We have enjoyed our stay at the Thirea Campsite and Paralio Astros is a pleasant place so we decided to stay for another night. The decision was influenced by the fact that there is a Triathlon taking place in the village today. It is the tenth year of the event that this year will see over 150 athletes swim for 1.9km followed by a 90km cycle and finishing with a 21.1km run, all without a break. We walked into the village and found the centre of the activities set out on the promenade outside the school. Watching the cycling and running (we had missed the swim that started at 08:00) was quite exhausting and after a further exploration of the main street, we walked back to the campsite, constantly overtaken by runners clutching bottles of water and energy drinks. These were issued by the organisers at the school and this is where the competitors left their bikes to start the run. They also ran passed the school twice before finishing the race on the third time. This meant that there was plenty of opportunity for rehydration and to collect water-soaked sponges that they either squeezed over themselves or stuffed up their tee shirts so that the water would be slowly released as they ran. It looked like total agony and I certainly would struggle to do any one of the three stages let alone all of them one after another. We went back to relax after all the exertion and cooked swordfish steaks on the barbecue.
We had discovered an Internet café in the main square so in the evening we went in for a drink and a catch up on emails and the blog. I had a frappé (cold coffee) for €3 and Jane had an enormous glass of white wine for €2 (I can't fathom their pricing structure) – very good value with one and a half hours of Internet use. We couldn't resist a fairly rare opportunity for a giro pitta on the way back to Henrietta.
Photos: The triathlon cycling stage; Passing the finishing post but still another lap to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment