Day 116. 48km 55886kms
Motivated in part to avoid backtracking I decided - inadvisedly - to hike 300metres over a headland instead of ride the 5kms to the adjoining beach. I should’ve walked it beforehand of course but after a few scratchy wrong turns I found my way through to the Diros caves. Unfortunately though it was immediately apparent as I emerged from the scrub that the caves were closed; I was standing in a construction site. At least the road out now was an improvement on returning via the steep loose track from which I had arrived at my beach camp yesterday.

Continuing south the Mani peninsula feels very barren. Gone are the multitudes of colourful flowers, replaced instead by scrubby rock. The remote stone villages are quiet and monotone.

In Gerolimenas I found 2 sockets and wifi overlooking the pretty harbour. Why is it always when I have a longer movie to upload that the wifi is glacial?! But it was a lovely place for an enforced pause. All done I now had just a couple of hours to reach the most southerly point of the peninsula. Racing the sunset again, this time the wind was on my side. 20 stunning and hilly kilometres and a short hike later, I made it to the lighthouse at the foot of Peloponnese almost exactly 2 years after I arrived at Nordkapp where - at this time of year - there is no racing sunset.

I couldn’t linger, I had to hike back and find a sheltered spot in which to camp. In the absolute last of the light I pitched up on a little pebble bay. Without a moon I ate dinner in the dark under bright stars and the smudgey Milky Way.

#greece #capetocape #biketouring