Bavarian Cyclist

Meet Chris Wagner Bavarian cyclist whom we bumped into while lazily making our way away from Hades. He has been bike touring since 2000 and was killing time waiting for the ferry to make his way to Georgia via Crete, Rhodes, and Turkey. We joined his camp on the side of the road to gleen some knowledge, hear some stories, and share a Maniot sunset.

Highway to Hades

Over the Langada pass to the parched, thorny, and infertile Mani was where Spartans seeking asylum from the cruelty of the tyrant Nabis fled. Isolated by geography they were left alone for centuries to eek out an existance amongst the rocks and thorns. They also held onto their pagan roots for the longest of anywhere in Greece only being taken in by the Orthodoxy at the end of the 9th century. The pride of the maniots is that they were one of very few regions to resist Turkish domination. With the incursion of Cretans and Epirotes in the 17th cetury the region began to take on quite a different flavour. Arable land was already scarce but the growing population created a good amount of squabbling. This squabbling gave rise to a tribal system and spectacular vendettas between villages, families, and clans. The character of the warring Maniots gave birth to the word mania.

Generations later these maniac vendettas have still left their mark. Tower settlements bristle like porcupine quills at the tops of surrounding hills. Each tower is a family fortress designed to sustain itself when under seige of the neighbours. We wind our way through the Mani's eastern settlements to the end of the road at Kokinoghia where we share a 42 Euro fish (!) and a boat ride to the mouth of Hades which plunges mostly below water and hides under an impossibly rocky cliff to the northwest of treacherous Cape Matapan famous for devouring Greek ships. I still have a very hard time imagining Orpheus making his way to this place to seek out Eurydice. He must have been a very good swimmer.

Taking in the Taygetos

On the outskirts of the village of Olive is a small church that sits atop a hill beside the sea. This church of Saint Nicholas, is surrounded by good pasture for grazing sheep and looks towards the forbidding snowy peaks of the the twisted and wild range of mountains responsible for forging the legendary character of the ancient Spartans. From our perch on the patio of our little church we study the spiny Taygetos range as it meanders it's way down the third finger of the Peloponese. Severe and isolated this peninsula known as the Mani is the most southerly point in continental Europe and really couldn't be a more poetic place to house Taenarus the ancient entrance to Hades.

As we take this all in the sun eventually bores a hole between the clouds and the peaks of the Taygetos and blazes before us like a giant demonic eye. We all watch as the sun's spectacular gaze sinks below the distant purple range. Putting it all together, Paul turns to us and ponders, "we're riding the highway to Hell, aren't we?".

Watch out for Honey Bees!

Greek bees can't rest as no stretch of untilled land is untouched by Greek wild flowers right now. Wild flowers creep out of the most unlikely places creating a surprisingly beautiful palette of colours.

Seductive Monemvasia

There is one entrance to this living Byzantine town on a rock. Lovingly restored by merchants, hoteliers, and the very rare resident, this gem, which is well hidden from view on land, only has 8 residents. In the 6th century, the town began it's life as a Byzantine settlement and as the port to Mystras. It remained under Byzantine rule for 700 years. After this it was occupied very briefly by the Franks, the Papacy, and then for longer by the Venetians, the Turks, and again briefly by the Germans. The town has never been without residents and today has a population of 8 people and at least 200 cats. Winding your way over cobbled streets through tasteful shops and cafes or tumbling your way through the weedy ruins of the upper town to take in a spectacular sunset feels like living in a storybook. This is probably why it is considered one of the most romantic places in Greece. We went for one day and stayed for three.

Don't Pass on Langada Pass

Riding over the Taygetos range between Sparta and Kalamata was an epic journey that I have anticipated for years. This sparsely populated range is every bit deserving of its reputation for fierce and remote beauty. The road winds forever upwards through switchback after switchback, under plunging cliffs and past the occasional roadside altar. We were beckoned through the pass by the call of wild goats and the promise of fresh picked cherries. Always good motivators for me. Unfortunately, the heatwave we cycled through cooked our cherries before we got to enjoy them, but there was still some satisfaction in having cycled one of Greece's most daunting passes to get them.

How Hot is Sparta?

We learned what Spartans are made of as we climbed to over 1200 m in 43 C heat today. Making our way to Sparta over the beautiful and bleak Parnonas mountain range, felt somewhat like a pilgrimage and our reception has been appropriate. The people of Sparta are rumored to be people stern like their landscape, but, surprisingly, we have found them to the friendliest people yet. There are no lack of supportive waves and cheers as they pass us, and conversation flows well beyond the average, where are you from where are you going. I like to believe that, after making our way over their first set of very isolating mountains with fully loaded bikes, they recognize kindred spirits in us.