Beside the Seaside

« In Which I Wax Nostalgic | Home | In Which It's All A Bit Run Of The Mill »

In Which Steve P Gets His Own Back For All My Sunshine

September 21, 2008 by Mike

Loutraki

Route: Delphi - Itea - Antikira - Livadia - Thiva - Erithres - Psatha - Sotira - Loutraki

First thing: the museum at Delphi. Fanbloodytastic. But best of all was when I got back to the bike and, despite the first hints of rain, I found a note wedged onto the handlebars:

To whoever saw the bike, smiled at the idea of a bike trip this long, found a piece of paper and left that anonymous message, Thanks. I was really touched. You made my day.

I wasn't designed to ride a motorbike in the rain.

Unfortunately, my rainproof oversuit wasn't designed for the rain, either.

I was reminded of both these truths after an hour or so of sodden riding today.

I slowed down, took refuge in cafes and petrol stations during the worst deluges, and admit grudgingly that the pine forests do smell extra-special after the rain. Views, on the other hand, take a battering when you're in low and wet cloud.

My oversuit, meanwhile, leaks in the worst possible places. Without wishing to draw yr attention to it, I spent large parts of the day imagining the growing presence of damp mould in my downstairs regions.

Steve P, who often posts comments here when I mention the sun and blue sky, your rain dance finally worked.

The rain wasn't doing much for my besidetheseasideness, either. The route closest to the sea involves a combination of 'Secondary Roads' and 'Dirt Roads' according to my map. Dirt roads in a downpour? A muddy stream with hidden potholes and rocks? No thanks. Moreover, the rain appeared slightly lighter inland. I pored over the map and asked the advice of assorted locals. Despite his wearing a tracksuit as a fashion statement, I trusted a young man called Yanni in Desfina who said over and over again "National Road.. National Road." Meaning either that I should take the main road, away from the Gulf.. or that he can only say two words in English.

So it was that having returned from Delphi to Itea, and passed by a charming little port called Antikira, I rose over the heights of Parnassus and rode through a relatively flat and dull stretch of Greece. Traffic remained light but that may be because even the Greeks avoid this stretch because it's boring.

The main town is Livadia. I didn't stop. Thiva delayed me longer, but only because the inhabitants suffer from a unique and striking general malady. I needed directions to find the road to Erithres that would take me south towards the Gulf again. I showed the map to half-a-dozen people, pointing at the Erithres road and asking where I might find it. It shouldn't have been that hard -- there are four roads in and out of Thiva. Yet nobody knew the way. They ummed and ahhed and scratched their heads and drooled noticeably.. but could not help me escape. I rode round and round, and up and down, because the town is built on an escarpement. It's the Hotel California crossed with a labyrinth. For a moment, I wondered if I was in an elaborate sting, or a Greek version of Candid Camera. I couldn't use the sun as a guide to where south might be because it remained hidden behind the rain.

Eventually, though, by a combination of luck, deduction and the law of averages, I realised that the road pointing just to the left of the road to Tachio had to be the one I wanted. Which is a pretty decent philosophy for life as a whole. Steer clear of the tacky and you can't go wrong.

I was rewarded with a delightful climb to a pass at Erithres -- six miles from Thiva so why on earth didn't people know where it was??! -- topped with the remains of a small castle. And.. joy of joys.. as the road peaked and then fell down towards the valley again, I had broken the back of the rain. Within moments there were intimations of blue sky, that multiplied and grew and spread and joined up, one with the other, so that I was soon drying out under strong sunshine. Proper Greek weather again.

Happier with what was happening over my head, I was tempted off the main road to test the 'secondary roads' beneath my wheels again. All good. The road meandered through hills towards Psatha, the easternmost point of the Gulf of Corinth.

Passing through a large, quiet, fragrant pine forest the only other road users were a gaggle of long-haired, long-horned goats herded by a single dog. An amazing dog. The goats were crossing the road just round a long, fast corner so the dog had taken up a position on the curve 100 metres ahead of its charges. I was forced to slow down to pass it. I was still shaking my head and wondering what a wild dog was doing out here in the middle of nowhere when the goats came in to view and I realised that the dog was saving the goats.. and us humans.. from what could have been a messy, painful accident.

Road signs suggested I was going to Porto Germano. My map disagreed: there is so such place. This could only be the road to Psatha. The road signs were insistent. Porto Germano 8km. Porto Germano 3km. Then, happily, an unexpected road junction and a sign, pointing left, to Psatha. The fork to the right went to Porto Germano. You know I didn't take the right fork because I'm here, updating the blo-- I mean diary, instead of finding myself trapped in some parallel universe in which Porto Germano exists. Maybe the real inhabitants of Thiva are all trapped there too, and the clueless people I had met earlier were actually aliens?

I was glad to get back to the seaside.

At the small village of Kato Alepochori, a turn of the bay beyond Psatha, I found my new house -- always assuming I can get permission to switch the former Boulevard Club to residential use. Yes, it needs a bit of work doing to it: a lick of paint, a floor, and those pale blue panels need to be floor-to-ceiling glass to flood the main room with sunshine, but I'll reassure the planning authorities that I intend to keep the sign, exactly as it is, when I move in.

Beside the Seaside

In Which Steve P Gets His Own Back For All My Sunshine

Comments

Leave your comment

Latest comments