Meteora and Ioannina

 

Friday 17^th May. Meteora.

It was yet another beautiful drive. We could see snow- capped mountains in the distance as we travelled to Meteora. We passed shepherds watching their flocks in the traditional manner: walking them over the hills with their dogs - no fenced areas here. We drove through mainly arable land and then the amazing landscape of Meteora came into view. This area is full of massive spikes, cones and rounded hills that were created from river sediment that was twisted into bizarre shapes as the river flowed into the sea 25 million years ago.

 

It was an area that has supported religious communities since the late 10th Century although it was 1336 when the first monastery was built. At one time there were 24 monasteries and each one on its own ridiculous pinnacle. There are 6 remaining today and have been made famous by such films as 007 “for your eyes only”. In the past monks had to be hauled up to the monastery by a net/basket but now there is a dizzying road that takes you there. Although we visited all 6 monasteries we only went inside the largest and grandest,  Megalou Meteorou, built 400 m above the valley floor. To enter Jacqui was required to wear a long dress (no shorts, trousers or skirts above knees) and trousers for Mike. The monastery contained some interesting information on the history and liberation of modern Greece from the Turks in the 16^th century and the Germans in World War 2, plus lots of religious artefacts.

 

As we drove and walked to each monastery we had to keep stopping as we were overawed with the views. At one of our stops 'Costas' arrived. He was offering free camping in exchange for a meal at his mother’s hotel. This was just the site/man we were looking for. We met up with two decent German blokes and exchanged places to stay in Greece and in the Alps. They also gave us some maps. We all ended up at Costas' mothers hotel for supper which was simple BBQ chicken, Greek salad and wine all for only 24 euros (12 euros each). Later Costas invited Jacqui and I to drink Ouzo with him overlooking his 1000 olive trees from a very romantic spot. I could not face all the Ouzo after my last experience so Jacqui very kindly, when Costas was not looking, helped me out. 

 

Saturday 18^th May Metsova to Ioannina

We left late morning as Jacqui did a couple of hours work. Before we left Meteora there was one last monastery Mike wanted to visit. This was Agiou Nikolaou Anapafsas. A 14^th Century Monastery famous for its 16th Century frescos. On the way down from the Monasteries there was suddenly an amazing number of butterflies fluttering around. Our journey to day took us across the Pindhos mountains via the Katora Pass. This was another stunning journey. 

We stopped for 45 minutes at Metsova. This is a high mountain town consisting of stone houses. It was very picturesque but also quite commercial. So we continued through the Pindhos mountains avoiding numerous rock fall, snakes and tortoises on an very quiet mountain road where we only saw two cars over a period of two hours. Eventually we arrived in Ioannina which lies on the edge of a very beautiful lake where we eventually pulled up to park. In the evening we wandered along the water’s edge and watched some traditional Greek dancing. It turned out that the following day there were to be road races along the front so we decided to move the van to a quieter part of town. This proved to be quite difficult as the whole town was buzzing.

Sunday 19^th May Ioannina  

We moved early back to the lakeside car park in readiness to watch the beginning part of the race. After the first 10k runners passed us, Jacqui did a little more work and Mike went into the Old Town to explore the 5^th century castle,  various fortifications and minarets built by Ali Pasha. Ioannina was the former capital of the Albanian Muslim Chieftain Ali Pasha.

At 12pm we both went to a café where Jacqui had a good chat with Daxa on Skype and Mike was eyed up by the waiter. We then had lunch by the lake. After lunch we both had a laze. By 3.30pm the temp had dropped to 33 degrees and there was a good breeze so we decided to have a cycle. We started off along the front to see where it would take us. We ended up cycleing around the lake – 25k plus. It took a couple of hot dusty hours. At one point we crossed fields through dirt tracks but overall it was a good ride. In the evening the town again got very busy. No sign of a recession here.

Mt. Olympus

 

Wednesday 15^th May Itea to Panteleimonas.

Today was a travelling day as we had decided to visit Mt Olympus before heading to Corfu. It was about 260km with much of it on good quality mountain roads. We eventually decided to stop about 30km short at the beach resort of Panteleimonas. During the drive we stopped for bread and milk and Jacqui bought a pair of shorts and vest at Intersport. This has now completed her trip wardrobe. About time too.

Thursday 16^th May Mt Olympus.

