Day 92 - August 12th: Mother Lode
Day 92 – Mesi to Dikkela: 31.6 miles / 2,654 total
Yesterday was punishing—twice I nearly buckled under the pace and heat. Recovery feels tougher now; even eating is a challenge as all I want is to be horizontal.
We stayed in Fanari, a coastal town alive with waterfront energy, a great meal, and a sunset that was our reward. On our way back, we grabbed pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast.
I was back on the farm road by 6:30 AM, under a clear sky choking with threat of 100°F ahead.
The early kilometers were a golden dream: wheat fields, dried sunflowers, corn rows nodding heavy—reminded me of the American Midwest, complete with seed-company signs.
Today marked a milestone: I retired my Altra Torin’s after 341 miles and laced into my last pair of shoes on this trip.
Laundry tonight will be the last load. I’ve kept focused day-to-day, avoiding counting down miles or countries, but now that “lasts” are arriving one by one, and each of them is an energy boost.
After 20 peaceful kilometers, I reached a coastal road along the Thracian Sea—quiet villages, raw cliffs. At Krioneri, I met 30 year old Bill and his sister who were helping out at the family run open air beach Café. Bill looked like he was in Miami Beach dressed in a casual silk beach suit with hat and oversized designer sun glasses. He sat down with me over a bite to explain he had dropped out of University in London to help out while he was trading Crypto and currencies. As I paid to leave, I asked them if business was good and they both said in unison, “town is so corrupt it is impossible to do well!”
The road climbed into the hills on an old fire track marked “Closed”—which was perfect for one runner. Soon enough, I rounded a bend and found myself before an isolated, empty ancient amphitheater—pristine and beautifully preserved.
Later, I came across the remains of ancient Ismara, or Homer’s Ismaros—the city of the Cicones in the Odyssey, including a sacred acropolis on Agios Georgios hill, its Cyclopean walls dating back to the 9th–8th century BC . Nearby ran the Ulysses Stream, its name carrying millennia of myth.
The terrain undulated through ancient olive groves and stone ruins. A lone goat herder greeted me with a nod—no words, just presence.
Rounding one final mountain, the coast spread turqoise before me,
revealing a crumbling fort,
a fresh dig,
and then the extraordinary Archaeological Site of Mesimvria–Zone—a once-thriving Samothracian colony from the 7th century BC. Excavations reveal temples to Apollo and Demeter, amphorae built into flooring for humidity control, fortified walls with towers, and an organized city layout of houses and public buildings. Here, ancient Thracian, Greek, and Roman worlds overlap.
No cell signal, but Christina tracked me down at 45 km with two liters of cold fluid. Rehydrated and recharged, I close out the final 4 km with Jax feeling light.
An epic chapter: ancient theater, Homeric walls, deserted sanctuaries, and Mesimvria’s secrets—a near-mythic day on quiet roads and hopefully not my last.
Tomorrow: the last 50K in Greece before Turkey.
Thanks for following along and the support.
Cheers,
David.
