Northern Greece provided the biggest surprises of the trip for us, and perhaps the greatest highs and lows.  Since we’ve not been to this part of Greece before, we didn’t know what to expect - or rather, our preconceptions were generally inaccurate.  Our traverse of the northern mainland from Evia to Igoumenitsa was surprising our favorite riding of the tour - even more so than Crete, amazingly enough.  It’s the wildness of so much of the country that impresses, but also we fell in love with town after town: Karditsa, Ioannina, and Metsovo in particular are all places I’d love to see again some day, and stay longer next time.  And three days our three days in the Zagori Villages felt like we had just scratched the surface.

Corfu on the other hand was our least favorite spot to ride in this tour, and probably of the last several tours.  It’s too crowded, the roads and drivers are difficult, and right now at least it’s getting too hot.  It makes me wonder how we would have reacted a month ago before the prime tourist season, but I imagine it’s always pretty crushed.  And, there is the indescribably bad garbage situation, which apparently has been going on for several years.  The one saving grace, and a big one, is Corfu Town.  It’s a place I’d be happy to return to, maybe as the starting point for another tour of northern Greece some year - fly in here, revisit the city, and head east without looking back.

So, on to the fourth, final stage: Albania.  Two weeks, at a pretty leisurely pace: we have two night stays in Himara, Saranda, Gjirokastra, Permeti, Korce and Ohrid (Macedonia): for most of the stage we’ll jump from one two nighter to the next.  Given how mountainous the route is and how warm the days are becoming, it feels like a pretty smart plan.

And, as a reminder, here’s the plan.  See you in Albania.