Meteora | Kritsa, at the heart of it all

In early May we set off on a road trip around central Greece…what an adventure.

We drove aboard the overnight Minoan car ferry from Heraklion, Crete to Pireaus, the main port near Athens. Bright and early next morning found us zooming up the excellent motorway on a four hour trip to odd peaks named Meteora. Our aim was to see the monasteries that ‘balance’ between heaven and earth. For the Greek Orthodox faith, this Holy area is second only to Mount Athos.

After checking in to the Kastraki Hotel for two nights ‘Wow’ was a common term.

I’d pre booked a sunset tour and it proved to be an excellent way to see many of the monasteries perched atop the peaks. Hard to believe the top of the rocky towers were once the bottom of a lake. Close up you can see they’re an aggregate of mud and rocks.

Day Two – Meteora Hike

After a breakfast we set off on a guided hike, organised by Visit Meteora and we’re still congratulating ourselves for doing so…it was excellent. Prior to our visit email communication with this company was easy and on the tours the guides were informative, and enthusiastic. Most importantly for our hike, the guides knew hidden trails to take us weaving through woods allowing us to ascend the peaks without a strenuous vertical climb. In three different places we saw a tortoise ambling along the path – I had a pet tortoise for 55 years so I loved seeing them in the wild.

Like the previous evening, our schedule included one visit to a monastery, and for me this was enough, I preferred the natural overawing beauty.

RICOH IMAGING

The final stage was a walk down through woods to our waiting mini bus. Instead of heading back to Kastraki we stopped off in the nearby village of Kalambaka for lunch and then took a €5 taxi back to our hotel.

After a siesta I woke to see my husband on the balcony peering through his binoculars. He called out ‘There’s people up there, climbing Spindle Rock.’