Day 93 - August 13th: Beginning of The End

Dikkela to Kavisos: 32.6 miles / 2,686 total

Yesterday’s stage might just top the charts—powerful enough to anchor the 100-day collage. We spent the night in a dog-friendly house Christina rented, complete with a full kitchen, fenced olive grove yard for Jax to run wild, and separate bedrooms—perfect for a faux finish celebration. Dinner at St. George’s Tavern - a 5k+ review restaurant was one of the best: winding dirt roads through olive groves led us to a beautifully restored waterfront compound pulsing with energy—no reservation needed, and they were happy to have Jax sit under our table. Excellent food, killer views, and interesting people-watching capped the day.

Today—our last full day together—I tackled the final 53 K before tomorrow’s solo run to the Turkish border. Tina is weighing her Istanbul transit options: taxis can’t cross the border due to insurance, so a bus seems likely—but she’s working it out in person. I pared down to two running outfits for the last stretch, toiletries, and essentials. For the border, I’m leaning toward my usual—run up to the front of the queue and see what happens. If needed, I’ll ask a driver to carry me through.

The trusty $5 scale from Porto will see its last use tonight—I’ll leave it behind along with my shredded shirt and socks. I started this at 170 lb, now down to 151.

I was up at 4:15 AM, fueled by an all-star breakfast from our equipped kitchen: eggs, toast, yogurt, juice, coffee. I re-launched under cool skies at 6:30 AM from the ruins, feeling light in body and spirit.

Mid-morning, Tina secured two bus tickets—confirmed Jax can sit next to her. The owners of our house even offered to keep him and our car for the week. She was torn between convenience and allegiance, but it was her decision as she would have to shoulder the burden. She chose the latter, Jax was part of the team and deserved to make it to Istanbul. I was touched and thrilled she made that choice.

At 10:30 AM I reached Alexandroupolis, a bustling port city that stands on the site of ancient Sale, a Samothracian colony once home to the Thracian Cicones—the same tribe mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey. In Roman and Byzantine times this coast was a vital link between Europe and Asia, tied into the great Via Egnatia corridor that carried soldiers, merchants, and pilgrims across the empire. The modern city’s main drag was alive with cafés and shops, and I ducked into Barber Bros for a quick trim—my rule: take the empty chair when in need and with the upcoming final push, lighter is better. Mike the owner took great care of me at a reasonable price.

Heading east, I left Route 2’s main gap and turned onto a quieter fire road climbing into the western foothills of the Rhodope Mountains—terrain that for millennia has been a threshold between coastal Thrace and the interior. These ridges once held fortified Byzantine routes known as basilikē hodos (“imperial roads”), guarded passes that connected the coast to inland towns like Plotinopolis.

For four hours I saw no one—just the wind in my ears, a steady 25 mph northeasterly that was loud and sounded like ocean surf. No audiobook could compete, so I just listened.

Tina met me at our designated spot Café Ilona where I’ll start my solo adventure tomorrow and jump on the highway to the Turkish border 10 miles away. Once across, it’s 255.5 km over five days to Çankurtaran, where I’ll meet Monica, Christina, and Jax to look out at the Bosphorus Strait and the edge of Asia as my final step. If all goes well.

From here on out, without my computer and limited time I will not be able to publish my typical blog posts but I will give status updates and photos.

Time to close this out!

Thanks for the support and following along.

Cheers,

David.