The last post I wrote, we were sitting in Bitola looking at the weather forecast, watching the temperatures for the days ahead plummet. Gone was our beautiful 10 degree maximums we had in Mavrovo, and in it’s place was a forecast showing days where the temperature wasn’t expected to rise above freezing.  To say it had us a little worried was an understatement. While we’ve had a few cold nights this trip, we hadn’t really had truly cold days, and we didn’t really know what to expect, or how we could cope.

As it turns out, the answer to ‘how many layers can you wear and still cycle?’ is quite a lot. I spent the last three days wearing a singlet, thermal top, long sleeved cycling top, a vest, a rain jacket, two pairs of gloves, cycling nicks, two pairs of socks, rain trousers, boot covers, a scarf, bandana, and a hat. We looked and felt a little bit like cycling marshmallows, but at least we stayed warm (mostly).

We left Bitola (in minus 6 degrees!!!) and cycled the 40 odd kilometres to Vevi fairly easily, with yet again a quick effortless border crossing into Greece.

For a short while our crew of two turned into five: three dogs from a farm house decided to run along side us for a couple of kilometres.  It was such a relief to see happy dogs with a home for a change.

We stayed in the only hotel we could find (as there was no way we were camping!) and had our first Greek meal at a little family run café, which wasn’t too different from many of the meals we’ve had across the Balkans: grilled meat (this time a sausage), greek salad and chips.

The next day started with rolling hills, and as we got higher, snow. The temperature differences between the sun and the shade here quite literally take your breath away.

By the time we rode into Edessa at 2pm we were both starving. We came across a little eatery with seriously good looking meat on a rotisserie in the window and couldn’t resist. We ordered our first proper souvlaki of the trip (we’d had an Albanian version, which was good but uses things like mayonnaise instead of tatziki) and sat down outside in the sun where we could see our bikes. The souvlaki were amazing, and we wolfed them down in no time. Finished, we both sat there staring up at the meat on the rotisserie, and it wasn’t too long before we’d convinced each other that it was only sensible to order some more food. We got a plate and a beer to share, and by the time that was done our hunger was well and truly vanquished.

After lunch we tried to take a shortcut down some smaller roads to join back onto the main road out of town, rather than backtracking the way we had come in. The route took us past a rather pretty church, and then down a steep coble stone path that looked like it hadn’t been used in some time. I had a bad feeling about it (which in fairness I usually do about anything that isn’t a perfectly sealed road), but Matt hates backtracking and highways in equal measure so was keen to give it a go. A couple of twists and turns later the path turned into a frozen block of ice and Matt had ‘fun’ trying to stop both himself and his bike going for a slide down the rest of the hill. We’ve found ice to be about the only thing we can’t pass through on a bike. Bush, stairs, mud, rocks and snow are all fine, but ice is a killer. Which essentially means we had to turn around and push our bikes back up the hill and backtrack to the main road. Thankfully it was an easy downhill run to our hotel for the night, and we had plenty of daylight left.

The next day we had 80 kilometres to Thessaloniki in the pouring rain (which at one point turned into soft sleet/ice). It was flat, and relatively warm (the temperature hovered at around 2 degrees for most of the day), and the one good thing about rain is that you tend to make really good progress: it’s pretty awful to stop anywhere and you cycle faster to keep warm. We got to the hostel by 3pm, peeled off our wet clothing, and metaphorically drew straws to see who would get the first shower to warm up.

Although we were tired, we decided it was time we got our greek on, so to speak, and went out for a late dinner. We turned up at 9pm to a packed restaurant, and had a very slow, delicious meal. We thought we’d done well, but at 10:30pm people were still turning up!

On the walk home we had a chat about how much different everything already feels from the rest of the Balkans. Most of the difference is simple things, like full restaurants, proper gutters, actual sidewalk, and some street art popping up here and there. Its a good change, and we’re looking forward to seeing what the rest of the country is like.

We’re planning on staying two nights in Thessaloniki, and we’ve timed it really well – we’re in town on the one day when all the main sights are closed.