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Cycling in Cyprus, Israel, Palestine and Greek Islands PDF Printable Version

 

A 1,338 MILE CYCLE TOUR OF GREEK CYPRUS, ISRAEL, PALESTINIAN TERRITORIES AND THE GREEK ISLANDS OF RHODES, KOS, SAMOS & CHIOS

MARCH - MAY 2000

Margaret and Barry Williamson

Leaving our motorhome, on the excellent Ionion Beach campsite in the north-west of the Greek Peloponnese, we reached Athens airport by bicycle and train for a one-way flight to Greek Cyprus. We then cycled round southern Cyprus, Israel, the Palestinian Territory and four Greek islands in the Aegean, using ferries in between and for the return to Greece. (Daily distances given are those actually cycled, not including any miles by other forms of transport.)

Day 1 18 km IONION BEACH – PIRAEUS, GREECE (By train)

We left our motorhome to its 6-week rest, safely stored at Ionion Beach, and cycled 16 km over the 400 ft hill and across the Pineos River into the market town of Gastouni. We had been assured that just one of the several daily trains to Piraeus - the 12.15 pm - would carry bicycles in its guard's van all the way to Piraeus, and so it did (but no longer does).

Sitting in the last of the 4 carriages in the slow elderly stopping-train, we were glad that we'd brought sandwiches and drinks for the 7-hour journey (no refreshments available except Greek coffee). All was peaceful until Patras, where we were invaded by backpackers off the ferries from Italy. The line along the south shore of the Gulf of Corinth was picturesque and crossing the Corinth Canal a good photo opportunity.

The scenery deteriorated as we got nearer to Athens, turning into a horrendous industrial wasteland. The train terminated at Piraeus (the port of Athens) at 7.30 pm and we rode along the waterfront to the Hotel Acropole (one of the 2 budget hotels near the port recommended by our 'Rough Guide'). For 10,000 drachmas (about £20) we had a quiet room at the back overlooking the drainpipes, but it had a good hot shower and TV. The bicycles had to stay in the corridor. Round the corner was a choice of food at MacDonald's or Goody's (a superior Greek fast-food chain).

Day 2 17 km PIRAEUS, GREECE – LARNACA, CYPRUS (By air)

After making breakfast in our room (yogurts, bread, cheese and fruit), we bought coffees in MacDonad's, since our camping stove was devoid of gas ready for the flight!

It wasn't far to Athens International Airport at Elliniko (now replaced by the new Venizelos Airport, opened for the 2004 Olympic Games) but we had to ask directions several times. Riding east on the compass, Barry finally found a way through the chaotic traffic out of Piraeus and onto the (unsigned) dual carriageway. We turned off at Amfitri to sit by the sea and finish our packed food, helped by the pigeons (stale bread rolls) and the snoozing stray dogs, who liked cheese. After coffees in another Goody's, we re-entered the fray for the last couple of miles to the airport, encouraged by planes passing overhead (still no signposts!)

Reaching the West Terminal at 2.15 pm, we had plenty of time to prepare the bicycles and drink yet more coffee. The duty-free shops were all closed! Our 5.35 pm flight took off at 6 pm – an Olympic Airways Boeing 737, carrying mostly Greeks and Cypriots, plus 3 young Americans and ourselves. We enjoyed a meal of meat salad, orange juice and coffee before landing at Larnaca in Greek Cyprus at 7.30 pm.

The airport desk helpfully booked us into the Adonis Beach Hotel Apartments (£15 a night for 2, including breakfast) and we collected the bicycles (no problems or damage). It had been a long day and it was dark so we postponed reassembling the bikes till the morrow and took a taxi to Adonis Beach (after much negotiation with the line of cabs, none of whom wanted our business!) They told us the 'usual' fare was £4, without bicycles, and we finally agreed on £6. It turned out to be a very short ride!

Day 3 17 km In LARNACA, CYPRUS

The apartment was excellent, with its own kitchen and bathroom, a TV and a balcony. A light breakfast was served downstairs in the Bar. We restored the bicycles to normal (pedals and handlebars turned round, 4 tyres pumped up) and rode the 2 miles into Larnaca to do business. We had to change money at the bank, buy a local phone card and send Margaret's Mum a postcard. A travel agent booked us onto the overnight ferry to Haifa in Israel with budget cabin, returning on the same ferry to Rhodes with a stop-over in Larnaca. This being Friday, we had to collect and pay for the tickets on Monday.

Outside the Tourist Info office we met an interesting British ex-pat, who had served in the army and then the oil industry, now settled here with a wife from Thailand. He highly recommended retiring to the new apartments in which he lived.

For lunch we had an All-day English Breakfast at a sea-front café, freshly cooked for £2 each including toast and tea! Shopping, we got the 'Lonely Planet' guide to Israel at the Academic Bookshop, gas for our camping stove, a Cyprus cap for Barry (who'd left his on the plane) and food for self-catering from the Metro supermarket and an excellent bakery. Then we sat on the promenade eating ice creams – just like being on holiday!

We cycled back past our hotel to the Salt Lake to see a few flamingos, then returned to cook pork chops and enjoy a bath, TV and bed.

Day 4 72 km LARNACA – AGIA NAPA, CYPRUS

Had breakfast in the Bar, where the waiter gave us a bag of Egyptian cookies for the road (presented to him by an Egyptian guest!) Today (1 April) is a national holiday for Independence Day but the bakery and tourist shops were all open as we rode through busy Larnaca. We cycled east, passing beaches and a campsite, the traffic becoming less as we left town. Past the military base of the Cheshire Regiment, riding into a strong side/head wind, the road got busy again, boasting '10 Dead and 150 Injured in last 3 years' along one narrow 4-mile stretch.

By Xylophagou we were weary of the badly-driven traffic, the head wind and our heavy panniers (laden with yesterday's shopping). 'Why are we doing this?' we wondered, but soon we turned down a side road to a tiny fishing harbour at the mouth of Potamos, 24 miles from Larnaka. After brewing tea and eating the Egyptian cookies we took a back road for the last 6 miles to the package-holiday resort of Ag Napa.

Turning in at a sign saying 'Kaos Apartment Hotel', we found it aptly named! It was closed and had been taken over by the Iphigenia Apartment Hotel behind. They gave us the wrong key and we searched in vain for a door it would open, but eventually we got an apology and an apartment for £15 (no receipt - they waived the VAT).

We made lunch and unloaded our heavy bags before cycling another 15 miles into and beyond Ag Napa. The resort had all the usual fast food joints (Wimpy, MacDonald's, Pizza Hut, etc) and dozens of restaurants with English menus. The early tourists, Brits and Germans, were starting to appear, some on hired bicycles or in rented cars and jeeps distinguished by their number plates (red = fly-drives).

We pushed into the wind to reach the south-east corner of the island, the lighthouse at Cape Greko, then returned home to cook our supper, bathe and sleep. (No TV this time.)

Day 5 74 km AGIA NAPA – LARNACA, CYPRUS

Made breakfast, then cycled east again past the access to Cape Greko (3 km off our route). Turning north through the developing resort of Protaras, we found the shops closed (Sunday), the roads quiet and the strong wind now at our back. We stopped in Paralimini, a small inland town that was much less touristy, with some Turkish cafés where we bought coffee. Continuing north we came to Dherinia, a village very near the border with Turkish Cyprus, on the road that once led on to Famagusta but was now closed.

We had to turn west and follow the border for 10 miles on a newly surfaced road, with regular Turkish watch-towers and walls on our right and a few UN bases to our left. Abandoned villages and ruined churches could be seen in the Turkish zone. We left the border at Athna and headed south to meet the sea near Dhekelia, then cycled the coast road past Larnaca's campsite again. We had another All-day English Breakfast for lunch at Socrates Tavern (price Cyprus £1.95 each = £2.10 each in English money). The roads became much busier as we approached Larnaca, where the bakery was open.

We returned to the same rooms in the Adonis Beach Hotel Apartments (and found they had not fixed the gas leak we'd reported!) Margaret rang her Mum (it's Mothering Sunday in England) and the film 'The Deerhunter' was on TV. A good end to the day.