This morning we drove the short distance to Litoharo where we picked up the mountain road to the Olympus National Park. A 14km drive took us on a windy course through roads lined with wild flowers and dense forest beyond. The forest was not only conifers; the slopes were supporting many large deciduous trees such as beech. At the end of the drive we reached Prionia which is a base for the sharper climb to the Spilious Agapitos refuge. Priona had a WC, water, one restaurant and a large car park. We locked the van carefully and set off for the refuge with our water and lunch. It was raining slightly when we set off so we dressed accordingly but it soon stopped and we needed to strip down to T shirt and shorts. The climb was fairly rough and reasonably steep. When we stopped for lunch, after 2 hours, Jacqui started to wonder if would make the refuge before we needed to return to ensure we were down the mountain before dark especially as she was starting to get tired. We agreed to continue until 2.30pm but we made our destination by 2.00pm. it had taken 3 ¼ hours which wasn’t bad as it was marked as a 3 hour trail and we had stopped for lunch. At the refuge we bought a very welcome Snickers bar, mint tea with sugar and coffee. We needed the energy. It was another 3 hour climb to the summit but that would have involved an overnight stay at the refuge. Also the conditions weren’t good as there was a lot of cloud, neither did we have the right equipment as we were now in and above the snow line and there was quite a bit of snow up to the peak. As we were about to head down Jacqui realised she had lost her glasses (not sun glasses). She looked all over the refuge and in the rucksack. We decided that she must have dropped them on the way up as Mike remembered her having them when we stopped for lunch. The one place we thought it could be was when we first reached the snow. Jacqui had dodged Mike’s snow ball and then had lent down to wash her face in the snow. The answer was yes as on the way down there they were lying at the edge of the snow  drift. Jacqui was relieved. We walked down the mountain much quicker in 2 hours but were tired on arriving back at the van. We both decided to take the short drive to the coast for a night stop but it was not to be. We picked up water in a village but could not find a suitable place to park. We ended up doing another hour's drive around the back of the mountain. We eventually pulled off the main road and found a lovely spot  near a river and stayed there for the night.

Osios Loucas and Delphi

Monday 13^th May Athens to Osios Loucas.

The morning was spent at the campsite using the internet facilities to catch up with Lizzy (Keele) and servicing the van. Mike also gave the carpets and interior a good clean. We left the campsite at 2.00pm but it was nearly 4.00pm after we had been food shopping, sorted diesel and gas, had an abortive cloths shopping trip for some shorts (Jacqui’s only pair had holes in.) We took the E962 to Thiva and then the smaller route (green of course) in the direction of Domvraina and for about 15km the road was being resurfaced so we bumped along for a good while with everything in the van and our bodies shaking. We could also see a dramatic thunderstorm in the distance and although we did have some heavy rain  we were on the fringe of it. The road from Domvraina towards our destination, Osios Loucas was breath-takingly beautiful. Beautiful mountain gorges with roads lined with yellow broom. Although it increased our diesel consumption significantly, it was worth it. We were heading for a Byzantine Monastery at Osios Loucas. We could see it in splendid isolation on top of a hill and eventually the road took us there. It was 7.30pm when we arrived and the monastery was shut but the car park was empty so we pulled in and decided to stay the night. Monks are known to help weary travellers. It was impossible to describe how beautiful and tranquil it was there. We were literally miles from anywhere perched on top of a mountain. All we could hear was a cuckoo that was answering another in the distance or was it an echo?

Tuesday 14^th May Osios Loucas to Delphi.

We were up early as we wanted to  be ready to enter the Monastery once it opened and move off to Delphi because we had just started to realise all historical Greek sites closed  by 3.00pm. Our guidebook said that this monastery opened at 8.00am. but as we walked down a man who looked like the “odd job man” stopped us. He only spoke Greek except for the ability to ask for a cigarette and advised us, with the use of our watches, that the site would not be open until 10.00 am. However, he came back at 9.15am to say it was now open so we followed him down the stone steps to the entrance. He seemed rather attached to us: as we went around this lovely site he kept appearing to 1) show us a sun dial hidden on the wall, 2) point us to the direction of the grave yard and small church not shown on our guide map, 3) give us olive oil soaked cotton wool to “cross” our hands and forehead before entering the main church and 4) give us some Turkish Delight. All this and we hadn't been able to help him out with his request for a fag.  Although the whole site was lovely the main point of visiting was to see the mosaic pictures in the portico and the main part of the church. Shortly after 10.30am we were back on the mountain road to Delphi. This is the second most important archaeological site in Greece and it was quite busy. Zeus, it is said, sent two Eagles out, one to fly east and the other to fly west. Where they met, Zeus sent down a bolt of lightning and this was to be known as the centre of the world (Delphi). One of the site's highlights was the Temple of Apollo but there are many other monuments, treasures etc. as you zig zag up the hill. But the thing that makes the place special is its location. It overlooks a beautiful gorge and is backed by the towering Mt. Parnassos. Having spent only 90 minutes here we headed off to the other two adjacent sites: the gymnasium and the Temples of Athena. The first was closed but you could see what was there from the road above and we walked around the second, although Jacqui was starting to get extremely hot. We walked back to the van and had lunch before heading off down the mountain to the coastal town of Itea where we knew we could park our van on the harbour front. We walked round the town in the late afternoon and Jacqui bought a white linen dress. In the evening we were pleased to see John and Marion drive up and after supper we shared a glass of wine and travelling tales with them.

