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…And Some More Social Life
22nd May - 26th May | 2023
In the morning I felt refreshed, however, I booked a hotel north of Volos for 2 nights to catch up on my blog for you as I am really behind! After breakfast and all packed up, I headed to the ferry to check the times as I was still debating whether I should go to the natural hot springs close by or not. By the time I arrived at the ferry and it just arrived, my decision was made! Probably the hot springs were not appealing to me as for me the hot springs belong to Iceland ;-) And again that seemed to have been the right decision!
I parked my bike next to some other BMW and immediately got talking to these people and it turned out they are from Israel, touring around Greece on rented bikes for one week! How cool is that especially as I am planning to go there after the summer! So I asked them lots of questions - as they asked me, of course ;-) As they also headed towards Volos I joined them riding for lunch in a small coastal town. After that it was time for me to carry on the coast to Volos and then to the hotel; they went by motorway to Volos. Time to say goodbye - was nice to meet you guys and hope to see you in September!
The road to Volos was nothing spectacular, but it was a stunning ride over to the other side of "the finger" to Zagora. If google says 40km and nearly 60mins, what does that mean - yes, lots of curves, twisties and switchbacks. First all up until 1200m over sometimes very narrow village road with steep inclines in the hairpins! You pray that no one comes to the other side each time, especially not a bus or lorry! And then the same all the way down to the coast! Wow, that was a ride! It makes you nearly dizzy with all the curves, bends and twists!! And again, each time praying for no traffic the other way! I had one of these moments in one village when a woman shooted around a bend in her SUV - not impressed with me at all!
What a lovely family hotel (www.yallahotel.com), pretty basic but clean and a very nice lady (Mikaela) taking care of the place! I even got my laundry done! All very quiet and you can hear the waves from the nearby sea! I picked the right spot to catch up and chill! Later in the afternoon, Tony called me, and as the TET passes by further up the hill, he wanted to stay here too. I arranged him a room for the night and warned them, that it would be late. The poor boy had been battling with lots of mud on the TET (www.transeurotrail.org) today and is now in the dark the 40km of curves! He will be knackered by the time he arrives, so he was then at midnight!
We had a nice and long breakfast in the village, and then he started to prepare for the next hard section on the TET. After he left, it was time for me to crack on with the blogs, that you finally know what I am up to ;-)
The next morning, whilst packing up, I already feel like I should stay another night as so "Zen" was the place for me. During breakfast, I finally decided to stay an extra night :-D Again, listened to my gut feeling!! I finished even one more blog, so you can see how backlogged I was! And then I went for a stroll on the sea. This place here, the whole village grounds you; all feel so ZEN. Not sure how it is in the high season, but due to the people, not total madness! Well, guess the road stops the majority ;-) So tomorrow travel will carry :-D
The next morning it was time to say goodbye to Mikaela, who looked so well after me at Hotel Yalla! This time I took the road on the other side of the valley and it was less curvey but still nice to ride. From Volos, I headed in the direction of TET and Aiga towards the sea. Again lovely roads up into the mountains and along the sea. Today I helped two turtles (I know, the land ones have a different name!) get off the street. They are pretty big here. I arrived about 16h30 at Panteleimonas, where I tried to find a camping spot. Not easy in the offseason! 1st one was closed, 2nd no reception, 3rd had to call reception and they are closed even though there are people and it says open by 1st May ... so number 4 it is! In the off-season it is quiet, but I don't want to know what it is like in the high season when all these permanent camping spaces are occupied!
The next morning I headed towards Mount Olympus. Again a lovely twisty road that takes you up to nearly 1000m. On the lower part is a "magic" place called "Livethra Magnetic Field Illusion". My bike was uphill position but didn't move at all, not even down the hill as it should. If you are around the next bend, your vehicle starts rolling backwards as it should. For me it is magic, for others, there are some other logical explanations existing! Further along, I overtook a group of bikers from Bulgaria. I carried on that lovely twisty road with scenic views. Towards the top of the hill, you start to get an idea of where the top of Mount Olympus is, but it was all covered in clouds. On the way to a lower level, the group of Bulgarian bikers overtook me and the last (female) rider flagged me down. She asked me to have a cafe with them at the cafe shop just 100m along the street (I hadn't seen it yet). Of course!
It was a lovely bunch of riders, especially the girl's Terry and Sevie, which invited me to stay with them when coming to Sofia. Sevie knows also Luiza - small world! After the cafe, we all went up to the highest point you can ride with your bike up at Mount Olympus. Another lovely twisty road, up into the clouds though! After the pictures were taken we whizzed down again to the lovely cafe shop "Platanodasos Olympou", where we ordered some lunch snacks. We really had fun talking and then it was time to move on as already 15h30 and still 120km to Thessaloniki... Time flies when you are enjoying yourself ;-)
On my way towards Thessaloniki, around Mount Olympus, it was still lovely mountain roads. When I drove along a big gorge/valley, Zeus opened the curtain to Mount Olympus for a short while! Wow, how lucky was that! I could see the snow-capped mountain! That was really impressive - thank you, Zeus!
I had a hotel booked on the outskirts of Thessaloniki as I did not need to go into town. After the bike was sorted I had a nice hot shower and it didn't take me long to hit the pillow. I hope you enjoyed my short blog. In the next blog, it gets again a bit more adventurous into Bulgaria. In the meantime have a glass of Greek red wine.
Places | Cities:
Volos, Zagora, Panteleimonas, Thessaloniki.
Driven km | Trip:
Total | Steffi: 6460 km
Information Border Crossings (in May 2023):
./.
Maintenance | Breakdown:
./.
Health issues:
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Special thanks to:
Tony, for joining me again and his valuable tips for riding offroad - and about sections on the TET.
Mikaela from Hotel Yalla to look so well after me; actually also Michael from the distance (www.yallahotel.com)
The Bulgarian biker gang to flag me down to have a cafe to meet them.