Ariston Hotel Ioánnina

We move on to Ioaninna. Rained in night & overcast now... not inspiring. As we roll along, however, it starts to brighten up. Good roads and a reasonable journey. Camping turns out to be right on lake, only 1k from town. Sun beats down on us: perfect.
However, dark clouds loom on distant mountains, so we decide to carry macs when we set ...

... many old people wearing their traditional costumes, as the man I spotted sitting outside his shop and asked him to have a photo with me. I expected to see many more sitting in the square and discuss with friends but it seems that I was unlucky.

Not many old men wear their traditional costumes nowadays.



Metsovo, Epirus, Greece greekcypriot

... nave, it dates back to the 7th century.



The construction of the nave itself uncovers at least 3 phases: the small three-cornered space with the dome (11th century) the cross-roofed hall from the 14th century, and finally the open narthex which is separated from the main church by a wooden door carved with representations ...

KONITSA



It is a beautiful border area in Greece. Built on the slopes of Trapezitsa Mount, 630 m altitude.



Konitsa is a city of 4.000 inhabitants built according to the traditional style of Epirotic architecture.



Aoos River flows on the right side of the city. It's an area ...

PERAMA CAVE IOANNINA



The Perama cave was discovered by accident in 1940 during the World War II, as the inhabitants of the village were trying to find a shelter against bombardments. At the end of the war Constantine Kasvikis, a gymnast and an amateur speleologist, found himself in Perama where, with his team, he took ...

SAILING IN THE LAKE TO THE ISLAND OF IOANNINA





We take the sailing boat and in just 25 minutes we come to the island.

It is famous for it's beauty, and there we visit the museum of Ali Pasa.



The ticket costs 1.80 euros.



There were many vendors selling all kinds of souvenirs, but mostly silver
Ioannina , Greece greekcypriot

... and Monodendri south to Kipi and its lovely arched stone bridges.

THE DISTANCE
The distance to get to the small Church of Ag.Paraskevi from the village of Monodendri is just 1.5 km.

It is the 2nd time I come out here, and I promised myself next time to come up here and walk with other people the gorge.
It is something that I ...

MONODENDRI

This beautiful Zagori village we visit todayy is about 41 km from the city of Ioannina.
It maintains intact the traditional stone-built architecture.
The Church of Agios Athanasios in the central square is of significan historical value.

We come here for lunch. From here are are going to visit the Gorge, but also I have a stroll in the village to take some photos and admire the architecture.

... but I wanted to decline and brave the pass to the end. One look at Ainaz' face and tomato-red cheeks and I caved. We loaded the bikes into the storage compartment and entered the firey warmth of the camper. They drove us 12 km down the highway (past the roadside ski hill) into the beautiful mountain town of Metsovo. We picked up some supplies and rode along the cobbled streets to the outskirts of town, pitched our tent on a knoll behind a small church and called it a ...

... in general, we didn't have a good vibe in Athens and found ourselves on a 8:30 am bus out of the capitol city. We arrived Meteora and setup camp at a place at the base of the huge rock pillars... in total there are 24 pillars and in the 10th century some crazy monk decided that god wanted his people to build a monastery on each one! These pillars are huge! ... 500-1000 feet high. In some cases the pillar does not have any access to the mainland ...