Day 10: To the Athens

Goodbye Monemvasia

We considered staying another day in Monemvasia to enjoy more of its beauty, but the windy morning made our decision easier. It was time to move on to our next stop, the Greek capital. We first drove back toward Gytheio, where we had come from. We enjoyed the view of ripe oranges, and after trying some local oranges earlier in Koroni, we wouldn't have minded trying these as well.

The trip counter stopped at 2945 kilometers today.

Driving to the north of Peloponnese

Mountains, valleys, and olive groves accompanied us on the way northward on the Peloponnese. We passed by Sparta and Tripoli.

Stopping to see the Corinth Canal

Completed in 1893, it separates the Peloponnese peninsula from the Greek mainland. The canal is 6.4 kilometers long and 25 meters wide. It is currently of little economic importance because modern ships cannot pass through it and is mainly a tourist attraction. To see it, we did some off-roading to reach about the middle of the canal.

Arriving in Athens

It took us about four hours to reach Athens, including stops. We arrived on Friday late afternoon during rush hour when people were leaving work. Our apartment was in Piraeus, and we needed to drive about 45 minutes through city traffic to get there. Google Maps directed us to less busy roads and streets. Traffic in Athens is very dynamic, with scooters and motorcycles rushing and weaving through traffic, so you really need to pay attention when changing lanes. People on scooters don't use any protective gear except for helmets; some don't even wear those.

Back to the shipwreck

We saw the wrecked ship again on our way back and couldn't resist taking another photo of it.

A short video about today's trip