Bikepacking in Greece

The decision to go on a bike trip to Greece, as always, came to us not by chance. Inexpensive tickets, an uncharted country and, what is important, the abolition of the visa regime, did their job. And now, after half a year, as we made biometric passports for ourselves, and ordered tickets, we were preparing to plunge into the world of antiquity, the Middle Ages, the seas, islands, wine and olives.

Planning the route, collecting first-aid kits and provisions went smoothly, as always, and the decision to go on a bikepacking trip encouraged us and filled us with new ideas. In the fall of 2017, we successfully traveled in this style to the Carpathians, and for 7 days of hiking, our bags behaved well. And after we made the changes and completely sent the new version, it became obvious that the bags would withstand many tests, we had no doubt about it.

A month before the trip, as a rule, we began to prepare our camp dry rations, or rather dried vegetables and meat for soups. They decided to refuse home-made stew. Recently, she has faded into the background, because of its fat content, complexity of packaging, significant weight. Since the trip was planned for 16 running days, and the meat we have is designed for both breakfast and dinner. All decided to dry, and turn into soups or additives to cereals (pasta).

When the food was packaged, we got 16 soups and 16 meat blanks. In addition, there was sausage, bars, ready-made food sets from ЇDLO. In general, we were not deprived of food, but in addition to our stock, of course, we also meant the purchase of provisions in Greece.

We distributed the entire bivouac dorm into four participants in the campaign, three of whom rode in the style of bike packing. And everything fit perfectly in bags on bicycles. I didn’t even have to take a backpack with me, which was done by the 4th participant who was traveling with a bag.

On the 18th we will travel by train from Zaporozhye to Kiev, and there, by bus, we arrived in Boryspil and boarded the plane.

Our journey began from the city of Kiato, where we got on two trains. And if the weather simply pleased us during the first days of the trip, then just on the ascent to the pass we were covered with rain. We spent this hectic night in an empty pilgrim house near the church. It turned out to be the only and saving place on the pass. The next morning they went down to the bottom, and the weather did not bring us such unpleasant surprises anymore.

When planning a trip to Greece, we wanted to cover its most significant sights and it seems we succeeded. First of all, our path lay through the mountains to the ancient city of Olympos, the birthplace of the Olympic Games. We got there quickly. The city itself, of course, is a solid ruin, but among them is also the temple of Zeus, in which a miracle of the world was once installed - a statue of Zeus. Even from the ruins you can understand how great the structure of the temple was. What is it worth alone scattered pieces of columns and a platform. After surveying the ruins, we moved to the first Olympic stadium. Now it is a green field, but the outlines show that the structure was large-scale and active.

Our ticket included a visit to the museum. The whole walk through the historical places took us more than two hours, and weary, or even relaxed. So the first time we pedaled not willingly. We spent the night on the seashore, it was calm and warm.

The following days we drove along the most beautiful mountain roads of Greece, which beckoned with orange gardens. Of course, we did not stay hungry. Having collected ripe fruits in our bags - feeders on the steering wheel, we always had at hand a rich supply of vitamins.

 At some point, or rather according to the schedule, we turned the pedals to the Byzantine city of Mistras, it contains some of the best-preserved medieval buildings of the Peloponnese. It is also noteworthy that the city and the castle in it were built from the remains of the destroyed Sparta, which was in the lowland. We spent, and then began a rapid descent into Sparta itself. She interested us no less.

Antique Sparta did not particularly surprise us, because it left solid ruins. But I really wanted to visit this place just like that, because this is Spartaaa!

Our journey continued, and now we were driving towards the sea. Visiting ancient ruins, orange orchards and all kinds of lovely villages in their few residents along the way. Until the ghost of Dimitros came across a ship. Here they set up a camp. At night, in the moonlight, the ship looked like an impressive, dark obelisk thrown onto a cold shore. He seemed to be fraught with thousands of secrets. And in the afternoon we already wandered around him, took pictures and there was no sensation of something gloomy. Just a ship that once was unlucky and he ran aground. Now Dimitros, we can say the withering attraction of Greece. The salty sea and wind do their destructive work. And the ship, all covered with corrosion and holes, will soon outlive its second life. Saying goodbye to him, we drove on.

All the way we moved along the sea until we pedaled to the island of Monemvasia. This place has become one of the most beautiful and unusual on our way. On the island, at an altitude of more than 300 meters, there is a Byzantine fortress, and under it a small village in which 11 main churches and many residential buildings of the island town are closely located. We did not have time to count the church, but we nevertheless climbed the ruined fortress, but already in the evening. It offers a beautiful view of the main genus of Monevmasia. We descended already in the dark, but it was a beautiful descent, along the ancient streets of the old village. That night we spent the night in a hostel.

Our journey would not be complete if we had not visited the ancient city of Mycenae, with its magnificent tombs. We were especially struck by the acoustics of the tombs, and their surprisingly accurate structure. And of course the famous Lion Gate leading to the city. Having received a lot of new impressions, we moved on. Already realizing that our journey is drawing to a close. After all, Athens was waiting for us, the beginning and end of our campaign.

On the way to Athens, we stopped at one of the bridges running through the Corinth Canal. The length of the canal is 6 km, and the height of the walls reaches 76 meters.

We were not disappointed by visiting this place, especially since the Corinth Canal has a rather rich history of origin. Starting from the ideas of Periander to dig it in the VII century BC. e. prior to its construction in 1881 thanks to the first president of Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias.

We listened to the amazing story of the channel from our guide and drove on. In anticipation of the greatness of Athens.

The capital of Greece made a mixed impression on us. Athens was not as beautiful as we imagined them, only the old buildings inspired sympathy. The main city was desolate and devastated. We did not absorb negative emotions and moved immediately to the Parthenon. A visit to this attraction was predetermined with us. The ancient building itself is truly amazing in size and the spirit of the time is felt in every particle of it.

Having walked around the city, we wandered into the bazaar, where we purchased souvenirs and olives, which at home treated guests and relatives. And going to the fish market, without hesitation bought 2 kg of fresh shrimp. Although the weight of the package we definitely poured more. The result was a whole pan of incredibly juicy and delicious shrimp, tastier than which we had not eaten. On this beneficial note, we ended our journey through Greece.

What can I say, the trip was a success. And we will definitely return to Greece again. After all, its mountains and seas forever remained a beautiful story in our memory.

You can read the full report on this trip on our second resource kasy.com.ua