Day 15 – Wednesday, August 20, 2025

I started the day with a nice swim, not bothered by the shepherd dogs barking from the other side of the river. The current was not too strong; at one place, it became a sort of infinity pool, me swimming against the current and staying pretty much in the same place.

The place I pitched my tent in the darkness the previous evening

Then I paid a visit to the stone bridge, called Tembla's Bridge, which was impressive.

Tembla´s Bridge - not very touristy

Now it was time to backtrack all the elevation lost last evening. I needed close to an hour to reach the village. Granted, it was not yet 11 am, but around 10:30, it felt late by my standards.

The young girl from the previous evening, called Helena, actually showed up and invited me for a coffee—thanks for that! I also ordered an omelette and bought some supplies from the store in the tavern. With no more fresh clothes remaining, I asked if I could use the washing machine and then dry my clothes in the sun. The lady initially said yes, but a bit later, pointing at her strict boss, changed her mind. Oh well.

Old men playing cards

Helena and the author

Anyhow, I chatted for a while. Eventually, it was time for me to leave, quite late. It was uphill for quite a while again, but I felt freshened up after a good swim and a big breakfast — nothing would stop me.

Wherever possible, the land was cultivated - something not really widespread in this remote area

Let us say that another mini-adventure started here. It was not as much an adventure, but I had spotted probably the most beautiful sight on this journey. I told you about Lake Kremasta, the man-made lake, correct? I spotted it in the distance, it sparkling in a wonderful blue, azure color. This lake was fed by the river I had swam in, bathing in eerie green. From the mountainside I was at, both bodies of water were to be seen and it was a breathtakingly wonderful view seeing these two together – not only on this trip, I can hardly recall any view more pleasing to the eye.

Ladies and gentlemen, there two pictures are my absolute favorites on my trip...

...should you not like them you can stop reading right now, nothing will trump these two later on

I rode, stopped to marvel at the sight, took a photo, rode 100 meters, stood again, photo and so on. It was natural beauty raging around me - all the struggles of the previous two days were worth it - but then I also had other nice views, good swims, great food and pleasant chat with Helena. But even if none of those would have taken place, alone this view was a jackpot.

One other thing pleasing to my eye was, finally, a long and constant descent, I think I had really earned it. So, after having taken some 50 photos of the surroundings, I put on my imaginary battle helmet and it was time to roll downhill! Yippieee! (End of mini-adventure.)

Zeus and his fellow gods must have had a good laugh, there was a bend in the road - me thinking it would descend to the lake and it definitely and certainly turned away from it (Gods giggling) and it was yet again an uphill section (Gods rolling from laughter). They did have some mercy with me, the ascent did not last for long. I got to a place called Amflochia with a sizable tavern and I ordered a great souvlaki, cheese and salad.

I was not deemed to die of hunger

I had a bit of a weird conversation with my table neighbors. They were from the forest authority and spoke good English; we chatted about wildfires and the situation of woodland in Greece (near 25% of Greece is covered by forests, compared to 50% in Austria). Upon them asking, I told them I was riding from Bosnia, they asked if I had any inconvenient experiences, I told them only with some animals and that the people from all the countries I had come across were really pleasant. One said, "Yeah, it is because you are poor". Hmmm, I was a bit surprised at this statement and made me think how people perceive me. Granted, I had not taken a bath since Meteora, was unshaven, had a couple of thousand meters of elevation in my feet in the last two days - even though I felt great, I must have looked a bit beat. Oh well.

Something else that was strange happened here. Without even realizing it, I got out of the unwritten wilderness! What followed now was a regular road, granted, with little traffic, but I was able to munch those miles! I rode through quiet villages, next to churches and through forests – and now was on a major road heading south.

This church, despite not being blue is more like the churches one imagines when thinking about Greece

Agrinio was the name of a large town (the second largest in Western Greece, after Patras) I had reached that evening – and decided it would be nice to stay at a hotel, maybe get my clothes washed. I called a place in the city center, Hotel Selini, they quoted the price to be €25, nice! As I was getting into town, I asked for directions and stopped at a coffee shop. There a kind lady gave me directions and also asked a bit about my travel. I noticed that opposite the coffee shop was a bike store.

I reached the hotel in downtown, it was not too fancy – and was up for a bit of an unpleasant surprise. The caretaker told me the price was €40 – and he had quoted the €25 as “his English is poor”. Hmmm, weird. Anyhow, I was way too tired to look for another place and doubt that anything would have been cheaper. Instead of a leisurely evening stroll that many youngsters were having, I decided I would look for a laundry. A shop-owner below the hotel, who spoke perfect English, told me there was none, but Google Maps showed a place a few minutes’ walk away. He was right. It was a laundry all right, operating only during regular hours and not a self-service one – in addition, they were closed in August for holidays. A bit frustrated, I bought a bottle of liquid soap and decided to take care of my stuff by myself.

I returned to my room and used the sink in the bathroom; and washed all those items that were small(er), shirts, socks, underwear. There was a small balcony, where I hung the stuff, it did an OK job getting dry – but that is music for the following day.

My app tells me I had ridden 82 kilometers and ascended 905 meters.