Day 432 – EU – Greece [Nea Karvali to Xanthi]

10/06/21

42.7km

  From Nea Karvali (Greece) to Xanthi (Greece)

Europe

A quiet day on the road, between intense heat, thunderstorms and rain, a rainbow day

Clear skies and intense morning heat

Yesterday evening I met with Dimitris, a runner, cyclist and mountaineer from Kavala. It’s a pity I ran through the city on a working day, as many members of the local running club were willing to meet me on the way for some kilometers. Anyway, Dimitris drove from Kavala to Nea Karvali after work to have a coffee with me and it was a really kind gesture. I also got to learn quite a lot about the region, northern Greece, its economy and traditions. There is still a debate going on as Wikipedia states that Koutra is the highest peak of the Pangaion mountain range, whereas Dimitris tells me it is in fact a peak called Mati. Ah, I always knew Wikipedia could not always be trusted!

Crossing the Nestos river

The weather pattern at the moment seems to be: a clear blue sky with intense sunshine in the morning; then by noon it gets really cloudy with occasional rain; and the afternoon is all about thunderstorms. Well, it started to rain as I approached Xanthi and I rushed to my accommodation. I was welcomed by Filippos, who greeted me in French (!) and went out of his way to make sure my stay in Xanthi would be perfect.

Tobacco fields, the local treasure & industry

Xanthi is a Greek city with a mixed population and large Turkish presence, dating back from the Lausanne Treaty and Greek-Turkish exchange of population. I went around for my afternoon stroll without (unfortunately) my mobile phone to take pictures, as it was recovering from the rain. It seems I’m going to have to invest in a new phone soon, as this one is getting very temperamental when exposed to humidity… Another two days of running inland before I get back to the Agean sea 🙂

Check my daily run GPS data on or

Here is the map of today’s run: