Day 9: Wednesday, 18 May 1983

Start: Campground, Corfu, Greece

End: Campground, Corfu, Greece

A rest day.

Turns out the campground is adjacent to the local youth hostel and the whole joint is crowded with diehard hippies, wavers, punkers, and greens from all over the planet. The camp bar/restaurant, the Club Romantica, is packed with people and music. My rat-tail braid is a big smash here and everyone wants to know where we've been riding.

Mike goes off with the Danes we met last night. I pedal to a gas station and borrow a brush, rags, and a couple ounces of gasoline from a friendly attendant and set about cleaning chain and gears, then buy a can of lubricant the guy assures me will be perfect for bicycles. Grabbed a light lunch and rode around sightseeing. Amazing how easy it is to turn the pedals without a full load on board! 

The Club Romantica cranks up in the evening. Mike and I wander over and begin doing our share of damage to the beer supply. Mike, far more outgoing than I am, is in his element here. We meet up with the Danes again and hang with them until the woman, drinking wine at an alarming rate, collapses and has to be carried away by her friends. Herbert Walker Friederich from Stuttgart tells us about his travel plans and insists we need to visit him in Germany. A Yank couple just arrived by bike from Spain, but as their story unfolds it seems like they did almost all the mileage by train. A pair of stunning redheaded ladies from Belfast, Geraldine and her friend whose name I never quite catch, join us. Maybe it's the red hair, or maybe it's the accent, or maybe it's just the beer, but I'm smitten and spend the rest of the evening trying to gain some traction with Geraldine. No success. Nevertheless, a gala evening of drinking, talking, music, and dancing. 

Quite a change of pace from the journey from Athens.

Conditions 

Distance: 10 km, just riding around 

Weather: Warm and breezy 

Road: Good 

Traffic: Busy 

Terrain: Gentle 

Mechanical: Grimy and gritty, then all cleaned up 

Physical: Good