Bike Tour Day 7 - The BIG Climb, Xylokastro to Kalavrita

This day is best told in photos, so here we go:

A great morning in Xylokastro, ready to roll...

Easy biking along the Gulf of Corinth-

40k to think about THE CLIMB

A stop at the bakery yields cheese pies for us, and

a wonderful scene of fish stews going into the bake ovens

The group gathers for pre-climb snacks,water and

words of encouragement from guide Patricia

Peter says goodbye to the waterfront-

it's climb time!

12:15 pm - The climb begins...

1:00 PM - Amazing to look back down and see where you

have been and how far up you've come!

1:15 PM - A tempting option for getting to the top -

we are 1 hour and 10K into the climb (yes, that's 6 MPH)

2:20 PM - Cresting the summit at 3,500 feet!

Amazing views from the very top

Manolis warming up at the lunch stop-

he is an awesome climber and an awesome guide

Heading down the last 10K -

the Monastery looming above has been there for centuries.

The original buildings were destroyed by the Ottomans,

during WWII they were destroyed again by the Germans,

and in our opinion the architecture of the latest rebuild

looks forward longingly to the next destruction.

Peter & June after showers, laundry and snacks-

sketching and blogging!

All is well - we had a lovely meal of wild kid (goat that is) at a local taverna in Kalavrita which is actually a small resort/ski village. Unfortunately, it is also known as the site of one of the worst atrocities of WWII.  In retaliation for Resistance activities, the Germans killed the entire male population - 1436 men and boys - on 13 December 1943, then burned the whole village to the ground.  As a memorial to this tragedy, the clock of the church in the central square is fixed at 2:34 PM, the hour of the massacre.

We are so fortunate to be who we are and where we are right now.