Connecting more than two millennia of history starting on October 10, 2018, a group of cycling enthusiasts will cycle for 10 days from the island of Paros in Greece to the island of Hvar, a journey first done some 2,400 years ago when the Ancient Greeks sailing into the bay of modern Stari Grad and set up their first colony.
The Hvar cycling story continues to push new boundaries, with those crazy guys from Hvar LIfe always looking for new and innovative ways to put Hvar on the cycling map. Last winter, they were instrumental in bringing one of the world’s top cycling teams, Bahrain Merida, to the island for winter training, and next week, they set off on another first – connecting the Greek island pivotal to Hvar’s history by bike, on a 10-day, 1500km ride from the island of Paros.
It is some 2,400 years since the Ancient Greeks from the island of Paros sailed into the bay of modern-day Stari Grad and founded a settlement called Faros, which later became Stari Grad. They brought with them olive trees and vines and planted them in a fertile field close to Faros, dividing up the land as they went. That fertile land has been producing outstanding olives and grapes ever since, and farming methods have changed little. It is better known today as UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Stari Grad Plain.
More details on the cycle below from the official event page, but this is not the first time that the two islands have been connected. About 15 years ago, the voyage was done in reverse by a group of Hvar men, who brought olive trees and vines back to the island where the Hvar olive and wine story began some 2,400 years ago. You can read more about that below as well as video of the event.
More information on the latest Paros 2 Pharos event from the Facebook event page:
Paros 2 Pharos is a 10 day cycling adventure where 8 cyclists will ride 1500km from Greece to Croatia and „recreate“ the coming of Greek sailors from Paros and establishment of the first city in Croatia 2400. years ago: Paros – today known as Stari Grad on the island of Hvar.
Follow the daily updates here and on Hvar Life facebook page!
Initiator / Organizer
Hvarlife – Triathlon • Bike • Adventure / S.K ; HVAR LIFE
Itinerary / www.bikemap.net/en/r/4251154/
Day 1. PAROS – circle ride ( 48 km, +450/-440m)
Day 2. Megara – Aigio ( 138,2 km, +600/-570m)
Day 3. Aigio – Palairos ( 163,7 km, +1410/-1450m)
Day 4. Palairos – Igoumenítsa ( 124,5 km, + 1040/-1050m)
Day 5. Igoumenitsa – Vlora /AL (186,7 km, +2470/-2490m)
Day 6. Vlora – Tirana ( around 136,8 km, +820/-710 m)
Day 7. Tirana – Shkoder ( 109,2 km, +50/-140 m
Day 8. Shkoder – Kotor/ MNE ( 110,4 km, +1520/-1520 m)
Day 9. Kotor – Ston ( 139,2 km, +2040/-2030m)
Day 10. Ston – PHAROS /Stari Grad (144,1 km, +1600/-1610m)
AGAIN AFTER 24 CENTURIES
Three seas – two islands – our Mediterranean
Ancient Pharos, modern Stari Grad on the island of Hvar, is the oldest town in Croatia. Pharos was founded and colonised by Greeks from the island of Paros in 385/4 BC. Paros was the home of the ancient poet Archilochus and the sculptor Skopas. Pharos itself remained an independent city, or polis, for nearly 400 years up until the arrival of the Romans at the end of the 1st century BC.
Now steps are being taken by both these towns to restore the links between the two islands across a distance of 700 nautical miles. The expedition, the first of its kind ever to happen, will be undertaken in “Besa”, a historic sailing boat, which will sail from Stari Grad to Parikia, the main town on Paros, and then back again.
Members of the expedition team are Branko Kirigin, archaeologist and leader of the expedition who has visited Paros on several occasions and established links between the inhabitants and archaeologists of the islands; Aldo Cavic, director of the Cultural Centre in Stari Grad; Captain Dean Roic from Hvar; Ante Zuljevic biologist; Andro Tomic, a wine producer from Jelsa; and Darko Sosa a painter from Hvar. A Croatia Television crew, led by the famous explorer Stipe Bozic, will accompany the expedition.
