Sunday, October 10, 2010

Bike Tour Day 7 - The BIG Climb, Xylokastro to Kalavrita

This day is best told in photos, so here we go:


A great morning in Xylokastro, ready to roll...

Easy biking along the Gulf of Corinth-
40k to think about THE CLIMB


A stop at the bakery yields cheese pies for us, and
a wonderful scene of fish stews going into the bake ovens


The group gathers for pre-climb snacks,water and
words of encouragement from guide Patricia

Peter says goodbye to the waterfront-
it's climb time!


12:15 pm - The climb begins...


1:00 PM - Amazing to look back down and see where you
have been and how far up you've come!


1:15 PM - A tempting option for getting to the top -
we are 1 hour and 10K into the climb (yes, that's 6 MPH)


2:20 PM - Cresting the summit at 3,500 feet!


Amazing views from the very top


Manolis warming up at the lunch stop-
he is an awesome climber and an awesome guide


Heading down the last 10K -
the Monastery looming above has been there for centuries.
The original buildings were destroyed by the Ottomans,
during WWII they were destroyed again by the Germans,
and in our opinion the architecture of the latest rebuild
looks forward longingly to the next destruction.


Peter & June after showers, laundry and snacks-
sketching and blogging!

All is well - we had a lovely meal of wild kid (goat that is) at a local taverna in Kalavrita which is actually a small resort/ski village. Unfortunately, it is also known as the site of one of the worst atrocities of WWII.  In retaliation for Resistance activities, the Germans killed the entire male population - 1436 men and boys - on 13 December 1943, then burned the whole village to the ground.  As a memorial to this tragedy, the clock of the church in the central square is fixed at 2:34 PM, the hour of the massacre.

We are so fortunate to be who we are and where we are right now.

2 comments:

  1. J & P -- What a wonderfully beautiful trip. I am so jealous of you both. Have a great rest of the trip and stay safe.

    Love,

    David L.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you David! We so appreciate your words of encouragement - we know just how fortunate we are to be able to do this...
    Love, J & P

    ReplyDelete