Yet another Sunday and we woke up to no groceries, so we ate heartily at our guesthouse before heading back down the hill to the train station. We arrived by 10:45 to the wrong side of the station. A brief debate ensued, were we going to get fined for rolling our bikes over all the […]
We decided last night to stay in Melnik another day to give us time to actually see the town and to hike to the nearby Rozhen Monestary. Though the place is accessible by road, we decided to walk there on the canyon trail, giving us a change of activity and scenery. We ate a lovely […]
In this odd hot springs campground of ours, a big growling German shepherd guards the what was possibly the grossest bathroom I’ve ever used.. We packed up camp quickly this morning, but I stalled a long while, trying to delay getting my face bitten off just for the chance to use the icky facilities. In […]
The remnants of the storm dramatically lights the valley leading up to the border and we hardly get anywhere because we keep stopping to try to capture it all on camera. During one such stop, a car rolls by to ask us if we need any help and, once assured that we were ok, asks […]
At some point, not far into our ride, we pull over and park the bikes among the hay fields, taking pictures of the landscape and some people working their land. The pictures aren’t turning out that great and we pack up the camera, pulling back onto the road right alongside a tractor coming from a […]
I don’t know exactly what our problem was this morning, but our motivation to put our things in our bags and go again was pretty low. We’re sluggish and grouchy, and feel strange and out of place in this fancy hotel room. I hardly dare touch anything for fear of getting it dirty. A time […]
Breaking camp was a slow affair this morning, debating about what to put where and slowly deciding on our breakfast fare. Knowing we had a short day ahead of us (and a big climb) wasn’t very motivating and the morning was nice and cool, leading us to forget about our usual reasons for hitting the […]
Awaking early, the great debate about whether to stay another day began. We were both eager to get out of the city, but leaving Thessaloniki threatened to be a long slog of industrial suburbs and traffic, making for a long day on the road, not to mention that we didn’t want to wait for a […]
Our food stores this morning were on empty, so we packed up our camping gear and headed to the train station with rumbling stomachs. We should have stopped for food on the way but train travel with bikes is frequently a disaster and we wanted to have plenty of time to sort the situation out. […]
A day off today was in order to that we could accomplish a couple of things. First, we had work to do. Second, we needed to figure out our next move. A brief look at the map this morning left us with the overwhelming reminder that Helsinki is a long way away! If we’re ever […]
Awaking late this morning, it occured to me before I even got up that I really didn’t feel very well. I feel heavy and stiff on my camping mat and my head feels dense and foggy. We begin making plans for visiting the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Meteora Monestaries, but in earnest I kind […]
Though the wind and the insects had completely silenced in the night, the gusty weather was waiting in the wings for morning. We woke up at 5:30 sharp, with the first signs of dawn, and packed up our camp, hoping to be on the road before the farm workers made it out to the fields. […]