The Greek Isles

We arrived at the Githio ferry port with plenty of time to spare. Our first stop would be the Greek Isle of Kithira. Parking in the front of the ferry office we easily purchased the first leg of our Isles tour. The ferry would arrive later in the day so we made ourselves comfortable in the large tented area in the middle of the vehicle circle at the wharf. I ordered a beer and we had great FREE WiFi access and plugins for the afternoon.

The ferry trip would only be a couple hours which would put us into port just as the sun was setting. We were at the front of the queue but loaded after the large semis had all backed into the hold. Melanie walked on board as I parked next to a railing as directed by the men loading the ferry. I watched as they expertly lashed my bike to the rail and hoped that’s with it would remain for the journey.

The ferry was much nicer than I had expected with seating in the galley area and nice airplane type recliners upstairs, for a small charge, of course.

We pulled into the ferry port after dark, as expected. I was the first one to disembark, which would have been great, except we had to pack some things from the ferry ride and pick up Melanie. By the time we were ready several big trucks were ahead of us and making their way slowly up the mountain from the docks. We took off and easily passed several to get into the front. That’s when things got hairy. It was very dark and even with my Denali lights shining brightly, I was proceeding carefully. Once at the top the trucks, anxious to get to their destination and knowing the roads started to bear down on me. There was no place to pull off so I kept speeding up when possible to distance myself from them. Coming into the first town the nearest truck was getting close and my GPS showed a turn I felt was not right but without time to think about it, I turned. Yep, right onto a narrow, cobbled alley that twisted and turned, in total darkness, up and up. There wasn’t a place to stop so we kept going until it opened up enough for me to park sideways on the hill, get Melanie off, and try to turn around. Melanie wanted to walk back down but it would have been too far in the inky darkness, so she carefully climbed back on and, somehow, we made it to the bottom again.

Our place we had found to stay was on the south side of the island, near Kapsali. From our balcony we had a great view of the harbor and the Kithira castle to the side of us. It was late in the season and not a big tourist island so most things on the island were closed. The next morning was a beautiful day so we went exploring the island. The views were amazing and we felt we had the island to ourselves. In the afternoon we took a hike along the cliffs overlooking the harbor to the abandoned buildings just under the castle.

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In the evening the weather moved in promising rain the following day. Waking up in the morning was just that, rain. We packed up between showers and headed to the port and to grab a bite to eat. Everything was closed, including the ferry building to buy our tickets. We finally rode back up the mountain to find a Gyro to eat in the small village and get warm with a cup of coffee. The only ferry to Crete left in the late afternoon and was a 10 hour ride, getting us in at around 02:00hrs. We had found a inexpensive beachfront room for a couple nights and the host agreed to let us in sometime in the wee morning hours.

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Arriving at the port we loaded up and headed out of town toward the west coast. The road to our place twisted down the mountain turning into dirt. We knew we were close but the directions were, umm, bad. We parked the bike and started wandering around with the torch looking for anyone that might be up. Finally, a sleepy looking guys came wandering up the road. We figured it was our guy and, being in the wrong place, he showed us where to park and our room.

We woke up in the morning to a beautiful, cloudless sunrise and wandered down to the outdoor restaurant on the beach for breakfast. Today was a day of relaxing on the beach and drinking inexpensive Greek beer. By the time we wanted supper the off-season caught us, everything was closed. Luckily, we always have our emergency rations.

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While looking at maps that night I found two great looking roads on the south side of the island. You know the kind. You look at the maps and there is a very curvy road with switchbacks and elevation changes right down to the coast and one way in, back up the mountain.  The way south toward the coast went through the Imbros Gorge which is an 11km long canyon. Once you reach the coast you pass through Sweet Water Beach before starting the switchbacks back up the mountain with the most incredible views of the sun glistening off the Mediterranean. After reaching the top there is an old wooden bridge crossing anther gorge to an old church, the Church of the Archangel Michael.

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Soon after we found a great place for lunch. I wanted a little cafe with a great view of the Mediterranean. After passing several places that just didn’t do it for me the sun was starting to dip toward the sea. Starting to lose hope we rounded a corner and, perched precariously on the side of the mountain, was this great little cafe. The food was even delicious.

I had spotted a camping spot on a river just off the Mediterranean, the Camping Agia Galini. After arriving we set up camp and headed for the pool for a quick dip to cool off. Walking across the bridge we headed into town which had several little shops and restaurants where you could kick off your flip-flop and dig your toes in the sand as you ate dinner on the sea. There was to be a live classic rock band that night at one of the places, so we decided to come back for dessert and drinks. While eating dinner we started talking to a couple from the US that live in Greece now. They told us we didn’t act like the typical Americans. After dessert the waiter brought us a carafe of Raki and two shot glasses, a Greek way of saying Thank-you. It was a very relaxing and enjoyable evening.

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The next morning, we headed north toward the capital and ferry port of Heraklion. We hoped to get to the Minoan Palace of Knossos before catching the ferry to Santorini. As we pulled into the parking lot, I smelled hot antifreeze, never a good thing. After pulling the front of the bike apart I discovered that the radiator was cracked by the top mount. The first motorcycle repair shop we found was closed, as was the second Suzuki shop. Standing out front a man walked up to see if we needed help. He couldn’t help but a couple minutes later he brought us some fruit to eat from his apartment. As I was looking for a cafe for WiFi, Melanie flagged down the next Suzuki rider that rode by. The young man had a friend that worked on motorcycles and said to follow him. Down the road to traffic, then up the sidewalk, through a pedestrian tunnel under the train tracks, down a one-way road, the wrong way, and we were there. The owner of the shop immediately offered me coffee, looked at the bike and said he could fix it.

We found an AirBnB within a mile of the shop owned by John from Boston. He was a funny, easy going guy that offered us anything we needed for our stay. I dropped our gear and Melanie off and took the bike back to the shop for them to get working on it. He said to check with him the next day, so I started walking back to the condo, stopping at the market for some supplies for our stay.

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I headed back the next day and he had worked well into the night and had taken the radiator to another shop to have it welded at the break. The weld looked great in the morning as he proudly showed me the fixed radiator while ordering a couple coffees for us, to be delivered from the cafe down the street. He was almost when I offered to pay. Neither of us could speak to others language but a good bond over motorbikes was there. He started working to put it all back together and charged me US$62 for the completed work.

We hopped on the bike and rode downtown and purchased our tickets for the ferry for the following morning. With that out of the way we spent the day goofing around in the old town and touring the castle on the water. The castle, the Rocca a Mare Fortress, was built in the 16th century by the Venetians.

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The next day morning we down to the docks we rode to wait for the ferry to Santorini. While we were waiting we sat down to watch the activity on the docks with a cup of coffee.

Cheers,

2WANDRRs