So I see that I got a bit carried away with the rest day concept yesterday, and didn’t say anything about our stay in Loutra Edipsou. It’s an interesting little place, with a badly run down former elegance. It is a hot springs town (‘loutra’ means spa or bath in Greek), and looks like it had more prominence in the past than it does today - or maybe it’s just that like so many Greek resort towns, it’s still dead because the tourist season hasn’t gotten off the ground yet. It is apparently one of the best known spa towns in Greece, and favored especially by the elderly for the therapeutic effect of the water on bone and joint diseases. I should have tested the waters myself!
We arrived just at 2, and promptly checked in to the huge but almost empty Sagini Hotel. Almost immediately we left again for the waterfront to find a place for lunch, where we sat outside for about five minutes until scurrying inside because it started to rain. Then, back to the room for a several hour quiet time before venturing out again for dinner. Not the most exciting program for the day, but definitely restful.
In Loutra Edipsou. This is a historical structure of some sort - I saw a photo of it from 1905 in our cafe at lunch.
We got an early start today, because we have a 9 AM ferry to the mainland to catch. We were down for breakfast at lunch, and presented with a vast spread that just kept coming: bread, homemade jam, baked eggs, cheese and meat pies, yogurt with honey, cherries, cheese, ham, and a variety of breads with various toppings. Way too much. We did the best we could, but embarrassed ourselves by what we left behind.
We really liked the couple that ran the hotel. We left a nice tip with the bill for the room, which earned us profusive thanks plus our Greek lesson for the day: ehfaristo is thank you in Greek, which we already knew; but ehfaristo parapoli is thank you very much.
We made it down to the ferry by 8:45 - plenty of time to buy our tickets and queue up for boarding. Not much of a queue though, as it consisted only of two bicyclists. The large ferry, when it arrived, disgorged only a single car; and we were the only boarding passengers, until a car with three passengers drove up and boarded at the last minute. Considering that our tickets cost 3.60 euros each, it’s amazing that they operate the ferry at all. I counted at least seven crew, and five passengers. I bought a cappuccino on board because I felt badly for the man running the bar with nothing to do.
Contemplating the mountainous days ahead, Rachael considers whether it is time to upgrade to a G-bike.
Seems a bit excessive for transporting two push bikes (at the right, toward the front) across the bay, don’t you think? We felt much better when a car drove on at the last minute.
Today’s ride was pleasant, and surprisingly easy - probably the easiest full day’s ride of the tour so far. Our bearing for the whole day was almost straight west, following closely along the base of a high ridge. The first part of the ride was along the coast, on a slender apron between the ridge and the sea; and the last half was inland, as the ridge continued to the west but the shoreline bends north. The ride was fairly flattish the whole way. We took our time, conserved our strength, and arrived at our hotel at the end of the day feeling reasonably strong. The route was also quite quiet, at first following an old road that parallels the new highway, and at the end on secondary roads through farmlands and a string of small villages.
Two interesting notes for the day. First, early on in the day we missed our turn at a point where our frontage road crossed under the highway to continue on the other side. Rachael had gotten ahead of me as usual when I lagged behind for photographs. I was surprised to look up and see her biking back toward me. A man driving a tractor had gone out of his way to overtake her, and then gestured for her to turn back - the road we were now on would eventually dead end. When we got back to our missed turn, he was waiting there for us to make sure we turned at the correct spot.
Secondly, there was the weather. The forecast today, as it is for most of the coming days, was for scattered thunderstorms. All day we watched the sky warily, and by afternoon we heard thunder rumble in the distance and could see that it was dark grey, and probably pouring on the north side of the valley. We stayed dry though, which we credit to our new pannier covers.
Well, three notes, come to think of it. We passed the site of the famous Battle of Thermopylae, which was fought here in 480 BC during the second Persian War between the 7,000 man Greek forces, led by Leonidas I, and the half million man Persian army led by Xerxes I. It occurred here because the narrow strip of land between the mountains and the sea was a strategic point, the location of the only passable land bridge between the north and the south. The bridge was much narrower 2,500 years ago when the battle occurred, because it has been steadily widening over the centuries since then from erosion from the limestone mountains.
Oh yes. In case you don’t remember your history, look again at those numbers. The Greeks lost.
Biking north from Arkitsa, along a narrow strip of land between the mountains and sea
Approaching Kamena Vourla, a yet more attractive coastal town further to the west. Knowing what I know now, I would stay here rather than either Loutra Edipsou or Agios Konstantinos next time.
The limestone cliffs that tower above the site of the Battle of Thermopylae. The actual site is now under about twenty feet of sediment, as a result of erosion from the cliffs over the last twenty five hundred years.
We arrived in Loutra Ipatis early, about 4:30, very happy to be arriving dry. Ipatis is a spa town (recall that loutra means spa or bath). It’s a small place, but with all the essentials - a good hotel, and a good restaurant. Over dinner we enjoyed an interesting conversation with a solitary Dutchman, in town for a few days on business. He revealed that he travels often to Northern Greece, on business junkets. I asked what business he was in, and was surprised when he tersely replied “tomatoes”he informed us that Netherlands is the largest tomato distributor in Northern Europe, but they rely on Greece for their winter supply.
After dinner we walked back to the room, first stopping along the way at a bar for ice cream. We were greeted by one of the men sitting around a table, slapping cards down and whisking up tricks. I’ve never understood how this game works, so I took the opportunity to sit down wth a cappuccino and kibbitz while Rachael returned to the hotel to read her book. It didn’t help though - I still don’t understand the game.
Scott AndersonTo Suzanne GibsonThanks, and a big thank you from Rachael as well. She loves hearing that people appreciate the videos. Reply to this comment 5 years ago
