5 June 2022
Big day today….in that we were moving to Greece…the destination country in a sense!!
A quick stop to get rid of our balance Macedonian Dinars (vapes and cigarettes!!)….and it was a dead flat dead straight 15km to the border. (…thankfully that will be our last currency hassle, for we are now back in Euro territory!)
No issue with my passport…..but the guy had a long look at Iain’s passport…for he had arrived in Europe (Shengen zone) back in February, and unless extended, you only get three months! And the passport man thought that had expired! He has however spent nearly a month in Morocco so he should have had time left…but there was no exit stamp on his passport showing him leaving!! (They do not always stamp!). But thankfully Morocco had stamped him in and out…so after some discussion he was allowed in…with a warning that if he overstays his balance ten days….he will be fined 600 Euros!! That time is extendable…but you do need to do it! As Uk Passport holders too…we have never had an issue before!….so all a result of just “getting it done”…& buggar the consequences!! (Brexit of course).
There was a moment of thinking about waving Iain off to Skopje to get a visa!!…but thankfully not!
….and our first sign post to Athens!
A pleasant ride through to a coffee stop at Florina…..after which the climbing started once again. Probably the biggest single climb of the trip…at around 1200m without a break! Taking us up to the likely highpoint of the journey at 1,800m.
It was not as well graded as yesterday either…so hard work…particularly for Iain in battery management mode! It just went on and in and on! Indeed…just 1km from the top he ran out of juice!! But luckily it flattened out..so he summited without losing his marbles completely!!
So funny to see snow poles (& lots of them)…in Greece!!
An odd military base at the top…strictly no cameras…and the funny thing is that it is so blindingly obviously a military installation….so in case you did not get that…all the (substantial four-storey) buildings were painted in camouflage!! (……so just maybe you could not see them…hahaha!).
From the top is was a hurtling descent (& yes, once again Iain beat the speed record for the Scott bike!)…lovely scenery… (Greece…really..?)
….and with no gas, and bit more climbing to go…we stopped at the first village where we found a tiny taverna…for beers….food…and battery-charging!
It was delightful! But having decided to split a Souvlaki (for it is hard biking after eating much!)…we were asked if we would like a salad to go with it…lettuce & tomato? Feta? Tsatsiki? So we said yes to all four…thinking it would be just one salad!! But no…all came out individually…and the slab of feta alone would have fed both of us!!
It was gorgeous…and felt typically Greek (despite the nigh-Alpine surroundings)…and we both we overate…making the last leg somewhat of a battle!!
Thankfully only 19km…at least 10km of which was downhill!!
…to Lake Kastoria…and the town of the same name where we were pitching up for the night.
And…we were – for the first time in a long time – staying in a real hotel!! But…with temp at 35, the aircon wasn’t working, no glass, no soap, no fan, no kettle, no wifi….just a bed…and heat!! Apartments – generally – are so much better, and so much better value!! Need to remember!!
Anyway…we were both knackered…..so ventured not very far….to a local taverna where a local band were playing. Felt very much like we had arrived in Greece!! (…three and a half hours later when we left…they were still playing!!…& had had no break!). We were not sure if his a late lunch…or just a lazy Sunday afternoon but the place was busy! A good first night!
