It’s time to leave Greece, we will continue to ‘Peregrinate’. Do you ever have that, ‘Coddiwomple’ feeling?

The Greeks had a massive influence on the English language (along with Latin of course) and most of the more unusual words have all but disappeared. Maybe they need to come back and there are some great ones for travelers.

That title again, so it can be fully understood –

It’s time to leave Greece, we will continue to Peregrinate [travel or wander around from place to place].  Do you ever have that, Coddiwomple [to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination], feeling?

 

or maybe I should have used a conglomeration of the following and used a little Greek –

• Hodophile/s One who loves to travel. (Greek)
• Vagary – An unpredictable instance, a wandering journey. (Latin)
• Coddiwomple – To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination. (English slang)
• Strikhedonia – The pleasure of being able to say “to hell with it!” (Greek)
• Eleutheromania – An intense and irresistible desire for freedom. (Greek)
• Peregrinate – Travel or wander around from place to place. (Latin)

 

We have been in Greece for the last 94 days, from the very first person we spoke to, the passport control officer at the border, it has been great. His first words to us were, “welcome to Greece”, a quick look at our passports and he said, “have a good time!” This automatically gives you a good feeling as you ride onwards.

Along the way, we have met so many great people in this country and all of them have treated us like lost friends, and collectively we thank all you.

Greece seems a little off the radar for a lot of motorcycle travelers, it’s either a long ride thru the Balkans which entails buying extra insurance because the Euro Green Card doesn’t cover them, or an expensive ferry from Italy or an even longer ‘ride around’ though a selection of Eastern European countries.

For Non-European passport holders being restricted by the Schengen Agreement, it looks a little too far to go!

So when a magazine editor asked if we had any articles we would like to document and we said Greece, specifically Crete. He sounded surprised and said, “yes, we don’t get too much if anything said about Greece.” That article is here – LINK

Greece is a major summer destination and quite honestly gets very busy and maybe a little too hot for motorcycle riding for some, other riders are citing the Alps and mountain roads, good food, great scenery etc. as a better alternative. Well here’s a shocker…Greece has all of that, just schedule it a little later in the year and you can have the same twice in one year!

We arrived in mid-October and have ridden most days when we wanted to, the weather has been great, the food spectacular, the people are incredibly happy and friendly.

So as you sit at home in northern Europe or the US or Canada and wish you could go for a ride, maybe you should ship your bike here and come ride for a few months. For one thing, the Greek people would be very happy to see you, the roads are empty, the food is still great in the wintertime, accommodation is very affordable (we are paying $365 a month including utilities) and most importantly the economy needs it.

Our last week here and again we have met amazing people from the average Joe in the street to, dentists, university professors, journalists, beekeepers, shepherds, hotel owners, shop owners, mechanics and many more.

As a motorcycle rider, I am guessing you are saying, “what about the roads?” Greece as we know it hasn’t been around for that long in the grand scheme of things, but the Greek civilization basically taught the world the meaning of the word ‘ancient.’ Europe’s first advanced civilizations sprouted up in Greece around 3200 BC.

How did they get from place to place? Roads!

They are everywhere and in every type or form, any motorcycle rider who hasn’t ridden here will quickly feel like they have found motorcycle utopia. If you are on a street bike, adventure bike, dual sport or full on enduro this country has something to offer you. Amazing empty roads full of amazing switchbacks that go up and down mountain ranges for days in central Greece and on Crete – roads that will make any rider not want to stop except for fuel.

If they do look around then they would see graded tracks, a minimal amount of gates and fences, tracks that lead to the horizon and beyond, perfect for those riders with knobby tires. If you really want more extreme then there is that too, single track, goat and sheep trails heading off into the mountains to go and meet the shepherds that will greet you with a smile.

 

Greece you have been amazing and we thank you (ευχαριστώ/ efcharistó) and look forward to a return visit to do more exploring in the future.