Today's ride started at 8am and followed the coast all the way to Megara about 50kms away. The ride was quite spectacular as I skirted the shoreline of the Gulf of Corinth. Beautiful clear blue waters with the occasional swimmer could be seen as I rode along rolling hills all the way. On the odd occasion I was overtaken by cyclists on their light bikes, thinking what a bunch of pussies, not tough enough to do the way Peter and I are doing it.
About 20kms outside of Korinthos I came across the Canal that I had crossed over 30 years ago. It's amazing hasn't changed a bit.
The Corinth Canal connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland, thus effectively making the former an island.
The builders dug the canal through the Isthmus at sea level: no locks are employed. It is 6.4 kilometres in length and only 21.4 metres wide at its base, making it impassable for most modern ships. It now has little economic importance.
The canal was mooted in classical times and an abortive effort was made to build it in the 1st century AD. Construction finally got underway in 1881 but was hampered by geological and financial problems that bankrupted the original builders. It was completed in 1893, but due to the canal's narrowness, navigational problems and periodic closures to repair landslips from its steep walls, it failed to attract the level of traffic anticipated by its operators. It is now used mainly for tourist traffic.
I had to push onto Megara and try and locate the ferry from Ag Triada to the island of Salamina. By crossing over to the island would allow me to bypass the major traffic of Athens. My final destination for the day was Piraeus, so any short cut would be a good one.
After speaking to a couple a couple of people I finally made it to the port in time to catch the next ferry. I got bike on and sat down out of the midday sun. It was starting to heat up and I was tired and needed to rest up. A chap did come over to me and started up a conversation about Australia and how he had a family member living in Melbourne. He also kindly paid for my tick on the ferry to the island. The trip took about 10 minutes and I was now on my way to ride across to the port of Pakoukla, and catch the ferry to Piraeus. The island has a thriving fishing industry and tourism is on the rise, although I couldn't see anything attractive about the place.
As I arrived in the harbour again there was a ferry ready to leave. I asked one official was the ship going to Piraeus and of course he said, 'Yes'. I jumped the queue and rode on board. This trip took about 10 minutes and my research indicated it should have taken about 40 minutes. When I got off the ship it had pulled into the port of Perama. That meant another 15kms of riding to Piraeus.
By the time I got through all the traffic that lined the enormous harbour of Perama to Piraeus and talking to 5 people for directions, I finally found the Glaros Hotel. As I was putting my bike inside, Peter turned up and gave me a hand taking my stuff to the room. I was so tired after 4 days of hard riding.
After a shower and some lunch it was time for a nap.
Tomorrow we go into Athens for a guided tour of the city.
Until tomorrow, safe riding.
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