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Wednesday, October 2nd - Igoumenitsa to Ioannina - 12,383 km
Dmitri has already left by the time I have packed my bags and dragged them down to the main level of the hotel. I thank my proprietors and head for the supermarket down the street, which Dmitri and I had passed on the way to the pizzeria last night. I buy cheese, sliced meats, oranges, bread and juice to fuel me as I climb into the interior of northern Greece.
I know very little about this region other than what I have read in my Michelin guide book. Ioannina, a medium-sized city set on a lake west of the spine of Greece, garners one star (one more than Igoumenitsa does). Metsovo, an artisans village near the spine gets two stars. There are also two three star attractions I intend to check out, the Vikos Gorge north of Ioannina and the granite pillars of Meteora crowned with monasteries just north of the city of Kalampaka, which is 40 km east of Metsovo.
There is a thrill in leaving the coast to enter a new land I have never been in before. I first set out heading north from the centre along the shore. At the edge of the city the road bends northeast away from the sea into a valley. It climbs 100 m and then drops into the Kalmas River Valley. It climbs another 200 m through a low pass near the village of Parapotamos to avoid a large bend in the river, and then drops again into the same valley further upstream.
There is a persistent headwind that is resisting my advance. There could be a storm approaching. After traveling for seven months I now believe in the personification of landscapes, that they welcome some and resist others. Perhaps there are xenophobic spirits here that don't like strangers. They could make my time here more difficult but like Marco Polo, I won't let them turn me back. Hopefully, I am stronger that they are.
In spite of its hostile reception, this is a beautiful, unspoiled land. Although it has been settled for a few millennia, human presence here is minimal. If it wasn't for the wind, it would be excellent solo cycling. The road starts climbing up the mountainside to get around a steep canyon further upstream. It switchbacks to the top of a high ridge overlooking the valley. I rest at the top to eat my lunch, but the wind at the top is rather cool so I don't stay long.
The route stays high for several kilometres, often winding behind mountaintops out of sight of the river valley, before falling in switchbacks to rejoin the river forty minutes later. Eventually, it leaves the Kalmas Valley, swings north to round the last high ridge and then crosses a rolling plain to get to Ioannina. I am climbing that last gentle 100 m hill when another cyclist catches up to me. His name is Hugo. He's from Holland and traveling with another man, Hans, on their way to Istanbul. Sure enough, I see Hans half a kilometre behind us. He catches up to us and we complete the last 10 km into Ioannina together.
Ioannina is situated at the northwest corner of a medium-sized lake, about 7 km long. There is a camp ground just north of the city that Hugo and Hans are headed for. It's cheap but I don't have a tent. I ride with them to see if the campground has some tents set up for rent, but they don't. They invite me to stay with them and sleep outside of their tent. We pool our resources and make dinner together. The two of them work in a hospital. They have traveled together on other occasions. This time they have cycled from den Haag in the Netherlands in a break-neck pace to get to Istanbul in time to fly home. Without a doubt they are totally straight. We share stories about our travels, and of course I tell them about my harrowing experience riding through Croatia. I give all the Technicolor details to hold their attention. They are impressed. They shake their heads and say I was crazy to go there.
We bed down after a couple hours of conversation. I am woken by a light rain shower a couple hours later. I am reluctantly allowed share their tent, with my feet between their heads and their feet on either side of my head. That is more proof that they are straight. Gay men would put their heads in the same direction and cuddle together to save room, which is a no-no if you are straight.
PHOTO 1: Ioannina harbour, early morning
PHOTO 2: Kalmas River Valley
PHOTO 3: further up the Kalmas Valley
PHOTO 4: near the headwater of Kalmas River
PHOTO 5: arched stone bridge, typical of this area
PHOTO 6: the high road over the pass
PHOTO 7: stone archway, part of Ioannina's former walls
PHOTO 8: Hugo, Hans and another camper at the campground
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