Meteora & Kalamos

Sunday, July 26th. We leave Thessaloniki and are done with the Greek train system; we are onto the bus system to see if we can avoid cankles and sweat.
Success. The 3 hour ride via Trikala to Meteora was comfy with assigned seating, A/C and even music. We arrive to stunning sights in Kalambaka, a town at the foothills of Meteora, the rock formation where a number of monasteries were built in the 14th century to ensure safety for monks and nuns.
Our Hotel Monsteri is absolutely stunning. It is like a Villa. Made of large stones, with a huge entrance with large pillars and large rooms with patios with stunning views of the large cliffs. Wow. The owner, Sirus, gives us a great idea of what to see when and suggests after looking at us that we are “young and in good shape” to climb to 2 monasteries today in 45 minutes and then to travel to the others by taxi the next day.
They looked high and far away, but hey: we need to prove the “young and in good shape” and start the climb with bags full of water and cameras. The sunscreen is on and we are good to go.
Holy Cow. The climb seems to be at a 45 degree angle for most of the climb, but we make it in an hour with many drink stops along the way. We are rewarded with what likely will be hard to describe in words. The view all around is amazing, the buildings are stunning. All seem to have a church and a museum where pics are not allowed as well as gardens and general grounds/buildings where it is OK to take pics. We had to cover with a sarong and t-shirts as bare shoulders or visible knees are not permitted in the monasteries.
We saw parchment from the 6th century, some of Aristotle’s works from 1498 and carved wood work and frescoes inside churches hard to describe. The detail in everything is amazing.
Supper at a Greek tavern with drinks, Souvlaki, and “Kalamares” (yes, Susanne’s thing).
The next day was a taxi trip up the hill to Moni Meteoro which is the largest monastery as well as a walking tour to the 3 others in that area of the cliffs. We hope our pictures will do this place justice. It is a place of old mixed with new: Old buildings but phones nearby. Nuns in traditional garbs, but they drive vans up the hill. Monks with long beards in special praying in the monasteries, but also in town drinking beer and smoking cigarettes at the bar we had a drink waiting for a bus…but it is a beautiful place and very much worth the visit….we have been promised to be able to stay half price at our Hotel Monasteri if ever returning. Might just do that…
We left Kalambaka via bus in the afternoon and made our way toward Volos and a bit further, to the small town of Kalamos where we would be staying for 2 nights. We arrived at around 9 pm in the middle of a stunning sunset and got settled in our little apartment Marginou. We were welcomed by the family who runs this inn, doing what we are used to now: speaking two different languages but somehow figuring out what everyone means via tidbits of language and hand signals (i.e. explaining boiler, A/C, keys, clothesline) as well as our British patio neighbors Bob and Susanna who welcomed us with a bottle of organic white wine. Tues day was spent at what we like to call our private beach after sleeping in and admiring the view from our patio. Apparently this place, which we lucked into searching the Internet, is a well kept secret which some celebrities have found recently such as Pink Floyd and others who have built villas in this area lately. 5 hours in the sun at the beach in warm, clear, beautiful water resulted in a few sun burnt spots and a nap. We are feeling our roots as we resemble the Nova Scotia lobster. Now we are sitting here drinking wine in a little tavern nearby with internet connection to be able to share the last few days with you. It is beautiful here, you will see from the pics. Tomorrow we are off to Delphi in search of Apollo.