August 2008, touring Greece with my best Aussie friends (part 1 Kissavos - Pilio)

I'm still impressed by how fruitful is the undusting of my unpublished travel content. Of course that's with some AI help making my 16 years old cell phone content viewable by today's standards. Boys 'n girls, brace cause we're back in late August of 2008 and I am leaving my office to chase tops speeds on the toll roads till I arrive at Ampelakia to meet my sweet Aussie friends, Pat and Bin:

They are impressed by how quick I made those (almost) 400km from Athens but my bike was still relatively new back in the day and I was still taking the chances given to see how fast it can go. With the wind on my face it was struggling to pass 190km/h but that's fine by me.

This village is partially picturesque with some of the houses keeping the local traditional architecture which is not so often found in the rest of the country, like these:

I let my iron horse join its Aussie mate (yes, their bike has Aussie number plate!),

and we all go out to walk the village. As you can see it's not all traditionally cute:

You know you are in Greece when a village can look from a warzone to scenic in only a couple of steps:

The view from my bedroom leaves a similar bitter sweet aftertaste:

Next morning marks the start of a typical Greek summer sunny day so Pat undresses his well travelled YAMAHA as we get ready to hit the road:

And that's the one that takes us up to Kissavos mountain:

You can tell by those side poles that it gets a fair amount of snow annually:

As we gain elevation we make a stop near Spilia  to enjoy the view:

Bin is kind enough to picture us and our iron horses:

Still laugh on my funny outfit but I was trying some Greek summer friendly combinations at that time. Yes it was hot but, spoiler, it got even worse later.

We get happily (almost) lost in those wonderful gravel routes of the mountain where the trees make a shady riding heaven:

It's 2008 and sometimes there's more than 2 ways to go so we stop to make some sane decisions:

And looks like we do cause after sometime riding on gravel we meet locals having their party up here:

The above image is the result of their off the charts hospitality as that (very cute) girl you see with her back turned in the front brought us some goodies before we even got off our bikes. What a treat they whole scene was. We had some delicious stuff with the guys shared some good laughs and left them more than thankful. Greece is not that terrible I guess...

After some more wonderful riding this mountainous heaven we arrive at the following beach SE of Kissavos for some much needed rest and shade from the merciless sun:

On our way back North Pat offers me his summer jacket for a while so that I enrich my quest for the best summer gear. I give his sweaty jacket back as we stop to picture this beautiful beach named Bouka, close to the previous one:

We're back at Ambelakia after a full riding day and our last walk around that village had not much to offer photography wise except this oldtimer next to a well kept house:

Next day we leave that area behind to head South East. Our goal is to visit Pilio mountain, one of the best areas in Greece we soon enjoy ourselves up there with views like these:

The city of Volos (1st image) is burning and we're lucky to be away at chiller temperatures. We end up at the other side of Pilio at the East Coast where we stop in search of accommodation and the master of that sport, Bin, finds us a great deal for a room at this hotel:

We can't wait to leave the bikes and our gear and enjoy the sea. Here's the local beach:

Not bad but a spoiled Greek like me believes that things can get better in Greece (sea wise) so we walk on,

pass that road hanging over that cliff,

and find us a better one:

unsurprisingly crowded but feels better the closer we get:

Close to our hotel is that bridge over the local stream:

I get a feeling they might got inspired by the roof of our Olympic stadium in Athens but haven't crossed checked this.

Some more walking by the sea never hurt anybody:

Here's the time that even AI can't do much salvaging the following image which is a pity cause we experience an epic August full moon at the end of this day:

The view to the night lights from the hilltop local bar is also obviously better than it looks here:

Time to move to another place next day and what a joy it is riding Pilio. Here's Mylopotamos beach, still on the East coast:

It's one of the best in Greece but don't make the mistake to try it on a wavy day. Even if it looks doable. As you see today we're lucky.

We go up Pilio mountain again in search of a place to stay and we make as stop at Milies village to start our quest. Prices are unsurprisingly high as this is one of the most famous destinations around here but one owner points us to a new place that should be more affordable. Turns out that indeed, this guesthouse couldn't offer better value for money so we decide to stay.

I enjoy the view,

while Pat & Bin unload their bike:

Don't forget that they are months on the road while I only join them for a few days so that makes a difference on packing/unpacking.

Time to walk this lovely village which is among my most favourite in Greece. We get close to the local train station:

There you can still find the carcass of this building:

It used to be a water/steam mill till 1916, then they used it to store olives until the earthquakes of 1955 when it was abandoned. It might read "for sale" but 16 years later it's still is left like that.

The nostalgic local train station still operates:

Fancy old train stuff?

Proof that I hang out with funny guys, just in case it's not clear to you yet🙂

That old stone bridge is priceless:

It's a shame that I haven't done this wonderful train route yet but at least we walked a few meters on this heaven.

Back in our rooms it's time to enjoy our lovely balconies:

Pat comes with the interesting idea to flood our watermelon with a local liquor we bought from a (sort of) museum in the village:

Not that we missed fun during our time together but consuming this inspired recipe brought some more on the table.

Take a rest and see you in part 2!