The flood

There were heavy thunderstorms throughout the night. I was glad I could sleep in Dimitris Kornaros' old accommodation. It would have been really uncomfortable in the tent. According to the weather forecast, it will rain less from 7-12. Heavy thunderstorms and heavy rain are forecasted for the time after. The path will certainly not be easy after so much rain. I am studying the route from the hiking guide carefully. It looks like everything goes on trails and roads. On Google Maps, it looks a bit different. So, I am using both systems. After two kilometers, I end up in a three-meter-high bamboo strip and turn around. Google Maps is now in use. The 'unknown road' has been heavily soaked and muddy due to the rain. In no way ultralight, huge clumps accumulate on the poles and shoes, and I am carrying at least 2 kg of mud uphill. It continues to rain cheerfully, and the path becomes increasingly slippery. But I am glad I chose the Google Maps route. It must be much worse to go through the undergrowth under these circumstances. Until I reached the first flooded spot. The reeds hang crosswise over the path, and I cannot see how to proceed. I decide to go through. The road is flooded for about 30 meters, knee-deep. But once everything was wet up to the knees, it was manageable. I made it through. The shoes were clean but just as heavy as before. Now it's water instead of mud. The next flooded spot followed, and after the following one, two huge barking shepherd dogs were waiting for me. By now, I was in the 'nothing can stop me' mode and bluffed my way through. With a hat, poles, rain tarp, and wading through knee-deep water, the two animals reluctantly moved aside, barking and snarling. When one of them mustered the courage to pursue me, a threatening gesture from me was enough to make him retreat. When I arrived at the asphalt road, I emptied my shoes and wrung out my socks and continued. After about a kilometer, a pickup truck with chickens in the cargo bed stopped and asked me to get in. I hesitated a bit but was convinced eventually. I was then dropped off at a bridge, after being told that the next pickup truck would come to take me to my destination in a few minutes. I waited at the kafenion for the woman from the accommodation. She took a bit longer since I had arrived earlier than expected. The cottage is beautifully furnished, and I can relax in the afternoon while the storm rages outside.

When the spell is over in the evening, I went to the restaurant on the hill and had a good meal.