Bergama, Turkey to Mytiline Greece. 72kms.

After a nice easy day yesterday and a 10 hour sleep last night it was back to riding and onto Greece.  We left the Efsane Hotel around 9am for the 70km ride to the port city of Ayvalik.  This is where we'll catch the ferry over to the Greek island of Lesvos.  If you had asked me a couple of weeks ago whether we'd end up in Lesvos I'd probably would have asked 'where's Lesvos ?"

As we left the town of Bergama we were glad to have a strong tailwind to push us along.  The road conditions were perfect, silky smooth with a huge shoulder to ride on.

In the first hour of riding we covered 26kms which is pretty good for an old man on a heavy bike.  Len was setting a good pace and Peter and I just followed up the rear.  We stopped for a cup of tea at a little cafe to burn some time.  The ship didn't leave until 6pm and we didn't want to arrive at 12noon and have to sit around and be bored waiting. I'm not a person who likes to sit around and do nothing.

Instead of heading straight to Ayvalik, Len took us on another road that took us up this mountain for a spectacular view over the Mediterranean and the town of Ayvalik in the distance.  We had our lunch up the mountain whilst enjoying some incredible views.  Since the summer season is now well and truly over, the amount of tourists in this region has noticeably decreased.  As we rode along the shore we could see camping grounds and aqua parks closed.  The cold weather is on the way and the tourists have gone back home.

 The photo above was taken whilst having our lunch on top of the mountain.

 The photo above was taken whilst having lunch on top of the mountain.

The photo above was taken whilst on the ship heading to Lesvos, Greece.

The photo above was taken whilst waiting for the ship.  This man wanted to try on my glasses and see how the mirror works. He was very impressed.

Once we dropped down from the mountain we followed the coastal route into Ayvalik.  Peter found the booking office and picked up our tickets.  We went and found a coffee shop and chilled for the rest of the day.  It was a long wait for the ship, but considering we had already ridden 72kms, climbed a big mountain, had lunch with some of the best views in the world, I don't think waiting for a ship to take us to a Greek Island is anything to complain about.

The ship sailed at 6pm for the 90 minutes trip across the Mediterranean. We reached Mytilini in darkness and then had to navigate our way to the Olympias Boutique Hotel.  We all had our lights on and had no trouble at all. The hotel is very nice and I'm sure we'll enjoy our 3 days of relaxing before returning back to Turkey for the run into Istanbul.

I have no idea what we're doing tomorrow, other than sleeping in.

Until tomorrow, safe riding.