A bit of a bitsy day really. It was just the way the ferry timings worked. So a 9am ferry over to Kefalonia….but then no ferry onwards unto 14.45.
So a bit of waiting around…but time well spent… booking ferries!! Trying to plan trips around Greece so early in the season is a bit tricky…for most ferry companies do not issue their timetables until April! So you can take a bit of a stab by referring to last year’s timetables…but they do change year to year!
And already we have been caught out! The plan….from our arrival point on the Peleponnese…..was to head South to the Messenian peninsular (the westernmost of the four Peleponnese fingers, and the only one I have not yet biked on!)…& then get the ferry from Gytheio direct to Kissamos. It ran three times a week last year. But this year…just once a week!! And that one day did not work for us!!
So a change of plan..and a ride straight across the mountainous middle of the Peleponnese…and down to Neapoli…for the ferry to Kythera and on from there to Kissamos! A bit of a detour…but it should be a wonderful ride (one bit we have done before….and it has to be one of my all-time favourite rides!)
Anyway…today…
A relaxed start….ready for the short but grunty climb over the island from Vathy to the tiny port of Aetos….and the ferry on to Sami.
This boat has certainly seen better days. Run by IONION…which I always mis-read as I-ONION, Now…if they spelt it IONIAN…!
A long coffee there…before the ride South to Samos.
Kefalonia…indeed all the Ionian islands are incredibly mountainous. It somehow always surprises me that these little blobs on the map are not flat!! Haha! I should have learned by now! So it was a long climb (but at great gradients) up to around 500m…and then a delightful hurtle down the hill…..
….through a little gorge at the bottom…
…..and on to Samos.
…..a bakery…and another long, long coffee!!
Our ferry left bang on time! A step up in terms of quality! Almost new…this ferry…after the I-Onion rust bucket.
It was around 4.30pm by the time we were off the ferry at Kyllini…so we cycled just 14km further! Overall today about the same cycling distance as on our ‘rest day’ yesterday!! (Three big days to come though!)
Andravida is no tourist hotspot….just a wee town on the road…so a place to discover ‘real’ Greek prices…and the sum of the tourist premium.
And….there wasn’t one really!
Beers more expensive than Ithaca…and poor Martin…no food places open!!
Indeed…the place was empty and deserted!
I enjoy eating late. Martin prefers to eat early! But here…in “normal” Greece where folk work until 8…(after a long siesta)…the town was simply closed!! (We thought it might get busier later. It didn’t!)
This place came to the rescue!!
Not “typically” Greek..but then maybe it is!! Subway-style hot sandwiches!! They were ok…but give me a gyros any day!!
Big day tomorrow…….!