Day 6 19 km In LARNACA, CYPRUS

After breakfast in the Bar, we went to collect our ferry tickets from the travel agent opposite St Lazarus Church. The tickets to Israel were OK but he still awaited confirmation from Poseidon Line in Athens for the return voyage to Rhodes! We visited the church, built in the 9th century on the site of Lazarus' tomb. It seems he lived here for 30 years after his resurrection, becoming a Bishop in the early Christian church.

We got another phone card to make room reservations – in Nicosia for tomorrow night and later in Jerusalem with one Boaz Green (recommended in 'Lonely Planet'). At a cycle shop called 'Bike Club' we bought extra water bottles ready for the thirst of Israel. The owner tightened Margaret's loose headset while chatting in excellent English. Nearby was a large Woolworth's store with a good food hall and a MacDonald's where we had a snack.

With some difficulty, we found the small archaeological site of Ancient Kition in Larnaca but the acropolis was closed for excavation and its museum had just shut at 2.30 pm. On a second visit to the travel agent we were asked to 'come back in the morning'.

We both got short unisex haircuts, ready for the heat of Israel, then returned to Adonis Beach. Hotel management had fixed the gas leak by disconnecting it at the bottle on the balcony, but were kind enough to reconnect it while we quickly cooked supper, then turned it off again!

Day 7 56 km LARNACA – NICOSIA, CYPRUS

We cycled back into town to buy a supply of US dollars ready for Israel, using Eurocheques at the bank, sent more postcards and reported once again to the travel agent. He had lost patience with Poseidon Line and booked us on a Salamis ferry leaving 2 days later than planned. We had to collect the papers ourselves, from the Salamis shipping office near the police station, and were finally in possession of return tickets from Limassol to Haifa, plus singles from Limassol to Rhodes. The price was £109 each for the return tickets, plus £69 each for the singles (including the cheapest 2-berth cabin on each voyage).

At 11.30 am we were at last on our way to Nicosia, avoiding the A2 motorway, with the quiet B2 road to ourselves. We paused to make coffee at the wayside near the Turkish border, where it bulges south. Next stop was to make lunch in the village of Dhali by a dry riverbed, where we sat on a fallen road sign ('Potamia 4 km').

A dusty mile of road works heralded the junction with the much busier B1 (from Limassol), for the final 13 km through a zone of heavy industry. We had to negotiate steelworks, lorries, traffic jams and many traffic lights till we reached the old city walls of Nicosia by the Paphos Gate. This is the 'Checkpoint Charlie' of this divided city, the only crossing point between the Greek and Turkish sides of the island.

A couple of miles south-west of the old city centre we found the Lordos Apartment Hotel we had booked - a comfortable flat on the ground floor, shared with our bicycles. It was located near the American and French Embassies and we were directed to Zorba's, an excellent bakery catering to their tastes!

We cooked supper, bathed and watched John Travolta in 'Michael' on TV.

Day 8 11 km In NICOSIA, CYPRUS

We rode about 2 miles into Nicosia centre, phoned to book a room in the Troodos Moutains tomorrow night and found a place to tighten Margaret's head-set (again). Several streets ended abruptly in a blockade of oil drums and sandbags among the abandoned crumbling buildings, with plenty of Greek flags alongside the Cypriot ones.

Then we looked briefly at the historic centre – very touristy – and went to Tourist Information to check the rules for crossing into Turkish Cyprus. We learnt that bicycles are not allowed to cross under any circumstances and we must cross on foot before 1 pm! So a swift ride back to the Lordos Hotel, to leave the bicycles safe and grab a quick coffee, then a £1 taxi ride to the Paphos Gate to cross before the deadline.

The border formalities did not take long – our passports were checked and names taken on the Greek side, where we were warned to return by 5 pm to avoid a fine! To enter the Turkish-occupied part we simply had to complete a form, with no payment required. Over the line, Turkish taxi-drivers offered rides into the town but it was not far and we walked.

We soon found the 3 minarets of the Selimiye Mosque, originally built in the 13th century as St Sophie Cathedral in the French Gothic style. Its roof and spires were long gone but it is in daily use for Islam. Next to it are the sad ruins of the 14th century Greek church of Agios Nikolaus. Across the way, we wandered round the covered market, selling bread (Ekmek – the only Turkish word we remember) and basic foods. Prices were in Turkish Lire but the traffic was driving on the left (as in the Greek part of the island), with a mixture of right- and left-hand-drive cars.

We sat outside one of the few restaurants, where waiters were enticing us to eat, and enjoyed a decent meal of chicken and mince kebabs, salad, rice and yogurt. We were probably overcharged, paying in Cyprus £, but it saved the bother of changing money into Lire for the short visit. Then we simply walked round the inside of the city walls, greeted by children practising their school English, with no hassle at all and much less traffic. The Kyrenia Gate housed the Tourist Office but it was closed. The 'Green Line' of the border was overlooked by UN posts, their staff housed in a smart hotel by the Pafos Gate next to a park and playing fields.

We walked back through the checkpoint with 2 French Canadians, who were as puzzled by it all as we were. So much propaganda to unscramble on both sides, especially the Greek. Weary, we took another taxi ride back to our hotel, whose owner called the Turkish Cypriots 'very stupid' and got quite angry that we had been. However, we understood when he told us that he once had a hotel in Famagusta which he had to abandon when the Turks invaded, leaving his home and his business to fall into ruins.

Day 9 57 km NICOSIA – AGROS, CYPRUS (Over a 1250 m pass)

We cycled out of Nicosia through the smart suburbs on busy roads, heading for the Troodos Mountains (high enough for winter ski-ing). At Arediou we stopped to make coffee by a church, after which the road began to climb gradually alongside a dry river bed. Riding in warm sunshine with a back wind, our next stop was as Apliki to eat our lunch under a tree outside the tiny village post office, 40 km from Nicosia. We bought some pop, which came with a gift of 2 tomatoes! We had a third stop, just 3 very steep km further on, to make coffee! Then another 8 km of graded climbing, a couple of hairpins to the top of the pass (1,250 m = 4,125 ft) and a 6 km freewheel descent to the Troodos Mountain village of Agros.

We had a good room in the one-stars Hotel Vlachos, where the kind woman brought us a tray of coffee before we dined on pork chops and chips at the restaurant opposite. We are feeling much fitter, stronger and browner now that we are getting into our tour.

Day 10 76 km AGROS – LIMASSOL, CYPRUS

Taking quiet roads, the long way round through the Troodos villages, we enjoyed 60 km of excellent cycling before meeting heavy traffic along the seafront to the port of Limassol. We got a simple apartment for £12 at the Tasiana Hotel for our last night before the ferry to Israel.

Day 11 17 km LIMASSOL, CYPRUS - HAIFA, ISRAEL (F/B Nissos Kypros)

We left our packed panniers at the Tasiana Hotel to collect later and cycled into the centre of Limassol. We shopped at Woolworth's food hall, bought a map of Israel and Margaret got a light skirt from a roadside stall (for visiting holy sites, which may not approve of cyclists' legs in shorts!)

After fish & chips for lunch, we looked at the outside of a castle where Richard the Lionheart married his Queen Berengaria. Then we sat awhile in a promenade garden until it was time to pick up our baggage and fight a head wind out to the port for the 8 pm boat.

The ferry boat 'Nissos Kypros' (= Island of Cyprus) was actually running a mini-cruise from Piraeus via Rhodes and Limassol to Haifa and on to Egypt, returning the same way. We descended into the bowels of the boat to find our tiny 2-bunk inside cabin with wash-basin, for a slightly rough overnight passage to Haifa. Expensive tea and coffee were available in the bar along with a free 'cabaret' and the restaurant offered 2 sittings for dinner, which we didn't take.

Strangely, a large convoy of German 'Hymer' motorhomes filled the car deck (where we left our bicycles), bound for a group tour of Israel. There were just 2 other cyclists on board, a young German man and an older Italian, both riding alone.

