Our ferry across to Kissamos does not leave until five, so it was a happily lazy start to the day!
But I was thinking that I had maybe been a bit unkind to Kythera…so whilst Martin chilled (& swam)…I went exploring again.
The sun was shining, the wind had died down, it was a lovely warm day. And I had a lovely ride!
Kythera is not so bad after all!
Still a bit bleak in the middle (& most of the coastline is cliffs and inaccessible)….but I loved the old capital town of Kythera (Chora). Charming tiny white-washed streets, leading to the castle…
…sitting atop a cliff, overlooking the village of Kapsali.
Just gorgeous!
And whilst the pundits rave about ‘our’ Avlemonas being the prettiest place on the island…I would definitely head this way next time! (…and there I was saying yesterday that there never would be a next time! Never say never!)
And away from the windswept central ‘plateau’…it was just lovely!
So I was pleased to have given Kythera a second chance!
And even Avelomonas improved, when I found the old ‘fishing’ harbour. Really quite sweet!
So a quiet day really…if you can say that a 1,000m of ascent can be described as ‘quiet’!
And so to our ferry…
……for the three hour trip across to Crete, and Kissamos.
And Iain!!
I did love this safety sign! Just ‘open your legs’…and look at her expression!!
The ferry itself was largely empty….well the vehicle deck certainly was!
Today is transition day (Martin to Iain). Memories of our last changeover (Iain to Martin that time) in Istanbul almost exactly two years ago!
Martin has put in a good stint! Over 1,550 kms cycled…and 21,000 metres climbed! (That might be a record ascent in a three week run!). And whilst we will never agree about what time is a good time to eat…or how many beers or cigarettes is too many…or how many paracetamol one should take at one time!….or how far in advance you need to be waiting for a ferry!!……we have rubbed along as well as ever! And…he will be back for Stage Two next year…riding up to Oslo! (…if we ever get that far!)….which – if nothing else – will be a lot flatter!
When Iain joined last year for the Marrakech ride…..he started off in an unusually grumpy mood. So it was great to catch up and find him in excellent spirits! And looking forward to this year’s run!
We had raced off the ferry…45 minutes late!….and it was well dark! Dumped the bikes at our house rental…..and went for a few beers to celebrate! Of course!! First beer at 9.40pm! Might be a record!
These are the team photos from the next morning.
So pleased you went to Chora – I loved it there – and hated Avlemonas. Kythera was one of my favourite islands
Well done Neil & especially Martin!
Good luck Iain LOL
Terrific ride this year fantastic route and Neil was a master on google maps and booking dot com
He does need to listen to my advice on beer cigarettes and paracetamol tablets ha ha