Different modes of transport bring with them different types of benefit. Two completely different days see us benefit from two of the many at our disposal.
There is nothing better than sharing. Especially when sharing with a loved one. Sharing places and experiences together takes on a different perspective. A different meaning. Yet, there is also something special about being out and ‘doing’ alone.
Not for the first time, I get the best of both worlds. Disprove the old proverb implying that you can’t have your cake and eat it. Bike out early, before it heats up. Go check out the route. Leg it, so to speak. Sneak a quick and quiet preview. Before too many get the same idea. It’s not a loop. More of a touch n turn.
Our shared route a perfect mix of interest. Takes us through olive groves, along collapsed coastal rocks, below cliff caves, past pretty ports – all with a glorious view to the right. Then to the left. A bit of up. A bit of down.
Today we leave glorious Stoupa. Need to double back. Go where we’ve been. See where we were. No sign of us anywhere. No easy option. No other sensible way open. Too many mountains in this neck of the woods. (is that a proverb?) We’re used to it. Heading east. Head south first.
Today’s road’s like many. Takes us up, over, through. None particularly jaw droppingly beautiful. Dramatic scenery above and below, none the less. Hairpins-R-Us, becomes today’s catchphrase. The Peloponnese gives Beastie a braver heart. Almost blasé on occasion. Skinny tight corners and seemingly impossible gaps no longer quicken his heart rate. Like an old timer. He’s been there done that. A short distance from Camping Semeli, he gets to add a notch. Tiny village of Kosmas ratchets things up. Totally out of the blue we find ourselves crammed in on both sides. Church immediately to the right. A lunchtime of gawping onlookers a few feet to the left. Are we the surprise entertainment? Or foolishly lost gatecrashers? Or if Beastie’s not careful, chair-crashers. This doesn’t feel right. Or good. A rush of the red stuff powers and pounds. Almost to the point of embarrassment. Mrs S intent on taking a photo adds to the feeling of portent. More blasé than me.
Before leaving Stoupa we exchange info with a German couple. Seems they’re going clockwise. We anticlockwise. Recommend a stop off at Monastery Elonis, just short of Leonidio. We do just that. It’s another crazy location. Perched high up below a seriously rocky overhang. Way out in the mountains and overlooking a canyon.
This 360 shows the monastery’s position from the valley below.