After 37 hours door to door, we arrived home yesterday.
The airlines had issues with the plane flying from Athens to New York, getting off the ground 3 hours late. We arrived at JFK airport an hour after our flight to Jacksonville had left. The new schedule had us leaving at 8:30 AM, and no hotels were available, so we spent the night as homeless flyers in the airport. It was humbling.
But the trip was great.
I left the report here while we were in Pylos, visiting Messene, an ancient city.
The next stop was Kythira, an island south of the Peloponnese.
It is a small island of 115 square miles and only 4,100 residents.
We were there for three nights so we were able to see most of it in that time.
Our stay included one day of me riding solo while Sarah went hiking and one day of hanging out with friends while some went boating.
I would gladly visit again.
From there we took another ferry to Neapoli for a ride to Monemvasia, a giant rock island only 20 miles from the ferry stop.
We stayed in a hotel made up of buildings that were part of a banking operation where merchant ships would have to pay taxes and quarantine before sailing to Venice.
There is a small, old town on the island where we would walk to the gate and dine with views of the water and town. Lovely place.
One day there, Sarah, Penni and I rode 90 km west to Mystras to see some ancient Byzantine churches. It was hot there and we hit a big storm on the return. During the heavy rain we stopped at a gas station and ordered Cappuccinos and waited until it stopped. It did after thirty minutes and we had a cool ride back to the hotel.
We then rode to Nafplio for two more nights and got a day in the town. It was Sarah's birthday, so we did whatever she wanted, ending in a restaurant where we ran into Ken and Diane Taub, who celebrated with us over dinner.
The last two nights were in Kalamaki Beach and Athens, with the last dinner at a very good middle eastern restaurant only a short walk from the hotel.
We are looking forward to next year's trip, possibly to France.
Bill
Riding to board the Ferry to Kythira
Small, bumpy road to the dinner on Kythira.
Kythira
Riding to the cooking class.
Cooking class
Most of the group out on a boating trip.
Heading to Monemvasia
Happy Hour at the hotel in Monemvasia.
Dinner with a view.
Walking around Monemvasia.
Mystras
Mystras
Dinner again in Monemvasia. The best dinners including wine and beer come to around $25.
On the way to Nafplio, we had to stop for goats being herded across the street.
Along the way to Nafplio.
Sunset in Nafplio.
Up at the fortress on scooters.
New Vespa in Nafplio.
Ancient theatre at Epidaurus. It seats 12,000.
