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Cycle Cyclades: May 26-June 2, 2010
offered by supplier M15482 (view this supplier profile)
Key Information:
Tour Duration: 8
- 12
day(s)
Group Size: 10
- 16
people
Destination(s):
Greece
Specialty Categories:
Bicycle Touring
Caving
Season: May - June
Airfare Included: No
Tour Customizable: Yes
Minimum Per Person Price: 2880 Euro (EUR)
Maximum Per Person Price: 4760 Euro (EUR)
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May 26 to June 2, 2010
Our special guest cyclist is Brady Kiesling, former U.S. diplomat stationed in Greece. Brady is also an archaeologist, having a degree in Ancient Greek from Swarthmore and an MA from Berkeley in Ancient History and Mediterranean Archaeology. He has excavated at Ancient Corinth and Nemea in Greece and Aphrodisias in Turkey. Learn more about this amazing man from his book Diplomacy Lessons: Realism for an Unloved Superpower (Potomac Books 2006) or join the Cycle Cyclades tour and be enriched by his daily "seminars" on Greece.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Tinos
Welcome to sunny Greece! Our cycling debut ride hugs the Attika coastline to its tip at Sounion where the magnificent Temple of Poseidon overlooks the Aegean Sea. By ferry we arrive to Tinos to encounter the serenity of Greece's most spiritual island. Pilgrims come from all over Greece to pay homage to a local icon.
Brady's Seminar: A Sweeping History of Ancient Greece
Day 2: Tinos
Today's ride into Tinos' countryside takes us past a series of small villages, all of which you must dismount to enter as they are car-free. Adorable villages where you encounter a folk art museum, aquaduct, streets with low arched vault ceilings, grotto-like water fountains and traditional basket weavers working by hand.
Brady's Seminar: Early Cycladic Culture and its Modern Echoes
Seminar: Early Cycladic Culture and its Modern Echoes
Day 3: Mykonos.
Early morning cycling in Tinos on a back road that has no towns, gas stations, nothing but raw nature with vivid views of the sea. The quick boat to Mykonos brings us one of Greece's most popular islands, famous for its beaches which is precisely where we spend the day. Brady's Seminar: Delos, the Sacred/Political Center of Greece
Day 4: Paros.
We take a short boat ride to Delos island for a guided tour at one of the most sacred sites in all ancient Greece. Afternoon boat to Paros docks right in front of the island’s signature windmill at Parikia. A short flat cycling route on a quiet back road takes us to the charming little fishing village of Naoussa now popular with chic Athenians.
Brady's Seminar: Foreign Fleets in the Aegean
Day 5: Paros.
A long cycling day with lots to see. Climb to Valley of the Butterflies and be rewarded by the beauty of green moths that inhabit this shaded retreat. A short ferry ride to the tiny island of Antiparos whose mammoth cave once held 300 people for midnight mass. Tranquil Antiparos makes Paros feel practically like a frenzied metropolis. Brady's Seminar: Island Life in the Byzantine Years
Day 6: Naxos.
A quick ascent to Lefkes, Paros’ highest village, and then the short ferry ride to Naxos. At Naxos we linger in its harbor town, Hora. Here you find an endearing cluster of whitewashed houses, narrow winding medieval alleys, and the distinguished Apollonian Portara gateway which captures everyone’s imagination.
Brady's Seminar: The Cyclades in Modern Greek Life
Day 7: Naxos.
Today is the tour’s highest cycling day, up to 1633 feet. En route we stop at a marble kouros (ancient Greek male statue) left unfinished in its quarry. At Halki, the owners of a kitron distillery give a demonstration and tasting of their famous liqueur made from lemon leaves. For the more ambitious, we cycle to Aria Springs, fill up the water bottles, and take a hike up to Za Cave where Zeus was said to be born. Brady's Seminar: The Portara and Kouros of Naxos
Day 8: santorini
morning in Naxos, afternoon in Santorini
Morning cycling to Dimitra Temple on Naxos which is a nicely reconstructed site with a meticulously laid stone walkway. The ride is quick enough to return to the hotel, shower and check-in time to catch an afternoon ferry. The cycling tour is now over. Opt for the Santorini Add-On package to reach Thira (as the Greeks call the island) in time for a sunset wine tasting overlooking the caldera. Leaving Naxos we take a high speed ferry to Santorini, lasting about two hours. Your first gliimpse of the caldera cliffs will enchant you with its "vanilla icing" on top, meaning the classic Cycaldes white villages adorning the island's ridge. At dusk you will have your first opportunity to witness the incomparable Santorini sunsets, with a class of local Santorini wine in hand.
Day 9: Santorini
A delightful introduction to Santorini is through its cuisine. We attend a fascinating cooking class that focuses on indigenous foods of the island. Even if you never cook you will still assuredly enjoy hearing the history and origins of Santorini cooking plus learning to make four different appetizers, an entree and dessert. The class includes wine tasting and you indulge in the fruits of your labor with a sumptuous lunch.
Day 10: Santorini.
TA day full of culture. An hour hike up to the 7th century BC ruins of Ancient Thira, tour a renovated winery that is now a contemporary art gallery, visit an underground wine museum with Santorini's oldest wine press, study the finely preserved Minoan frescos in the local museum. Afternoon swimming at Red Beach.
Day 11: Santorini
We take a boat ride to the center of the caldera where one can scoop up soft warm mud to slather on your body standing in the sea. A mule ride takes you up to the top of the cliffs. Later in the day, in the cool of the afternoon, a hike along the ridge path to Oia, the chic-est town on Santorini. 2-3 hours walk
Day 12: Departure
daily flights to Athens
Regular flights from Santorini to Athens.
Member discount:
10% discount for InfoHub customer. Request a free gift certificate.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Single Supplement is 500 Euros.
Please check current exchange rates for tour price in dollars.
Santorini Optional Add-On 1880 euros, 340 euros single supplement
Also see tour packages in:
Europe
Greece
Outdoor: Land Rambler
Bicycle Touring
Caving
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, ext: 15482
