Today we learned that even in the south of Greece, here in Peloponnesus, the are quite high mountains and even ski fields. From Olympia the road wound up into the hills becoming increasingly narrow and winding, with very deep steep-sided valleys providing quite dramatic scenery. There are little villages clinging to the steep slopes, one of which was our destination Dimitsana (3,100 feet).
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| A view of Dimitsana |
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| Our lodgings, the Dimitsana Guesthouse |
Ave was very proud of our lodgings, the "feature stay" of this trip he said. It was very nice, solidly constructed of stone in the traditional local style and with dark timber panelled ceilings and matching furniture. There is a fireplace in every room although these are not used at this time of year. Apparently Dimitsana and other mountain villages in this area are popular winter retreats for Greeks and tourists. There is even a ski field nearby, something we did not realise existed in southern Greece. It actually became quite "cold" in the evening - well, about 15 degrees cold that is. We all had to pull out our jackets for the first time.
On Friday we had a full day here. We were driven to near a monastery in the Lousios river gorge, and then visited that before carrying on along a steep track which zig-zagged down into the gorge, crossed the river on a small bridge, then climbed back up the other side to a second monastery. Ave had been keen to warn us that this was a long and possibly dangerous hike, but in reality it was quite manageable. For me the main challenge was getting rather hot on the uphill section. It was really nice to get out into the bush for a decent walk.
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| Ave pointing to the two monasteries which we will be walking between. |
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| A chapel at the end of the road, where the track to the first monastery starts. |
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| Yes, another crazy monastery clinging to a vertical cliff! |
This is the Monastery Agiou Ioanni Prodromou, which is stuck on the side of a cliff for protection. It is only about one room deep, with room for 15 inhabitants. At the moment six monks live here, plus some novices (not yet monks). They have space for a vegetable garden, and there is a power cable strung across the rock to give them electricity.
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| The front door. Ave is pointing out the bullet holes left from when the monks fought off attackers. |
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| They have a few donkeys, to help carry loads down the track. There is no road to here. |
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| The inside rock wall, adorned with 16th century frescoes. |
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| It was almost dark inside the tiny central church, to protect the ancient frescoes. |
Upon leaving this monastery we split up into those who were happy to undertake the ("arduous") hike to the second monastery, and those who decided to walk back to the bus instead, and get a ride. Rain was threatened but did not eventuate. The track was very pleasant and we were under trees most of the time, the shade being most welcome in this hot weather.
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| The rocky bed of the Goulios river, deep in the gorge. |
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| We stopped here at the ruins of an earlier monastery, now mostly gone. |
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| Sue chilling out in the church of our destination, the Panagias Filosofou Monastery. |
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| We relaxed in the shade of a tree while waiting for our minibus to arrive to pick us up. |
After a fairly steep, hot climb we arrived at the second monastery, which is much newer than the first and is actually located on a sensible, fairly level site, although still on the edge of the gorge. It was very hot. There were seven or so cats lying about, dozing in the heat. We soon discovered that although they appeared lethargic they would suddenly spring to life at the sound of any cellophane food wrapping rustling!
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| Sue discovers the "sleeping" cats react swiftly to the sound of food being unwrapped! |
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| Ave explains the plan to Pat (82), from California. |
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| This is our minibus, with driver Dimitrius loading bags. |
Our minibus is quite comfortable, although the aircon is a bit feeble in hot conditions. It is driven by Dimitrius who speaks little english, leaving our guide Ave free to address us while we are travelling, either directly or using the PA system. He is very exuberant and quite loud, but after a few days travel we have persuaded him to speak in more gentle tones. He addresses us as "ladies and gentleman, my dear friends" and is perpetually cheerful.