Day 12 88 km HAIFA – TIBERIAS, ISRAEL

We rose early, glad to escape our cupboard-like cabin to enjoy the breakfast buffet before docking at Haifa at 6 am. We were off the boat and through Israeli customs before 8 am (or actually 7 am local time, as we later discovered!) The traffic was already busy, though all the shops and cafes were closed on this early Sunday morning. Luckily, we saw a garage open and working, where we borrowed a spanner to tighten Margaret's headset yet again.

We cycled on the hard shoulder of what was virtually a motorway for all of the 30 miles to Nazareth. Every motorway services or café we passed was firmly closed (to our surprise, believing that Sunday was not the Jewish Sabbath). The tough ride ended in a very steep climb to the town before dropping into the old centre. Again, everything was shut except the Burger King which, to our great relief, was about to open. We paid for our food and drink in US $, at an exchange rate of 4.2 shekels to the dollar.

Nazareth, Shekels – how wonderful! Memories of Sunday School and bible stories came flooding back. Exploring, we found the modern Roman Catholic Basilica of the Annunciation, built over earlier churches (from the 4th century onwards) on the supposed site of Mary's house, by the cave where the angel Gabriel appeared to her. Up the hill we saw St Mary's Well and St Gabriel's Church (Greek Orthodox), where they believe he appeared. Meanwhile, Moslems prayed on mats in the square below, where the bazaar stalls were closed. Nazareth is a mixed Christian/Arab town, surprisingly uncommercialised considering its biblical fame.

The next 25 miles to Tiberias were easier cycling with a back wind, through a heavy shower of rain. The Tourist Information in Tiberias recommended the Youth Hostel and we were pleased to be allocated a 5-bunk dorm to ourselves. We were less pleased when noisy groups of youngsters came to share the floor and mosquitoes to share the room.

Day 13 70 km CIRCUIT OF LAKE GALILEE FROM TIBERIAS, ISRAEL

We were down early for the Youth Hostel breakfast, before going out to change some Deutschmarks into Shekels. We tried in vain to telephone any hotels in Jericho (being in Palestinian Territory), then spent Margaret's 51st birthday cycling round the Sea of Galilee, as described in Lonely Planet's 'Top Ten Things to Do'!

It was not always easy to find the route of the gently hilly 40-mile circuit, which we rode clockwise. The first stop was at the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes (sic) at Tabgha. Margaret donned the new skirt over her shorts to view the 5th century mosaic floor and other early remains within the soul-less modern church. We remember it as the Church of the Multiplication of the Tourists – the souvenir shop had a large range, priced in US $, and goldfish swam in a pool at the entrance (loaves extra!)

The Sea of Galilee is actually Israel's largest fresh-water lake, supplying one third of its drinking water and is the lowest fresh-water lake in the world at 203 m below sea level. Continuing round it, we soon stopped again at St Peter's Church of the Primacy, with its altar, over a rock in the harbour where Jesus told Peter to lead his church.

The next point of interest was at Capernicum, home of several disciples including Peter and Andrew, now marked by both a synagogue and a red-roofed Greek Orthodox church. The road gave frequent views of Lake Galilee, as we rode through scented orange groves, banana and date palm plantations, cattle ranches and even an ostrich farm, all part of a series of Kibbutzim (collective farming settlements).

We didn't take the side-trip climb up the Mount of Beatitudes for a sermon (or a lake view from its Italian church). The bird life was plentiful and colourful, with hoopoes and vibrant kingfishers dipping in the River Jordan as it flows from the southern end of Galilee. The plentiful water makes the surroundings all very green and lush: even the grim-sounding Golan Heights on the border with Syria were green.

We made lunch in a Golan bus shelter, since the beaches were privately owned by expensive restaurants on the west shores of the lake. At the little port of En-Gev we bought a pot of tea and sat watching the tourists taking the ferry across to Tiberias, which would have made a short cut, but we continued cycling round for a final 15 miles, arriving back just before dark. We were ready for the good Youth Hostel dinner of soup, schnitzel (pork?), spaghetti and salad, followed by fruit. A memorable birthday!

Day 14 63 km TIBERIAS – MA'AYAN HAROD, ISRAEL

We rode south with a good back-wind to the foot (south end) of the Sea of Galilee, continuing on Road 90 (partly paralleled by a cycle path) down the Jordan Valley. The rolling green land was planted with fruit, vines and wheat, irrigated of course by the River Jordan. Storks circled high above on the thermals and we saw more hoopoes, bee-eaters and other unidentified flying objects.

On the border with Jordan we stopped at the 'Peace Island', the site of a hydro-electric plant at Naharayim, abandoned in the War of Independence. Since the Peace Treaty in 1994 it became a pleasant park to visit until in September 1997 a Jordanian soldier went berserk, shooting and killing 7 Israeli girls on a school trip. A memorial garden has been planted on the hillside there, with 7 landscaped mounds bearing the girls' names in flowers. A man working for the Israeli Forestry Dept there told us the story as we had a drink in the café, in the company of 2 Israeli soldiers and 3 American tourists.

Riding on to Beit She'an, we found MacDonald's-in-the-wilderness and joined a coach party of Americans for a feed. After eating and (more importantly) drinking our fill, we took a brief look at the ruins denoting 8,000 years of occupation – Egyptians, Jews, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders and Turks. A 6,000-seater amphitheatre (much robbed for later Crusader-Castle building) stands some way from the main site, the most extensively excavated in Israel. There is a second Roman theatre, temple and baths, with Byzantine remains overlapping the earlier ruins. We didn't pay the entry fee to linger in the fierce afternoon heat, as we had to make a 10-mile detour west up the Harod Valley to the Ma'ayan Harod National Park, where we knew of a Youth Hostel (and no other accommodation).

The Hostel was a collection of 6-bunk bungalows, each complete with fridge, kettle and bathroom, and we had one to ourselves. As we wished to leave early next day for the ride to Jericho, missing breakfast, a cold meal was provided on a tray ready for the morning! Israel's Youth Hostels are certainly above average in price (payable in US $), but the service is exemplary.

DAY 15 114 km MA'AYAN HAROD – JERICHO, PALESTINE

We left at 7 am for a hard ride (over 70 miles) in heavy traffic with a head wind, the temperature soon reaching 35 degrees C (or 95 F). We paused only for drinks, paying 8 shekels – about 2 US $ or over £1 – for a bottle of cold water once we'd drained our own bottles!

Arriving in the shabby Palestinian town of Jericho before 2.30 pm, we checked into the only accommodation, the Jerusalem Hotel, drank and rested through the heat of the afternoon. The owner, originally from Jerusalem, had a faded photo showing Yasser Arafat at his hotel, though he professed no love for the Palestinian leader. The building had certainly seen better times, in the days when tourist coaches came, and the bed had no sheets, only a blanket.

Later, cooler, we rode into the town and bought fruit and freshly pressed orange juice at a roadside stall run by a friendly one-eyed Arab, near the cable car which goes up to the Monastery of the Temptation. We saw the ruins of the Walls of Jericho, overlooked by a now defunct hotel, and felt sorry at the collapse of Palestine's tourist industry.

Day 16 56 km JERICHO – JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

After a simple hotel breakfast (we were the only guests), we left our baggage and rode south from Jericho to the Dead Sea (about 11 miles each way), passing the site of Jesus's baptism in the River Jordan. Access to the Dead Sea (the world's lowest at 410 m below sea level) involved buying a ticket, which we did at Siesta Beach, though we just watched others mud-wallowing and unsinkably floating! Notices gave serious warnings about the chemicals in the water, which are becoming ever more concentrated as the Sea shrinks through evaporation and over-irrigation from the Jordan, which feeds it. Bathers were advised to seek medical help if splashed in the face or eyes and to shower immediately after bathing. Margaret waded in for a quick paddle and photo, then rinsed the salts off her stinging legs.

