Odysseon Kalambaka

We flew to Metéora today to see the Monasteries. The flight didn't take very long at all, less than an hour. We essentially followed a highway, the E 90 all the way there. It was an amazingly beautiful flight. We flew over Lake Ioannina and through a mountain pass where we followed a river and the highway to another narrow pass near a valley with Lake Aoos at the north end of it. From here we just followed the river ...

... german man in his 50's on holiday and he gave me a life down and I bought him a coffee and went back to the room to wait on Ian who was still walking down the mountain. Ian enjoyed the walk down though saying the scenery was amazing not my cup of tea and I told him that I did not want to go in the first place.<br><br>We had our first major bust up not bad for 21 days of being in each others pockets so we made up by going for lunch and having some frappe ...

... land train from there to Kallambaka which took 5 hours but went through the most beautiful scenery and countryside hills, mountains little villages. Sat and gazed out the window most of the time and dozed off to sleep and finally got here at 2. We again had no where to stay so for punishment for last night Ian left me to have a cold chocolate milk and he went off looking for somewhere but he is so good at it anyways he came back finding a lovely ...

<br><br>Stunning setting: Meteora is an area with fantabulous outcrops of rock, smooth, sculpted almost, on top of which have been built these extraordinary monasteries. Access was only by dangling ropes, way back - for security purposes. How they hauled up the building materials staggers the imagination! Thankfully, the road goes all the way up them all, now. We scoot around them, preferring to view from ...

... ranges.<br><br><br><br>Despite what other English-speaking tourists &amp; ourselves agreed seemed a disorganised start to the day, the Greeks remained fairly laid-back about proceedings, and we relaxed into what we guessed was the norm for them!<br><br><br><br><br>Once we arrived at the ruins of Delphi, amid some wonderful scenery up &amp; down mountainous roadways, with huge valleys appearing at every turn, we were once again blown away by the ...

... strolled up, opened the door to the bus station, and started selling tickets. I ran across the road (while Matt stayed with the bags) to purchase both of our tickets for the first leg of the trip. <br><br>Once on the bus, we all started talking about the different things we had heard we had to do to get to Meteora. We had each been told the same story, but also different stories as well. We knew we had to take the bus we were currently on to one town ...

... started to rain. We waited for a while, but as it became cold and the rain did not show signs of stopping I rushed to take the car. By the time I reached it I was wet all over and we couldn't wait anymore for the rain to stop and see the other monasteries. Besides, it was already past 5 pm and we had a long way back to Katerini. Anyway, no regrets, we've seen the best and it was enough for us.

... on the steep side of a mountain, which makes both for spectacular views and for it being necessary to watch where you are walking. It also makes for lots of climbing, so if you're not already in good shape, expect your legs to ache the next morning if you explore the entire site. Again, it is extensive, with a theatre, gymnasium, stadion and a couple of major temples, one to Apollo, the main God of the sanctuary, and one to ...

... up by rope and a hand cranked windlass to winch towers overhanging the chasm. Today, only six monasteries survive as museums. They are sparsely occupied by a few monks and nuns but they offer a rare glimpse of Orthodox monastic life. Our first visit is to the Holy Trinity (Agia Trias), but we need not have rushed, as the monastery doesn't open until 10:00 . We park our car and watch amazed as the clouds clear from the dramatic scenery. We ...