Photo: Hanging flat board in monastery
Apr 17, 1979 On a very foggy morning I walked up the mountain to see the monastery that had been closed the previous day. A nun watching from a window gestured to me my hair was too long. I covered my head with the windbreaker hood and then she allowed me to enter. The great view from there was obscured by the heavy fog. Most of the rest of the day I read inside my tube tent as the rain continued.
Photo: Postcard of Meteroa
Photo: Grevina baker, 2 daughters & nephew
Apr 18, 1979 Once the morning rain stopped, I got on the road which initially led uphill. At one point I saw an elevation sign that showed 1000 meters, I was surprised I was that high. Soon after reaching the summit I coasted down to a gorge and then up into the town of Grevina, where I had lunch.
Two girls in a Grevina bakers shop spoke some English. They tried to warn me about the recent earthquake on the Adriatic Coast, which I did not know about. I thought they were talking about a 1962 earthquake that took place in Skopje, Yugoslavia. The bakers were baking a special Easter sweet bread for the town.
Completing my 70 mile ride, I camped about 5 miles short of Kozani in trees on a slope above the road. It rained most of the night.
Photo: Greek mountain town
Apr 19, 1979 I only got as far as Kazani. It was a very cold day and I was biking into a headwind. Exhausted, cold, and dirty I checked into a hotel and passed the day in the town. Played chess against a Greek and saw an American movie with Charles Bronson. The film had Greek subtitles and was heavily edited.
Apr 20, 1979 Rain, once again, in the morning. I rode to Ptolemaida to pick up mail, but the post office was closed. I continued on, passing a Polish couple on bicycles headed south. After 50 miles reached Florina, a border town with Yugoslavia, and checked into a hotel.
Apr 21, 1979 I wandered about the town on a mostly rainy day. Several Greeks spoke English, were very friendly, but warned me about the sinister and crazy Yugoslavs. I went to the midnight Orthodox Easter service. There was very much chanting and candle lighting. At one point, people took up hard boiled eggs and tried to crack the egg of the person next to you, without cracking your own. An old woman cackled with joy when she broke my egg. Afterwards everyone took their candle and paraded through the streets. It was very friendly and emotionally moving.
Map of Greece & Yugoslavia