Cycling back to the hotel in Jericho, we found the owner's offer of an onward lift to Jerusalem proved as unreliable as his promise of dinner last night! After some argument, his son procured us a taxi for the nerve-racking 35-minute drive, climbing out of the heat of the Judean desert up into the cool of East Jerusalem, our bicycles tied to the roof! Palestinian taxis were only allowed as far as the eastern Arab quarter of the city and we were dropped by Herod's Gate.

Somehow, we found our way through the Moslem and Jewish quarters, outside the old city walls and south-west to Boaz Green's Guest House at 4 Rachel Imenu Street (as recommended by Lonely Planet and duly booked by us). Boaz had a nice apartment ready for us and spoke fluent English, after some years in the USA. He lived on the ground floor of the block and tended a lovely little garden for his guests. He directed us to a nearby pizza restaurant (Kosher, of course). The cable TV in our room has CNN, BBC World, Eurosport and others channels, so we caught up on the news.

Day 17 14 km In JERUSALEM, ISRAEL

We changed more money and shopped locally, discovering that the clocks had gone forward an hour during the night. Barry planned a route round Jerusalem while Margaret made lunch (it works better that way round!)

We began by cycling 4 km to the central bus station to check whether bus 940 to Haifa would take bicycles and were relieved to find there was no problem with that. We rode on through the New City, shopping at the arcaded market for fresh strawberries and coconut-pyramid buns, both sold very cheaply by the kilo! The crowds, excitement and noise became more intense as the Sabbath approached (it's Friday), then by 4 pm the roads suddenly grew quiet, empty of the ubiquitous Egged buses. (Jewish Shabbat is from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.)

Continuing along Jaffa Road to the Jaffa Gate, we rode clockwise outside the Old City walls, past the Arab market at the Damascus Gate, then entered the throng in the Old City through the Lions' (or St Stephen's) Gate. Along the Via Dolorosa, past many sites – holy and commercial – we came to David's Tower and out through the Jaffa Gate. We had never seen such a fascinating mix of race, religion and culture, as we crossed and recrossed the invisible dividing lines inside this most ancient and sacred city.

Day 18 44 km JERUSALEM – BETHLEHEM – JERUSALEM

We cycled from our Guest House directly to Bethlehem and had coffees in Manger Square, where the banners were still up from the Pope's recent tour of the Holy Land. A stage was being erected as we sat, and the waiter told us that Yasser Arafat and the President of China were due later in the day. We did not detect any local interest in this, though Bethlehem is in the Palestinian Territory.

We took turns to visit the Church of the Nativity, while the other guarded the bicycles and talked with the souvenir sellers (bought 2 caps with Bethlehem Stars on from a friendly multilingual Arab). There has been a church over the traditional site of Christ's birth since 339 AD. The atmosphere in the Greek Orthodox Grotto of the Nativity below an Orthodox monastery was splendid, even to us sceptics. We were befriended by the Orthodox monk in charge of crowd control, who let each of us go to the front of the queue of coach trippers filing through the grotto, past the altar, which marks the site of the manger.

The Roman Catholics had the adjacent Franciscan Church of St Catherine, giving access to other grottos with tombs, the room where St Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, and Joseph's Cave (where he had the dream explaining Christ's conception). We also visited the Roman Catholic Milk Grotto (on nearby Milk Grotto Street), where Mary fed her baby. We were impressed enough to make a phone call each to England, to share the experience with our family.

Astonished (not least at the rivalry between the 2 oldest Christian faiths), we rode a couple of miles out of Bethlehem following signs to the Shepherds' Fields at Beit Sahur village. Again, there were rival sets of fields! The Roman Catholics won this round, with an open church next to the ruins of a 4th century monastery. The Greek Orthodox fields had a church with an entrance fee, though it was firmly locked today!

We dined on Felafel and Shwarma (no choice) at the Shepherds' Café on Shepherd Street, then took a longer route through the hills back to Jerusalem. It was steep, hot and dusty, with more traffic than we met coming out. In the suburbs of the city's Arab quarter we met the first (and only) hostility we had in Israel, with 2 groups of boys shouting and throwing the odd stone but we kept going and they missed. Arriving at Herod's Gate (where the taxi from Jericho had dropped us), we found our way more easily via the Damascus and Jaffa Gates, back to Boaz Green's Guest House.

Day 19 In JERUSALEM

Today is Palm Sunday (the week before Easter) and we are certainly in an appropriate place. Leaving the bicycles safe at the Guest House, we took a bus into the centre and walked back, enabling us to explore the narrow alleys and bazaars of the Old City unencumbered.

We visited the major religious sites: first the Wailing Wall (the only remains of the Second Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD) which was busy with Jewish pilgrims praying and leaving notes tucked among its stones, including a new separate section of wall for women. Nearby is a new Holocaust Museum.

Overlooking the Wall, in a wooded garden where families had picnics and played, is the rock on which Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac and from which Abraham later ascended into Heaven (therefore sacred to Jews, Moslems and Christians, holding the Old Testament in common). Islam's oldest existing monument (690 AD), the golden-roofed Dome of the Rock mosque, now marks this site.

Moving on to the Via Dolorosa, we followed many monks, nuns and other pilgrims along the route Christ took to his crucifixion, now marked by the Stations of the Cross. Palm leaves adorned many buildings today, marking Jesus' welcome as he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey the week before his death. The pilgrimage ends at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built over the site where Christ is thought to have died, been buried and risen from the dead. There has been a church at this place since the 4th century, though the present one dates mainly from 1810. Control is shared by the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Armenian and Coptic churches, all of whom hold regular services. The Armenians even have a monastery on its roof. We found it suitably gloomy.

We returned to our Guest House on foot and packed up after a comfortable 4-day stay. Tomorrow we take the 8 pm ferry from Haifa back to Cyprus.

Day 20 11 km JERUSALEM - HAIFA, ISRAEL (By bus) - LIMASSOL, CYPRUS (F/B Nissos Kypros)

We cycled 4 km to the New Central Bus Station for the 10.30 am bus (no 940) – a new no-smoking coach whose copious basement lockers took our bicycles and panniers with ease. We travelled smoothly to Haifa in 1 hr 45 mins.

Riding round to the port, we ate our sandwiches and bought coffees with our last few Shekels. A call to Margaret's Mum finished off our phone card and we were ready to leave. The afternoon passed, talking to 3 diverse fellow-travellers. Lothar Kittel, a middle-aged backpacker from Stuttgart, and a young student cyclist from Leipzig had both flown out from Germany to Cyprus and taken the ferry for a week or so in Israel, like ourselves. Robert Hamel from New Mexico, USA, was a more interesting and placid companion, carrying the largest back (and front) pack we'd ever seen. Retired (the same age as Barry), he had been travelling for 7 years and was now on his way from Aman in Jordan to Rhodes, after spending the winter in India.

The now familiar ferry boat sailed at 8 pm for a calm crossing. To minimise the time spent in our stuffy little below-sea level cabin, we treated ourselves to the 4-course dinner and then let the 3 showgirls entertain us in the bar over coffees.

Day 21 18 km In LIMASSOL, CYPRUS

We were up at 6 am to watch the boat arrive in Limassol, docking at 7.30 am. Escaping Herr Kittel, who had slept on deck and tried to 'borrow' some money from us 'until he found a bank', we joined Robert Hamel at a café on the waterfront for breakfast.

After picking up a packet of mail from England at the Post Office, we returned to the Tasiana Hotel. We did some washing, shopped at the local mini-market and made supper, as rain began to fall outside. There was no TV but we could listen to the Forces Radio broadcasting 'The Archers'!

Day 22 In LIMASSOL, CYPRUS

The weather had turned very stormy, so we enjoyed an enforced rest day at the Tasiana Hotel apartment. The mail was opened and read, postcards were written in reply to personal letters from friends, bank statements were checked, etc. We also wrote enquiries to 'Bicycle Australia' in New South Wales and to the Australian Tourist Commission in London, gathering information for our next major ride, from Perth to Brisbane.

We sorted our stuff and packed a box of items now surplus to requirements (books, maps and warmer clothing), to post to ourselves c/o Ionion Beach Camping back in the Greek Peloponnese.

