I've Arrived !

Sunday July 22nd

Friday sort of came and went… I spent the just meandering ( there’s that word again!) through the hills and lanes south of Ioannina. More spectacular scenery, more fantastic , some times scary, roads to ride until I eventually camped up in a field somewhere around Krapsi… has a nice ring to it… Krapsi! Whilst chewing over my dinner of Greek salad with a vinaigrette dressing with Giant Greek beans I was also mulling over the choices for the weekend. I’d made a few notes at the exhibition in Monodendri as to places that looked interesting and that I might visit, high on that list was Dodoni which is apparently one of the largest Amphitheatres  in Greece and it wasn’t very far away. So that was Saturday taken care of.

Well, yes and no really, I went to Dodoni and it was well worth the trip but as I arrived at about 9am by 11am I was back on the bike looking to head off. When I had gone through Ioannina yesterday I had noticed a walled part of the town which had looked interesting and worth a look so back to Ioannia I went. There is far more to this town than a first glance reveals. The huge lake dominates by running the entire length of the town and then some. Whilst the end by the camp site is a little scruffy, the rest of the town is really very nice. I spent an interesting couple of hours wandering around the old castle which not only has Aslam Pasha’s mosque and tomb within it but also houses a Byzantine museum and a good part of the original town.

On returning to my bike I found a card had been tucked into the map pocket on the tank bag inviting me to a Bikers River Party at Granitsa so off I went to look for Granitsa. My GPS found it OK, but would it route me to it ????? Not on your life! So I headed off in the general direction, found a sign pointing me left, up into the hills and off I went. Now when you’re travelling on tiny road that threaten to kill you at every twist and turn I accept that I may have missed the next sign to Granitsa, but try as I might I just couldn’t get anywhere near to where my GPS showed it to be, at least not without disappearing down hillsides on tracks that I simply wasn’t prepared to ride with a fully laden bike

I’ve only done about 20km this morning and I’ve stopped by the road side high in the hills to take a photograph, but to be honest I’m not sure if I can capture the essence of the view that I am seeing. The sun is high in sky, slightly towards the view so I’m shooting almost into it. Before me I have six layers of misty mountains stetching as far as the eye can see, the sort of view you see in brochures advertising Holidays in the Himalayas. The silence is absolute other than the rare passing car, even the Cicadas are quiet for a change. Nothing disturbs the peace and stillness of the moment!

I arrived at the closest village to the HU meeting at around lunch time to be met by Hannu, a German guy who was in the local bar with Dimitris. A couple of beers later and we are off to the camp site, me by bike they on foot (about 2 hours walk!) Then comes the first surprise; the site is up a very steep unmade track which has recently been “repaired” with rather large and very loose stones. All went well until a hairpin bend about 400mts short of the site when the front just washed out on me and down I went. Once again, fortunately no damage to either man or machine other than to pride. I know have the unenviable record of being the first to drop the bike on the track although I suspect that I may not be the last. We have been told that some regrading is to be done before Thursday, but whether that will make it better or worse only time will tell.

My little camping spot

Last night we got the projector and sound sent up using my computer and had a great evening swapping stories and watching youtube clips. However the wind got up once again during the night (we are at about 4500ft) and this morning had a distinct chill about it.This morning was spent having a 1 to 1 masterclass from Hannu on the Garmin Montana GPS which I bought just as I left the UK which has been enlightening and most usefull as I now have a variety of maps, waypoint, points of interest (including Minefields) and various other very usefull information loaded on my Montana; Many thanks Hannu!

 A bit more to do this afternoon helping to get things ready tor the bulk of the people who will arrive on Wednesday afternoon or Thursday. Also plenty of time to chill and enjoy the mountain air and environment and hopefully to get in a couple of walks before the meeting starts properly on Thursday evening..



Our Host, Dimitris