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Greece: Vacation time, Day 15: Peloponnese

Time for annual leave has come and with Nada we decided to have a motorbike trip, starting in Slovenia and ending on Crete in Greece. On our way we decided to spend some time with our friends in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and in Greece.

In the morning ferry arrived to the docks in Port of Piraeus and we decided to quickly escape the crazy traffic. We didn't stop all the way to Elefsina, where we had a short stop. Soon we moved on to Corinth Canal, one of the architectural masterpieces of 19th century. Over the canal we arrived to Peloponnese and we explored its north side all the way to our next port in Patras.

Previous days of our vacation: Day 14, Day 13, Day 12, Day 11, Day 10, Day 9, Day 8, Day 7, Day 6, Day 5, Day 4, Day 3, Day 2, Day 1.

Good morning mainland Greece - arrived to Port of Piraeus, the largest Greek seaport

 

Church of Agios Zacharias in Elefsina

Monument on Heroe's Square in Elefsina

Nice coastal roads all day long

The Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea. It separates the Peloponnese from the Greek mainland, arguably making the peninsula an island. Construction started in 1881 but was hampered by geological and financial problems that bankrupted the original builders, still it was finished in 1893. The canal consists of a single channel 8 metres deep, excavated at sea level (thus requiring no locks), measuring 6,343 metres long by 24.6 metres wide at the top and 21.3 metres wide at the bottom. The rock walls, which rise 90 metres above sea level, are at a near-vertical 80° angle. Principal engineers of the project were Hungarians István Türr and Béla Gerster.

Let's ride

View from a short detour in Xylokastro

"Coffee" break in Aigeira

 

Saying hello to the lion in the sea

Arrived to Greek Rio, where we spotted Rio Castle and Rio-Antirrio bridge.

Entrance fee (2 €) to see the Rio Castle was cheap, so we decided to have another history lesson.

 

The castle was built by the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II in 1499 above the ruins of an ancient temple of Poseidon, within three months. Along with its twin, the Antirio Castle, they were intended to protect the entrance to the Corinthian Gulf, and were nicknamed the "Little Dardanelles".

In 1533 the castle was briefly captured by the Genoese under Andrea Doria, but the Ottomans recaptured it later in the year.

 

In 1687, during the Morean War, it was taken by the Venetians under Francesco Morosini. The Venetians rebuilt the castle, restoring and strengthening it by the addition of towers, giving it its final shape. The Venetians also added the small chapel of the Life-giving Spring (Zoodochos Pege).

The Ottomans retook it in 1715 in Ottoman–Venetian War (1714–1718), and remained until they surrendered it to French General Nicolas Joseph Maison. Between 1831 and 1912, the castle was used as a military and then civilian prison, whose inmates were often used by the municipality of Patras for cleaning the streets of Rio.

 

The Rio–Antirrio Bridge is one of the world's longest multi-span cable-stayed bridges and longest of the fully suspended type. It crosses the Gulf of Corinth near Patras, linking the town of Rio on the Peloponnese peninsula to Antirrio on mainland Greece.

I, me and myself

Enjoying last moments in Greece

 

This old, rusty tugboat called "Christos", worked on the construction of the port. Sometime near the completion of the port, it sank very close to the shore, and before they managed to save it, the company that owned it went bankrupt. After many efforts, another contractor working on the port, pulled it to the shore, but left it right there, and the rest was left to the port authority. Like they say in Greece, nothing is more permanent than the temporary. For some years the tugboat remained there rusting, waiting to get scraped. Eventually they started decorating it, and even illuminating it for Christmas! Nowadays it is considered a permanent decoration of the port entrance.

 

Last Greek dinner

Goodbye Greece. At midnight Hellenic Spirit departed Greece with 4 VIPs, Nada, Thunder, Horsie and me.

 

Patras, Greece - Venice, Italy for 120€ € / (person + motorbike)

Last kilometers in Greece

GeoCaches found (all received a visit by trackable item "Bockereyders Geocoin", TB71XQW):
- Agios Zacharias, GC39Y80
- Olympia Odos: Isthmus of Corinth, GC753Z4
- Hungarian Architects of Corinthos Canal, GC4H9DD
- Corinth Canal, EarthCache, GC1ATPG
- Who is that guy?, GCT4KK
- Lion in the sea, GC6YG4X
- Castle of Rio (Castello di Morea), GC1D9GC
- The castle of Patra, GC1776N
- Patras City - Skagiopoulio, FTF, GC7CMK7
- Port of Patras - Shipwreck, GC724ZW