Day 23 In LIMASSOL, CYPRUS

As we prepared to leave for the ride to Pafos, Barry found his rear tyre flat. By the time he had replaced the inner tube, the stormy weather had set in again and we postponed our departure. We spent the day reading and watching gale force wind and rain sweep by. Margaret walked as far as the mini-market, buying frozen chicken-burgers to cook for supper (of which, more later).

Day 24 15 km In LIMASSOL, CYPRUS

Heavy rain in the morning again postponed our ride to Pafos. As the weather gradually improved, we cycled into town to post our mail (sending the box to Greece for £6, economy rate – well worth it to lighten our load!). We shopped in Woolworth's food hall and also bought a spare tyre.

We enjoyed lunch at a fish & chips café, but by mid-afternoon Margaret felt unwell and was very sick once we were back at the apartment (yesterday's chicken-burgers?) Glad we hadn't set off for Pafos, she slept for the rest of the day.

Day 25 87 km LIMASSOL - PAFOS, CYPRUS

Good Friday and a very tough ride, with heavy traffic, a head wind and Margaret still unwell.

Feeling better after breakfast, we set out via Ypsonas and Episkopi. Near Ancient Curium (a Mycenean settlement with a 2nd century theatre) we sheltered from a rain shower in the cave tombs under the rock, then stopped again at the ancient Stadium by the Sanctuary of Apollo to make coffee, as Margaret was feeling weaker. Barry helped by taking one of her panniers.

From there the road went inland and was more hilly. After coffee and toasted sandwiches at a café near Pissouri, Margaret was sick again but then revived for the second half of the day. At the Tourist Pavilion, where our road met the coast at the rocks of Petra Tou Romiou (Aphrodite's birthplace), we had a pot of tea. We would have enjoyed the final 20 miles, with a better wind and less hills, if the motorway traffic hadn't now joined our narrow route, with every jeep and SUV out-to-kill on this holiday weekend.

We bypassed Palea Pafos and its Temple of Aphrodite, entering modern Pafos via the village of Yeroskipos, keen to get a room. Hotel apartments are more expensive in this package holiday resort – our first enquiry cost £33 – but we found a very comfortable flat at the Theseas Hotel Apartments for £22 a night.

Margaret, much recovered, shopped at the nearby supermarket and returned to find Barry unwell (and later sick). We therefore decided to stay in Pafos over the Easter weekend, rather than ride into the Troodos Mountains again. (We have to return to Limassol on Monday, for the Tuesday afternoon ferry to Rhodes.)

Day 26 In PAFOS, CYPRUS

Easter Saturday - Barry rested all day and slowly recovered. We still blame those chicken-burgers! Margaret went to the bank, did the washing and explored locally.

In the afternoon it was sunny enough to read by the hotel pool, but not warm enough for bathing. We managed bread and soup for supper and watched TV all evening.

Day 27 25 km In PAFOS, CYPRUS

We both feeling better, though still weak, we passed the morning watching an old Western 'Ponderosa' on the TV, then cycled out after lunch.

Riding through Pafos and up the coast for a few miles, we visited the 4th century BC 'Tombs of the Kings'. We also found some small catacombs with an early Byzantine church, and the site of St Paul's Pillar among the ruins of an early Christian basilica. The early Chrysopolitissa Church, near the Frankish baths, is now in use as an Anglican Church and the Easter Sunday service was in progress.

We returned via the old harbour and Turkish fort but the area was crowded with tourists and fish restaurants and had very little atmosphere. Greek Cyprus is not Greece!

Over corned beef hash for supper, we watched TV and prayed for a fair wind back to Limassol!

Day 28 81 km PAFOS - LIMASSOL, CYPRUS

The Easter Monday traffic was horrendous, both hire cars and jeeps (red number plates) and lorries, all passing much too near us on the coast road where it poured with heavy showers of rain, soaking us through to our undies.

After 20 miles of this we had a coffee break in the Tourist Pavilion, after which most of the traffic went onto the motorway and the rain stopped, so we enjoyed the rest of the ride, brewing up at the roadside for lunch. After Episkopi we took a quieter road into Limassol along the coast, much better and shorter than our outward route.

Back at Limassol's Tasiana Hotel, we were given a much better apartment (still for £12) as our regular room had been double-booked! We used its washing machine, dried our gear, shopped and cooked. Now both recovered, we are hungry again!

Day 29 14 km LIMASSOL, CYPRUS – RHODES, GREECE (F/B Nissos Kypros)

Dry at last with a light wind, it was a good day for passage to the Greek island of Rhodes in the Dodecanese. The good ship Nissos Kypros, fresh in from Haifa, was due to leave at 2 pm for the overnight voyage.

We cycled to the ferry for noon, bought coffee, stowed our bicycles and were allocated to dungeon (sorry, cabin!) 213, way down below the car deck. It sailed at 2.30 pm and we ate our packed lunch on deck. The other passengers were a large Polish group, returning on a 6-day cruise from Piraeus, and the German motorhome rally we'd seen on the boat to Haifa, back from a 2-week tour of Israel and Jordan.

The only others on board were 2 retired couples from Hawaii (Jim & Jacky and their friends George & Miriam), with whom we spent the afternoon. They told us they'd spent 18 months planning their tour, which began by flying to Egypt via London, then a flight to Larnaca to see Cyprus, and now ferries to Rhodes, Crete and Piraeus, before flying back to London via Italy. George, the eldest, had worked for US Government Defence on their nuclear weapons program and had been to conferences all round the world. He knew New Zealand and Australia (where he had a brother) well and was a good raconteur. Jim (who had lost a hand) once lived in San Francisco and was very informative about California – all useful for planning our forthcoming round-the-world cycle ride. We all watched a school of dolphins follow the boat, a lovely experience.

Then we enjoyed dinner in the busy restaurant, despite the harassed head waiter's attempt to make us wait for second sitting at 9 pm, even though we had tickets for the 7.30 pm meal (he failed). The crew and their system was chaotic, to say the least, with no dancing girls in the bar tonight (to the disappointment of the Poles)!

We slept well, down in our cupboard.

Day 30 3 km In RHODES TOWN, RHODES, GREECE

We had a buffet breakfast on board and talked with the Hawaii 4 again, before the ferry docked on time in Rhodes harbour at 9.30 am. It immediately began to pour with rain, which lasted all day.

In the town we changed our remaining Cyprus pounds into drachmas, collected maps and advice from the Tourist Police office (pleased to see they had 2 police patrol bicycles) and checked into the recommended Moschos Hotel just round the corner. Through the wet afternoon, we read the information, planned a route round the island and watched TV ('The Thornbirds' with Greek subtitles).

Later we had to brave the torrential rain to eat, paddling round the centre to find a good restaurant serving delicious moussaka. In Greece it is now Holy Week (Orthodox Easter is a week later than 'Catholic' Easter this year), so the evening TV is given over to biblical epics. Tonight we enjoyed Joseph and his Dreamcoat. Interesting to note the British influence in Cyprus – driving on the left and celebrating Catholic/Protestant Easter.

Day 31 26 km In RHODES TOWN, RHODES

Dry and fine again for a day exploring in and around the town. We shopped at British Home Stores (it's a British holiday island) for new socks and tee-shirts and checked on the times of our next ferry to the island of Kos.

The old town centre of Rhodes was very impressive, with its medieval walls, castles and churches and we cycled round the dry moat between the two sets of walls. Also visited the remains of ancient burial sites, the Odeon and Stadium on the Acropolis hill, the rubble of a Palatial House and a Hellenistic House. These were indicated by brown signs, though there was no information and little care had been taken of them.

Nothing remains of the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World. A bronze and silver statue of the sun-god Helios, completed in 290 BC and erected near the present Castle of the Knights, we were told that it stood over 100 ft tall, comparable with New York's Statue of Liberty. Sadly, it was felled by an earthquake only 65 years later.

