The short cycling days continue…as we fart around on ferries to get to our ‘destination’…..well, the start point…of Gavdos.
So today…our ferry leaves – hopefully – at around 11.30. But no-one was very sure of the time. Doesn’t really matter….!
Anyway…we got up ‘quite’ early…jumped on the bikes and headed up the Samaria Gorge…for a pre-breakfast walk!
Well…the bikes lasted 2km…..and then we walked about the same distance up the gorge…
…..crossing the river many times….
…to reach the famous Iron Gate. The narrowest section of the whole gorge at just three metres.
Very lovely. And at this time of day…all but deserted! Most folk do not get to this part until around 2pm!
I say all-but…for we came across one guy walking up….and one guy running down…having completed the 13km trail in about an hour!! Given the terrain..that is extraordinary!
Great start to the day!!
Breakfast……then we wandered down to find some ferry tickets. They do not sell them in advance…for quite often the boat does not run! (Let’s hope it runs tomorrow to allow is to get back again! Haha!).
Running about half an hour late…..no worries!
This is looking back at Agia Roumeli….with the start of the gorge behind.
A tiny bit of snow on the higher mountains..which rise up to over 2,500 metres!!
That little green hill in front of the bigger one, rising straight out of the sea…is only around 1,350m high…about the same as Ben Nevis!! Puts the scale of this place into perspective!
And so to Gavdos!! The most southerly piece of Europe!
A small windswept isle…much closer to Africa than to Athens!…with a permanent population of 142…!
A bit dishevelled upon arrival…and that impression never really changed. An island to escape to….with a fair proportion of odd-balls.
It has had a proper power supply for less than 20 years…and given the population, the roads are surprisingly extensive. To be fair, the population swells in dummer…mostly campers apparently…for there is no substantial tourist infrastructure…and almost every cafe etc which does exist remains closed!!
I had found the one accommodation place which is open…and they are doing a fine job… Mum in the kitchen, daughter running the show. They reopened for the season on 1 May.
We dumped our stuff there…had a coffee….and headed straight off on our mission to reach the most southerly point of Europe!
Good tracks to start off with….
.
….but it was not long before they started to deteriorate….
….harder..
…and harder to ride…
…until we had to give up and abandon the bikes!
We were around 1km as the crow flies from our destination! Alas!
But we were determined to get there…
…..and there were many occasions on the climb down when we were glad of our bike decision!
It would have been impossible!
During the trip…we both thought there was something weird going on. We kept coming across discarded items of clothing. A walking boot. A backpack even. At least ten different items. In fact, it was truly spooky!! The funny thing was that were both really feeling it…but did not mention it to each other…for we were on a mission and and did not want to spook each other!!
We reached the beach…and believed we had probably found the source of all the discarded clothing. No huge surprise probably, given our location.
A beach covered in refugee boats.
But that discovery did not improve our joint sense of unease…(which we did not talk about…until later….over beers….after it was all over!! Haha!)
There were a couple of Poles – we think – hiding away here, with a fairly permanent looking campsite.
And then…..the famous chair appeared!!
Well…when I say famous….it is famous only to the few who have been here…or have researched Cape Tripiti…that most Southern point of Europe! It was assembled by a group of East European residents of Gavdos 25 or so years ago! No idea really of its significance.
But still…it was a real scramble to get up to it!
A very sketchy climb on loose rocks…..
But we made it!!
It is quite a big chair really!
Too big for me…!
But the height worried Iain less!!
And so….the STONE ride can begin!!
Nordcapp, Norway…here we come!
But first we had to find our bikes!!
Coming up here was tricky….going down again was worse!
And then the climb back up……
And we were both pleased to see that the bikes were still there!!
The first bit of the ride was quite tough….with a few hundred metres of pushing!
But then we got going properly again!
Looking forward to those beers…for it was nearly 7pm by now!!
The most southerly cafe in Europe….however…was closed!! Seen better days methinks! But this village has a population of about 10…so not surprisingly it was closed really!
But our own place was not too far away…..
….there!!!
And the beers were cold, the glasses iced…..and we celebrated!
The ‘chicken in red sauce’ which had replaced the ‘local goat in red sauce’, was excellent too! With honey infused raki to finish!!
Great day! And great to have started the ride proper! (..not that the last three weeks have been anything but proper of course…!)
Love the chair pics!