Hellas, the most beautiful country in a RTW trip

After a long trip around the globe, and a quick stop in London, I ended up in my home town, Megara. Everything seemed so small and kind of different. Is it me I see things in a different way or the place is indeed tiny comparing to large cities I visited such as Bangkok, Sydney, Buenos Aires? Whichever way you see it, this is the place I grew up, the place where my parents live, my brothers and sister and childhood friends, in a currently highly problematic country. People keep asking me which was the most beautiful country out of all those I visited, and I keep answering the same: Hellas, the most beautiful country of this trip! 

To confirm that, only few days after I arrived back, my good friend Angelos invited me (once again) to go to Lefkada island. Along with my RTW co-traveller Spyros and two more good friend of ours, we got in car and after 4-5 hours we were in Lefkada. I have posted photos from Lefkada here from last summer also, but to fully cover the beauty of this place I have decided to post more pictures of its amazing beaches and its clear blue waters. We spent few days at probably the most spectacular beaches in Greece. Swimming in these waters make you feel rejuvenated. Like a treatment to your body and mind. The food we had at the tavernas was as always amazing, incomparable to any other food we tried throughout the RTW trip.        

Lefkada_Passing at Kathisma beach

Lefkada_Porto Katsiki beach

Egremni, this stunning beach, left us for once more speechless. Its crystal clear blue waters, the white sand and the vastness of this place can take you into another level of summer day dreaming. :) A nice basic beach bar in the middle of the beach was providing cold drinks and good music. The way to reach the beach is stip and while the way down is easy, the way up the cliffs is daunting, especially with the 38oC heat. It definitely worth it! The pictures below will justify this.  

Lefkada_Egremni beach

Lefkada_Plenty of space, one way...

Lefkada_...or the other

Lefkada_Tired friends

Lefkada_Sunset to the Ionian Sea

After Lefkada the days passed slow and easy. Happy with family and friends, mum's food and care. :) With the temperature never going below 30oC, we were every day at the beaches nearby Megara. During midday the heat was climbing up to 41-42oC. It can become very tiring even if I wasn't doing much. I think the heat in Greece has been more intense since the years I was living here, maybe due to global warming. Despite we had a proper winter with cold, rain and even snow, the summer gets pretty hot. 

      

Sunset at Saronikos Gulf

Rebelious...

We had plans to visit the Greek mountains. It was time for us to explore the mighty Greek terrain and realise that in fact Greece is the most mountainous country in Europe! We have more than just islands. :) 

Tseke and Tatty had proposed to visit Tzoumerka at northern Greece. A region in the Pindus mountain range famous for its glorious mountains and rivers. So we did! We packed the car and drove about 5 hours to reach the area. We stayed at some unique housing; self-sufficient bio-climatic igloos built by local stone and wood and located within a beautiful forest nearby the mountainous village of Ktistades. An amazing place to stay in, a tippie-like house. Our host Mr Nikos was very nice and welcoming (as well as his dogs) and provided home made bread and jam for breakfast. The houses provided a truly unique accommodation for us.            

Tzoumerka rocks!

Kostas+Tatiana(+a newcomer)

Lovely house

theasis-igloo.com

We explored the region by car. The roads were basic and full of turns but this didn't stop us from wanting to see more. We had to go down and up again to overcome the big hills and mountains. The views were breathtaking. At some point we've seen an old monastery built in to the rocks. I was stunned to find it was built in 1212! We stopped and visited it. There is a large cave in there where the monastery extends to further almost 150 meters! There was a safety bridge that the monks use to lift to stop the invaders. Awesome location...          

Monastery of Kipina

Built into the rocks 800 years ago

What a location!

Safety pass

We left our igloos and head for the Kouiassa's gorge. We heard this was an easy walk next to the river, over a stone bridge and then deep into the forest. It was indeed a very beautiful walk in the most lush green spot of the area. The river water was flowing through the gorge and when we tried to get into the water, we realised it was freezing cold. Even in the middle of August the waters were so cold for swimming. There were some places that someone could think that fairies dancing here in the nights. 

