The dirt roads of Sithonia

If the Romanian mountains are filled with sheep, rural Greece is the land of the goats. Both are generously equipped with equally noisy dogs, always angered by cyclists roaming around their premises. Their barking needs no Romanian (nor Greek) translation. However, this shouldn’t prevent people from cycling into the wilderness, enjoying the nature, the sun, the sea, the air, the view.

We keep doing that in Greece, one week every late summer, for quite a while now. Be it in Thassos, in Kithera, in Lefkada or in Sithonia, the effort of carrying the bikes on the rooftop of the car had been totally worth the while. The idea of being able to lay abandoned in the sun, to swim in crystal clear waters after a nice workout on the mountain bike was always irresistible. Almost anywhere you stop on the Greek coast or on an island, you are both in the mountains and close to some amazing beach.

The most popular Greek destinations for Romanians who prefer traveling with their own cars are the Island of Thassos and the Chalkidiki peninsula. Start at sunrise at the Giurgiu custom point near the Danube and by sunset you might be savoring your first swim into the Aegean Sea, without needing WRC driving abilities or Stealth vehicles disguised as ordinary cars.