In which Sid and Doris benefit from Saturday traffic negotiating Piraeus and the commuter ferries.
The Lesbos to Piraeus ferry was punctual both leaving and arriving. So at 8.30 we were chased off. We found the Poros ferry after a good tour of Piraeus port with advice from both innocent and guilty bystanders (you’ve arrived at gate 2 but it goes from gate 10 which is all the way round the other side that way… no it goes from gate 8 which is back that way…), the coastguard and other firms’ ticket offices. And it would leave in two hours time. We have an alternative to sitting in Piraeus…
Plan B is to exit (from gate 3 which is depressingly close to gate 2), ride through the grid-system roads of Pireus town to another ferry port, and take a commuter boat (15 mins ride, leaves every 15 mins – achieved by having a whole row of ROROs all loading and leaving when they are full) to Salamina; ride across that island and pick up a yet smaller boat to Megara. Excellent work by Doris saw us through Athens, quieter than usual early on Saturday morning. 
Pausing only to spot a top-quality entrant in Roofrack Of The Day (an entire pottery roadside stall including chairs and umbrellas), once on Salamina we paused for coffee and second breakfast and a pie bigger than Sid’s head. From here we can see a bit of the Greek Navy moored up, many of them large landing craft, and when you think for a second of course they must have them.
Gradually we moved onto smaller roads with less traffic. We saw a ferry moored up, but clearly not going anywhere. Mhmm, perhaps this is only a weekday ferry? Maybe we are going to have to cycle back round the island and go via the mainland? Around the very next headland we see a ferry coming toward a tiny dock and pedal vigorous to catch its return trip. One Euro and forty cents with its own shrine. Most satisfying.
The game then was to make for the Corinth Canal by the old Road Eight. Not the old, old road – too bumpy and lost in the grass. Not the new road, too scary. To find the old road we started with a threading between the railway and the sea, through olive groves on stony tracks reminiscent of Euro Velo 6, of which we now have warm(ish) memories. The old Road Eight took us seaside and at one stage through a cracking plant and attendant tank farms – reminiscent of earlier parts of the journey where we saw a cracking plant with its own monastery (this one only had a shrine but we are already shrined out so didn’t take a pic of this one) – and also getting the attention of Mifter Bat who said it could be his lifetime ambition to fill one of the tanks with tiny but powerful Bat Farts.
On a slow day for cars this Corvette might be vehicle of the day. A couple of days back we introduced the idea of the naked bike, and may now have seen the epitome of the naked moped.
We paused at the Corinth Canal. It was dug to connect the Gulf of Corinth and the Aegean in the late 19th century and opened by the King of Greece and Emperor Franz Joseph. Dug down to sea level it has no locks. Sid and Doris have done a yacht delivery through the Canal and it does feel a very deep cut. It is just four miles long but in a small boat you have to wait until there is a flotilla and even then the flotilla has to wait for its slot. This seems very tough as at 21 meters wide the canal is too small for modern commercial craft and doesn’t see much traffic now. The bridge from which this picture was taken is now used for bungee jumping. And there is a local beer called Canal Dive.
We are now at our journey’s Maximum South at 38 degrees South. Our previous record East was on touching the Bosphorus at 29 degrees East. Record North was in Amsterdam. So we are now coming back North and West heading for Patras for more ferry action. Today we rode 70 kilometres with 526 metres of climb and feel pretty good on it.
In Corinth we had thought we might get a monument or church celebrating St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. But maybe the Post Office never delivered it? There is a monument here with a statue of a man in a military hat, but it is not clear what we should be celebrating. Perhaps Corinth is the Greek answer to Luton? We had hoped to see a Corinthian column. Not yet. And for Doris maybe a Doric column, another blank drawn. No pics of Corinth, sorry. We consult the Michelin Green Guide app and the description is “Once one of the most powerful Greek cities in Ancient times, this is now an utterly charmless modern town.” Ah well, an Epic Journey can’t hope for non-stop entertainment.
Tonight’s hotel falls in the Modest category, though better than some in that it does have bedside lights. Oh, yes.
We are hoping to find more luxe on our way to Patra which is two days’ ride away. On our way we plan to visit a rack railway. We have looked to see if we could make it a part of the route, but not really. Quite as exciting as the Button Museum and the Tiled Stove Museum. Very Sid and Doris.
PS We checked into the hotel behind a chap who was travelling with his budgerigar. As you do.