Quick update

Hello folks...hope you all had a nice Christmas (or other relevant holiday). Sorry for the lack of posting...I kept putting it off thinking I had so much time here in Athens and now the day of departure is nigh. I will try to tell you a bit more about my adventures in Athens when I get back in front of a computer, for right now Chris needs to use the web. Tomorrow morning I will struggle to get my boxed bike and all my camping gear to the airport and fly to Doha, Qatar as a connector to Singapore. When I arrive in Singapore on Thursday Jenelle's mother is going to meet me at the airport. I am so excited to begin another leg of the journey, but a bit sad that I am "cheating" to get there. Okay, we'll talk about this more when I have a longer post...just wanted to let you all know my plans.

Happy Holidays

Season's Greetings from Patras, Greece. Ive been spending a restful weekend here with my wonderful host Myrto. Tomorrow morning I will head out into the heart of the Peloponnese. Plan to check out some underground lakes tomorrow, head on to Sparta and Mystra the next day and then work down to the coastal castles of Monemvassia and Nafpoli. Finally a trip past the ampitheatre in Epidurus before arriving in Athens sometime after Christmas. Spending New Year's in Athens I believe and then have to decide whether to take a ferry to Turkey and continue south through Syria, Jordan and Egypt or alternatively get a flight from Athens to Singapore and start riding northwards to meet up with Dan in Thailand around the beginning of Feburary. As you can see, nothing is certain yet. I hope you all are having wonderful holidays and Ill do my best to update you in the next few days, but I have a feeling Christmas dinner might be canned tuna in the woods!

Choose a direction

So Im sitting here in an internet cafe in Ioannina Greece trying to decide my next steps and it seems like a totally pointless exercise. Things change so often out here...I could barely decide whether to ride today or just take a rest. Resting is expensive when hotels are running 30 euros a night, but it is pouring outside and this is a big enough city that I should be able to accomplish a few goals (research, mail some postcards, go to a bike shop). Back to the point, Im trying to figure out where to go next. Haven't managed to meet up with Richard and Heba (shiftingears.net) yet, they are a day or two behind me. It would be cool to ride with them, but I dont know if our plans are in sync. Heba is flying out of Athens for home supposedly and Richard wants to go on down towards Beirut. I would be willing to go along with him, but the weather is quickly deteriorating- the forecast is cold rain for the next week solid in most cities I look up. Not that I was expecting the trip to be all sunshine and flowers and puppy dogs, but I dont see the point in riding down that way really. Id be much more excited to go ahead and get into Southeast Asia where a friend is supposed to be meeting me sometime after new years.
As you can see, Im kind of all over the place on this. I suppose the only thing to do is what I have been doing: take it one day at a time. Tomorrow Ill be leaving towards Patras. From there I will decide whether to do a week long loop of the Pelopennese or to just go directly on to Athens. Ill be sure to keep you all posted...keep your fingers crossed for a break in the weather so I can get some decent photos!

Albanian Staircase

Well, I tried. I really tried. I thought "well, maybe the scenery makes up for the crappy roads". But then the scenery was covered with trash. "Well, maybe the food makes up for the trashed scenery". But the food has literally made me sick (I blame some late-night sweets that had probably been out all day). "Okay, but surely the people will impress me with their kindness". Im still on the line about this one. Like almost anywhere, the people range from bending over backwards for me, simply curious or nonplussed. No overly negative reactions yet, but just not feeling all that welcomed. "Alright, but surely something is nice about Albania?". I guess if there is one upside to this, its been that the place is very cheap. Not breaking the bank on being here!
Anyways...putting the last 3 miserable days on the freezing rain-soaked, smog-filled highway (including a stint of 70km with food poisoning) aside, Im happy to be moving on to Greece tomorrow. If all goes to plan, I should arrive in Ionania tomorrow evening. Then I hope to meet up with some potential riding partners before heading down towards Athens. Perhaps swinging off to Pelopennese (ala Cary Barber's instructions).
I had all kinds of deep thoughts and reflections for you folks after some pretty miserable riding, but they seem to have vanished underneath my exhaustion and general malaise. Perhaps another time. Im off to try a second attempt at regional food, this time hopefully minus the gut-wrenching effects tomorrow AM!

Albania: Let's not rush to conclusions!

Beautiful riding today as I left Montenegro. Two brief climbs and then a glorious cruise through a mountain valley put me right into Albania. And man....when you get into Albania, you get IN to Albania. Im trying not to be judgmental yet, but from the get-go there were pillboxes in front yards, people walking various livestock in places one should not walk livestock, shantytowns and children asking me for 1 euro per high-five. Anyways, since my confidence wasnt quite at fullspeed with this country and its people yet, I opted to stay in a hotel in the relatively - still saw an old lady shepherding a pig on the main draw - civilized town of Lezhe. Set me back a pretty penny, but the peace of mind is worth it on my first night here. Already starting to feel at home...just got to figure out this whole old leks/ new leks thing and maybe learn a word or two. Traveling becomes REALLY intense when you know ZERO local language. No guidebook? No problems! Shyeah...right!
Spent a good part of today chasing the potential phantoms of a guy/girl duo that was reported to be ahead of me. Saw no sign of them, so I dont know whether I passed them back in Bar or what. Hoping to sync up with them soon though...would be the first bike tourers Ive met in 13 countries and 4 months! Would be stellar to have some partners for southward adventures. Maybe they have some spare warm clothes?
Tomorrow I will try to crank out about 90km to either Durres or Tirane. Durres is the better direction for riding ease, Tirane is the better direction for sightseeing and finding a hostel. Decisions decisions. The hostel thing would be nice, but I saw some pretty keen looking vacant buildings today. It seems like the modus operandi here is to get something about 75-90% built, then just abandon it.
Okay, out to rub elbows with the locals. Or just sit in my hotel room watching crappy American movies on pirated cable television. You know its a classy joint when the scrambler cuts out every 20 minutes. Take care out there and here's to the good weather holding out! Cheers!

