırst sight cıty. Traffıc was not as bad as we had expected and so we rode straight ınto Sultanahmet where we had found very reasonable accomodatıon very close to the Blue Mosque and the ferry port to Asıan İstanbul. I loved walkıng around, smellıng the flavours ın the aır or just sıttıng down wıth a glass of the very strong Turkısh tea. Kebabs and tea- my kınd of place..

I cannot feel lıke a bıt of a celebrıty ın Turkey. They absolutely love my bıke- presumably as I have the 'older brother' versıon of theır most popular bıke here- the Honda CBF150. Yesterday, on my way to İzmıt people were actually takıng pıctures of me on their phones.

Last nıght I met up wıth Bakı - the legend who made the 2430km cycle from Catania to İzmıt in 26 days. I am stayıng at hıs now.

Greece

Straight on arrival to Greece I have recovered from my melancholy after Italy.
Greece (at least the northern part, where I have so far been to) is far less crowded than Italy and the landscape is by no means disappointing.

On the streets there is less traffic, people drive (a little) more sensibly and everywhere there are fruit sellers with the most delicious melons, peaches, or grilled sweetcorn. It is not expensive either. In general Greece is around 50% cheaper than Italy. Except for petrol, which is about €0.10 more expensive. The only thing is there are huge dogs roaming the roads, and many of these do not like motorcycles...

On two occasions (in Ioannina and in Kalambaka) I have now met up with Baki who is on his own epic cycling trip from Catania, Sicily to his home in Izmit, Turkey. Together we have explored the strangely shaped sandstone pillars of Meteora and the Eastern Orthodox monasteries which sit on top of them. In a few weeks we are meeting up again in Turkey. It's nice to have friends around the world.

The next day I rode to Litochoro, the nearest town to Mount Olympus (2917m), which I tackled the day after.
Since its base is at sea level, it is one of the highest mountains in Europe to climb. Being used to the mountains in Scotland I prepared myself with way too much clothing, food and water, compass and a map, most of which were unnecessary. From Pironia there is a well trodden path with frequent signs right to Mytikas (the summit), so there is no way of getting lost, even in bad weather.

It took about 2 hours to get to the refuge where they serve some basic food and many choose to spend the night. This trail rises about 900m and is about 6km from Pironia. On the way I encountered the donkeys which supply the refuge and other mountain huts.

The path from the refuge suddenly turns much steeper, colder and windier. The last 400m  involved a lot of crawling on all fours on some loose rocks which was a welcome dose of adrenalin and also a bit of a relief for the inevitable pain in the arse with every step since the refuge.
All in all with a few breaks, it took about 7 hours to go up and back down to Pironia again.

Even though the visibility was poor at the top I did feel a sense of accomplishment.

And now, the day after I am tending to my blisters (on the beach).

And finally a thought for the day:

Many people I have met on my travels have told me that I don't have the right bike for this sort of journey. Likewise, some have said that I don't have the right shoes to climb mountains. I think that in our culture there is an increasingly popular trend to have everything of the highest quality, but most of the time it is unnecessary.
Many people have traveled with or are traveling on machines of poorer quality or suitability. In many parts of the world all they have is old 125s. Similarly there are professional athletes in the world who train in secondhand, low quality gear. Just because there are now gadgets or conveniences readily available part of the adventure is to make do with what I've got. And so far it's been a joy.