I think the old Bob would have said that this was a killer day but the current Bob with all of this riding behind me says that this was a tough but beautiful day. We started climbing immediately out of the hotel. It would be really nice to start and end the day with a gentle downhill but that seems to never be the case. Anyway we climbed for quite a while and then reached sort of a plateau. There were still ups and downs but nothing significant. There was a lake that seemed to stretch over the whole plateau. The scenery was beautiful. Not much was cultivated it seemed to be mostly pasture land. Lots of sheep and cattle. And dogs. Every farm seems to have about a dozen big dogs that feel that bicyclists are a threat to their flocks so that come after us with a vengeance. So far I have been able to keep them at bay by yelling at them very loudly. Other bicyclists have not been so lucky and have had to keep their bikes between them and the dogs until the dogs are called off.
It was a lovely stretch and then we started back down. The roads are not well maintained so I keep my brakes on most of the way. None the less the forest is fantastic to ride through and there were steams and waterfalls everywhere. Get to the bottom of a ravine and then climb again. Get to the top and down again. However, near the bottom the road went to dirt, or I should say rocks. A very rocky downhill for about a half kilometer. There was a bridge at the bottom and then we started up hill again but no rocks just dirt and gravel and one of the steepest sections yet. I finally had to walk as Toby, the videographer, was filming me struggling up the hill. It seemed an endless climb in the dirt before I finally got to pavement again. Some more uphill and then more downhill. Stopped for lunch and then kept going downhill. As we continued down we passed a series of 17th century rock bridges. I took pictures of a few of them but there must have been close to a dozen. Then finally a long climb up to our hotel.
The hotels on the tour have been varied. Some not so nice but the hotel today is very nice. I have a great view and best of all there is coffee in the room. A first.
This is our last full day in Greece. Tomorrow we head to Albania and we will stay near the coast. We will need to go through passport control as we cross the boarder and exchange money since we are told that they do not generally want Euros.
