On the move

June 4, 2022 to June 5, 2022

Day 105 - Parga to near Preveza

Day 106 - Preveza to Nydri

It was very nice to have a few consecutive days off - actually go to and spend time at some of the perfect beaches we've seen so many of, do some chores, etc - a little holiday within our longer, more irregular holiday, but it was time to head off.

Big news though: Sarah has booked her flight home! It's from Athens on the 15th of June. She has really enjoyed the tour but is keen to get back to reality, as it were, see friends and family, resume gainful employment, do some decoration, enjoy the unique but brief British summer, and all that!

On the other hand, I am still keen to continue! I'll be heading to Turkey from Athens, and maybe elsewhere. I'm not sure I really want to cycle 2500km all the way to the Caspian sea over many tall mountains in the middle of summer by myself, but maybe I do! Also very not sure about Iran and the 'stans, or India (although Ladakh and Nepal sound incredible! Bit scared of cycling in that kind of altitude though), again, alone, in the terrible heat of July/August, but we'll see.

Also, something I've not talked about much is aggressive dog encounters. I suppose once they are over you want to forget about them ASAP, but we have had lots. It's so annoying and unfair how they take e.g. what should be a beautiful ride through some rural roads through olive farms into a scary and stressful event you want to get through as quickly as you can. Rarely are they not gated or chained up, but sometimes they aren't, and it feels like only a matter of time before one of us is bitten.

It's meant we've been sticking to bigger roads more often, which are much more dangerous but in a more predictable and less terrifying way.

Anyway, I have heard Turkey is really bad for aggressive dogs, so that's really putting me off. I was gifted a little can of pepper spray by a nice cyclist near the end of their trip, and I have some rocks in one of my little bags, and a French guy we met had a big stick across his rack bag for dogs, but none of them really give me much assurance.

Thinking of taking a flight from Turkey somewhere, maybe Thailand! But as you can tell plans are liable to change. You might also be able to tell planning is not one of my strong suits 😅.

The heat in Greece has been increasing, every day being over 30c at some point. We can just about tolerate it, but it does slow us down and up our need for shade and cold drink breaks.

Another useful komoot diversion. I try to look ahead and predict them, but these days it's so hard to see my phone screen in the bright sunlight.

There is a tunnel under the sea from Preveza. Despite being well lit and having wide sidewalks, walking and cycling is not allowed! We luckily hitched a lift with these guys on their truck, which we shared with another cyclist!

We cycled down to Nydri where we're getting a ferry to Kefalonia, then across to another port where we can get a ferry to Patras. Then, Athens beckons!

Today's ride: 107 km (66 miles)
Total: 3,880 km (2,409 miles)

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