More like Monte Rain-o

So I had a pretty big mental debate yesterday on whether to continue with my plan to climb up Mount Lovcen or to just go around and down the coast. I knew the weather would be bad, and I knew it would be worse in the mountains, but I couldnt resist the urge to see what all the hype was about. Quite the climb it was...probably the most difficult so far. Twenty one hairpin turns in the cold rain. The Bay of Kotor is certainly beautiful and Im more than a bit peeved that I arrived in such crappy weather. As nice as the scenery is Im sure it would be more mindblowing in the sunshine. This whole area would be much better in one of the "shoulder" tourist seasons, when the crowds are thinner but restaurants are actually open and the weather isnt cold rain.

On the whole Ive enjoyed Montenegro. I took a detour on the way here to pass through the mountains of Bosnia Hercegovina as well. That makes this country number 12! I should be in Albania, number 13, by tomorrow evening. So far the people have been pretty friendly...lots of friendly honks and waves, no close encounters with traffic really. I can certainly see why this would be a very hard area to bike tour if you arent comfortable with narrow, high, no-barrier, twisty, heavy traffic roads. But Im fine with that.

Going to head a bit south of where I am (Petrovac) to camp for the night and hope I dont get hit with freezing wind and rain. Tomorrow I will be heading over the border to Albania. No clue what to expect down there...this will be the first true completely out there adventure. I dont even know what currency they use! Hopefully I can find an internet cafe while Im in Albania, but I expect to be in Greece by next Tuesday or Wednesday and am fairly confident to find internet access there. Until then, scope the pics and let me know what you think!

Oh, to John- I havent purged any of your comments! I know what you mean about the history in this region being crazy...Ive learned alot in the last week and a half or so and am continually amazed at the layers of history here. Where are you at? Hope you are well...its a shame there is no blog for me to check on...hahaha

Note- couldnt get all the pics up or caption them...enjoy those for now...will try again soon!

To the Black Mountain!

Well, my time in Dubrovnik was wonderful, as expected. Everyone says how beautiful the city is and I figured it was overstatement but I was wrong. It really is an amazing place filled with fascinating history and extremely friendly locals. I was aided by an excellent man who housed me in his computer shop (hearkens back to my nerd days!) and his friend even gave me a personal tour of the city. Thanks Dubo and Antonija! There are plenty of photos and a few videos updated to let you see what Im talking about.
Today (in fact, as soon as I finish this entry) I am heading to Montenegro, country number 10. The Bay of Kotor is supposedly stunning, so I look forward to it. The weather seems pretty fair; a bit chilly, but that is good for cycling. Rain is in the forecast later this week...the worst kind too- just above freezing temperature! We will see how that goes. Thanks again to all the folks with words of encouragement. It is extremely uplifting to know that you all are traveling along with me. Another big thanks goes out to my Nana and Pap for a generous donation. Not only will that help keep me fat (or at least fed) and happy on the road, but it puts the fundraising up to the first bicycle purchased for World Bicycle Relief! YAAAAY.
Anyways, going to go spend the rest of my kuna on groceries (Montenegro is back on the euro). Dont know the internet situation down in those parts, but Ill do my best to check in before heading into Albania near the end of this week. Until then, keep the pedals spinning (metaphorically speaking for most of you!).
Bobo the Hobo

Time to Split

HAHAHAH! That is so funny. Monday was probably one of the most brutal riding days I have ever had. Knock on wood. The headwinds pushed on the whole way down to Split and the only way I managed to push myself to the city was because I knew if I didnt make it, I would be sleeping in the woods and rain was certain. By the end of the day I was just shouting outloud like a crazy person as I did the last little stretch into Split.

Split is an amazing city...certainly one of my favorites of the trip so far. It was established as the Roman emperor Diocletian's vacation home because he was from Dalmatia. The original palace is what forms the core of the city and it is so amazing to wander through the narrow little alleyways that are over 1200 years old. The palace has been used continuosly ever since it was built and has a unique aspect of being both an ancient ruin and a modern day commercial and residential building.

Split has also done wonders for reinvigorating my will. Ive gone ahead and splurged on staying in a hostel for the last 2 nights and talking with other travelers is always bolstering. Also just being able to access the web and hear the words of encouragement from people like Mr. Freeman, Mama Clites and all the others does alot to reinforce my mentality. I feel ready to tackle the next section down to Dubrovnik, just have to figure out if I will ride on the mainland or use ferries to explore some of the islands as I ride south!

I believe Ive found a couchsurfing host for tonight, but havent heard from him yet. Since it rained all day yesterday I plan to explore the city in more detail with him this afternoon. Once I have those pics and videos Ill post them for your viewing pleasure. In the meantime Im going to go grab some food. Take care and stay tuned!