Hotel Sparta Inn

... I had been worried about changing everything mid-trip like this. <br><br> The front cogs are much bigger than my last, so that means that it&#8217;s harder to pedal. Worst day possible for this change as this was the day we tackled the start of the big mountains. I felt like I was back in Ireland at the start of the trip - before my muscles had developed. I haven&#8217;t pushed my bike since the first day in ...

... 8217;t even noticed was worn) and giving me new front and back break pads.<br><br>These guys were so excited to be working on our bikes. Not only due to slow business, they were genuinely interested in helping out and greatly impressed that we have gone so far. Brian also replaced his front fork and the guy stayed after closing to finish it up for him. When everything was all shiny and new the owner shook Brian&#8217;s ...

... in the 4th century were still standing and in such good condition that we could walk through and really experience it. I will never forget that. In Sparta I also had my fill of souvlakia, diples, and loukoumades. Amazing.<br><br>I am now off to my Dad's xorio where I will be cut off from all modern convieniences for a few days. I can't wait for sheep in the road, no water at night, and the sounds of goats. <br><br>

... engine when required - but at the time I didn't understand this at all and felt the need to move the van downhill into some shade just in case while we explored a bit. We then forged uphill between the two fenced-off ancient enclosures, and then around and up some impressive old terracing towards the height of the hill. In the end we found two sections of shaped masonry - one looked more medieval than the other, which was chunkily and ...

... they are only in Greek. Also it was very cloudy and looked like it was going to start raining. But armed with a satellite ap from Vicki's cousin and some directions from the hotel clerk we found the village and house very quickly. We strolled around the village for a while and went up to the church. Then a thunder storm erupted so we hurried back to the hotel in Tripoli.<br><br><br>

... nights just outside the town in a tiny village called Limeni. Our hotel was the Limeni Village (very original name!). Our hotel was perched on a cliff above a big bay with amazing views. The weather was surprisingly cool for early summer, and we needed jackets at night. <br><br>Much of the area around Limeni and Areopoli was burned in a terrible wildfire in August of 2006. The hillsides still bear the scars of the fire which spread very quickly during ...

... tow. That's when our lead crews really earn their money.<br><br>We get to do it all over again in a couple of weeks (let's hope there's a yacht left!), meantime it's been lots of teaching and a busy week for me as beach boss. We exuded calm to demonstrate to our guests that it is, after all, only wind and water, and it was a really good week. Next week I'm up for the beginner posse and it is Andy's turn to be beach boss. <br><br><br>Meanwhile I've ...

... I'm talking now), might be the stupidest institution in history. I present this evidence to the jury -- my journey started in Olympia. To get to Olympia -- a tourist hotspot -- I had to get a bus to Pyrgos -- a town that gets no mention in my Lonely Planet aside from "Olympia is also accessible from Pyrgos" and also happens to be 24 km west of Olympia on the same road. To make matters worse, I had to backtrack the next day to Pyrgos to go to Sparta. Now, to get to Sparta I ...

... few, remaining ruins and visiting the small local museums and art galleries. In particular, we found Greece's only olive oil museum to be very informative. Who knew there were so many kinds of olives?! There must have been 40 different varieties. Only five km from Sparta, is ancient Mystras, placed strategically up on the side and ...

... pulling away and I saw poor A-L waving forlornly at us. Luckily, she has a head on her shoulders and took the next train back to meet up with us. Whew! (Aside: the menus here are sometimes almost as funny as they were in Vietnam. Let me think, do I want the meet balls or the lamp chops? *cracks up*) We saw her off in the evening and us remaining ones went back to our hotel. We had beds in a windowless 10-bed dorm in the basement, sharing with people who were leaving at 4 ...