Page 25
Greece 
We
had to leave beautiful Cape Town behind today and head for Europe to begin the
next stage of our journey. I spent most of the day sorting and repacking and
doing laundry. What a waste of a gorgeous sunny day! We were at the airport for
hours and hours but we remained optimistic about getting all of our bicycles and
gear on the plane because this was another charter flight with Mr.Itani, the
sheik from Qatar. The long process began at the cargo part of the airport and
meant waiting patiently in lines. We have lost some riders over the months but
there are 231 riders left and 231 riders make a long line. Some we hadn’t seen
for a month or more because they have been ‘off route’ following their own
agendas. People passed the time greeting long lost friends and exchanging
stories.
After
getting to the airport by pedaling or by car, bus, or van we each had to prepare
our bikes for the flight by turning the handlebars, removing the pedals, water
bottles, and pump, and by letting some of the air out of the tires. The next
step was to stand in line to eventually hand the bike over to cargo personnel
who put them on pallets, 16 or 17 to a pallet, and when the pallet was filled
the bikes were secured with straps. Next we took our bags and other stuff out of
our lockers. Everything that had been loose in the lockers or that we had
removed from the bikes had to be stuffed inside the duffel bags. My two bags
bulged but held it all. Then we stood in a third line to get a boarding pass.
Finally we got on a bus to go to the International Terminal.
The
International Terminal was a surprise and a disappointment. It is much too small
to serve such a large city so that the facilities are overwhelmed and once again
we stood in lines. At our projected boarding time I finally got to the head of
the food line. That was 8:15 p.m. At our projected flight time an hour later we
were still waiting in the departure lounge. At last our flight was announced and
we lined up and waited. After some time we were told that there would be a delay
but that we would be boarding soon. We are getting very good at waiting. While
outside in the cargo area several people played catch with a Nerf football and
others with a baseball. People chatted, showed others their photos, read, and
worked on pocket mail. No one played catch in the departure lounge, but Dan
strummed his ukulele and others chatted, shared photographs and read. Some
looked at their new purchases, others took naps. All the usual things. One
lovely young couple on this trip, Kathleen and Scott Hooker, wowed us with their
brand new hats in the colors of the South African flag. Kathleen’s hat was the
long stocking cap sort while Scott’s was a The Cat in the Hat.
At
long last we did board the plane. On board was Captain Itani, the sheik from
Qatar who owns the plane and the Air Gulf Falcon charter service. He went
through the plane greeting people and shaking hands. He is a very congenial
fellow. Only two hours behind schedule the doors were closed and we were ready
to fly. We moved a bit, and then stopped. The doors were opened again and we
wondered what was delaying us. Eventually we were told that the air conditioning
needed repairs, which we could have guessed from our discomfort while waiting.
Finally the doors were closed again. The pilot took a very long run at it to
take off but eventually we were airborne. We had been at the airport for eight
hours, it was after midnight.
DAY 77
Our
flight was ordinary except perhaps for two things. The sheik’s plane has much
more leg room than any commercial plane I’ve flown recently, United for
example, but far worse food. But we landed safely, can’t ask for more than
that I guess, and we disembarked to wait again. Getting through immigration was
a snap. Getting our luggage required quite a wait but the up side is that
because it was a chartered flight one knows for sure that one’s bags will
eventually come tumbling out of the chute. Mine did and they weren’t even
last.
With
luggage on a cart we walked through customs and into Athens. Whoa! Not quite
yet. It wasn’t that easy. We had to get rid of the bags and collect our bikes.
Our gear-locker trucks are locked in customs and unavailable for today at least.
I hope TK&A won’t have to pay a ransom to get them out. A small truck was
hired to cart the baggage to the hotel and we lined up to load our bags. I just
managed to get mine on the first truck load which meant all I had to do now was
collect my bike. The bikes were being delivered by a small flatbed truck which
could bring only 25 at a time. Each roundtrip was taking 30 minutes. Lucky
people got their bikes in the first or second load and were soon on their way to
the hotel. The rest of us waited and waited. It was cold and windy and then it
began to rain. My bike finally came on the last load. I had been at the airport
waiting for 5 hours. Let’s see. In Cape Town I waited at the airport for 8
hours, it was a 9 hour flight, I waited 5 hours in Athens, 8 + 9 + 5 = 22 hours!
Aha! That explains it. Day 77, March 17, was to be a layover day here in Athens
so that people could go see the Parthenon and other sights but we spent it in
airports. I am lucky because I have already seen the Parthenon and more in
Athens so I don’t mind bicycling out of the city tomorrow. Lots of people are
planning to stay behind a day and they should. Everyone needs to climb the
Acropolis and marvel at the Parthenon.
Our
hotel is the Astir Palace. It is very nice with spacious rooms and a beautiful
location on the water. I think we all wish we could stay a day or two. Tomorrow
we cycle 144 km. to New Epidavros. There is time left now only for dinner and a
good night’s sleep.
Goodbye,
Alice
Athens
to New Epidavros
This
was a long day, 144 km. and because breakfast was served late we had a late
start but we made it anyway. We were advised to ride in groups out of Athens
because the DRG was so complicated with turns and Greek names. Allison led our
group of 5 riders and if she was confused she would stop and then we all would
stop and confer. That way we made all the right decisions and did not get lost.
