September 23, 2015
Short day to Serres
The weather forecast for today called for more rain. As I checked out of the hotel, I said to the receptionist "The sun is out. No rain." She replied "Of course, but later..." Last night we had talked about accommodation options for my ride today, and concluded that it would be best for me to do a short ride to Serres, especially if there would be rain.
So I rode to Serres.
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I stopped a couple of times, hoping to get information about hotels or guest houses past Serres but not too far for me to ride, but without much luck. I stopped in a park, and sat for a bit and snacked some, and then stopped at a gas station and added some air to the rear tire that I had pumped up with my small hand pump yesterday. No one at either stop spoke enough English to be able to help. Then I stopped at another gas station, right at the edge of Serres, and with a lot of discussion, the answer was "we don't know". So I went into Serres, which is a good sized town, and found the hotel. It was only noon, but I figured at least someone would speak English. The guy at reception was helpful, and he gave me a couple of options, but they were off my planned route. Another was in an okay location but rented holiday homes for 5 to 7 people. So I stayed put, and took a room at the hotel in Serres.
So far, there hasn't been any rain today.
Update:
It started raining while I was walking to dinner. The restaurants don't open until 7, so I headed toward the Tavernas for some traditional Greek food. The menus are great, but there is a lot on the menu that's not available. The past 2 nights (including my last night in Bulgaria) I ended up with souvlaki. Same thing tonight, but chicken instead of pork. There is pizza and "fast food" almost everywhere, but I tend to do better with a good meal.
Serres seems like a nice town. The center with it's pedestrian area is fairly big, but quiet. I'm not sure if the quiet is due to it being off season, or just the time of day. There are quite a few empty store fronts, but the stores are mostly closed. I saw one that posted open hours until 2:30, and then again on some days from 6 until 10. There is an archeological museum in the center, and it had posted open hours until 3 p.m. There was an area with quite a few Tavernas, and they all seemed busy, but the shops that are intermingled were closed.
The rain storm was intense but short.
Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 2,878 km (1,787 miles)
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