We lunched at Goody's, sitting outside in the sunshine, and noticed the shop windows were full of bargain umbrellas. The rainy season must be over! Back at the hotel, we watched Charlton Heston explain the relevance of the Old Testament, then Zeffirelli's film 'Jesus of Nazareth'. Fresh from the Holy Land ourselves, it was interesting to see the portrayal of Jericho, Galilee and so on – probably filmed in Arizona!

Day 32 88 km RHODES TOWN - GENNADI, RHODES

Rhodes is the largest and most fertile of the Dodecanese, meaning '12', though there are actually 16 inhabited islands in the group. Lying much nearer to Turkey, they only joined Greece in 1948 after being occupied by Ottoman Turks and 20th century Italians. Rhodes and Kos are the most popular with foreign tourists.

Rhodes Town is at the northern tip of the island, which we cycled round in a clockwise direction. A good minor coast road took us south to Faliraki, where we brewed up in a little park by the sea before joining more traffic on the main road. This cut inland past Afandou and Archangelos, through hills (steepest 10%) and a sudden torrential downpour. We had to shelter in a supermarket and later took cover, along with several scooter and motorbike riders and 2 Italian cyclists, in a disused building a few miles before Lindos. The Italians told us it was their first cycling/camping holiday but they preferred canoeing. They planned to paddle round the Greek Ionion island of Zakynthos in the summer, where they would probably get less wet!

Descending into Lindos (the island's second resort), we dried out over chicken & chips, then climbed back up and over and on to Gennadi through a crashing thunderstorm - and Rhodes boasts 300 days of sunshine a year! Gennadi is a quiet hill-top village overlooking the sea, three-quarters of the way down the east coast. The only accommodation to be found was the Betty Apartments, with very good rooms for 7,000 dr (about £14).

It's Orthodox Good Friday and we could hear the 7 pm church service from our balcony, where sodden shoes and socks were hung out to dry. There is no TV but the book-swap shelf in Reception provided a 4-year-old Rough Guide to the Dodecanese and Penny Junor's recent book, 'Charles: Victim or Villain', so we spent the evening reading.

Day 33 51 km GENNADI – MONOLITHOS, RHODES

On a fine dry morning with a strong side-wind off the land, we found Gennadi's bakery before riding south on the quiet coast road. The turquoise sea to our left, spring cornfields brimming with golden daisies and bright red poppies on our right, larks singing overhead, it was a wonderful Easter Saturday.

Near the bottom of the island we stopped to sit under the trees in the Plateia (square) at Katavia, the southernmost village, eating freshly cooked omelettes and bread. Then up the west coast to Apolakia, where we brewed tea in the churchyard and ate donuts bought in Gennadi.

The final 10 km was a gradual climb to Monolithos, a tiny village perched high above the sea. (The monolith is a 700 ft rocky spur rising sheer from the sea, topped by a castle.) There was only one dusty hotel, but our room had a fridge and hot-plate for cooking. The late-night church service ended at midnight, followed by a candle-lit procession to a blazing bonfire and loud fireworks – all of which we watched from our balcony, into the early hours!

Day 34 65 km MONOLITHOS - KALAVARDA, RHODES

Easter Sunday, with an early sea mist rising as we rode north to the stone hillside village of Siana, where we had coffee. Then, with a choice of road, we turned inland into the wonderfully quiet pine-wooded hills which circle the island's highest peaks (culminating in Mt Ataviros at 1,215 m, just under 4,000 ft).

We brewed up by a country church near Ag Issidoros, then stopped for lunch further on in the 'traditional mountain village' of Embonas, where the restaurant was catering to coach tours with excellent roast lamb chops in the Easter tradition. After eating our fill, we descended from the 'Roof of Rhodes' to regain the coast road, passed the castle at Kritinia and had the benefit of a back-wind along the western shores, seeing more goats than cars!

At Kalavarda, we found a 5,000 dr room in the 'Sun Pension', memorable for the welcome plate of home-made biscuits. Margaret found a phone box to wish Mum a Happy (Greek) Easter.

Day 35 57 km KALAVARDA – RHODES TOWN, RHODES

It's a double public holiday, for both May Day and Easter Monday, meaning that all the shops are closed, beautiful posies of wildflowers adorn front doors and car bonnets (the May Day custom), and the mid-morning church services are packed.

The back-wind was still with us, riding up the increasingly busy coast road, past the airport and another 30 km to Rhodes Town. In the town we did find an All-Day English Breakfast for lunch, then tried in vain for a supermarket or even an ice cream – everything had closed. We discovered a Commonwealth War Graves cemetery, the last resting place of mainly RAF servicemen from 1943 onwards, when Rhodes and Kos passed from Italian to German control.

We returned to the Moschos Hotel and the luxury of a television, eating later at Goody's. The hotel receptionist seemed pleased with the gift of the book about Prince Charles, which hadn't taken us long to read!

Day 36 22 km RHODES TOWN, RHODES – KOS TOWN, KOS (F/B Rodos)

The stormy weather forecast proved wrong and we had a good 4-hour crossing to Kos, sailing at 2 pm. On leaving the hotel we shopped at Eurospar, made coffee in a children's playground, boarded the Dane Line ferry at 1 pm and ate our sandwiches on deck in the sunshine. The only other cyclist on board was from Amsterdam and had flown into Rhodes and ridden round the island. He said Kos is more popular with Dutch cyclists, being flatter!

The voyage was interesting, along the coast of Turkey past the tiny Greek island of Symi, haunt of day-trippers from Rhodes. Arriving at Kos Town at the north-east corner of Kos, the Turkish resort of Bodrum was clearly visible across the water. There were indeed plenty of bicycles pedalling around, mostly rented Dutch roadsters.

We checked the 3 budget hotels listed in our Rough Guide, all of which had closed down! Defeated, we gave in to a persistent tout who had met our ferry and followed him to his mother's Rooms, where we got a nice 'Studio' for 7,000 dr. Later we rode back into town to check on times for the weekly ferry to Samos. While eating at Goody's, with the bikes securely locked near our outside table, one of our cycle-computers was stolen from its clip on the handlebars – a lesson learnt. We've always found Greeks exceptionally honest, but the same cannot be said for international tourists.

Day 37 76 km KOS TOWN – KAMARI, KOS

In Kos Town we collected a map from Tourist Information and found a cycle shop to buy a new speedo, after last night's theft, and a tyre and inner tube for Barry, following a rear puncture. We were more watchful whilst having coffee at Goody's, then finally got on the road at about noon .

We rode west for 4 km to pass the Asklepeion, an ancient sanctuary to the god of healing (Kos was the 5th century BC home of Hippocrates, father of medicine), then continued south-west along the coast for a picnic lunch on the beach at Tingaki. Turning inland into the hills with sea views and little traffic, we cycled through Antimacheia with its medieval castle and past the airport, reached the south coast and turned west along Paradise Beach (also known as Bubble Beach), where the sunbeds were already lined up.

After 35 miles, in Kamari near the south-west corner of the island, we found a very nice apartment between the main road and the sea. We unloaded our panniers, drank tea, fitted the new speedo and did some washing. At 5.30 pm, we set off to ride to the end of the road at the southern tip of Kos, about 6 miles each way. It was a steep climb to Kefalos village, then uphill all the way to Ag Ioannis church, from where an even steeper rough track led to the radio and telecom masts on the top of Mt Latra (428 m or 1,412 ft) which we'd seen from below, now shrouded in mist! Our reward was the long freewheel back to Kamari, where we cooked sausages & mash for supper and slept well.

Day 38 50 km KAMARI, KOS – VATHI, SAMOS (F/B Ialysos)

We cycled the length of the island back to Kos Town in strong winds, to be met by rumours of ferry cancellations. We lunched at Goody's, bought fruit at the street market and got tickets for the 2 pm boat to the North-eastern Aegean island of Samos. The hydrofoil fleet was indeed grounded but the Dane Line ferry arrived from Rhodes, over an hour late, for a steady crossing 5-hour crossing (normally it's 4 hours, without the swell).

