Day 55 Itea - 22.9.05 

In high season Itea is a popular beach resort, but only a few weeks later, a peaceful but beautiful little fishing village. We were walking along the street to be greeted by a 1 meter diameter octopus sliding along. A shopkeeper scooped it up in a large plastic bag, with a smile, saying it was part of a catch he had dropped.

We were talking to a big burly Greek in the hotel when he asked about the word "odyssey' on our cycle jerseys, "it's a Greek word" he said. we explained about fund raising to help a drug centre in Australia. The man went on to tell us of a young boy of 25 who had died of an overdose. 1,000 people came to the funeral, "we were very close" he said as tears formed in his eyes. "It's a good thing that you are doing"

Even in a little fishing village in Greece, drugs leaves a scar.

While repairing a flat tyre, we made friends with Jim (not his real name) and his wife, who insisted that we visit Delfi since we were so close. Why did we know that would involve a climb? As Jim (not his real name) had said, we would ride through olive groves and the climb to Delfi, after that it would be all downhill. We climbed over 500 meters to Delfi and it WAS worth it. The museum and ruins told many stories.

We overheard guides reciting their scripts, but the best point was made by a Greek from Brunswick (Melbourne) who said it was a disgrace what a bad state the ruins were in. I defended saying they were very old (3,500 years) "but the Turks destroyed everything 400 years ago." Something the guides didn't point out. We rode on and up.

The bonus climb of about 400meters took us to Distona where the art and blankets on sale looked more Turkish than Greek to me. We ate some tasty cheese pastries and had Greek coffee in a warm (friendly) cafe. the 30 km descent was interrupted by tyre repairs but was still a buzz. We rode 12 km past Levadia and took a train to Thessalonika.

Stats Dist 80 Km, Average 16km/hr, Max 62km/hr, Climb 1110m Punctures 3 

  Email John at John@CycleOdyssey.com.au
 

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