Beside the Seaside

« In Which It's All A Bit Run Of The Mill | Home | In Which Venice Gets Some Serious Competition »

In Which I Reach Lilliput

September 23, 2008 by Mike

Finikounta

Route: Alissos - Killini - Pirgos - Kiparissi - Pylos - Methoni - Finikounta

A long ride down the west coast of the Peloponnese today. (And that's going to be the story for the next few days, in order to get to the baptism on Saturday.)

So what did I manage to take in?

A little ferry port called Killini is probably the dullest, ugliest town I've seen since I left the post-Soviet block. (Where dull and ugly were seen as good things by the town planners. Killini has no such excuse.)

I am well-and-truly in olive territory now. The trees have been creeping up on me over the last few days; now they're everywhere. It's an odd experience. Because the trees are kept so short I have the sensation I'm almost riding, or floating, above the treetops. For mile after mile.

DSC01799

The only thing I can compare it to is the short stretch of the M40 that runs alongside RAF Northolt in west London, where the street lamps are only half as tall as normal -- which always makes me feel twice as tall -- presumably because aircraft come in so low over the motorway. There are no aircraft here. There are no cars here, or bikes or tractors or mules. The roads are deserted. Someone at a petrol station points out that all the tourists have left now. Well yes, they don't like the rain. But that doesn't explain where all the locals have got to?

I manage to get past sweet little seaside villages like Kiriaki and Marathopoli without stopping. Even the larger towns of Pylos and Methoni. (Instead, I stopped at Finikounta, which has a decent campsite.. and nothing else. Oops.)

I'm riding past history (ancient and modern) and ridiculously beautiful scenery. And rather than worry about what I'm missing, I'm concentrating on enjoying what I'm experiencing -- a good day's ride.

Comments

Leave your comment

Back to Top

RSS feed | What are feeds?