The monasteries of Meteora were on my agenda for early in the morning in the hope of beating the worst of the heat. I decided to take the motorbike rather than walk to speed up the time between the various monasteries.
On the way towards the monasteries of Meteora
I arrived at the first monastery, The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron, shortly after opening and the crowds didn't seem too bad. I was on the bike so I parked close to the top of the hill where I thought I was out of the way between a car and a large garbage bin (dumpster) and on the right side of the No Entry signs…...
The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron - Meteora
The days of accessing the monasteries by ropes, ladders and baskets are gone and to access the monasteries steps have been cut into the rock. The steps drop down first before reaching the base of the rock towers that the monasteries are built upon. There are often bridges required to cross the gaps between the sheer stone walls.
View from The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron towards The Holy Monastery Varlaam - Meteora
Once you scale the rock pillars you gain a much greater appreciation for the circumstances that led to their construction on top of the rocks for protection. The monasteries were built on the inaccessible rocks to provide a safe refuge from the Turkish occupation.
The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron - Meteora
Ropes, ladders and nets were used to raise and lower people and supplies and are only used occasionally for visiting monks.
The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron - Meteora
The monasteries are remarkably well maintained and restored with impressive museum and art displays (No Photos allowed), gardens and grounds and souvenir shops (in some).
The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron - Meteora
The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron - Meteora
As I was nearing the end of my time in The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron I became well away of the increase in crowds which were filling up the monastery. I was happy to move on to another one or two monasteries before calling it a day.
I made my way back to the car park and noticed my motorbike had been moved…..? Apparently I was still in the way of the manoeuvring coaches that had dropped off bus loads of tourists despite being parked originally out of the way……There was a man witching me who shook his finger suggesting I had parked in the wrong spot. As I rode to the next monastery he followed me, keeping a watchful eye on me…..I tried to park near the front door and was told to move on. The helpful man shook his finger again and pointed me to a place to park. Although a short distance further to talk it was in the shade and out of the way. Better that than people manhandling my bike.
The 2nd monastery I visited, The Holy Monastery of Varlaam, was a short roll down the hill from The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron. I was now amongst the coach loads of tourists for the visit which can make some of the small spaces of monasteries on top of rocks a little claustrophobic.
View to adjacent rock towers from The Holy Monastery of Varlaam - Meteora
The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is much smaller and more compact than The Holy Monastery of the Great Meteoron. When I arrived it was impossible to get inside the small church due to the two, or three, tour groups inside. I looked around elsewhere and found some space near the water (or wine) barrel and also near the net used to haul up monks.
The Holy Monastery of Varlaam - Meteora
I managed to get inside the church on may way out to see some rather impressive frescoes depicting the persecution of Christians.
View up to The Holy Monastery of Varlaam
View up to The Holy Monastery of Varlaam
After a reasonably quick visit to The Holy Monastery of Varlaam I rode around to the end of the road that access the monasteries to The Holy Monastery of St. Stephen. This monastery was closed so I had an opportunity to get off the bike nearby to take a few photos of the surrounding landscape.
View down to Kalambaka/Kalabaka - Meteora
View across to The Holy Monastery of St. Stephen
After stopping for a walk out amongst the rocks for a better vantage point I stopped to see my last monastery - The Monastery of the Holy Trinity.
Once again there was a steep walk down before an even steeper walk up the steps to the monastery. This one was clearly not on the tour bus schedule since for most of my visit I was the only person there, apart from the doorman.
The hook used to bring up the rope net - The Monastery of the Holy Trinity - Meteora
The Monastery of the Holy Trinity - Meteora
View down to The Holy Monastery of Roussanou
The Monastery of the Holy Trinity - Meteora
Greek Orthodox Church Flag - Meteora
On the way out of the monastery the doorman generously offers some cake he had in a lunch box. Perhaps we didn't understand each other so I am not sure if he did or didn't make it, had or hadn't tried it, did or didn't know what sort of cake it was or what was going on. I was glad to have a piece of the mysterious cake.
I headed back to Dellas Boutique Hotel to confirm directions for a swim in the river.
I rode the 10km out to the bridge and it was not an easy spot to get in and out of the river with the near vertical sides of the bridge abutments being rocky and unpleasant. I headed upstream in the hope of an easier spot to hop in for a cool down. I noticed a dirt road off towards the river and decided to give it a try……..
The slow moving river and slime was not inviting…
Was good to do a few metres off the bitumen
After checking the river and being rather unimpressed I returned to the main road and took another turn-off where I had seen some tents. I didn't realise I was passing through a gypsy settlement until I was almost riding over one of the children in the dirt. I continued until I was close to the river.
I dismounted the bike and walked closer to the parked van that was being washed out with water from the river and as I stood on the bank I could see that it was definitely wash day. It seemed the entire family and all of their clothes and bedding was being washed in the river.
I left them to their daily duties and decided today was not going to include a swim.
Panorama shot - Meteora
I returned to Kastraki and refreshed with a shower before deciding I would look for WiFi and work on this website.
Smart Car - Driver….?
I spent the next few hours sat in All Time restaurant/cafe watching the sun fade on the rocks of Meteora working on an update and upload for this website.
Fading light on Meteora
Afterwards it was time for dinner in Meteoron Panorama Restaurant close to the hotel overlooking Kalambaka and the rocks of Meteora. I enjoyed some lamb (slow cooked in paper and much more tender than the previous night's) and a drop or two of local red wine. It was a good way to round off my time in Meteora.
The View from Meteoron Panorama Restaurant
Back at Dellas Boutique Hotel there were still a few people sitting up in the lounge area. So I paused before bed to have a quick chat with a few of the other guests. I spoke with an American family, whose driver I had met the night before, and who were on a pretty tight schedule. They were heading to Athens to send their father home to work while the remainder of the family continued for a little while longer.