Riding in Athens was almost pleasant because the drivers were courteous to
cyclists and careful. The problem was that the exhaust fumes were so thick I
could hardly breathe and even felt nauseous. But eventually we were on quieter
roads and the air cleared. We enjoyed beautiful scenery along the coast and rode
past orange and lemon groves. Those trees are loaded with fruit that look ready
to pick while other fruit trees are just beginning to blossom.
Several
hours into the ride and well out of Athens there was an accident right in front
of me at an intersection on the highway. A car hit an old man on a motor scooter
and sent him flying head over heels through the air. He looked like a rag doll
doing a cartwheel. I didn’t see him land as the car was in the way. I stopped
and found the man lying on his back on a lot of junk just above the ditch. He
was conscious and breathing but bleeding. Most of the bleeding appeared to be
internal and I didn’t know what to do about that. I tried to comfort him but
unfortunately I couldn’t understand what he was trying to say and I couldn’t
say anything to him in Greek either. The driver and passenger were running about
hysterically crying out for help. A man came then and I asked him about phoning
for an ambulance. He had done that he said. He must have seen the accident from
afar and phoned for help before he came to the scene as I was the first one
there. It occurred to me then that the people I had been riding with would have
heard the accident (they were just ahead going around a curve when it happened)
and would have stopped especially because they could see that Bill and I were no
longer following them. One of them was a doctor, so because I was sure that they
must be stopped just around the corner waiting for Bill and me to catch up, I
jumped on my bike and raced to reach them thinking the doctor would come back
with me to help the old man. But they weren’t there! They weren’t around the
next curve either. I pedaled as fast as I could go but I could not see them
ahead. Finally I gave it up as I was now so far from the accident even if I did
find the doctor she would then have to race all that way back and hopefully the
ambulance would be there before then. I found my group at the checkpoint and yes
they had heard the screeching tires but counted themselves and since all 3 of
them were there they just continued riding. I was really angry about that and
told them so. The victim could have been Bill or me. They said that because the
DRG was no longer complicated they thought we could make it on our own. They
just didn’t get it! They said they hear screeching tires all the time. They
can’t stop every time. One of them did say that the screeches this time were
definitely much worse than ordinary and she thought there had been an accident
but since the 3 of them were accounted for they just kept going. I said what
about Bill and me? After hearing the accident and then we didn’t show up
behind them didn’t they just wonder whether we were okay? Wow!
A
bunch of us had a fine lunch in a Greek restaurant; the friendly owner took us
back to the kitchen to show off the food that was prepared. It all looked
delicious so we decided to share and ordered two plates of just about everything
there. It was fabulous! We licked the platters clean, mopping up the good sauces
with fresh crunchy- crust French bread. That feast cost us each 1000 drachmas,
or less than $3.
After
lunch Bill and I rode the rest of the way together. His odometer was broken so
he needed a companion. There was a 19 km. climb, it was raining and cold, way
cold on the descent when it finally came. I arrived at camp half frozen, shaking
with the shivering, and hurried to pitch my tent. I considered giving the shower
a miss but the water was warm so I went for it. Trouble was that the tile floor
and the air were very cold so I was colder than ever when finished and dressed.
Then we walked to dinner and afterwards found a warm fire where I stayed until
thoroughly warmed. I crawled into my sleeping bag clothes and all.
Goodbye,
Alice
DAY 79
New Epidavros to Tiros Arcadia
This
was a beautiful, stress free, uneventful day I am happy to say. The ride was
along the coast and the scenery was very beautiful. Though hilly the road was in
good to excellent condition. The grades are often 10% but that is not too hard
to do. It is much colder here than South Africa, 50 degrees instead of 80, so we
all are bundling in all the clothes we have. But it didn’t rain and by noon
the clouds had moved on and the sun offered a pale warmth.
We
had had a skimpy breakfast, one boiled egg and bread, so we were looking for a
bakery by midmorning. Did we find it! Yum! We had cream cakes with strawberries
on top and hot chocolate. But a couple of hours later we were hungry again. It
was Sunday and few places were open but we found a restaurant on the beach. The
food was good but it took forever to get it, unlike yesterday when we went into
the kitchen where the food was fully prepared and ready to serve. I had eggplant
with a tomato sauce and also a Greek salad. Several people ordered calamari;
others had lamb chops and pork chops.
This
part of Greece is very rocky and very hilly. There are orange groves and olive
trees by the thousand, which seem to thrive in even the rockiest of soils. There
are flocks of longhaired sheep and flocks of goats. A shepherd takes these
animals to spend the day grazing on the steep rocky hillsides. They wear bells
which ring gently with a lovely wooden flute sound. I have seen only one herd of
cows which were with a shepherd to graze alongside the road. These cows and
sheep were very dirty so apparently they don’t have a nice place to rest at
night.
We
do though. It is rocky but we are on the beach, camping among the orange and
olive trees. A lamb is bleating and birds are singing. It’s suppertime and I
am ready!
Goodbye, Alice
Greece
