A large study abroad group visited Kalabaka this past weekend. This is the site of Meteora ("Suspendid rocks"). I remember looking up pictures of Greece before leaving for my program. I came across these monasteries perched on top of cliffs. To my absolute delight, the school arranged a field trip to this breathtaking panorama. That is truly all I can say about it.
We left early Saturday morning, stopped in Trikala for lunch and just a break from the bus. Interesting note, my Greek teacher was originally from Trikala so he was very excited to hear of our travels. Our tour guide, Dafni, wonderful middle-aged women, took those interested on a tour of the old city. Of course I did not pass that up. It was either the tour or wonder around and shop. We saw the old defense walls and climbed the clock tour to get a view of the city. The weather was foggy and didn’t allow us to see too much.
A two hour bus ride from Trikala put us in Kalabaka. We were taken directly to our little hotel. The rooms had the bare essentials. I was hoping for a decent bed but found one similar to the one in my studio. I really did indulge in buying my bed this summer. I am now use to a more luxurious bed….which was a mistake given the current situation. Anyways, most people took naps or headed out into the small town. A small group of us decided to head up into the mountains and see what kind of mountaineering we could get ourselves into. It took awhile to find an entry point but we did. The terrain was slick so we had to be careful but all of us really wanted to get some hiking in. We made our way a decent way up. It was just some good clean hiking fun. I hadn’t gotten to explore nature like that in a long time and I look forward to more of it.
Something did happen before we found our unfound hiking path. An elderly man made a “come here” gesture from inside his little gated garden. None of us were sure of how to proceed, but Nikos just started to walk towards him. The man opened a door to his basement revealing his collection of homemade clay scultures. These were of prominent Greek buildings, like the Acropolis and even the White Tower in Thessaloniki. This man had these beautiful art pieces in his basement. He just wanted to show them off…great little side not to my weekend.
That night ended with a great dinner and an early retirement to bed.
I was the first one to wake up…immediately got dressed and headed down to the breakfast that was included in our trip. It was a great spread. I found a table right next to a fire that was already going. The rest of the group joined me in the hall within minutes. The group was lively…we were about to head up into the “floating rocks”…I don’t know how one couldn’t be lively.
The bus ride up there resembled my trip along highway 1 in California or the drives up the rocky mountains on my family trip to Colorado. The roads were as narrow as possible and one slip would send us down…I know…gruesome. Dafni was constantly gripping the chair…she wasn’t a fan of heights. I had a front seat view of the drive. These tour buses provided great views but the best was from the front seat. Jah and I made sure to get it each time we got on that bus.
The ascend was a quick 10 minutes and we were at our first monastery. This was the first of two, although there were 8 total.
The rest of this story is been shown through pictures. I am working on setting up an on-line photosharing site. It will be up soon. The monasteries were just as I had seen them in those pre-departure photos I had looked up. This was a simple life where monks and nuns prayed for 8 hours, worked for 8 hours and slept for 8 hours. They were used to house refugees during Turkish and Ottoman invasions/occuptations. Today, they are big tourist attractions although the monasteries have managed to stay true. Women are given long skirts to put over their legs before entering. Very few modern technologies have been adopted. The only way to reach them is still a long and challenging hike up carved steps. Just take a look at the pictures. You will see (hopefully soon)
This has been the best weekend of my trip so far. I am just a sucker for landscapes.
We left early Saturday morning, stopped in Trikala for lunch and just a break from the bus. Interesting note, my Greek teacher was originally from Trikala so he was very excited to hear of our travels. Our tour guide, Dafni, wonderful middle-aged women, took those interested on a tour of the old city. Of course I did not pass that up. It was either the tour or wonder around and shop. We saw the old defense walls and climbed the clock tour to get a view of the city. The weather was foggy and didn’t allow us to see too much.
A two hour bus ride from Trikala put us in Kalabaka. We were taken directly to our little hotel. The rooms had the bare essentials. I was hoping for a decent bed but found one similar to the one in my studio. I really did indulge in buying my bed this summer. I am now use to a more luxurious bed….which was a mistake given the current situation. Anyways, most people took naps or headed out into the small town. A small group of us decided to head up into the mountains and see what kind of mountaineering we could get ourselves into. It took awhile to find an entry point but we did. The terrain was slick so we had to be careful but all of us really wanted to get some hiking in. We made our way a decent way up. It was just some good clean hiking fun. I hadn’t gotten to explore nature like that in a long time and I look forward to more of it.
Something did happen before we found our unfound hiking path. An elderly man made a “come here” gesture from inside his little gated garden. None of us were sure of how to proceed, but Nikos just started to walk towards him. The man opened a door to his basement revealing his collection of homemade clay scultures. These were of prominent Greek buildings, like the Acropolis and even the White Tower in Thessaloniki. This man had these beautiful art pieces in his basement. He just wanted to show them off…great little side not to my weekend.
That night ended with a great dinner and an early retirement to bed.
I was the first one to wake up…immediately got dressed and headed down to the breakfast that was included in our trip. It was a great spread. I found a table right next to a fire that was already going. The rest of the group joined me in the hall within minutes. The group was lively…we were about to head up into the “floating rocks”…I don’t know how one couldn’t be lively.
The bus ride up there resembled my trip along highway 1 in California or the drives up the rocky mountains on my family trip to Colorado. The roads were as narrow as possible and one slip would send us down…I know…gruesome. Dafni was constantly gripping the chair…she wasn’t a fan of heights. I had a front seat view of the drive. These tour buses provided great views but the best was from the front seat. Jah and I made sure to get it each time we got on that bus.
The ascend was a quick 10 minutes and we were at our first monastery. This was the first of two, although there were 8 total.
The rest of this story is been shown through pictures. I am working on setting up an on-line photosharing site. It will be up soon. The monasteries were just as I had seen them in those pre-departure photos I had looked up. This was a simple life where monks and nuns prayed for 8 hours, worked for 8 hours and slept for 8 hours. They were used to house refugees during Turkish and Ottoman invasions/occuptations. Today, they are big tourist attractions although the monasteries have managed to stay true. Women are given long skirts to put over their legs before entering. Very few modern technologies have been adopted. The only way to reach them is still a long and challenging hike up carved steps. Just take a look at the pictures. You will see (hopefully soon)
This has been the best weekend of my trip so far. I am just a sucker for landscapes.
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