1 July 2022
Today was all about catching our ferry to Italy. So we made a good early start to cover the 78kms……to avoid that niggling anxiety about missing it!
And before we had gone 15kms….we somehow managed to take a wrong turn….and it was six kms on before we saw the ferry…and the sea…on our right, when it so certainly should have been on our left!!! Not a great start!!
And then…the journey was really about trying to avoid the ‘new’ National Highway. But it was all but impossible…and three more times we hit dead ends and had to backtrack as we tried to find side roads.
Interesting road-side stalls….
but altogether not very pleasant….made worse by the current ‘upgrade’….turning a two lane road…with nice broad shoulders…into a three lane road (ie with alternating overtaking lane)…with no shoulders at all!! Suicidal for cyclists…but luckily for us the works were still in progress for most of the route, and that middle overtaking lane was not yet operating. So…somewhat unusually we spent at least 20km cycling down the middle of the road!!
20kms shy of Patras…we were glad to be able to move off onto a much quieter road which stuck to the coast!
We were going to stop for a swim once our ferry was in view….
….but it was probably a good thing we decided to forego the swim and push on. Found the ferry (aptly(?) named Olympic Champion)
…and the check-in queue…and with two hours to departure we went to while away some time at a nearby bar.
And then to the supermarket for food..beers…and ice…..at which point I learned that checkin was required two hours ahead of departure…and already we had used up 75 minutes of those two hours! Yikes!
So to check in…but no, wrong place (bikes are usually vehicles…but not here)…so we sped down to the passenger hall…pushed through inappropriate doors (not for bikes!)…& arrived at customs to be advised we needed to unload all our stuff for the x-ray machine (including our beers and ice!). This was a first for me…and seems such nonsense when hundreds of cars & trucks full of stuff were just driving on…!!
Anyway…then….passport control…but no-one was there…so we had to wait….
…..and wait….before eventually a policeman arrived less than 15 minutes before the boat left!! So….a bit worrying for a while..until we were released and raced across the deserted apron and on to the ferry.
Farewell to Patras…and farewell to Greece (or so we thought). It has been a blast!
The boat itself was eerily quiet! The car deck all but deserted. The passenger areas luxuriant in their emptiness! (We also had the luxury of a cabin…)
And then five hours or so into the journey….the boat slowed…and unexpectedly we pulled into Igoumenitsa (another major ferry port just South of the Albanian border)…& sitting port-side were all the passengers, cars and trucks which had been missing!!
So….this time…it is farewell to Greece!!
Over three weeks here…and it has been great. The first time I have spent a significant amount of time on the mainland…and it really is just as gorgeous as the islands, but without most of the fly-in tourists.
We had a really good go at the Peloponnese peninsular…touching all four extremities….and struggling through the middle!!…and it is to be recommended. A great balance of history and gorgeous beaches, places & people! Delightful!
And just a word on Greek drivers…famed for their speed and madness. Using that awful stretch of road today as an example…there was only one driver which came too close, the truck drivers were great…and generally we have had no issues at all. Give me a bad road in Greece…than ANY road in New Zealand…in terms of quality of driving! Courtesy prevails…..almost always!!
