Monasteries of Meteora

Not content with the previous day's torture, we tackled another 12km walk today. Our aim was to walk to all six of the monasteries at Meteora (well technically 2 were convents with nuns). Our apartment was only 350m away from the start of the trail but it was uphill all the way. Muscles, ligaments and joints already destroyed by Mount Olympus felt every single step. The seemingly never ending uphill trek fortunately came to a stop at the first monastery, Holy Trinity. From here the gradient changes were manageable and most of the walk was on the road which made it much much easier. Our main adversary today was heat. We started at 0745 but by 0900 it was already hot. 

We won't bore you with all the details of our walk...but we did make it! As much as an achievement as it was, we probably would have hired e-bikes if we had to do it again. Only the hike up to the first monastery and the hike down from the last was not on roads. It would have been easier to coast on bicycles...

0745 start

Looking back at Kalambaka

Yes we needed a rest after 15 minutes because the ascent was so steep!

We made it! One!

Holy Trinity, the iconic one in pictures of the monastery perched on a tall hunk of rock

Two!

St Stephen one of 2 convents

Three! Roussanou, the second convent

Four!

Varlaam the second highest

Five! Great Meteoron, the highest and the biggest

Last but not least...six! St Nicholas Anapausas

Lunchtime!

Tomato and capsicum stuffed with rice and other goodies

There were many resources on the hikes and monasteries. The one that we thought was the most useful and the we used was this one which included a map, photos and a handy description of the path. The other useful site was one which described photo locations. Beware if you want good sunset photos, you would have to get to your spot early if you don't want people in your shots...

Lunch was at Gardenia, another recommendation by one of our guides, at Kastraki. The food was tasty and cheap. We had the best stuffed tomatoes ever. The rest of the afternoon was the boring necessity of laundry, showers and rest! We finished off the day at Restaurant Meteora, another winner recommendation!

Still smiling

Something about adding dried fruit and pomegranate to a salad that makes it tasty

Eggplant saganaki. So good

Grandma's meatballs. Amazing! The potatoes were the yummiest

To appreciate how high we climbed...on the left most rock (right on the very right edge) was Holy Trinity. On the right most rock (right on the left edge) was St Stephen. Our apartment was the white building to the right of the pole

Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus, home of the 12 Gods of Greek mythology, and the highest mountain in Greece towering at over 2900m. How could we not hike it? Many hike all the way to the summit, with an overnight stay at the refuge on the way up before completing their hike the next day. We opted for the "cheat" version of the E4 hike, only doing the bottom 12km and hiking down the mountain rather than up. We were so glad we did because even then we were exhausted by the end of it!

Our hotel provided a nice spread for breakfast right on 0730. By 0800 we were in a taxi making our way up towards Prionia. The windy drive took about 30 minutes, with the friendly driver offering us tips for a shorter hike which we readily agreed to. Was it really that obvious that we were amateurs?! Perhaps our snack choice of mini croissants filled with chocolate bits gave us away. He dropped us off at the Monastery of St Dionysios rather than Prionia, which cut our hike short by about 1 hour. He gave us instructions to head right on the path for about 10 minutes to see Enipeas Falls before turning around and heading down the mountain. He advised us that the water of the Enipeas River is clean and good for drinking as it is the town's drinking water supply, and to remember to fill up our water bottles before the last river crossing as we will not be anywhere near the water after that. 

And so, after briefly visiting the Monastery, we set off. The river crossings were beautiful, with crystal clear water, majestic peaks in the background and pretty wooden bridges. However, every crossing meant traversing down the gorge and then heading back up again. The constant elevation changes were a leg killer. When Jonah asked for a break, you know that it was hard work. Somehow...we managed to get down to Litochoro in just over 4 hours which towards the end felt more like 8! We sat down at the closest cafe with the least number of smokers to rest our weary legs. Were we glad we did it? The answer probably depended on when the question was asked! During the hike there were momentary judgements on the sanity and wisdom of doing the hike. But at the end, there was definitely a big sense of achievement...and we can say we hiked Mount Olympus!

Monastery of St Dionysios, being restored

The sign right outside the monastery. To the right is the little path that will connect you to the E4, at which were instructed to turn right towards the waterfall

This is the way

Enipeas Falls

The first wooden bridge crossing the Enipeas River at the bottom of the Enipeas Gorge

The Holy Cave

The amazingly clear waters of the Enipeas River

Bridge no 2

Fortunately most of the walk was under the shade of the forest

Despite going DOWN the mountain, all the uphill bits added up to 1800m!

Our first rest stop

Mount Olympus National Park is also rich in flora

Admiring the stunning views

Rest stop number 2

Obviously still not tired enough...

There were many steep sections both up and down

Finally the end! If you were to start in Litochoro and hike up, you'd take the path up on the left

We couldn't stop for long as we had to move on. Stopping by Pyli Bridge for a quick snap, we drove to Kalambaka. Our next challenge was to tackle the monasteries of Meteora. We attempted to get some sunset photos after dinner, however, the clouds didn't quite cooperate and neither did the hordes of people who arrived before us. Content with a few quick snaps, we checked into our apartment rental. Another long hike awaited us tomorrow...

It was nice to have space! The apartment was spotless and very comfortable

Bedroom 1

Bathroom

The thoughtful owner had left us snacks, water, fruit and breakfast condiments

...and alcohol!

Our attempts at sunset pics of Meteora

Some of the monasteries on schedule for tomorrow