I left the campground in Akrada last. The two Dutch women left just before me, the other pair left slightly earlier. I spoke with the Dutch, commiserating on their upcoming headwinds (while pondering my own tailwinds).
The coast today reminded me of a Caribbean beach with clear blue waters and palm trees. The route to Blue Dolphin campground just outside of Corinth never climbed above 10 meters. I wondered all day if I’d bump into the other pair, but I never saw them. Between the tailwind and the elevation, I arrived at my destination before 1:00 pm.
That was too soon. I had a few options. The Dutch women had talked about a campground 20 km from there. That route passed through the ancient city for Corinth. It also passed through a 100 m climb, and an area the Dutch women had complained of multiple packs of wild dogs. Thunderstorms loomed on the horizon. Instead, I tried something different. I reserved a bed at Sisifou Hostel in Corinth (one didn’t show on OSMAnd, but towns I’ve heard of tend to have hostels).
Another small gorgeous empty hostel. Like many of the places I’d stayed this trip, no one mans reception. Instead, someone meets you at your indicated arrival time. Although I’d be happier with company, the solitude provided me the ability to do laundry in an actual machine and drape it about the room to dry. Of course, the instructions and labels were in Greek, but Googling found me the manual in English.
That let me drop all of my gear at the hostel. I cycled unloaded up to the ruins of Corinth without incident (although this time I remembered to carry my toolkit, unlike that time in Slovenia I got to walk back).
From here I’m a day out of Athens. A long day, but a day, yet my flight out of Athens is in more than a week. After some rummaging about, I’m going to try for a ferry out to the Greek Islands, and perhaps hop about a bit for a few days before returning to Athens for a few days in Athens before my flight home. There’s also the impending search for a box.
This trip feels short. In part because of the first two weeks with Rob. In part because it’s been short – only five weeks, and even so I arrived a week early.