Day 21 – Tuesday, August 26, 2025

It goes without saying that I had a nice swim as soon as there was daylight. I took it easy, only getting ready to leave at 10 am.

The same picture as last night, how very different!

In a small village not far from the coast, I had breakfast; especially the coffee was amazing. It was called Mrs. Rose – even though I am not an espresso expert, this one was excellent.

Great coffee!

Even though I hadn’t ridden much in the last two days, I decided to take a break that day, a bit of beach holiday. I had spotted a very nice beach on Google Maps, reachable by some remote, rural roads, so I was headed there. However, I had next to nothing left to eat. I found a tavern, where I ordered a sandwich to go – and being close to 11 am, I also ordered a second breakfast/early lunch – thought an omelette never would hurt.

She prepared the sandwich and the omelette

On those tiny roads I reached the beach – locked my bike and descended the few meters to the shore. Well, it was a jackpot that I had hit, with this beach at, I believe, Agios Andreas Katakolou. There were a few elderly people sunbathing, but soon, one after the other, they left – and for a couple of hours, the beach was all mine. A lot of beaches in the area are sandy, without much to see underwater. Here, while the beach itself was (semi-)sandy, there were otherworldly rock formations under the water, with many schools of different species of fish. There were two islands further out and I swam around both – it was like paradise. On the beach, reachable by a few steps, someone had carpentered a platform to sit, chill and dine. Honestly, I felt like somewhere on the Maldives, even though I had never been there.

The first very, very positive impression

The platform

I would also have felt like Robinson Crusoe – had it not been for a few beachgoers (“beachcombers” from my point of view), but there was plenty of space for everyone. They did not bother me.

The view through my tent

I took the middle spot

A ghost ship

Sunset

Hmmm, it was then that a group of kids arrived in the evening, in their late teens/early twenties. I was looking forward to a quiet night in my tent, when they occupied the platform behind me and started playing loud music, singing, screaming, laughing. Granted, it was “their” beach – so I could not even think of saying anything. Still, I was rather glad when they left around 2 am – no sleep till then – I was now again Mr. Crusoe.

Not a busy day – just 10 km of riding with 85 meters of elevation.