It was an interesting voyage northwards, between the Turkish coast and several small Greek islands, including Kalymnos and Leros. Our fellow-passengers in the 3rd class included a family of gipsies with 5 children (and another on the way) and a ginger-bearded priest (and priests are considered bad luck on ships!) Coffee and snacks were available but we didn't feel hungry.

At 8 pm we arrived in the north-east corner of the island, at the port of Samos (whose old upper town is also known as Vathi) and headed straight into the Artemis Hotel by Lion Square. The simple room had a balcony overlooking the harbour and extensive waterfront.

Day 39 36 km VATHI – IREON, SAMOS

Not a good start, as we found the Tourist Information closed (Friday, 5 May is some local religious holiday) and discovered that the 'big ferry' to Chios, our next destination, only sails weekly on a Thursday (in fact, it's the one we arrived on yesterday!) Smaller ferries were still grounded by the weather, but the little Miniotis boat usually goes 3 times a week, the next possibility departing late next Monday evening. We'll probably stay for a week.

We eventually found our way out of Vathi (uphill, with no signs and no local map), to ride south on quiet lanes through villages and vineyards to Paleokastro, where we made lunch in the park. The green hills of Samos are clad with vines, olive groves and pine forests and exports of the famous Samian wine made it wealthy.

We met the south coast at the island's most popular resort, Pythagorio. Originally called Samos, it was the capital of the tyrant Polykrates in the 6th century BC and renamed in honour of its native Pythagoras, the tyrant's philosopher and mathematician. Today it has a nice harbour (with ferries across to Kusadasi in Turkey), a ruined 19th century castle and plenty of excavated remains - a cemetery from the Ancient Greek Geometric period, Roman baths and theatre, etc – but the coffee is well over-priced! Polykrates also had a great engineer, Efplinon, whose ancient harbour mole still supports the quay. Even more impressive is his aqueduct tunnel, almost 1 km long (now electrically lit and partly open), cut through solid rock by slaves. Its earthenware pipes supplied the town with water for 1,000 years, the parallel maintenance tunnel providing an escape route. Sadly, the opening hours had passed by the time we did.

Riding west along the coast past the airport, we paused at the ancient Heraion a couple of miles before the modern resort of Ireon. The Heraion, the first stone temple to Hera, lay at the end of the Sacred Way from Pythagorio – an 8 km line of statues, tombs and monuments, now mostly disappeared under the airport runway and road. The largest temple in the Ancient World, it remained unfinished after Polykrates died and much of the stone was robbed for later buildings, including Pythagorio's castle.

In Ireon there was a large choice of guest rooms and we stayed at the simply named Pension, finishing with an excellent meal of chicken fillet in mushroom sauce at the Ireon Restaurant by the fishing harbour, recommended in Rough Guide. We had an interesting talk with our waitress from Tyneside, the girlfriend of the owners' son.

Day 40 48 km IREON - KAMPOS, SAMOS

A strong north-easterly still blew as we climbed inland through lovely pine-wooded hills, reminding us of Corsica. After the tiny village of Pagondas we climbed higher to a cliff-top viewpoint overlooking the little island of Samiopula, where we brewed up and talked to a lone German tourist on a motor-scooter.

It was another climb on quiet roads to Pirgos, a delightful village – this is a prettier island than Rhodes or Kos. The wind got stronger and we took cover in a bus shelter to make lunch by the Neochorion turning, then dropped to the coast via 4 miles of dirt road to the tiny harbour of Ormos. A little further along, we came to the low-key resort of Kampos and took a nice apartment (7,000 dr) in the Alexandra Hotel, catering to mainly German package tourists.

We cooked supper and attempted some forward-planning with the 'Rough Guide to the Dodecanese and Eastern Aegean' which we'd acquired on Rhodes.

Day 41 65 km KAMPOS – VATHI, SAMOS

It was still very windy as we rode back along the seafront to Ormos before a 5-mile climb to the lovely village of Marathokampos and a welcome coffee break. We continued up to a ridge with a wind-farm, then climbed on to the watershed of this lovely green wooded island.

Descending at last, via Kastanea, we reached the north coast of the island at the port of Limani and turned west to the end of the road at Potami. Pushing the bicycles along the start of a footpath by Seitani Cove (a refuge for monk seals), we found a sheltered place to picnic out of the wind. Then, turning east, we had the wind behind us for the last 20 miles or so back to Samos Town (Vathi). We paused at Ag Konstantinos to brew up on the quayside and found this whole north coast road splendidly unspoilt apart from Kokkarion, a German windsurfing resort.

Back at the Artemis Hotel in Vathi, the owner had left us a note and the key to Room 17 with the harbour view again. The nearby Hambos fast-food place provided decent burgers for supper – the only alternative to the over-priced tavernas with tourist fodder.

Day 42 In VATHI, SAMOS

Monday, the day of a reputed Miniotis ferry to Chios in the late evening. The wind dropped and the sun shone, but no-one could confirm whether or when the little boat might sail!

We decided to take the more reliable weekly Dane Line ferry again, which sails Rhodes-Kos-Samos-Chios on Thursday. So we had a rest day in Vathi, shopping, eating at Hambos and planning a ride for the next 3 days.

Day 43 77 km VATHI - KAMPOS, SAMOS

A very hot day's ride with no wind. We headed inland and westwards, uphill all the way to Mytilini where we made coffee by the war memorial, then south to Chora, to meet the coast road and continue west to Pagondas. There were wonderful views over Pythagorio, the airport runway, the Heraion Temple and Ireon harbour.

In Pagondas we made lunch and bought coffees, then climbed up to Spatharei where we brewed up in the Plateia, in the company of 3 gipsies asleep under the plane tree and an old granny inside the Periptero (kiosk), wrapped in 3 layers of black woollens. We moved on when an incongruous bus full of grumbling tourists disembarked in the square: 'I thought we were going to a place that sold herbs . . . '

We followed our route of 3 days ago, down to the coast at Ormos and along to the resort of Kampos. After searching in vain for Votsalakia (a village shown on our map to the west, but now probably merged with and swamped by the resort), we returned to Kampos and the comfortable Alexandra Apartment Hotel. We got the price down from 7,000 to 6,500 dr per night if we stayed for 2 days (and because it was Barry's birthday)! A celebration dinner followed in the nearby Taverna.

Day 44 47 km KAMPOS – DRAKEI – KAMPOS, SAMOS

A short but strenuous circular ride to the end of the road at the north-west corner of the island. It was uphill most of the way (maximum gradient 11%), skirting Mt Kerkis, the second highest peak in the Aegean at 1,473 m or 4,860 ft (topped only by the island of Samothrace).

From an empty road, through olive groves full of spring flowers, we had wonderful views of the island of Ikaria to the west. Tiny Kallithea was home to a handful of ancient villagers and their donkeys, after which the newly sealed road turned to an unfinished track down to Drakei at the west end of the north coast. Here a steep narrow street led to the western end of the coastal path round Seitani Cove to Potami. We'd now reached both ends of the footpath alongside the monk seals' refuge, but it was impossible to cycle it.

We made lunch by the cemetery overlooking the bay in Drakei, the island's remotest village, watched by a grazing horse and a giant lizard. Returning the same way, we stopped after the 12 km climb to brew up by a church at the top, joined by an old lad waiting for a lift down to Drakei. Then it was downhill most of the way back to Kampos, arriving hot, dusty, sun-tanned and thirsty after a splendid hard ride.

Day 45 67 km KAMPOS – VATHI, SAMOS – CHIOS TOWN, CHIOS (F/B Ialysos)

Our toughest day since Palestine, at least! We had to ride back to Vathi for the weekly Dane Line ferry to Chios, which we did the hard way, taking a 'short cut' via Mt Ambelos in the middle of Samos island!

From Kampos on the south coast we rode back along the seafront to Ormos, then uphill for over 6 km of dirt-road to Pirgos, where we made coffee in the Plateia. From Pirgos we took a very steep lane north-east to the village of Pandroso. This is shown as the end of the road on our map, but we had been told of a track through the forest on the slopes of Mt Ampelos to Vourliotes and the north coast of the island.

