Day 3: Lady ‘sorry sorry’ and Mas’ first hongerklop

Akrata Beach – Kató Vasilikí 79.08km 🚴‍♀️ 4.25.26 ⏱ 17.9km/hr 510m ⬆️ 565m ⬇️

This morning no dog alarm. Only some birds and the lack of space in our tiny ⛺️ that makes sleeping just a little less comfortable. We were a lot faster than yesterday so we had to wait before the campsite restaurant opened and we could get our bread 🥖 and croissants 🥐. The croissants were freshly baked and delicious so we had two each. Again, one of the privileges of cycling! At the campground the wind 💨 sounded horrible but once on the road it wasn’t too bad. In the bek 👄, but doable.  

Cycling a little bit higher up from the ocean the views were amazing. Despite the views we both didn’t feel too well, the third day is always tough. It’s not new anymore, we are a little tired, soreness of the hind part, legs aren’t that fresh. At some point we took another road, just off the E08 we had been following for a few days, cause we wanted a little change of scenery. Bad mistake. Soon the road turned into this gravel mud road with big puddles and Suuz was driving me crazy with her wild dog-scare. We were chased for a little bit by two sausage dogs from the village, but they hardly count. Since the road sucked anyway we turned back to the ‘main’ road as soon as we could in the next village. There is an old highway network in Greece which runs parallel to the new highway. We have been following the old highway so far, but we hardly ever see or hear the new highway since in most cases it does right to its name. It’s higher up (or lower down but that’s not in the name). It’s also hardly used it seems, so maybe we should give that thing a try sometimes.

After about 25km we cycled through this bigger village I forgot the name of. What I didn’t forget was this old Greek lady 🧟‍♀️. I call her ‘sorry sorry’ for now. We were passing this parked car and she opened her door just when I was passing her. So there it was, my first fall 😡. Don’t know how this could happen, we learned from it last time! We even had it on the list of things not to do. Well no real harm was done. Bleeding out of my hamstring a little, but that’s why we took bandages.

Back on the bike the road continued to be good and beautiful with a few busier stretches here and there. We had lunch at the side of the road, not the greatest spot, but the bread we bought at the camping was delicious.

At some point we had to cross the huge and windy Rion-Antirion bridge to get from the island to the mainland, but we found out there was a ferry we could take instead. Bit of a search to find that thing, in the end ‘Zeus’ was right in front of us. On the mainland we cycled on a quiet road and did some grocery shopping. Suuz bought a wooden stick, a water gun 🔫 and a bottle of vinegar to chase dogs away.

Just before we started our first real climb, that we didn’t know was there, it happened. Mas felt dizzy and lightheaded, lost power in the legs, and yes there is a lot of strength in those legs, but she was experiencing her first ever ‘hongerklop’! Suuz was so happy. When she just started cycling she used to have one every ten minutes. After some snelle jelle and gummy bears 🐻 all was good again. Just in time for the climb. It was a smooth but longer climb with a great downhill after. 

After the climb it was only a few kilometers till our stop in a cute but largely empty fishing village called Kato Vasiliki. Michela from Italy and her retired sea-faring husband hosted us in one of their three rooms. Cause we left early, we arrived early and had time to chill and explore. This time we met a cycling couple from Austria 🇦🇹 who were the only other guests. After a little chat Suuz and I had dinner together at the local taverna where we had fried anchovies, Greek salad and pasticchio (a Greek meat lasagna). With a full belly we went to look for the town church ⛪ after which was signposted everywhere. We never found it. We did find lots of cats 🐈  instead, Suuz was happy.