Amalia Hotel 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 ...

I knew it would end in disaster lol we had to get up at 8 to go and get the bus to the top of the Meteora mountain things and it took us up this really long and winding road and the bus had trouble in getting up there. When we got to the top the monastry was ok a little disapointing as it was just like a tourist attraction with rooms set up to show what the kitchen would have looked like and the place where the monks would have ate etc etc. The best bit ...

... room for 35 euros right in the centre of town. The woman on the counter barked orders at us Ian thought she was the headmistress and off we went to our room. We have just been having a look around and buying some supplies as we have no deodrant or cigarettes and we are buying the usual postcards to send. Its sunday and could not find a supermarket or mini market open so ended up in a pharmacy and saw some deodrant imagine my face when she ...

... outside rather than enter. Know we are missing some rare religious artefacts, but this is reckoned to be one of the most visited sites in all Greece, and there is certainly no let-up in coach traffic!<br>Lazy day in the camping afterwards. Brit couple in their 60's pass by with all the gear for climbing dangling from their belts: very impressive.<br>Weather shuts in somewhat... so, noses in books time.

This morning we were picked up by our bus at the hotel, and taken to a central city redistribution point, where the various half-day, full-day &amp; 2 &amp; 3-day tours commenced from. Once on the right bus for our 2-day trip to see Delphi ruins, &amp; Meteora monasteries, we made our way out of the sprawling Athens &amp; into the countryside littered with cotton fields (7th largest producer in the world!) and olive plantations, amidst large &amp; seemingly ...

... line.<br> <br> We wanted to hike down and camp in a cave but the man that drove us there insisted NO it is not allowed the monks will call the cops on you they watch and it was cold so we went with him he insisted that he take us out for Gyros and coca-cola instead and then find a pretty look out to eat it at. so we got some he bought us two a piece how did he know we eat sooo much and we drove to a pretty outlook of the city from above. <br> Where ...

... use. We intrepid travellers set out hiking up a nearby trail to the nearest monastery, Agias Triados (Holy Trinity), over 500 metres above us. Our trek was punctuated by the occasional thunder and lightning, which added to the stygian atmosphere of the hills. The final approach to Agias Triados was quite dramatic - a path leading to a spiral staircase carved into the very rock of the hill; the ...

... was booked. Due to change of nights because of the change to train our accommodation was changed and we had to drive to a few kilometres further to Kasteri and we stayed in a beautiful traditional Greek guest house which lovely views and rooms amongst the huge rock outcrops. We had a beer and Baileys and went to sleep early after a long night and day of traveling.