Day 951: 2013年4月2日

Athens to Thessaloniki, Greece (Camping Ritzeka)

87,507km to 88,080km = 573km

予報通り曇り。そして昼過ぎから雨の模様。

As forecasted, it was cloudy from the morning. And then it would be raining from the afternoon.

今日はテントを畳むのもパッキングも決まらない。なんか上手くまとまらないのだ。こういう日は慎重に行動した方がいい。

I could not pack up well. I wasn't sure why but the tent, the mat, and the luggage, they seemed to be inflated! I should take it easy in this kind of day.

キャンプ場のおじさんに今日向かうテッサロニキのキャンプ場知らないか、と訊いたら冊子をくれた。テッサロニキ周辺では丁度4月1日からキャンプ場が一つ営業しているみたいだ。

Before I left the camp site, I asked the owner if he knew any good camping in Thessaloniki. He gave me a camp site guide. There was a camp site open from 1st of April.

結局出発したのは9時過ぎ。

I left the site after 9am.

雨が降る前に距離を稼ぎたいから高速道路で。大体50〜60キロに一回料金所があって1〜2.20ユーロの料金がかかる。

I wanted to ride as far as possible before the rain got me. So I used the motorway. Every 50-60km there was a toll booth, and each cost €1 to €2.20.

日本に比べれば安いかもしれないけど、嵩むと結構な値段になる。

It's cheaper than that of Japan, but it hurt my pocket...

昼前から雨はちらつき始めたけど、幸い本降りにはならず。

Before noon, the rain appeared. But luckily it did not rain much.

給油や昼メシ休憩以外はひたすら走る。単調でつまらないね。

I kept on riding except for fuel and lunch stops.



でも、途中「テルモピレー」の標識がでた時はちょっと興奮した。

But I get excited when I saw "Thermopiles" on a sign post.

テルモピレーはスパルタ王レオニダスが300人の勇士たちとペルシャ王クセルクセスの率いる何万もの大軍の進行を止めた戦いのあった場所。

Here at Thermopiles, in 480BC, Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 soldiers stopped further advance of the Persian army lead by the king Xerxes I.

確か紀元前480年の出来事。これとサラミスの海戦でギリシア側の勝利が確定し、ペルシャを撤退させたのだ。

Even though Leonidas and all his men died at the battle (it lasted for 3 days), but because they stopped the advance of the Persian army, the navy of Athens could defeat the navy of Persia at the battle of Salamis.

レオニダスも勇士もみんな討ち死にしたけど、その壮挙は今尚語り継がれている。

So Leonidas is a hero of whole Greece (Hellas) and he is a popular figure still.

最近「300」ってハリウッド映画あったでしょ。あれはこの史実がモチーフなのだ。

The recent example would be the Hollywood movie "300". The story is based on the historical event of the battle of Thermopiles.

で、高速を降りてテルモピレーに寄ってみた。

I got off from the motorway and visited the town of Thermopiles.



なんも無い小さな街。まぁ、戦場は大軍を堰き止めるのに有利な隘路だろうから、街中に史跡はないだろうな。

Well, it was a small town. Nothing to see, there was. The battle field should be somewhere in the mountains. The town itself would be much newer than the event.



さて、走るか。

I made a brief stop and continued riding towards Thessaloniki.

ラリッサ手前までは高速道路を使い、後は下の道で行こうと。

I was thinking to go on the Motorway till Larissa, then I wanted to go on the local roads.

しばらく下の道を走っていたけど、何故かGPSが高速道路へ戻れと。

I was riding on the local roads for a while, but my GPS told me to go back onto the motorway.

「は、はぁ、この区間は無料なんだな」、なんて思って行ったらしっかり料金所があった…。

I thought the section must be no toll, but when I went back to the motorway, there was a toll booth waiting...

そしてようやくテッサロニキの街に。テッサロニキはかなりの大都市で、なんか調和もなくゴテゴテと建物が並ぶ街。

I got to the city of Thessaloniki. It was a big city. Those ugly buildings filled up spaces.

あまり好きになれないなぁ、こういう街は。

From the beginning, I did not like this city at all.

キャンプ場は街の東南35キロ。午後5時過ぎだから渋滞で街中を抜
けるのに苦労。

The camp site I was heading was located 35km southeast of the city. As it was after 5pm when I got to Thessaloniki, I was trapped in the congestion...

で、キャンプ場まで向かうのだけど、なんとビーチ沿いのど田舎！

I managed going through the traffic and got to the camp site. But it was so remote from everything! It was by the beach but as it was off season, none of shops opened. None was there...



WiFiも無ければ、飯屋も無い！

There was no WiFi, no restaurant!!

もう6時過ぎてるし、まぁ、ここでイイか。

Well it was already 6pm, so I decided to spent a night there.

雨が降らないことを祈りつつ、テントを建てたあと、Ha夫妻にもらったオレンジと朝飯用のナッツバーとセサミバーを食べるワシ。

I was hoping it would not rain while I was pitching my tent. I had the oranges Mr & Mrs Ha gave to me and some snack bars for dinner.

さぁ、明日はブルガリアのソゾポルという街まで700キロ走るのだ！

I have to ride 700km to Sozopol, Bulgaria tomorrow.

何故ソゾポルに行くか、というと、それは明日のお楽しみ！

Why am I going to Sozopol? I will tell the story tomorrow.

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今日はやはり調子が悪かったですね。荷物をまとめるのがダメな時は大概こういうものです。さて、明日の予報は雨、なんだよなぁ。雨降らないで下さい！

本日も「世界一周」ボタンをクリックして応援をよろしくお願いいたします!!

スマートフォンからご覧の皆様、
お手数ですが、画面の一番下までスクロールして頂き、「PC」に切り替えた上で「世界一周」ボタンを押してください！

I am competing in "Round the World Trip Blog". Please click the button below!!
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