At the border a real passport control! No stamp; apparently communism is far gone. Just behind customs an obscure exchange booth. No information regarding the rate; you just have to trust it…. Together with Julie Anne and Vincent we cycle the first kilometers through Albania. The landscape is rugged and empty. At regular intervals on … Albania 1
You wake up at that expensive campsite that is open all year round, and then you see holes in the canvas of the inner tent. A cat has climbed over it. In all the years we have been camping, we have never experienced that. The day had started so well in the olive grove of … Cat's claws
Yesterday a month ago we left Eindhoven. We have done a month summer vacation before, so you could say that we are now really stepping into the unknown. I’m curious what that will bring. Coincidentally, yesterday we really started a northbound stage for the first time. Until now, we did a kind of aclimatization on … March 25
We have been on Kefalonia one of the Ionian Islands for 2 days now. An idea of our most experienced world cycling friend. It is great to see how an island is really Greek, but also unique. For example, there are no stray dogs here (but all the more goats) and there is much less … Kefalonia
Every cloud has a silver lining. This is also the case after our hero’s journey from Olympia through the mud. That evening the weather was bright again and the Paradiso campsite turned out to be open. What we would normally cycle around a block, this campsite turned out to live up to its name with … Every cloud has a silver lining
Camel trophy In the '80s, you had that. A kind of competition in which the participants had to trek through the jungle in a land rover and all kinds of difficulties victories, such as cutting down trees to lay over a river and driving your car over it to get to the other side. Or … Greek Roads 3
The next morning we cycle past a village after a few kilometers. Just at the intersection where you can turn off to the village is a waste container. While we are putting our bag of garbage in it, a man on a moped arrives and drives into the grounds of the house opposite the intersection. … Greek roads (2)
If you want to be more than 20km away in Greece, you will soon have to rely on a kind of provincial road. We have used them extensively. Often they were not too busy and we thought it was fine to cycle there. However, when we left Kalamata in a westerly direction, it didn't want … Greek roads
First you hear the cowbells. Sometimes a human voice or tone. Usually a short command or a whistle. The dogs, if they have them, you don’t hear them until they see you. Often you only hear them; the vegetation hides them from your view. If we encounter them, they pull along the road or are … Goat keeper
We would never start a summer holiday in the Vosges. Yet the landscape played no role in the choice to start in Greece. There were more decisive arguments. After the roller coaster from earlier this week (see previous blog), the next ride was also quite hilly and even a good part unpaved. Again a beautiful … Discovery
Do you know that feeling: that you are in the back of the carts of a rollercoaster and that you are not yet at the top and your nose is still pointing upwards, but the train is already accelerating, because most of it is already over the top? I had that kind of sensation a … Rollercoaster
Yesterday we left Athens. Via Salamina (so 2x with a pound) to Kineta where the campsite manager was kind enough to open the campsite for us. We cooked and ate very idilian on the beach. Today we are only going to go a short distance (25km) because the stage after that will be either very … our lucky day?
In Greece, the religious year is a week behind the Dutch one and moreover carnival lasts 3 weeks! and ends with a bank holiday on the occasion of Ash Monday. Reason why we could only pick up our snail on Tuesday and a good reason for us to go out for dinner on Monday. Immediately … Ash-Monday and Tuesday???