After riding the wooded track for 8 km we had to push the bicycles up the final 4 km, struggling with the heat as well as the path, almost to the summit of Mt Ambelos (1,140 m or 3,740 ft), past the turning for the church of Prof Ilias and a pair of radio masts on the top. Our 20-mile climb was not rewarded with the usual freewheeling descent, as the rough track had been churned up by hired jeeps and motorbikes, forcing us to walk much of the way down, on a very hot airless day. At last the road became paved, after the Vronta Monastery, down to the village of Vourliotes with a café for much-needed iced water and fresh orange juice.

Then it was easy, down and down until we hit the north coast road near Avlakia and turned east for 16 km or so to the port at Vathi. We arrived just after 5 pm, after an amazing uncharted ride, had a late lunch in Hambos and got our tickets for the 7 pm ferry, from which we had disembarked a week ago. We had a snack in the ship's café during a smooth 4-hour voyage north to Chios, opposite the Turkish port of Cesme.

Arriving on the busy waterfront of Chios Town, halfway down the east side of the island, at about 11 pm we expected the boat to be met by locals offering Rooms, but there was no-one! We checked out the nearest accommodation – the Diana Hotel was unfriendly and expensive at 13,000 dr, the Savvas Rooms wanted 9,000 dr but expected us to leave our bicycles out on the street, and we finally stumbled into the Hotel Filoxenia (meaning 'hospitality') after midnight (12,000 dr including breakfast and, more importantly, a safe place for the cycles). It was on a noisy road but we were tired enough to sleep!

Day 46 16 km In CHIOS TOWN, CHIOS

A gentle rest day! We got a map of Chios (Town and island) from the Tourist Office, booked a cabin on the overnight ferry back to Piraeus in 3 days' time, and relocated to a quieter and cheaper room at the Rodhon Hotel in the Kastro area to the north of the harbour (8,000 dr).

The busy working port was a pleasant place to browse, on the least 'touristy' of the islands we'd visited. Within the Byzantine fortress (the Kastro) we found a park, a bazaar area and the old Turkish quarter complete with ruined mosque and a Turkish cemetery. Ferries cross to Cesme and a rusting Russian cargo boat was also docked. We lunched at Goody's and later made tea in the courtyard of our hotel, much to the amusement of 'Madame' who, far from objecting, gave us some oranges.

Day 47 81 km CHIOS TOWN - VOLISSOS, CHIOS

A long, hard, hot, slow day cycling on quiet (and often dirt) roads round Homer's 'craggy Chios', the poet's native island.

We rode north up the east coast to Langada fishing village, where stopped for a brew and a paddle. The road then turned inland, meeting the sea again at Marmaro (or Kato Kardamyla) at the island's north-east corner. Here we rang Ionion Beach Camping, back in the Peloponnese, to let George know when to expect our return.

Turning west along the north coast, we found it incredibly empty. We soon stopped to make lunch at Nagos beach, from where an ugly water-pipe runs all the way back to Chios Town. In Amades the tiny village store supplied us with cold coffee (Frappe) and water and we watched 2 laden donkeys drinking just as thirstily from their buckets. This is how Greek islanders have lived for centuries, a way of life now carried on by ragged old folk while the young have gone to find work.

Skirting the island's highest peak (Mt Pelineo at 1,297 m or 4,280 ft), through Viki and Kampia, the unsealed road became difficult, with some walking until after Spartouna. We telephoned Zorba's Rooms near Volissos on the north-west coast to warn of a late arrival, as the day wore on. At Dievcha the road seemed to come to an end but the villagers pointed us on, along narrow dirt paths on the hillsides, eventually meeting the main road to Katavassi and Volissos, though progress was still slowed by roadworks and gradients.

It was after 7 pm when we made it to Zorba's Rooms, right by the sea at Lefkadia, 3 km past Volissos. We had just enough energy left to wash our dusty clothes and make a stew with the tin of corned beef carried for emergency, as there was nowhere open with any kind of food!

Day 48 58 km A CIRCULAR RIDE FROM VOLISSOS, CHIOS

A morning's rest ended with coffee and pies at noon in the Plateia at Volissos, returning 6 hours later for chicken & chips.

It was cooler with clouds and wind, and between meals we enjoyed a very hilly cycle ride through the villages in the wild north-west of the island. We rode round the Amani Peak (809 m or 2,670 ft) and stopped for a half-way brew at Agia Gala in the north-west corner. We opted not to visit its Byzantine cave church when we saw the flight of steps climbing up to it.

Back at Zorba's Rooms in Lefkadia we slept well – our last night on a Greek island, before the ferry back to the mainland.

Day 49 60 km VOLISSOS – CHIOS TOWN, CHIOS – PIRAEUS, GREECE (F/B Mytilini)

A return cycle ride across to Chios Town completed our circuit of the northern half of the island. Starting south from Lefkadia, a very hilly road leapt inland, dropped back to sea level and climbed again, though all rideable in lowest gear. The roads were empty, the sky clear and the sea blue. In Sidirounta, high above the harbour of the west coast fishing village, we made lunch . Further south, in Lithi, we bought coffees and watched the working donkeys. These tiny villages seem deserted at first sight but there is life to be found in the Kafenion in the Plateia. A few miles on at Vessa, another compact defended hill village, we turned north-east across the island and back to Chios Town, the road gradually becoming busier as we approached the 'capital'. We emerged from the chaos of traffic in Chios Town onto the seafront right by Goody's Restaurant at about 6 pm – perfect timing for a meal.

Our NEL ferry arrived from Lesvos at 9 pm, departing an hour later for the overnight voyage to Piraeus. The 'Distinguished Class' 2-berth cabin was a big improvement on our dungeon in the good ship 'Nissos Kypros', the Cyprus-Israel-Rhodes ferry (which, we learnt in 2005, is no longer running).

Day 50 18 km PIRAEUS – IONION BEACH, GREECE (By train)

The ferry from Chios arrived in Piraeus at 6 am. Once the greatest port of the ancient world, the busy harbour of Athens has lost any charm since being rebuilt after the German bombardment of 1941.

We found a café for breakfast, then waited at the railway station for the 9.05 am train- with-guard's-van to Athens-Corinth-Patras-Gastouni and beyond to Kiparissia and Kalamata. (Sadly, we learnt in 2006 that no trains on this route now carry bicycles, as the Corinth-Athens line has been 'improved'.)

Three other cyclists shared the train and we all had much to talk about. Experienced travellers and kayakers, Larry and Patty from the USA had been riding their tandem and ferry-hopping in the Cyclades. They introduced us to the heavy-duty Schwalbe Marathon touring tyres, which we have used ever since (and had far fewer punctures as a result).

Albert had ridden his bicycle overland and alone from his home in Calais to Jerusalem, via Turkey, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, returning from Haifa on the F/B Nissos Kypros. He had never ridden far before, just setting off on this pilgrimage when he retired as a postman, on a bike as simple and unassuming as he was, with the minimum of baggage, staying in hostels and monasteries when possible. He could not have stood in greater contrast to the extrovert, flamboyant and incredibly well-equipped Americans. Plenty of French conversation practice for Margaret, interpreting between these opposites. This interesting trio left the train at Patras for the overnight ferry to Italy.

Arriving safely in Gastouni at about 4 pm, we rode the 16 km over the Vranas hill to Ionion Beach, where our motorhome was patiently waiting. After a fascinating 7-week tour involving boats, a plane, a bus and trains, we felt fit and ready for the round-the-world cycling year, which began the following month.

Distances Cycled (in km): Greece 35, Cyprus 400, Israel 460, Cyprus 240, Rhodes 282, Kos 148, Samos 340, Chios 215, Greece 20.

Total Ride: 2,140 km (1,338 miles) in 28 days riding. This gives a daily average of 76 km (48 miles)

A few days later we drove the motorhome to Patras for the overnight ferry to Ancona and the journey back across Italy and France to England. Within 3 weeks, in mid-June 2000, we flew with our bicycles from Heathrow to Singapore at the start of an 11-month 12,000-mile world cycling tour which included Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and the USA – but that's another story.