Kouiassa's river

Natural pool at Kouiassa

Fairies playground

Tree onto the rock!

Delicious honey within

Festivities in middle August are celebrated all over Greece. August the 15th is a major festivity for the Christians so it is in Greece. It is evident from the number of fiestas organised in every village. We went to the church to light up a candle and attend this festive mass. Lots of villagers in the church.  

15th of August mass

For Virgin Mary (and then for us:)

Community gathering

Pramanta village_Busy main square

We were also lucky to witness a proper 'panigiri' =fiesta. Despite the fact that it wasn't so much fun going on the time we arrived, the band itself was so amusing. Check out where they stand at the photograph below...

  

Pramanta village_Panigiri

Pramanta village_Band on beer cases...

We drove further away to explore an ancient oracle site. The oracle of Dodoni. A famous site in ancient Greece where people use to go to listen the predictions of the oracle. Within the same compound there was a theatre and many other temple ruins dedicated to Greek gods. In the middle of the day the heat was immense and we stayed only for a quick tour. We attempted unsuccessfully to locate the mythical 'Hades Gates' but the roads were making us feeling dizzy and sick. Instead, we head for Ioannina for some chill out time. A beautiful city, with nice people and many universities. I returned here after 14 years when I served in a nearby camp when I was in the army.     

Dodoni_Theatre built 2,400 years ago

Dodoni_Above the changing rooms

Dodoni_The oracle and the worshipper

Ioannina_Lake Pamvotida

Ioannina_Entrance into the old town

On our return to the village, we had planned to do rafting. The waters were not very high due to the season and we've been told that there is no path or way to walk along the river. At this stage of Arahthos river there is a deep gorge. We wanted at least to experience the landscape and had some fun even if it wasn't an adrenaline high activity. Angelos and daughter Iliana came for the day from Lefkada and joined us for the rafting ride so it was a good opportunity. For those who know about rafting, its difficulty level 3 decreases to 2 during the summer months. We did not regret it at all! It was such a nice ride and we all enjoyed it.     

Arahthos_Getting prepared

Starting our ride

We stopped at a nearby waterfall ending up at Arahthos. It was a short walk and we had the opportunity to swim in the pond. The waters were extremely cold. We were shouting but we really felt alive. The ride from there on was inside the gorge, a landscape of outstanding beauty. At the end, we passed below the old stone bridge of Plaka. One of the largest of its kind in the region. It use to be the border between Greece and Turkey during the Ottoman war. We've been told it has survived several attempts to destroy it during wars but never collapsed. Its bonding material consisted by animal hair and 20,000 egg whites! A beautiful bridge, we passed below slowly to contemplate it. 

  

Arahthos_Freeeezing

Arahthos_Dedicated reporter

Arahthos_The old bridge of Plaka

Arahthos_Arahthos river 

We left the region to return home by climbing up Pindus mountain at altitude 1905m asl. On the way we saw a stream of water coming out from the rocks. Spectacular! From high above the mountains the views were simply amazing.  

Water pouring from the rock

Rugged terrain

Layers of faulty ground

Spectacular high pass in Pindos mountains

Milk and honey

We stopped for few hours at Meteora. An UNESCO world heritage site. Rocks perfectly shaped and orthodox monasteries built on top of them. The location reminded me a little bit of New Zealand. We went up to two monasteries but unfortunately it was little late and we were not allowed in. 

Meteora_Sandstone rock pillars

Meteora_Extreme architecture

Meteora_Holy Monastery of Varlaam

Meteora_Lifting mechanism

Meteora_Out of this world

It was an amazing August in Greece. I have fully enjoyed every bit of it and especially the fact Clarisse was with me for many days. The summer is over now, autumn starts tomorrow and I have to put my head together and start working again. After all these months, all these travels and experiences, I am now full of energy to start something new, something great. 


All the best 


Nektarios~






ps I took this photo this evening from my BB. It is the last sunset of the summer...