[//]:# (!pinmapple 38.028246 lat 22.853062 long d3scr)
Hi five Hive HYBH folks,
It's been a while since my last contribution but my latest harvest that I'm about to unfold worth waiting (at least that's what I think - feel free to confirm this or not in the comments 馃檪). What I have for you today is a ride from the South East end of Attiki Greece up to the West end and back - not even a miniature of a US coast to coast but undoubtedly a nice 320km day trip.
I hate toll roads but they're good when they get you from A to B while sparing you from the summer traffic and that's how road 6 took me West of Athens where as soon as I take the old coastal road I take the chance to get a distant view of a ship that lies there for almost 20 years:
Traffic didn't allow me to get a better shot of the MS Mediterranean Sky. This luxurious ferry used to do Greece - Italy back in the 70s only to end like this due to the company's debt. Deserves a much better shot but for the moment let's just have a closer look till the next time I'll be around:
I continue my way riding West by the coast when I see on my left a firefighting helicopter in action refilling over the sea (watch it @ 1:45 of this video). Wildfires took their toll this summer in so many countries even on the other side of the Atlantic and Greece paid some of the highest ones. Fortunately there's many nice beaches on the way to look at and forget this drama.
Like this one at Kineta:
What a weird view to see those burnt trees contradicting the blue sea and the white sand. Here's one more with those sad blackened spectators of the sea:
And a funny uneven panoramic:
Time to go, still a long way ahead:
Only a few kms later I see warning signs of a closed road but for some reason my instinct tells me to ignore them and keep going to see what's ahead. Turns out the road at a bridge is broken due to past intense rainfalls but I take advantage of a narrow opening and decide to pass. You can see that part @ 07:28 of this video, here's a few pictures of what looked like a bombed road:
Looking at this massive destruction I don't want to imagine what will happen during the next rainstorms with so many forests burnt. I perish the thought and prefer to look at this wonderful pine tree overlooking the damage:
Time to jump back on my saddle:
"Nothing bad happens for no good reason" ancient Hellenes used to say and this closed road offered me an empty one afterwards (watch video @ 08:30). I meet a lot of traffic as I arrive at Loutraki but that's no surprise around this time of the year since it's a classic summer destination. After Loutraki though the route is low in traffic and high in beauty (video @ 09:17). This beautiful winding road brings me to the Lake Vouliagmeni, this masterpiece made of sea water:
A swimming heaven if nothing else. You can enjoy the ear massage of the water's soundtrack at the beginning of this video (at least if you ignore the people in the background). It's lovely to make a tour around the lake where at its South West corner you'll find this cute little church:
And also some funny art attempt on concrete:
However, the view remains sweet:
It's interesting to have a look at the strait that feeds the lake with sea water:
Time to make it to the main destination of my trip - the ancient site of Iraion, also the West end of this route. As I arrive the view from above leaves me stunned:
Excluding maybe the odd (obnoxious for me) presence of an orthodox church in an ancient Greek site (unfortunately not a rarity) I'd never imagine that it would be possible to swim in a site like this as it happens to be among the best swimming bays at the same time. I'm more than happy to flood my eyes with blue at the tip of this West end:
Time to take the much anticipated walk down to see the site from close:
As I get closer I am more convinced I'd prefer it without this orthodox thing:
Is this bay the epitome of sweetness or what?
This site is named Iraion as it was dedicated to Ira, goddess of marriage (!). Speaking of marriage her spouse was Zeus and though she couldn't have made a higher choice she spent her life worrying about the times Zeus would be enjoying a body that wasn't hers. This site attracts a lot of bodies due to its swimming potentials and it's the first time I am visiting one where visitors carry their swimming gear as well:
Here's another smaller cistern resting under the shade of pine trees:
Here's part of the site's wall:
This is where a hearth building used to be that was used as the temple of Ira after the original one was destroyed:
One more view to the main cistern:
This used to be the dinning area back in the day:
You know you're in Greece when you can see this:
But even without the flag I think it's kinda obvious:
One more view to the antiquities from above before I step down:
This tree is a hero, I am afraid not for long:
Going down brings me closer to this unique (by all means) bay that I can't praise enough:
The next image shows the Stoa of the site which back in the day had a ground floor and a first floor:
When was it the last time you had a better swimming option?
Here's the altar of the site, built at the same time with the temple:
Here's the first temple of Ira, built in the geometric period and destroyed most likely from an earthquake during the archaic years:
This is fortunately proven to be earthquake proof:
Here's what's left from the archaic temple of Ira:
Fancy one more bay shot?
Here's the West court of the site:
Can't have enough of that sea view:
I walk up back again to visit the nearby rock with its lighthouse. I don't miss the chance to picture those shades of blue and green:
The site from above still looks amazing:
I'm only a few meters away from the Melagavi lighthouse and have the first sight of it:
This lighthouse started its service one year after the first contemporary Olympic games (1897). It worked on diesel giving one glow every 10 seconds visible from 20 miles way. During the second world war it stayed unlit and was restarted in 1947 again on diesel. It was converted to electric in 1982 and works like this ever since. Let's have a closer look to this piece of nautical history:
Unfortunately that's all the public can see from it but the view pays back for what you might miss from the lighthouse:
Around half a km East one can make a short stop to see the Fountain of Ira.
Not much to see but here it is FYI:
Time to hit the road back home:
I make a short stop at the Corinth strait. Unfortunately the traffic and crowd didn't allow me much to enjoy or picture. Here's the old bridge where you can also do bungee jumping:
Unfortunately I missed a girl doing a jump by a few seconds. The only thing I managed to capture was her scream and this not on a device but my ears. It takes a while to wait for the next one and the crowd combined with the hot weather made me leave the spot.
Here's the other old train bridge shot from the bridge you saw above:
In the following video you can see my ride:
And in this one you can enjoy the lake Vouliagmeni and the Iraion ancient site:
Thanks for stopping by and reading, hope you enjoyed it at least as much as I did.