Part 17: Saying Hello to Crete

“My neighbor is going on vacation. He’s going to… Crete, he says. Crete. Well, you’lI have to find your way there first!”

This is how the German comedian Gerd Dudenhöffer once described vacations in Greece. It’s a good thing we don’t have the problem of having to search for Crete first. The navigation system in our Wunderlich-equipped motorcycles provides us with the best service in this respect. Indispensable to avoid getting lost in the European asphalt wilderness. And it also helps us with spontaneous detours. So “A friend of mine also lives in Greece” can easily become “We’ll visit Max in Crete and have a look at his BMW R-Ninety”.

Thought it, said it, saddled up: We embarked on the ferry to Crete from the port of Piraeus. The crossing took all night, but we were pleased to have some nice company: Petra and Karsten from the biker duo PEKA (see what they did there? 😉).

Pit Stops in Kamilari

We used our morning arrival in Kamilari, a beautiful village on Crete, for a few long-deserved pit stops. We spent the first one with an old friend – at Café Slow Drop, where Max was already waiting for us with a good coffee. Just the right thing to oil our tired limbs.

But our BMW bikes also deserved some attention. With many thousands of kilometers on the high edge, we needed a little tread under the saddle again. Off to the motorcycle workshop of dear Titomos, who fitted us with a set of new Continental tires. We ride on TKC70 Rocks, which have kept us safely on track on asphalt and gravel so far.

A particular eye-catcher at Titomos was his carefully curated collection of vintage BMW motorcycles.

On European Shores

Our bikes were running smoothly again, so we got them back on the road straight away. Our route took us to the village of Pitsidia, where we had a bed for the night in the tranquil Pension Aretoussa.

And many hours to explore the surrounding area. We thought about taking the boat to the village of Mátala, which has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age. Even the Romans used the sandstone caves that the locals carved into the soft rock as burial and living chambers – and at the end of the 1960s, the hippie generation did the same. Peace activists from all over the world took up residence in the caves – including US-Americans who wanted to escape the Vietnam War.

But chugging a bike and riding a motorcycle are two very different things. And we couldn’t wait to twist the throttle again. Max felt the same way! So we decided to take our BMWs on a little tour of the island with him. A route with a lot to see.

Yes, we had no trouble finding Crete. And much less trouble finding Crete amazing.

More adventures awaited us after the trip: We got to know the Riders of Crete and enjoyed the best food in a long time at Crete-Mike’s place. You’ll find out more in the next travel report.

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Rhein2Ganges and Aktionsgruppe Kinder in Not e.V. – we are collecting donations. And you can make a contribution!

For every kilometer ridden, Berthold and I want to collect at least 1 euro in donations – in the end this would be around 50,000 euros. The money will be used by the Aktionsgruppe Kinder in Not e.V. to set up educational opportunities that will benefit children from poor population groups in India. We look forward to your donation!

Donation Account: DE40 5745 0120 0030 5199 46
BIC: MALADE51NWD
Purpose: Rhein2Ganges

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