Athens

 


11th May 2013

We left our beach parking spot early and set off for Athens which was only just over 50Km away. Jacqui had planned a skype call with Lizzie to discuss some work issues for 12.15 and we wanted to be settled in our campsite beforehand. We found Camping Athens easily; it was not a cheap site at 26 euros a night but we wanted to be assured the van was safe whilst we explored Athens and we needed a good internet signal. Camping Athens was also conveniently located for the city centre taking under 30 minutes on bus and Metro. Jacqui chatted with Lizzie for nearly two hours so we had a quick lunch and then set off for the Acropolis station.  It was very hot when we arrived at 3pm and Jacqui was sweating under her new sun hat.  We walked up to the Acropolis gates to find out that it had closed at 2.15pm despite the guide books telling us it closed at 6.30pm. We could not understand why such an important monument should close mid afternoon on a weekend. We traipsed back down the hill trying to reschedule our time in Athens in our heads.  We decided to visit the Acropolis museum first. This was a good move.  it is a modern, light building with excellent air conditioning. Apart for all the artefacts in there we also had the opportunuity to watch a good video about the excavation of the Acropolis and gleaned much information to enhance our future visit to the Acropolis site. In the museum there were numerous references to various pieces of marble being in the British Museum and to Lord Elgin's stealing of important statues. Britain has not been forgiven for this.

After a good visit we left the museum and headed to Hadrian's Arch and the Temple of Zeus - again closed. We then walked through the cool National Gardens and up to the Parliamentary buildings and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The Greek Army does have a very strange ceremonial unifrom. The poor men have to wear cream coloured woollen tights with slippers that are adorned at the toes by a big fluffy black ball of wool. Ridiculous!! Mike thought that maybe in times of war the enemy would die laughing as the Greeks approached.
Our next stop was to try to get to the top of Lycabettus Hill to get some good views of the City and to vist the small church Agios Georgios.  It was a long hot walk up numerous steps to get to the base of the hill. We eventually decided to take the funicular up to the top which cost 7 euros each.  We later realised that we had done much of the hard walking and could have saved the money but Jacqui was very hot.  It was worth paying because the views from the top were impressive and there was a small wedding at the Church.  The bride looked beautiful and what an outstanding place to 'tie the knot'.  It was quite cool up on the hill and the sun was setting. We had walked miles and we still had to get back down and find our way to the campsite.  It was nearly 10pm before we were home and sitting down to supper. We both slept well that night.

Sunday 12th May
Despite our best attempts to get to the Acropolis at 8am when it opened so we could visit it in the cool of the day it was just after 9am when we left the campsite. We travelled in with two young couples form NZ and we gave some advice on what to see as they continued their trip around Europe.

It was just before 10am when we each paid our 12 euros to visit the Acropolis. As we walked up to the gateway of the Acropolis we saw the Temple of Dionysus where the Greek poets had the premiers of their plays performed. From there we passed the Stoa of Eumenes and the Odeion of Herodes Atticus. All the time climbing up to the 'sacred rock', the Acropolis.  The main entrance to the Acropolis is named the Propylaea. Other ruins on this site include 'The Temple of Athena Victory, The Erechtheion and of course the Parthenon. Despite all the restoration work going on it is truly a marvellous place to visit.  The views were also impressive allowing you to look right over the city and to the sea beyond. It also allowed us to pick out the other sites we wanted to visit and to orientate ourselves.

After we left the Acropolis we walked to the Ancient Agora, which included the Stoa of Attalus (plus museum) and the Temple of Hephaistos. We managed to find some shade to have our sandwiches and then we continued walking slowly (it was hot) to the Roman Agora, Hadrian's Library, (not as good as the one in Tivoli) and the Kyrristus Clock Tower of the Winds. We stopped for an ice cream and a drink in the Plaka at the Lysikrates Monument and then wandered down numerous narrow streets, lined with cafes and touristy shops to the Cathedral. Tired now we decided to head back to the Metro and to the campsite to chill out. We did do some laundry and some blogging but it we also just sat drinking some well deserved beer and eating crisps.  It was a good end to a busy two days.