It doesn’t get much better

We got to have a lie in this morning, until 9am, which is exceptional and very much needed. We’ve ridden seven days in a row and we want to push on to take a rest day in Athens, but we planned a short day for today for a semi-rest. 

After breakfast we settled in to the beachfront café to wait for the ferry. 

Everyone in Greece seems to be drinking “espresso freddo”. It’s like a chilled long black with a little sugar and a crema like an espresso martini on top. I may be converted - it’s pretty nice. 

There was a little confusion over the ferry timetable, which saw two ferries leave whilst we drank our coffee until we finally caught the midday boat. 

Our destination was Euboea, an island just to the east of Athens, full of peaceful fishing and tourist towns. 

We landed in Agiokambos and headed straight to a restaurant with tables on the seafront for salad, grilled sardines and fried squid. Just the most gorgeous lunch. 

With protein levels topped up, we headed across a ridge to descend to the western coast of Euboea, which turned out to be idyllic. One bright blue bay followed another as we wound our way along the waterfront road, climbing and descending at times as we followed the cliffs of the coast. 

Finally (after only 28km)  we arrived at our campsite and pitched tent right by the water, with a fantastic view over the Euboean Gulf to the Greek mainland. 

One downside of our campsite was the complete absence of shops or restaurants, so it was a 4km ride along the seafront to the village of Rovies to have a beer and some pasta later. Even that was an adventure with a ford over a small river and cycling back in the dark to contend with. 

All in all, a rather excellent day.